| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from At the Mountains of Madness by H. P. Lovecraft: with a black, arched aperture which broke the symmetry of the
vault to a height of nearly fifteen feet. It was the entrance
to the great abyss.
In this vast hemisphere, whose concave roof
was impressively though decadently carved to a likeness of the
primordial celestial dome, a few albino penguins waddled - aliens
there, but indifferent and unseeing. The black tunnel yawned indefinitely
off at a steep, descending grade, its aperture adorned with grotesquely
chiseled jambs and lintel. From that cryptical mouth we fancied
a current of slightly warmer air, and perhaps even a suspicion
of vapor proceeded; and we wondered what living entities other
At the Mountains of Madness |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from A Legend of Montrose by Walter Scott: Dalgetty; indeed, many of them being Highlandmen, had the excuse
of not understanding a single word which the clergyman spoke,
although they gave their attendance on his doctrine by the
special order of M'Callum More, and would have done so had the
preacher been a Turkish Imaum.
But although the congregation dispersed thus rapidly, the divine
remained behind in the chapel, and, walking up and down its
Gothic precincts, seemed either to be meditating on what he had
just been delivering, or preparing a fresh discourse for the next
opportunity. Bold as he was, Dalgetty hesitated what he ought to
do. Time, however, pressed, and every moment increased the
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