Gloom Serpent

At first I thought them to be currents of magicked water flowing about the archmage, but as she came closer it seemed to be some sort of living elemental. The grey-blue serpents drifted about the mage, less like pets and more like aqueous appendages, twisting in and out of her garments and hovering about her limbs. The water that made up their forms shimmered and rippled constantly. It wasn't until I examined them closely that I realized it was not random rippling, but countless faces forming and dissolving in their ebb and flow.
-Observations of Archmage Torrens by Daithus Scrib

Classification: Elemental
Major Element: Water
Minor Elements: none
Habitat: Any (near humans)

Whether or not gloom serpents exist without human hosts is unknown, as they have only ever been observed in close proximity to powerful water magi or other humans with notable connections to the Aqueous element. It is unclear if the gloom serpent is a sentient elemental in its own right or if it is merely a manifestation and extension of an existing mind.

The serpents behave much like parasites, though their hosts are rarely troubled by their company. The only resource the creatures pull seems to be sorrow and grief, which their hosts usually have plentiful supply. As old memories and sorrows are fed on, glimpses can sometimes be witnessed in the ripples on the gloom serpent's body. A haunting sight to those unaccustomed to the ominous tendencies of the water magi.

Though many of the mages accompanied by gloom serpents have been questioned about their true nature, none has ever yielded a satisfying answer. I myself questioned the Archmage Torrens directly, before her untimely demise, but with much the same result. Some have claimed this is a sign the creatures are the result of a shattered mind, splintering from decades of grief and worry into living strands of gloom.

My own theory is a bit less damning, though perhaps no less dismal. Perhaps the creatures, whether manifested or summoned, are merely a means of coping. Wracked with the sorrows of the world, these wise mages need a means to separate themselves from the bleak. The serpents serve this purpose, extracting their endless gloom and, perhaps, in return, providing some modicum of companionship to a mind that few can fathom.