And that’s how one shows alchemy and the four classical elements through packaging and tapes.  But let’s take a closer look at this, shall we?

The outer box is, of course, the philosopher’s stone, rumored to grant immortality to those who possessed it.  Besides that, there are four tapes, one tape per element.

Tape of Fire:  Perhaps the most obvious one, tape of fire was surrounded in ashen paper and sealed with a salamander (the animal of fire).  And, yes Andrew, that WAS blood.  But it wasn’t real blood, this is because the humour that was most associated with fire in Medieval medicine was blood.  Tape of fire was inscribed with the symbol for “Salamander” and an upward oriented triangle, and the tape itself was a tennis tape: because tennis is firey and competitive.  As for how I “treated” the tape, it should be pretty clear: It covered it in lighter fluid and I BURNED IT. Oh, and to make sure that the wrapping would stay on I put the wrapped package in an oven for some seconds.

Tape of Water:  Perhaps the tape that took the longest to prepare, tape of water was mostly sealed with papers covered in water and glue and sealed with a manatee (The creature of water is technically an Undine, which is basically a mermaid.  So, I figured a manatee was basically a mermaid).  Tape of Water is the first tape opened in the film, it was inscribed with an Undine symbol and a downward facing triangle, and the tape itself was a Yoga tape (Because Yoga is smooth and fluid).  I “Treated” the tape by firstly submerging it in water for a couple of days.  After that, the taped was continuously frozen and thawed over a period of a week. Then, I took the block of ice that the tape was frozen in, and dropped it into a pot of boiling water.

Tape of Air: Perhaps the most difficult tape to conceptualize, after all how to give something “air damage” without the aid of a wind tunnel?  I decided a microwave was a good thing, and so I used it, after all the microwave works by manipulating the air around an object.  Aside from microwaving it I also smoked it, but that only gave it a strange yellow coloring.  I covered the tape with aerosol glue (hence the stickiness) and sealed it with a Quetzal (the creature of air is the sprite, so I figured a quetzal was a good spritely bird).  It was inscribed with an upward facing triangle bisected by a line, and the symbol for Saturn: Planet of Air.

Tape of Earth: The functional tape.  I decided Earth would be the real tape, because sealing it in a block of clay wouldn’t harm the tape but would be difficult to open.  It was sealed with mud and a Scarab Beetle (The creature for Earth is a dwarf, so… Scarab?).  It was inscribed with a downward pointing triangle bisected with a line and (MOST IMPORTANTLY) a protection rune against dark magics and telepathy.  I figured this would help us out during the shipping process, Andrew.  Aside from sealing the tape in a block of clay, I also covered the tape with aluminum foil (with the classical Chinese elements, Earth was replaced with the element of metal) in order to keep the tape from being damaged as the clay dried.

Oh, and you were wondering what you did to me to deserve this, Andrew?  You hurt my feelings. Try not to do that again.