Category:Elemental

This article is about elemental magics. For elemental beings, see Elemental.

Elemental magic is based on the manipulation of certain specific categories or patterns of energy. Most elemental mages are focused in a particular element, and are only strong in effects in that particular arena. Different areas of the world define 'the elements' differently: for example, the classical Western, or Aristotelian, elements include fire, water, earth, and air, while the classical Eastern or Chinese elements are instead earth, fire, water, wood, and metal. Many other elemental systems exist, however, with varying degrees of overlap.

Elemental magic is not necessarily distinct from other sorts of magic: for example, many druids practice what could be classified as divine xylomancy.

The Elements

Fire

The element of fire is, for perhaps obvious reasons, normally associated with destruction. However, fire can be used for non-destructive purposes: acting as an artificial sun for plants, boiling a pot of water, or simply providing light to see by. Some practitioners are able to perform minor works of healing with fire magic, although it does hurt the patient a little at first. Fire magic is also known as pyromancy; its practitioners, pyromancers.

Water

Most associate the element of water with healing magic. While that is a portion of water magic, it does have other uses as well. One such use is that it can create rain. More powerful practitioners of water magic can restrict the rain to one area or keep it away from that same area. Some who use this element can control the temperature enough to make it snow instead of rain, though those with such control are usually weathered from years of practice. An even smaller number of water magicians can make it snow without changing the temperature. The formal names for water magic and its practitioners are hydromancy and hydromancers, respectively.

Earth

The Earth element is mostly a protector; it can make walls, armor, and other protective gear. However, this is not all it can do. Earth magic can move and shape dirt and stone to create structures. The earth element can also be used to repair almost any non-magical object with little or no difficulty, and can often be used to repair magical ones as well. Earth magic is often referred to as geomancy.

Air

Aeromancy, or elemental air magic, is commonly used as a detection tool for both people and things; conversely, it's also often used to hide them both as well. Air can be used as a sort of alarm on a house by setting up a ward around it. Some aeromancers have also been known to make walls of their element by forcing the air to become extremely dense in one area so as to make it functionally solid. Air magic can also be used to manipulate the weather with more versatility than water magic, although it is often more difficult to obtain the desired effect, as well.

Metal

Usually associated with the Eastern elements, the magic of elemental metal (formally, metallomancy, but rarely so called, instead: "forgecraft") is most commonly used in spells of enhancement and protection. Its only use in healing is psychiatrically: aiding a stressed (or distressed) person to withstand and overcome trauma, and in the very worst cases, 'reforging' a broken mind outright. More commonly, metallomancers will use their magic to enable complex mechanisms or devices to run more powerfully or more efficiently, and to ‘heal’ them if they break down. (A very few metallomancers (also: forgemages) have been able to confer the same benefits of enhancement onto living beings, although how this is done is a closely guarded secret, and not well understood.)

Wood

Wood magic (also called, rarely, sylvanism or xylomancy) is also usually associated with healing; however, it includes all sorts of organic growth, both plant and animal (though the latter to a lesser degree). It is often used to promote the growth of crops. Many advanced sylvanists can (and do) grow ‘fruit salad trees’ -- trees bearing more than one fruit. On similar principles, many druids use wood magic to perform 'shapeshifting', changing the form of one's body. Wood magic does have its darker uses, however, as it can be used to craft poisons, or simply induce illnesses directly by promoting bacteriological or viral growth. (See also The Island of Dr. Moreau.)

Others

Many other magics are considered elemental under one system or another: Aether, Quintessence, Spirit, Void, Lightning, Ice, Light, Shadow, Silver, Carbon, Orange, Prickle, Crystal, and Ooze are just a small selection of the various types of elemental magic known to exist.

Local Use

Among native species, the use of elemental magic is commonly seen as an inborn instinct with a certain amount of training necessary for those who pursue a refinement of their skills. The skill is extremely common in native elementally linked species, such as Salamanders, as well as native Fae. Some kitsune also demonstrate elementally linked gifts. On Yuriba, such individuals are generally only strong in one, or more rarely two specific elements; mages that are gifted in all elements are rare to the point of being considered mythological rather than actual. Air, earth, water, and fire magic are the most common local elemental gifts, although wood, metal, shadow, and light are seen more rarely, particularly among the kitsune.