Elemental Deities
The Celestials are mysterious in nature as no-one knows exactly what they are or where they came from.
What is known is that they are all incredibly powerful and can harness the elements, either by focusing on just one or by being adept at wielding multiple simultaneously. Their interactions with mortals are limited, be it chance encounters or more intimate experiences, although with the advent of the Battle of the Ancients, the presence of these ancient beings is now felt more.
The Spirit Brothers – Kaolin, Xin and Raijin – are the only Celestials currently known to wander the material plane, along with the half-Celestial Brewmaster, Mangix.
Cometh from Jade
Unlike his brothers, Kaolin, the Earth Spirit’s form, was not made in an encounter with a mortal or their remains. Instead, his story begins underground.
In honour of the great general Kaolin, a statue was to be made in his likeness. It was to be accompanied by a stone funerary army of ten-thousand; a force of soldiers, clerics and entertainers all expertly crafted to accompany him in his death, acting as an honour guard buried deep beneath the earth.
Unbeknown to the craftsmen, within the very seam of jade from which the statue was carved was the presence of the spirit of the Earth itself, a Celestial at one with the planet. After the jade had been mined and crafted, the Earth spirit now found itself trapped and cut off from its home. It therefore resolved to gather enough strength over the course of a thousand years to dig free from its underground tomb and emerge into the light.
Taking the name of the statue’s likeness within which it was contained, Kaolin then ventured forth across the Upland, fighting in the name of the Earth. On occasion, he even calls upon the general’s army to serve him, bringing them from the buried tomb in which he once lay.
Blood and Stone
Although his origins may be somewhat different to that of his brothers, they are still Celestial kin, each wielding the power of an element to the point of mastery and each sharing the nature of their given power. The eclectic Storm Spirit, the flickering Ember Spirit and the patient Earth Spirit all work together to take down those who threaten the world’s balance.
One such creature is the Monkey King, Sun Wukong. It was they who initially caught and trapped him within the Ember Spirit’s furnace, hoping to burn the strength from him. However, they only succeeded in making him even stronger. It took Kaolin trapping him under a mountain to end his mischief, and the Monkey King has resented the spirits ever since, especially the one who had held him so well.
Given how he refers to the Nature’s Prophet, it can be inferred that Kaolin is not just the spirit of Earth, but a god of nature itself. It could even be said that he is possibly a reincarnation of the goddess Verodicia, given that Kaolin refers to him as ‘His Prophet’.
In conclusion, even though his life did not come from the remains of another, Kaolin is still a general who commands a stone army to help him maintain the great cycle of life. He also wanders across the land to make sure that the earth, and nature itself, are protected from those who may seek to destroy or lay claim to what is not theirs. Therefore he is rightly considered alongside his Celestial brothers.
