Chapter 0184

Tempest stared thoughtfully at Graden.

Almost all of her teammates follow the stereotyped personality associated with their elements. Fenix is passionate. Bei Ting Mao is steady as the mountain and sharper than a sword. Li Ming, that idiot, is an easy going fool that got tricked into coming to the Magus Alliance. Her sunny light side was slowly working its way through her depression.

Then there is Starm. He doesn't count.

So, out of all of Tempest’s teammate, Graden’s personality doesn’t fit the stereotype. She wondered about it.

It could be his wood side showing up but somehow Tempest doubts it.

“Hey Graden, can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“Why are you so gentle when your predominant affinity is fire?”

“You noticed it didn’t you? As expected of a True Daughter of Storm. I guess the issue would affect you faster than most.” Graden mused.

“You do know about affinities affecting your personality,” Tempest said excitedly. She was glad she and Cardis wasn’t the only one who noticed the problem.

“Well yes,” Graden said almost apologetically.

“So, tell me, tell me, tell me.” Tempest wheedle. Tempest did stomp away from the spirits, vowing to ask Cardis for a high-level cultivation technique for the mind. However, after some consideration, Tempest felt like she was being led by the nose by Ventus. It wasn’t outright manipulation but Tempest still felt like she was the sheep being led to slaughter. It didn’t sit well with her to go along with other people's plans without knowing her role in it or if the prize was worth the sacrifice.

“I’ll tell you if you tell me what is the big secret you have over me.”

“Huh?” Tempest asked, confusion written all over her face.

“Back when we first met, you hinted that you didn’t worry about us spilling your secrets because you have something on us.” Graden patiently explain. He didn’t think Tempest was faking her confusion. Given her silly personality, Graden figured she threw the issue out of her mind after someone mention money.

“Oh.” Tempest stared at Graden.

It’s no skin off her back telling Graden his secret. It might be beneficial for him to know about it so he can guard against it rather than keeping him in the dark. If it was Fenix’s secret then Tempest definitely won’t consider it. However, Graden’s secret needs to be guarded against lest someone targets him. Fenix can go her entire life without knowing. Once Graden’s cultivation is high enough, his secret would come to light. If he didn’t have enough preparation then instead of a light secret it might become a dangerous secret.

Tempest grabbed his hand, slip her hand under his sleeves and wrote, “Eternal Flame Tree.”

Graden gave Tempest a stiff nod, the only indication he understood what Tempest wrote before explaining, “I see you notice a mage’s personality resemble the stereotypes associated with the elements but have notice mages acting to the extreme? Granted, mages tend to be emotional but that is actually a side effect of this issue.”

Tempest thought back to the Elders of the Eternal Spirit Guild. She did notice them acting like the stereotype associated with their affinities but most of them weren’t out of line. A few mages toed the line but they didn’t cross it.

“Now that you mention it, yes, I do notice mages being emotional but not to the point where their emotions completely take over with cause.” Yelin did try to kill Mac Divdiel but Tempest felt her attacks were justified. It’s not every day you realize who your scum father is.

“If mages act like their stereotypes, then you’d see more fire mages propositioning everyone or fighting at the drop of a hat. The water mages would be so easy going they would be bullied to death. The earth mages would be overburdened with responsibilities and the wind mages won’t care about anything unless it affects them. But you rarely see the extremes of an affinity affecting the mages because most mages learn how to control the effects mana has on them.

“It is more like they learn how to control the impulses their affinities have on their personalities. People set boundaries. There are some things you should never do, although each boundary varies from person to person. I won’t seduce a young girl or go into a rage and attempt to kill a bratty child just because he or she is an irritating little snot. If he or she comes at me with intent to kill, I’ll kill them but I won’t kill them for being an annoyance. This is the boundaries I have set.”

“Let me rephrase it in my own words. You set boundaries and never cross it thereby limiting the effects of mana on you.” Tempest gets the gist of what Graden was trying to say but she can’t seem to fully comprehend it.

“Hmmm… not quite. Let me explain using an example. The fire mages have two sides, ah intensity if you will. They range from simmering to full blown inferno. Mages can’t be mad all of the time nor can they be simmering all of the time, just like a human can’t be either sad or happy all of the time. What mages do is limit themselves within boundaries they are comfortable with. After a while, the boundaries become a part of them. Once it does, the effects of mana on a mage can’t change those boundaries easily. It might move the boundaries an inch every century or so. It’s like boiling a frog in warm water. However, if the boundaries are moved, then a good mage in his normal state of mind would notice it. They could move the boundaries back or leave it as it is. Most mages chose to move it back.

“As to the effect of mana, well, mages are emotional for a reason. When a mage feels something, they act on it, be it love or obsession. Once they act on it then they can disperse some of the effects of the mana. They do it this way to avoid extreme emotions or as some refer to it, they avoid letting their emotions take control of them.”

“So I have to see who I want to be and set boundaries accordingly and act on my emotions to avoid being controlled by my emotions.” Tempest was trying to grasp the nuances of Graden’s explanation. She really is. Sadly, Tempest’s EQ isn’t the best.

“It can be put in those terms.”

“Hmmm…” Tempest considered the information Graden gave her. It made some strange sort of sense. Confine yourself to a cage and act however you want in it. If the cage broke, then you know you went overboard.

Tempest didn’t like the idea of confining herself to boundaries considering her carefree nature but at the same time labeling herself as carefree was confining herself to set of reaction in line with being carefree.

“Isn’t it a bit stifling?” Tempest asked. It was an important question for her. She hates cages and prisons. Confining her true self with boundaries is like a caging herself.

“Would Tempest kill an innocent baby?”

“What? No, I won’t!”

“Would Tempest kill a man because he is ugly and dirty your eyes?”

“No!”

“Would Tempest destroy an entire nation because Tempest thought their custom was stupid?”

“No!”

“Then how are these boundaries stifling? You should not see these boundaries as boundaries but strokes of a paintbrush. A stroke of paint is a stroke of paint. It is simple, ordinary and uninspiring. It is only when you pull back to see the whole picture do you realize how each stroke of paint together creates the picture that is you.”

“Thanks, Graden.”

“Uh… about my ummm…” Graden starts to say but halted his words.

“Oh that. Not a word. I promise.” Tempest assured Graden.