Against the Current

Making the right choices is not often easy.

Especially when the almost insurmountable flow of society as a whole imposes a vision from which it is difficult to break free.

Thinking or acting against the current then becomes a trial that is at once discouraging, irritating, and sometimes almost ridiculous, yet within which a glimmer of hope continues to exist.

The Espers all carried within them that ounce of light that was simply waiting to be nurtured, like a planted seed waiting for the gentleness of spring to blossom and fully express itself.

In a world of constant acceleration, going against the current means taking the time to reflect on the real consequences of present actions for the future.

A future that is becoming increasingly uncertain, yet whose main outlines have already been shaped by the choices of the past and the decisions yet to come.

The Espers did not succeed in taking the gamble of creating a world that went against the current of today’s values.

The consequences were the decades that led to the Chaos War.

But within this disaster, not only ecological but also civilizational, the hope of seeing a civilization finally emerge that would go against the current of an increasingly individualistic and arrogant movement had been born.

The Seven Shapes had begun to write the first pages of a new era…

One Daily Tale.


Our latest tales

  • A Shared Pool of Willpower

    A Shared Pool of Willpower

    The StarDust, like all things, is governed by rules. With Vati’s guidance, the Seven Shapes soon came to understand this. And one of these rules concerned Willpower, and how its use was like drawing from a shared pool. Whenever an Esper used their will to take on tasks that were frustrating or required deep focus,…

    Read more

  • Little by Little

    Little by Little

    This was one of the mottos of Kenko, the Shape of Health. “A bit of exercise every day is far more effective in the long run than one full day of training, followed by months of nothing.” Now that the StarDust is known by all the Espers, it makes complete sense. Shala always reminds the…

    Read more

  • Ask Questions

    Ask Questions

    Eklea and Vati soon became very good friends. Eklea, the Shape of Awareness, always loved asking questions, which came to her mind as swiftly as her Element of Lightning. In Vati, the Shape of Wisdom, she found a companion who would always listen and think along with her. Vati was often surprised by the questions…

    Read more

  • Innocence

    Innocence

    The Seven Shapes understood that for the Espers to act in unison, there needed to be shared values and goals — a common foundation for a new beginning. Gurumin, the Shape of Empathy, became a symbol of what must be protected, and of why working together was the only way forward. Her innocence was admired…

    Read more

  • I Want to Know

    I Want to Know

    Just as being able to say “I don’t know” is a sign of wisdom, wanting to know—rather than passively accepting things as truth—is yet another mark of it. “It is so easy to accept facts as they are, without trying to understand whether they are true or the reasons behind them,” taught Vati, the Shape…

    Read more

  • Triple Point

    Triple Point

    Reflections on how to build a world with harmony at its center led the Seven Shapes to place balance at the heart of the matter. Atma, the Shape of Balance—born from the fusion of all Five Elements and the discovery of the StarDust—was understood to be the key to solving this challenge. They contemplated the…

    Read more

  • A Decisive Time

    A Decisive Time

    Shala and Vati discussed extensively the development of StarDust throughout the lifetime of an Esper. One of their conclusions was that even before the birth of a new Esper, the time spent in the mother’s womb had already begun to shape what its future StarDust would eventually become. Broadly speaking, childhood is the “decisive time.”…

    Read more

  • Beliefs

    Beliefs

    We now understand that humans are drawn to stories. Long before the digital era—or even before writing—knowledge was passed down through generations by stories told aloud. Whenever someone tells a story, it is no longer reality but a fiction that carries beliefs within it. The natural fear of danger within our species makes us adopt…

    Read more