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Not sure how much steam this topic has since it’s rather niche. Just something that popped into my head and I felt like writing about. You see elementals in fantasy stories a lot, especially as summons. So, maybe there is something to consider here.
Elementals are rather simple to figure out. They are creatures composed of, born from, and/or controllers of a single element. Typically, they are powerful beings that can be friend or foe. Sometimes there are multiples of an elemental while other times there is a single one for each category. The whole thing is rather flexible outside of them needing to be connected to one element. If they have more than one then they are something else, which can be a unique monster or a special elemental. Maybe find out what happens when you combine things.
I do find it interesting that people divide the elements differently depending on their personal taste. You can have:
- Western Classic– Earth, Air, Water, Fire
- Chinese Classic– Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water
- Japanese Classic– Earth, Air, Water, Fire, Void
- Whatever You Need– Elementals of all kinds including slime, acid, etc.
That really covers everything you can think of. Mostly because of that final ‘catch all’ category that authors will use to turn anything into an element. If it’s a natural, non-animal piece of matter then it gets turned into an elemental. Even that’s not entirely true since I’ve read stories with bone and blood elementals. They still are composed of the single element, which is how they tend to be.
There are ways to make them look like combinations though. The broader the category, the more versatility they can have in attacks and forms. For example, a Fire Elemental in four element system would also have abilities connected to heat, lava, and sometimes even electricity. You might be scratching your head, but lightning and lava turn into crossover components. If they can be connected to fire then that’s where they go. They might be part of an Earth Elemental too. It really depends on if you can rationalize what they are doing while maintaining the concept of an elemental.
Is there any consistency here? No . . . Now that I think about it, people seem to go off and do whatever they want here. You have monstrous elementals composed entirely of their element. You have humanoids that simply have that element’s power and maybe a few odd physical traits. Ethereal spirits that can conjure the element is another one. The only consistency might be that they work with one category. I keep coming back to that, which is another reason why I knew I couldn’t make this a week-long topic.
Personally, I don’t use elementals that often. I find them to be overdone and a little too restrictive for what I’ve written so far. That isn’t to say that I won’t use them when I have to. I lean towards elementals that are creatures and not humanoid too, so I can’t have them around all the time. Windemere does have elemental planes where these creatures can be found and mortals can’t survive too. A rather common thing done in fantasy stories, I might add. It does mean that they would be rare and usually summoned by a caster. So, I don’t give them much attention unless I need a creature in that type of situation.
Well, that’s all I’ve got. Maybe I’ll come up with something better for Wednesday.
Legends of Windemere 
Mercedes Lackey wrote a series on elementals—Elemental Masters (like THE FIRE ROSE). I read some of them. Each person had power over an element because of contact with an elemental spirit. She used air, water, fire, and earth. She threw ice in there too, but the catch was that a fire person could control it. And if course I think of Avatar.
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Odd that fire could control ice. Did she give a reason?
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Yes. Since cold is the opposite of heat, this magic is seen as a perversion of the gift of fire. 🤷🏽♀️ I didn’t finish the book that discusses this, so I can’t really say that it makes complete sense to me. Definitely not like in Avatar.
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Definitely an odd twist. Elemental powers typical don’t overlap through polar opposites.
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Elements and elementals are a great basis for a magic system because everybody knows what they are so you don’t have to explain. Less explaining means you can get to the story instead.
I do think there are lots of interesting angles with elements and how they change the world around them. A water elemental could take up residence and the area become a bog or swamp. An earth elemental could be rocky or stony, but could also have the fluid characteristics of sand. So a writer can do tons of fun stuff with them.
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Another aspect is the mood of the elemental. This touches on how elements are usually neutral forces. They are only as helpful or harmful as their temperament.
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I fell into the “whatever the hell I wanted” category. I created Destiny the elemental. She can control all the elements, and often appears in the form of one or another. She’s basically a personal curse on one of my witches.
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So she’s a catch-all elemental?
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Kind of, yeah. She’s also completely naked in every appearance. She thinks clothes are stupid, so she appears as ice, crude oil, flames, but always her. Oh, and once as a mini tornado, but the debris outlined her shape.
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Cool. That sounds like a fun twist.
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I am currently reading a book where a human has been combined with an elemental to create four elemental/human blends. So far I discovered that the air, water and fire blends can create their element from their hands, and the earth blend can make the ground split into a huge fissure.
I find this idea fascinating.
In my writing I’ve only used the idea of elemental planes of existence, but humans can live there, too. Or at least humanoids, as my water world has merfolk and sea dragons, and a sea hag; air has flying cities, and creatures that fly, like griffons, pegasi, etc; fire, lots of volcanoes, and dragons, of course; earth is a world of greenery, forests etc. and more prosaic animals. None are composed completely of their element.
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That hybrid concept sounds familiar. Though it might have been something from comics too. With your planes, is it more that each one has a dominant element?
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Yes, that’s the case. And the creatures that live there are associated with that element, too. Series (or rather ,duo) is called elemental Worlds, Book 1 The Stones of Earth and Air, and book 2, The Stones of Fire and Water.
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