Joahan.
Elements balance each other. Fire keeps nature from growing out of control; nature gives fire something to burn, so it doesn't just peter out.
Song gives people hope, but hope isn't very useful if there's nothing logical or practical behind it. Blind, foolish optimism...can take you far, but there always has to be a part of you that anchors it, so that it doesn't just float away—or if not within you, then someone near you...who keeps that hope grounded and actionable. He thought he could do things on faith and hope alone, but I don't. I think you need to have belief that something is possible, but you need to be grounded enough to make it happen, too.
Yeah, basically, an object able to hold the magical energy that we call a soul. I don't know the logistics. There would have to be trials and testing, because if it isn't going to hold, then I want to know how long it will hold, to buy us time for a more permanent solution.
But on that note........how did Itzal end up reborn as Gaius? That wasn't supposed to happen, was it? Or is the seal a new thing that arose during Gaius's time? Something that was meant specifically to protect us here?