The Four Prime Elements

If you will continue reading this volume, it is imperative that you set aside any religious or nationalistic preconvictions you may have.  While I understand the tendency of those less knowledgeable to be fearful of the emotional manifestations of their brethren, it must be understood that we, like the rest of our living world, are creatures composed of the elements.  I am familiar with the long-held idea of the Living Quintessence, the belief that we are not built of the Elements (as 'lower' creatures are) but of some higher substance.  However, all modern inquiry into the matter points to the fact that we are in fact composed of the same four elements as the world around us.  And while the Academy has refused to make any definite statement on the issue, you can be sure that they have already taken this idea into deep consideration.

Though it is a hotly debated topic, there is sizable evidence pointing to our emotional states being linked to our inherent elemental natures.  While some, including the prominent elemental scholar and archmage Ferrim Ignatious, would insist that these connections are only found in more complex and amalgamated beings like ourselves (perhaps as a result of the interactions between the elements within us), study of creatures with less hybridized natures have shown at least some tendency toward corresponding emotional states. While the precise connections are still being explored, the basic correlations seem to be as noted below.

Air: Flight and Fancy

Those creatures infused with the Aura element (including wind, flight, and to a lessor degree voice and song)  or humans attuned to it, will often display a more lighthearted or mirthful demeanor.  They are prone to roaming or migration and often have more erratic and unpredictable behaviors.

Examples of creatures with an Air trait:
Wisp, Weasel, Any species capable of flight (including most birds and insects)

Earth: Resilient and Static 

Creatures closely connected with the Terra element (including stone, dirt, sand and, to a lesser degree, metals) tend to exhibit more tenacious and stubborn qualities.  They are often more territorial, single-minded, or sedentary. 

Examples of creatures with an Earth trait:
Tortoise, Basalisk, Bear

Fire: Intense and Overwhelming

Though often labeled 'Fire', the Ignis element is also understood as a more general concept of heat, light, or even simply energy.  Creatures tied to the fire element can show an array of intense emotions, including passion or rage, but regardless how the element manifests the emotional states tend to be intense and consuming.

Also of note, while not all creatures possess all four elements, all living organisms seem to have at least some small portion of the Fire element.  Even otherwise pure elementals.  This has lead many, including myself, to believe that Fire may in fact be a sort of universal life force, though considerably more study on this subject is needed.

Examples of creatures with a Fire trait:
Boar, Rage Elemental, Wasp

Water: Effused and Solemn

Aqueous creatures are thought to be some of the oldest complex creatures in the world, and like the element, they are often beings of depth and propagation.  Connected with ideas of wisdom and sorrow, creatures attuned to water are generally more tranquil and sensitive.

Examples of creatures with a Water trait:
Gloom Serpent, Elephant, Perch


While there are many who would argue for adding additional elements to the Four Primes, no evidence has been produced of anything not composed of at least one of the original Four.  While this is still the case, my travels have given me insight into what may potentially be a fifth Prime Element. 

Cold: Bleak and Ominous

While closely connected to the element of Fire, and some would argue it to be merely its absence, there are many examples of Cold having a power all its own.  While the absence of Earth means no Terran traits, or a lack of Auras merely means that a creature does not connect with the Air element, an organism infused with Cold has a very distinct existence not at all consistent with a simple lack of Ignis.  There does seem to be some correlation between the elements, as they are unable to coexist, and often the appearance of Cold seems to actually replace Fire in some functionality.

Though it may simply have yet to be discovered, there are as of yet no examples of a naturally occurring creature of the Cold element.  Instead the Cold seems to show behavior similar to parasitic lifeforms, attaching itself to creatures already in existence.  When this occurs, the Cold element will drain and eventually replace Fire, giving the creature some sort of otherwise impossible life beyond death, though with notable differences as relate to the incorporation of the new element.  Individuals reanimated in such a way will tend to a more violent existence.  Although fiery emotions are often attributed to violence, the Cold equivalent varies in what seems to be an almost emotionless violence, or at the very least the emotions connected with the element are more subtle than the Fire extremes they replace.  This violence is perhaps a mechanism of the Cold element's propagation, killing more individuals so that it might spread further.  Both a fascinating and horrifying hypothesis.

Instances of this element seem to be exceedingly rare and limited to the furthest corners of our world.  However, I need not express how a seemingly parasitic, self-propagating, and potentially semi-aware element might be a danger, especially when that element's existence seems to require the destruction of the Fire that sustains us.  As a witness to the nightmarish results of Cold corruption, I implore anyone reading this to contact their High Council representative and demand more research into the matter.