Brief six : Major Project

Taking into account the research and influences found, I hope to key elements to be used throughout the story. The story is a result of eastern and western influences:

Alchemy: Creation by the god was the result of blending these "simple bodies" (the four elements) together in the correct proportions to produce the infinite varieties of life / The changing of the elemental proportions in base metals to make rarer ones such as silver and gold. - Blending the four elements to produce the perfect blend of coffee. The coffee represents the gold.

Alchemy: According to Aristotle, the four elements are distinguishable from one another by their "qualities." - These "qualities" would refer to the elemental forces and the characters ability of controlling them.

Alchemy, natural philosophy, and early modern physics proposed the existence of a medium of the aether, meaning "upper air" or "pure, fresh air"
Aristotle included aether in the system of the classical elements of Ionic philosophy as the "fifth element" (the quintessence), on the principle that the four terrestrial elements were subject to change and moved naturally in straight lines while no change had been observed in the celestial regions and the heavenly bodies moved in circles.

Chinese pholosophy: In traditional Chinese philosophy, natural phenomena can be classified into the Wu Xing (Chinese: 五行; pinyin: wǔxíng), or the Five Phases, usually translated as five elements, five movements or five steps.
Note that the five elements are chiefly an ancient mnemonic device for systems with 5 stages; hence the preferred translation of "Phase" over "Element".
The elements are:
metal (Chinese: 金, pinyin: jīn, ) (literal translation meaning "gold")
wood (Chinese: 木, pinyin: mù)
water (Chinese: 水, pinyin: shuǐ)
fire (Chinese: 火, pinyin: huǒ), and
earth (Chinese: 土, pinyin: tǔ, ).



Buddhism: The Buddha described nirvana as the perfect peace of the mind that is free from craving, anger and other afflictive states (kilesa) - Relevant to our concept of being 'in your element'

Buddhism: In early Buddhism, the Four Elements are a basis for understanding and for liberating oneself from suffering. - The four characters (four elements) are used to liberate oneself from suffering and bring them into their element.

Hindu: Avatar or Avatara in Hindu philosophy is the 'descent' or incarnation of a divine being (deva) or the supreme being (god) onto planet Earth. (Siddhārtha Gautama, The founder of Buddhismis aid to be an Avatar) - Our four characters could be considered Avatars or supreme beings.

Korean History: When Buddhism was introduced to Korea in the 4th century, the Korean peninsula was politically subdivided into three (some say four) kingdoms - Each of the elements could travel from the four kingdoms in the four corners of the world.

Literature: A quest is a journey towards a goal used in mythology and literature as a plot. Quests can be found in the folklore of every nation. It is often used throughout eastern literature. - This story could be a quest story with the four characters having to leave their kingdoms to seek out the other elements to be able to produce the coffee.

Eastern Literature: The Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature, most notably the 'Journey to the west' that represents spiritual insite in which the group of pilgrims journeying toward India stands for the individual journeying toward enlightenment.

Western Literature: Homer's Odyssey and the Holy grail all depict a 'quest' through western literature. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz tells the story of the scarecrow, tin man and lion who join Dorothy on her odyssey to the Emerald City to find the Wizard of Oz and return home.

Story:

Four supreme beings with the ability to control the four elements must leave their kingdoms and embark on an epic quest to seek each other. Once they have joined together they must use their abilities and bring together the four elements to produce the perfect blend coffee and restore a sense of Nirvana to the world. ('in your element')