The major storyline running through Season 4 dealt with three Kryptonian Artifacts that possessed amazing power. Each Element had a Kryptonian glyph etched into its surface. The first, revealed in "Crusade," was marked with the symbol for "fire." The second, shown in "Transference," had the symbol for "water" imprinted upon it. The third, featured in "Sacred," bore the symbol for "air." I have constructed individual pages for the Fire, Water, and Air Elements; see these pages for more information about each specific Crystal. While those pages explore the discovery of each individual Stone in detail, this page is about the Elements in general and their ultimate purpose.
As discussed on its page, the Fire Element was the first to be revealed to viewers. Lex found it in the desert sands of Egypt, but Clark-- rather, Kal-El-- broke into Lex's jet in mid-air and stole it from him. Lex assumed the daring heist was the work of his father, so he confronted him angrily in "Crusade," and this convo introduced the Elements and hinted at what their true purpose was.
Lex: |
Where is it? |
Lionel: |
Honestly, Lex, I have no idea what you're talking about. |
Lex: |
Then perhaps I could refresh your memory... Three Relics hidden around the world by scientifically advanced cultures. Legend has it that when united, they point the way to a treasury of knowledge that puts the Library of Alexandria to shame. |
Lionel: |
You're chasing a fairy tale, Lex.. |
Lex: |
A fairy tale you believed in enough to finance six expeditions over the past two years... |
Lionel: |
I funded several educational digs through LuthorCorp Foundation. So? |
Lex: |
So? So they all focused on sites that unearthed the same symbols as those found on the cave wall. You think those Artifacts can save your life, Dad?. |
Edgar, Lionel's cellmate in prison (read about him on the page for the Water Element), confirmed this purpose for the Stones in "Transference." Edgar told Clark,
These ancient symbols, they've shown up in Egypt, Central America-- Even a sacred Indian cave right here in Kansas... If you take the three and you put them together... [Makes a triangle with his thumbs and index fingers] Mayan legend says it leads you to a trove of knowledge beyond your wildest dreams.
Lionel and Lex had the following discussion in "Sacred" that revealed one of the two Luthors had given up on seeking the Elements.
Lionel: |
You have a ferocious desire to find all the answers, son, but don't let your search for those Stones turn into your personal tower of Babel. |
Lex: |
I'm not trying to get closer to God, Dad. I'm trying to solve the riddles He's laid out for me. |
Lionel: |
Did you ever think there might be a reason why we weren't given the answers? |
Lex: |
To challenge us? |
Lionel: |
Or maybe to humble us. Knowledge comes from finding the answers, yes. But understanding what the answers mean is what brings wisdom. Men who didn't understand the difference have been the ruin of some of the world's greatest civilizations. |
Lex: |
Is that why you stopped looking for the Stones? Because you were afraid? |
Lex: |
No, No. I stopped because I realized that even if I find the three Stones, I'm not going to find what I'm really looking for. Neither will you. |
In the same episode, Professor Sen, guide to Clark and Lana in Shanghai, shared what she had learned about the Stones.
There's a myth that claims an all-powerful god came from another world and hid a treasure there. The god left us some kind of map to it, but the map was stolen centuries ago by European bandits. As far as we know, they never found the treasure.
Once inside the temple near the hiding place of the Air Element with Clark and Lana, Sen further discussed the power of the Elements and the significance of the temple in which they were standing.
During the Cultural Revolution, the government destroyed most of the ancient temples, but for some reason, they protected this one. Maybe because it's always been shrouded in superstition. Villagers have refused to cross this threshold, fearful that the god will one day return as he promised.
Throughout much of Season 4, Lana was sporadically possessed by an ancestor of hers who had been burned at the stake for practicing witchcraft. This ancestor, Countess Margaret Isobel Thoreaux, also sought the Kryptonian Relics.
In "Spell," Isobel constantly referred to her "quest for the Stones of Power." She explained to Clark that she and her accomplices "travel[ed] through the ages to complete [their] quest, outwitting death itself" to obtain the Elements. Isobel believed possessing one of the Stones would "increase [her] magics tenfold," and that when she and her cohorts "possess[ed] all the Stones, [they would] walk on earth as gods among men." asdfasdfasdf
Genevieve Teague, mother of Lana's boyfriend, also was seeking the Elements. According to Lionel, Genevieve was continuing a quest begun by one of her ancestors, who happened to be Isobel's mortal enemy. Genevieve's ancestor was, as Lionel explained in "Sacred," "a Duchess Gertrude, who was obsessed with finding three mythical Stones." Gertrude was so bent on possessing the stones that "she sent ships to the far ends of the known earth" in search of them. Genevieve persuaded Jason to be loyal to her rather than his girlfriend, Lana, and help her recover the stones. Her persuasion was so strong that she convinced him to murder Dr. Crosby to obtain (albeit temporarily) the Water Element. In "Forever," Genevieve revealed how desperate she was to get her hands on the Elements when she kidnapped Lionel and Lex, saying, "The Stones may be just another hobby to you, but I didn't search all these years just to reach a stalemate." Her obsession ended up destroying her, however, in Season 4's finale ("Commencement")-- Isobel stabbed her in the chest with the Air Element.
The best explanation as to what the Kryptonian Artifacts were for came from Jor-El. In "Sacred," Clark received a package from the late Dr. Swann that contained the octagonal disc. Clark put the disc into a slot on the Altar in the secret chamber of the Caves, and Jor-El filled him in about the Elements' true purpose.
Jor-El: |
I knew you would return, my son. |
Clark: |
Why did you send me to find [the Fire Element]? |
Jor-El: |
Because you may be the last survivor of a great civilization. |
Clark: |
A great civilization that destroyed itself! |
Jor-El: |
As will yours if you continue to refuse your mission. The knowledge of our civilization was encoded in three Stones, brought to Earth and hidden at the far reaches of the world. Greed will drive others to hunt the Stones, but if a human should unite them before you, they will not be able to withstand the temptation and will drive the world to famine, war, and the Earth's ultimate destruction. You must find the other two Stones. The fate of the world lies in your hands, Kal-El. |
Indeed, greedy individuals-- Lex, Lionel, Isobel, and the duo of Jason and Genevieve-- all looked the Artifacts to suit their own purposes.
Jonathan: |
All right, Clark. Please at least tell us that the Stone is safe in the cave with the other one. |
Clark: |
Look, even though there was kryptonite guarding the original map, I got the stone in my hand... But I lost it. |
Martha: |
Clark, I don't understand. If these Stones were intended for you to find, why would they be surrounded by Kryptonite? |
Clark: |
Yeah, it makes me wonder if they really were meant for me. But right now we have another problem. Before he died, Dr. Swann sent me one last email. He said he had been searching for the Stones for years, and even with the vast resources at his disposal, it was futile. I was his last hope. And that's why he asked Bridgette Crosby to give me the one Stone he did find. |
Martha: |
Which Stone? |
Clark: |
That's the thing. I called her numbers... They're all disconnected. No one even claims to have known her... It's like she never existed. |
In "Commencement," Clark returned to the Caves and put the octagonal disc back in the Altar to speak with Jor-El again about the meteor shower that struck mid-episode.
Clark: |
Tell me what you've done!. |
Jor-El: |
It was you who brought this upon yourself, Kal-El. |
Clark: |
What did I do? |
Jor-El: |
I sent you here to unite the three Elements. |
Clark: |
The Stones? They have nothing to do with me! |
Jor-El: |
But they do, Kal-El... For the knowledge of the universe is meant for you only, yet you chose to deny your heritage. Today, you will witness the consequences. |
Clark: |
So you sent a meteor shower? |
Jor-El: |
I have done nothing, Kal-El. Human blood has stained one of the Elements and awakened a great danger from the darkness of space. |
Clark: |
What can I do to stop it? |
Jor-El: |
There is nothing you can do to prevent what is already in motion, but the meteor shower is just the beginning, Kal-El. I warned you that the Elements could not fall into the hands of a human. The three must become one. It is the only way to save Earth from total annihilation. |
Clark: |
I don't know where they are! I don't have time to find them! |
Jor-El: |
If you don't unite them at once, you, my son, will be seared by a fire from the sky even you can't survive. The future of mankind rests in your hands. |
Quite the burden for our young Kryptonian. Luckily, Clark was able to unite the Elements in time to create... The Fortress of Solitude. The following screencaps are courtesy of Pal-El.
