| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Call of Cthulhu by H. P. Lovecraft: the lethal waters; whilst on the masonry of that charnel shore
that was not of earth the titan Thing from the stars slavered
and gibbered like Polypheme cursing the fleeing ship of Odysseus.
Then, bolder than the storied Cyclops, great Cthulhu slid greasily
into the water and began to pursue with vast wave-raising strokes
of cosmic potency. Briden looked back and went mad, laughing shrilly
as he kept on laughing at intervals till death found him one night
in the cabin whilst Johansen was wandering deliriously.
But
Johansen had not given out yet. Knowing that the Thing could surely
overtake the Alert until steam was fully up, he resolved on a
Call of Cthulhu |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Scenes from a Courtesan's Life by Honore de Balzac: at the door, and after listening to a few words whispered in her ear
by her mistress, she vanished.
At half-past eleven that evening, five carriages were stationed in the
Rue Saint-Georges before the famous courtesan's door. There was
Lucien's, who had brought Rastignac, Bixiou, and Blondet; du Tillet's,
the Baron de Nucingen's, the Nabob's, and Florine's--she was invited
by du Tillet. The closed and doubly-shuttered windows were screened by
the splendid Chinese silk curtains. Supper was to be served at one;
wax-lights were blazing, the dining-room and little drawing-room
displayed all their magnificence. The party looked forward to such an
orgy as only three such women and such men as these could survive.
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