The Good and the Bad Sides

The representative color of Atma, the Shape of Balance, was a deep blue reminiscent of the oceans.

The ebb and flow of its waves, its highs and lows, formed an image now associated with balance.

Far from being a straight line, there are good and bad sides to everything: a situation, a new technology, life itself.

Every thing holds pleasant moments and others that are more difficult.

Raising a child in absolute comfort distances them from the reality of those who are less fortunate, and from the efforts they must make simply to survive.

On Esperia, the use of magic had improved the living conditions of the Espers, but at the cost of depleting the Aether, the life source of the planet, which had led to the destruction of nearly all of their ecosystem.

Some new technologies had gradually made dialogue impossible between Espers of different elements, until the breaking point that caused the war of Chaos.

Of course, these technologies had never been intended to create such a situation. But here again, a need for balance was essential: great possibilities imply great responsibilities.

And the Espers had not yet become aware of the need to develop inwardly as well, in order to adapt to the new realities of the world they had ultimately created.

Want to share?


Comments

Leave a Reply


Our latest tales

  • The Superpower of Moderation

    The Superpower of Moderation

    What kind of power did Atma, the Shape of Balance, possess? You might think that, since she was able to end an endless cycle of conflict between the Five Elements, she must have had an immense superpower, right? Well, she did! But it wasn’t as flashy or as overwhelming as the magic of the Five

    Read more

  • Time Will Tell

    Time Will Tell

    A long time ago, when Shala first witnessed Chaos reigning— with the Five Elements and the Espers fighting tirelessly for thousands of years — she would never have dreamt that it would one day become the land of peace and harmony: Esperia. In another universe, on Earth, Cha Cha was reading The Tales of the

    Read more

  • Perspective

    Perspective

    When the StarDust first appeared before the Five Elements, and the Espers who had battled for an endless time, it brought an eerie sensation of plenitude and stillness. Gazing at this mysterious, warm, and bright light—irised with beautiful rainbow colours that flowed gently, like an evident dance—for the first time, the Five Elements could see

    Read more

  • Sad but True

    Sad but True

    Climate change caused by humans is a fact. In just a few hundred years, the use—and abuse—of fossil fuels to develop “human civilization” has shaped a world whose dire consequences we can only begin to fathom. If you live in a wealthy and politically stable country—one that has almost certainly reached this state through environmental

    Read more

  • Mental Overload

    Mental Overload

    Simba, our lovely little monkey-like creature, heard something extremely valuable. Not only does the body have limits, but so does the mind! If you exercise too much, it can lead to injuries. The same is true for mental health. The mind is like a reservoir that can fill with all kinds of emotions. Sometimes it

    Read more

  • Initial Condition

    Initial Condition

    Eklea, the Shape of Awareness, often reminded her students that the Initial Condition of a situation has a significant impact on its outcome. Does that seem obvious? Perhaps—if you’ve thought about it. Does it mean we are bound by where we start? Of course not. But realizing that the starting point is not the same

    Read more

  • The Wind Mirror

    The Wind Mirror

    The Wind Mirror is one of the Five Great Elemental Artifacts, born from the Clash of the Elements at the end of the Chaos War, when the Five Elements cast their strongest spells together at the same time—creating the StarDust. You know how a mirror works, right? You look into it, and it reflects your

    Read more

  • Where ignorance is bliss…

    Where ignorance is bliss…

     …it is folly to be wise. Cha Cha reflected on this sentence. It was written in the 18th century by an English poet. At that time, all energy sources were renewable, with little risk of real damage to the environment, as everything was powered by natural elements or living beings. Sadly, history also shows that

    Read more