14.4 The Four Elements of Existence
The four elements that define existence in Rise are body, life, mind, and soul. Body and mind are fundamental elements, with simple and obvious effects. Life and soul are energetic elements, with more subtle and cosmic effects.
14.4.1 Physical Elements: Body and Life
Something has a body if its existence is physical. If something has a body, it is called corporeal. This is usually fairly simple: trees, humans, and rocks all have bodies. Not everything with a body can be easily touched or seen. Clouds and gases are still corporeal, though they are intangible.
Life is the ability of the body to change and adapt over time. If something has life, it is called alive. Humans and trees are alive, but rocks are lifeless, and corpses are dead. Living things are constantly changing, and require input and output from their environment to maintain equilibrium. They almost always breathe, eat, sleep, and perform similar body maintenance activities.
Lifeless things do not need to perform those tasks, and their bodies typically persist unchanged without outside intervention. Some lifeless things exist in a state of gradual decay instead of permanent stasis. In either case, their bodies are defined by inert consistency rather than change and equilibrium.
14.4.2 Mental Elements: Mind and Soul
Something has a mind if it can understand aspects of its environment and react to it. If something has a mind, it is called intelligent. This is defined broadly, and not every intelligent creature is sentient or self-aware. Humans and other animals are intelligent, but trees and rocks are mindless.
A mind is a separate entity from a body. When an intelligent living creature dies, its mind can persist after the body’s destruction. The brain is a tool which anchors and connects a mind to a body, not the fundamental mechanism which creates the mind. Damage to a brain can inhibit the connection between a mind and a body, diminishing a creature’s functional intelligence, but it does not directly damage or alter the mind.
Soul is the ability of the mind to change and adapt over time. If something has a soul, it is called ensouled. Humans and other animals are ensouled, but artificial constructs like golems are soulless. Ensouled things are able to change their manner of thinking and personality over time. Some soulless things can learn and retain information, and can be quite intelligent, but they cannot change their method of thought or fundamental opinions. If you lock a human and an intelligent artificial construct in a room for twenty years, the human’s mind would emerge fundamentally changed and possibly insane, while the construct would simply have gained information that it had been in a room for twenty years.
14.4.3 Energetic Elements: Life and Soul
Life cannot exist independently of a body, and soul cannot exist independently of a mind. They are elements defined by change and adaptation. This may explain why they have such intrinsic power in Rise. Life and soul are the underlying power behind most superhuman effects in Rise.
14.4.4 Examples
- Some creatures are created when creatures die, but their minds refuse to pass on to the appropriate afterlife. These creatures have neither body nor life. They have a mind, and may or may not have a soul. This includes allips, ghosts, and wraiths.
- Some creatures are formed from planar essence to act as an embodiment of the plane’s identity. These creatures have a body, but no life. They have a mind, but no soul. This includes angels, demons, and elementals.
- Some creatures are magically granted a semblance of life by animating an inanimate object. These creatures have a body, but no life. They have a mind, but no soul. This includes golems, skeletons, and zombies.
- Some creatures are able to move independently, but their responses to their surroundings are entirely instinctual, without any ability to form thoughts or make decisions. These creatures have a body and are alive. They have neither mind nor soul. This includes oozes, plants, and extremely simple animals like ants.
- When creatures die and their minds travel to the appropriate afterlife, they gain new bodies formed from the planar essence of their new home. These creatures have a body, but no life. They have both a mind and a soul.