Elementary My Dear.

For many years, longer than I played World of Warcraft, going way back to when my older brother and I were young boys we discovered Magic: The Gathering and the cards you play with. We didn't really know how to play, and tried to put the rules together based on the little bit on the cards. Years later in high school I picked it up again when I discovered other players.

Without boring you with the rules, and getting more to my point, there were five elements in the game. Blue, green, red, black and white. They had fundamental themes that they more or less followed through their many, many years.

Red was about raw power. More than the other colours, it dealt with direct damage and the ability to control fire, and all similar themes. Blue is about the control of magic, including the ability to counter the spells. Green was about nature, the ability to give life and manifest powerful creatures. Black was about death, disease, poison and all things icky and evil. Finally, white is about healing, responsibility, armies and honour. There's certainly more to it, but that's a very rough idea.

After watching Avatar the series, these concepts ring true in many ways. It did get me thinking about alternative possibilities for these colours, elements, etc.

While Red/Fire is often about destruction and power, it's also very much about warmth, passion and the ability to spark life. Fire can be beautiful and its untamed nature is an attractive quality.

White/Wind can be about honour, majesty and revitalization, but wind is also very wild. It is an relentless force, capable of immense destruction. Hurricanes and tornadoes are devastating, and wind's ability to erode makes it a true ally of time.

Black/Death has the stigma of being evil, driven only be a desire to end life. In my opinion, though without death we do not learn the purpose of life. The mushroom lives because the tree has died. Without night we do not yearn for the day.

The nature of green/earth has always been about strength and a steadfast determination. I think earth can be a source of raw, primal energy that can yield death as much as life. The earthquake shifts the motion of the planet, and the life of its inhabitants.

Finally blue/water. An element that's often about the nature of countering what's going wrong. Water puts out fire, nourishes the thirsty, grows the crops, but there's a downside. Water can carve rock and coupled with wind helps to feed the hurricane's destructive power.

All I'm saying is that there's two sides to every coin, and it is for these extra dimensions we can be thankful for the variety of life.