Elementals_(0)

We were called Elementals. We were white of eyes, skin and hair, perfect of complexion, and unmatched in beauty. We were the embodiment of ideas, those most prevalent in the cognizance of early man. I was called Petra; of rock and stone, and he was called Vita; of life and blood. From our joining came a daughter, and we called her ‘Joy,’ for that was what she was to us. We were gods to the primeval tribes, worshiped and adored, and Joy most of all. She was ‘Aqua’ to them, of water and rain, and she ensured the monsoons would green their fields. In the simple times, the thoughts that breached our realm of ideas were of pure things: light, love, sadness and longing. Vita, Joy and I savored each one for what they were, and on occasion, we clothed ourselves in the ideas, and walked the ethereal realm as something new. I would take on the façade of Love, and my white flesh would become pink, my white eyes would become violet, and my white hair would become purple. I would laugh and play with Joy, rapt in maternal love, then I would put her to bed, and find Vita in a quiet place. Then, I would show him the kind of love I felt for him. Vita would often clothe himself as Light, and shine gloriously as the sun made flesh. He would dazzle Joy with the fractal patterns he made across her water, and she would laugh gleefully with him. Then, he would put her to bed, and show me the heat his light shined with.

From our gifts and knowledge, the tribes began to evolve. They created sects, then society, then nations. And from that evolution, came new ideas. Power, greed, pride, deception, and corruption. New ideas to wear, and new delights with which to act. We did not know these things were evil. We did not know what they would do to us. I found the black cloak of Corruption, and dawned it curiously. It infected me. My mind became fevered, my muscles contracted. I wrenched and gagged upon the floor, writhing in the throes of agony… and something else. A terrible euphoria, something wrong and perverse, but irresistible. It change me. My mind deteriorated, my flesh, eyes and hair became black, and my body changed. My curvaceous profile of maternity turned to something as lithe and flexible as the morals of my newfound form. My breasts shrank to supple domes over a belly lined with muscle, which narrowed to hips that bore a succulent backside perched above toned thighs. I was an acrobat, meant to twist and bend insidiously through the minds of man. I desired only to bring out the darkness in others, and tear down the foundations of society that Vita, Joy and I had so painstakingly built. I looked over my shoulder, searching for Joy and Vita. Neither were around. Good, they could not know. I would go in secret to the realm of mortals, and indulge in my newfound mischief.

I came to the bedchambers of a warlord whose bloodlust was infamous, and whose cruelty was renowned. His armies were poised to wash over the land, and conquer all beneath his banner. I would inundate him with the thought I wore upon my flesh, and send him and society into a death-spiral. Only when I arrived, there was another woman there already. She was skinned in gold, with hair and eyes just as garishly lustrous, and a body whose supple curves were meant to evoke avarice. She seemed unsure of herself, and well she should, for she was a virgin, but apparently not as innocent as I had thought. I recognized my daughter immediately, and she recognized me. We stared at each other across the sleeping warlord, accusation and shame filling our eyes in equal parts.

“Greed?” I hissed at her.

“Corruption?” Joy scoffed back.

“Power.” Another voice said from the darkness, and Vita stepped forth, his skin and eyes a deep red, his brow bearing overgrown bullhorns, his body exaggerated in its display of muscle, and his manhood too large not to cause pain. There we stood, Greed, Corruption, and Power, the ills of society made flesh to tempt a warlord for our purpose.

“Why, Joy?” Vita asked our daughter.

“I want to centralize the wealth of the world to create a great empire, and unite all of humanity.” Joy answered smoothly, “And you, Father?”

“I too wish to unite the world, but through force of conquest.” Vita answered, then turned to me, “And you, Petra?”

“I desire as you do, Vita, and you, Joy.” I answered, “I wish for the world to be unified, and the wealth to be centralized. I wish this so that all of society’s eggs are in one basket. Then, I wish to crush the basket.”

“Mother!” Joy exclaimed, horrified, but Vita just shook his head and laughed. When he looked at me, there was a glint in his eyes that hinted at a very real and very dark desire. The same look was shining from my black eyes, I was sure, for power and corruption were forbidden lovers. Our attraction was detestable, our intentions were repulsive, but our desire was greater than it had ever been before. We liked our new skins; we liked them immensely.

“Progress needs correction, or it will run astray.” Vita said, “If there is not an antithesis to our purpose, then how can we know if it is right?”

“She betrayed us!” Joy narrowed her eyes at me.

“She thinks we betrayed mankind long ago.” Vita was still chuckling, apparently quite amused. Joy was not.

“They were happier when the world was simple.” I tried to explain to her.

“Monkeys are happy to shit in their hands.” Joy scoffed.

“If it is their nature.” I retorted, incensed by her insolence.

“Is being true to our nature all that we should strive to be?” Vita asked, a teasing tenor in his voice.

“What is your nature, Vita?” I hissed at him, “This thought you wear fits you like a glove!” Then I turned to Joy, “As does yours, Daughter.”

“As does yours, Mother.” Joy sneered back. I think it was at that moment, seeing her vitriol shining from her avaricious mask, that my perception of her changed. Maybe it was my self-perception that changed, I did not know, nor did I care.