Not an artist: Five totems from Oracle of Seasons channeling the power of the elements.

Five totems from Oracle of Seasons channeling the power of the elements.

Those who seek to harness the energy to the elemental spirits must first commune with the spirits and earn their respect. Novices are sent to a lonely boulder on the edge of the wilderness to make contact with an affable spirit of the earth residing in the great stone. To meet with the spirit, novices must imbibe a sour potion that opens their eyes so they might see the spirits of nature and hopefully convince them to lend their power when called.

Apprentices on the path towards becoming a nature speaker are sent to the wind-lashed peaks of the mountain pass where a tutor will show them how to hear the voice of the wind. The loud voices of storms are much easier to hear than the whispers of gentle breezes, so the tutor only instructs pupils during the most violent winds. If apprentices can learn to deeply listen to the wind, they might eventually ask the wind to borrow its slicing gusts.

Sojourner are given leave to explore the world and make contact with a wild spirit of flame anywhere they can. Such spirits have a cunning intelligence at play beneath their mercurial moods. If sojourners can endure the flame spirit’s scorching touch, they can begin to learn to sculpt and manipulate living flame.

To channel the soothing touch of the water spirits, the expert must first seek out and fill a bowl at a spring of the purest water. Then they must carefully take the bowl to a place of brackish or tainted water, where they drink deeply of both waters and meditate on how water is always the same and always changing. Only once they have intimately understood how tainted and pure water are two sides of the same coin and two entirely different forces, can the expert to channel the power of the water spirits.

After journeying along the path of the spirit talker, some lucky few might find themselves respected by all the spirits of nature. It is only for those such speakers the title of master is reserved. To become a master is to become a teacher for future generations, and to teach one must know. A master can call on the many names and gifts of the nature spirits, often aided by a totem or other symbol of their connection with nature.

Power Bracelet: This simple bracelet gives Link supernatural lifting strength when worn. Without it, he can’t lift the jars, stones, and other Link sized obstacles that often block his path. The bracelet can be found in the Snake’s Remains, the second dungeon Link explores during his quest to rid Holodrum of evil. The bracelet in Oracle of Seasons doesn’t get upgraded like the one found in Oracle of Ages.

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The through-line between the power bracelet and elemental totems is the Strength of Earth totem from World of Warcraft. 

I played a horde Shaman in World of Warcraft back in the days of the Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King. I also spent too much time playing through the campaigns of Warcraft 3. All of this means that I am very fond of the warcraft visual for Tauren totems. What are some of our favorite elemental totems or icons? Today’s drawings are a love letter to those days spent exploring Azeroth. 

All this talk of WoW is making me want to dust off the old days of raiding as a Enhancement/Restoration shaman. 

I haven’t played anything Blizzard in years, mostly because my computer isn’t amazing, and also because I don’t have the time to sink into getting good at a new shooter or online collectible card game. Most of my hobby time is spent drawing, writing, and planning my campaign’s next few story beats.

The world is always a crazy place. Make it less crazy for those around you and be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph