What Makes a Spirit Master? Breaking down the blessing and the curse

Regardless of which books you’ll love in the Renegades Epic, you’ll find at least one prominent Spirit Master in each.

Every Spirit Master in the Renegades Epic takes the rare ability a step further than the last. In Wind Wielder, you’ll know it’s a special ability the second Shia Eaglesky conjures a barrier that can deflect an opponent’s gunfire while allies can fire through it. 

Shia took the element to its breaking point in each sequel – Wind Master, Wind Keeper, and Wind Ruler. And something tells me she’s not done yet, even if it’ll be a minute before I unleash Book V: Wind Scion.

Heck, the girl traveled through timelines, teaching other characters in the Renegades Epic how to perform similar feats, like Tarja Titan, to throw a name out there. So, what gives a Spirit Master their ultra-powerful ability, and one that can exceed the likes of the other eight elements of water, fire, earth, wind, blood, metal, smoke, and wood? And what makes this ability a curse as much as it is a blessing?

Spirit Masters and their array of attacks get sweeter with time

We don’t get the full gist of what Spirit Masters are capable of until we meet Mali LaSalle in Cymraeg Tales. Mali, a girl with no formal training thanks to her Untouchable status in Tamuria, still attained Spirit Mastery at an almost unheard of age 15. 

Even more impressive? Mali’s kind can face serious repercussions should someone catch them or other Untouchables using their ability. You know, the equivalent of those who used to exercise a “civic duty” during the COVID crisis of snitching on anyone courageous enough to defy those draconian restrictions. 

But that’s a tale for another time. You only need to know that Mali’s range of attacks includes conjuring defensive barriers, siphoning energy and life forces from enemies, teleporting from one area to another, pushing into vibes, and reading minds. 

She’s so strong, her powers can lead to her luring opponents into one of her attacks, influencing them to perform tasks against their will, and oppressing their minds so she can gain greater control over them. In extreme cases, she can even possess enemies. 

Oh, and like Eaglesky, Mali knows a thing or two about opening up portals out of thin air and traveling through them. If she’s seriously or even mortally wounded, she can shift energy into her body from other life forces. Or, if she’s outnumbered, Mali can summon spirits and let them do her bidding, something you’ll find out in Spirit and Fire.

Finally, Mali can mask her life force, allowing her to sneak up on and catch opponents off guard. Overall, there’s nothing listed above that other Spirit Masters, like Tarja, Shia, and others, can’t do. 

All Spirit Masters descend from the same point of origin

Wind Wielder provides a lot of evidence from where Spirit Masters and other elementals descend. While the book doesn’t dive into the four worlds outside of Eidolon, it touches on the origin of all Elementals, who descend from the world’s ten ancient tribes. 

Almost every tribe corresponded to one element apiece. One tribe comprised a mixture of the nine elements, which made up the original tribe. The one that existed before contingents of Elementals founded tribes comprising only members who controlled the same element. 

Goddesses Trinity and Valitut, and the God Stoicheia appointed these Elementals to offer protection to the World of Eidolon’s masses and keep chaos at bay following the downfall of the Trickster God, Langennut. 

The original tribe contained nine ultra-talented Elemental Masters, branded the Chosen Nine. Each member wielded mastery over one element apiece. Their job was to lead the other nine tribes in this quest. While, as the events in all of my novels will show, these people failed miserably thanks to Langennut’s mischief, Mali and Shia descend from that original tribe’s Spirit Masters. 

But, before one becomes a Spirit Master, one must spend time as a simple Spirit Elemental (spelled with all lowercase letters in some books). 

Not all spirit elementals become Spirit Masters

Spirit Masters, like any Elemental Master of the other eight elements, know they’ve attained Mastery when a sword emerges in their hand. They use these swords to channel more powerful energy so they can perform their magic, either in recreational, occupational, or combat situations. 

Unless your name’s Mali LaSalle, Tarja Titan, or Shia Eaglesky, it takes years of disciplined training to transform one’s abilities into Spirit Mastery. And many don’t have the willpower, so they’re either fine with practicing their element without a sword popping into their hand or, putting their training into cruise control once they’ve become Spirit Masters. 

So, the prerequisite to attain Elemental ability of any kind is to descend from those original tribes or the original tribe. But, to attain Spirit or Elemental Mastery in general, one must typically practice for years on end so they attain the necessary skills to reach such a rare status. 

But Spirit Mastery is a curse, right?

Like I mentioned earlier, Langennut’s influence and persistent lying fooled powerful Elemental Masters into believing Trinity, Stoicheia, and Valitut held them back. Langennut, over time, propagated these souls to the point they sought more power and control over not just those born without Elemental ability, but other Elementals. 

This led to conflicts, wars, and strife, you get what I’m talking about if you know anything about today’s world, I’m sure. And it ended up with mass executions of Elementals and Elemental Masters who tried to lead uprisings against these newfound regimes. Naturally, these regimes targeted Trinity’s, Stoicheia’s, and Valitut’s chosen tribe, that original tribe, setting the stage for the Untouchable status Mali found herself in a millennia later. 

Long after these regimes cut out their mass executions in favor of kicking these Elementals to the curb while others even went as far as enslaving them. Naturally, they targeted Spirit Masters, since Spirit is the most powerful and feared of the nine elements. 

With Spirit Masters either isolated or forced to do the most dirty work, or else risk getting killed for non-compliance and losing out in the numbers game, most still didn’t survive their ordeals. Hence, the rarity of the element by the time Wind Wielder’s events rolled around. 

So, Spirit Mastery’s a double-edged sword. On one hand, it proves those who wield it are among the most powerful Elemental Masters to walk the Five Worlds. But on the other hand, they’ve been targeted so much that they still face scrutiny in many different regions.