[X] He spoke about life, and how it inevitably leads to death. About stories, and how they inevitably lead to endings. And how all of that was so very beautiful. But whenever you tried to recall his words, you realized he didn't speak much at all. (WINTER is the principle of endings, cold, beauty and silence. It encompasses all things that have already ended and waits patiently for all things that will end. But one knowledgeable on its ways might figure out how to work around endings, and perhaps death itself.)
[X] He spoke about life, and its unceasing energy and continuity. About how all creatures seem to be dancing a grand dance in pace with the heartbeat of the world itself. Neither his words nor his smile stopped for even a moment, and during the whole conversation her fingers kept beating against the bar top. The rhythm was almost hypnotizing. (HEART is the principle of life, preservation and protection, as well as of the dance that must never cease. It is known, even if subconsciously, by any creature that knows happiness and perseverance in the face of adversity, and it is put into practice by dancers.)
[X] He spoke about how dry and dull the world truly was, even if nobody was willing to admit it. About how nothing new is ever created by people, only maintained, and about how the world itself seems to have forgotten about what can be learned from the satisfaction of desire. Your eyes almost didn't leave his while she spoke, to the point where you almost didn't listen to what he was saying. (GRAIL is the principle of desire, seduction and thirst. It knows about all things succulent and treats both charisma and seduction as the most pleasant of tools.)
[X] He spoke about change, and its necessity. After all, it is not enough to keep a tool sharp for it to be useful, sometimes it is necessary to smelt it down and forge a new one. And about the fact that, surely, that must also hold true for greater principles. Perhaps even the world itself, no? (FORGE is the principle of transformation, fire and destruction, and of reshaping on all levels, be them physical or spiritual. It holds the secrets that both blacksmiths and rebels share deep down in their cores).
[X] He spoke about the history of this world, and how it sometimes looks more like a knot than a straight line, and about how sometimes it even contradicts itself. It is a commonly held belief that the present can go towards many futures, but is it also possible for the present to be connected to many pasts? (SECRET HISTORIES is the principle of the world itself. It is the study and knowledge of the frailty of cause and effect, and of the secret places where more than one possibility took place.)
[X] He spoke about knowledge, and about how some realizations can be so shocking that normal people might even shy away from trying to discover them. He wondered aloud about how people could claim to know so much and yet not even be able to answer a question as simple as "From where do powers come from?" (LANTERN is the principle of knowledge and of its light that is both illuminating and unkind. It entails secrets that are held by oracles, even if they do not realize it, and scholars, even if they later regret it.)
[X] He spoke about secrets, about how the world hides its own in the most unusual of ways, and about how those secrets change and transform while the world isn't looking. He didn't talk in circles, but he didn't talk in a straight line either, and at the end of it you were left with the irrevocable impression that something was in the wrong shape. Although you couldn't tell if it was the world, or yourself. (MOTH is the principle of unreason, secrecy and change. It understands chaos by understanding nothing at all and can only be learned by following your own whims. But inevitably, it leads you to where you truly desire to be.)
