# The Five Elements



## JAMOB (Dec 30, 2010)

*(Some people have said this is alot like a history lesson. SO be prepared for that, but hopefully it is an interesting one)*

Hello Heresy! Now, this is the first book that I am serious about writing (I have started other with no intention of finishing) so any feedback would be great. This thread will evolve over time, much like an army plog. Right now I have only some of the background stuff.

I will be using the 5 greek elements heavily, as well as LOTR style races. If any idea looks similar to yours, and your name on this forum is Revan, it may have stemmed from you. Sorry Revan some of your ideas are too good to pass up. For example, I am stealing the Celestials from you, except will be giving them a much different role.

I wrote stuff up for all the elements except air, i will get to that then edit.
Also I wrote out alot of stuff that i need to type up before i can post on here, and alot of it is drawings...

Q&Q appreciated


Fire

The essence of fire is heat. Fire is the human creativity, and the drive behind actions. The soul is comprised of Fire and Air, while the body is Earth and Water. The fire in the soul drives all creatures, especially the free peoples.

Dragons are varied depending on type. There are dragons of each type, the most famous being the Fire and Water Dragons. Fire Dragons are the most feared among all mainland peoples. They come down from above breathing their deadly fire, and kill many before they can be harmed. Fire dragons have souls of Fire and Air, but there is fire in their body as well. Fire dragons have very little water in them. The water is instead (mostly) replaced with fire, and it makes them hot-headed and reckless. They are the most often killed, but some how the most plentiful. Perhaps it is just that they are the only ones who will come out and fight?

Phoenixes are the embodiment of fire, and are made of only fire and air (mostly fire).

Many elves and some humans have a great affinity for fire. They recognize its awesome power, and use it to their fullest advantage. Their sorcerers are terrifying foes to face, summoning serpents made all of fire, and shooting balls of fire at their foes. Some Dwarves too see the fire as supreme, but most are stuck in the Earth. The halflings are generally uninvolved, their favorite element being food. Those of the Dark Realms will follow any aspect, including fire, but it will be a perversion of the real thing. They will take all that is evil about the aspect and use it against their foe. With fire, they take its sheer destructive power and its call to fight against their opponents. They will use fire to make their enemies do something stupid through hubris, and then destroy them with that same fire. On the other hand if uncorrupted fire will make the most beautiful things of all the elements.

Water

The essence of water is the cold. Water is human emotion and intuition, often changing and flowing. However, water flows unlike fire which flickers. Therefore it is more predictable and easier to understand. Water is everywhere. It takes up most of the worlds surface. The body is Earth and Water, while the soul is comprised of Fire and Air.

Dragons are varied depending on type. There are dragons of each type, the most famous being the Fire and Water Dragons. Water dragons are most commonly Sea Serpents, and are similar to giant snakes. They tear ships to pieces and prevent much trade. They have no weapons but their bodies, and that is enough. Another prevalent type of Water Dragon is the Ice Dragon. They live in the mountains, rarely coming out. They breath a mist that freezes targets instead of the usual fire.

Syrens are famously of the water element. They draw passing ships to them only to crash them on the rocks. From the Syrens came the idea that Water is a crafty and cruel element, while in reality it has its good and its bad like all the other elements.

Many Elves and humans have an affinity for water. Many love it for its beauty and grace, while some for its raw destructive power. Water wizards are fearsome foes, crashing waves upon their enemies or freezing them where they stand. The most common types of water fighting are Water Dancing, a sword fighting tradition meant for smaller warriors, enabling them to destroy much larger foes, and spear fighting. Spear are the staple weapon of the water tribes. Hunting is very important for water. Most warriors use spears, and some spears are incredibly deadly. Another common weapon is the one-handed axe. This is common in the north, where the barbarians live and raid.

Some Dwarves too see the water as supreme, but most are stuck in the Earth. The halflings are generally uninvolved, their favorite element being food. Those of the Dark Realms will follow any aspect, including water, but it will be a perversion of the real thing. They will take all that is evil about the aspect and use it against their foe. With water, they take its sheer destructive power and its seductiveness against its enemies. They will use water to make their enemies do something stupid through greek, and then destroy them with that same water. On the other hand if uncorrupted water will make beautiful things and sustain life.

Earth

The essence of Earth is strength. Earth is the strongest element, and the one that can withstand the most. However, it lacks the subtleties available to the other elements. Earth takes up a great portion of the world, and is essential to most societies. It is also prevalent in people. The body is Earth and Water, while the soul is comprised of Fire and Air.

Dragons are varied depending on type. There are dragons of each type, the most famous being the Fire and Water Dragons. Earth dragons tend to stay hidden as hills or mountains, and most are asleep, and have been for thousands of years. There is one tale of a boy who explored a cave, only to find the entrance had disappeared when he returned to it. It was investigated by he and his friends, and when they could not find it they told people. Soldiers examined the hill for secret passage ways, possibly leading to criminals in hiding. Instead they found that the mountain was a sleeping dragon who had yawned. That is how the boy entered. They woke the dragon and it, enraged, attack them, destroying their whole village in a mighty earthquake before returning to sleep.

Giants and Golems are common earth-creatures.

Most dwarves and some humans have an affinity for earth. They love it for its hardiness and its strength. Earth magic is incredibly powerful. There are enchanted objects that are incredibly powerful. There is also the ability to entomb enemies in the earth and to summon powerful elementals for aid in battle. Some Elves too see the fire as supreme, but most are too busy with other elements. The halflings are generally uninvolved, their favorite element being food. Those of the Dark Realms will follow any aspect, including earth, but it will be a perversion of the real thing. They will take all that is evil about the aspect and use it against their foe. They will use Earth to trap enemies before slaughtering them, as well as using its strength to smash their enemies apart. However, when uncorrupted it can be used to craft incredible weapons and objects, as well as create amazing statues.

Air

The essence of Air is movement. Air is the most rapidly changing element, and as such its temples never stay in one place. It is common for the places of concentration for the air to be moving, and for the tribes to be as well. Air is in two parts, the Aether and the Aer. Aether (described below) is heavenly, while Aer (air) is earthly. Air is therefore the most heavenly element, and its followers are the most spiritual. The soul is comprised of Fire and Air, while the body is Earth and Water. Air is often expressed as the need for change in life.

Dragons are varied depending on type. There are dragons of each type, the most famous being the Fire and Water Dragons. Air dragons, however, are very dangerous if aroused. The most common form is the Green Dragon. Like most other dragons, there are two forms: the spiritual and the earthly. Air dragons also come in the form of sprytes, which are basically small green dragons that hover around and love to torment the inhabitants of the world. Sprytes are a failed experiment of the darker powers, who tried to recreate the mighty green dragons for their own use, and instead created something much smaller and more annoying. Green dragons rarely stay still, using superior speed and agility to defeat their foes. They are the smallest form of dragon in their earthly form.

Other common air creatures include faeries and all sorts of sprytes. Faeries are mischievous but all together good, while sprytes are inherently evil. Neither are seen much, but both are potent threats to society.

Some humans have an affinity for air. They love it for its beauty and movement. Air magic is incredibly powerful. There is the ability to turn invisible, as well as move rapidly. Most spells have to do with stealth, speed, or travel and can include portals to different temples or places of concentration. Some Elves realize the true beauty and power of air, but most are too busy with other elements. Dwarves will not even look at the air, let alone follow its path. The halflings are generally uninvolved, their favorite element being food. Those of the Dark Realms will follow any aspect, including air, but it will be a perversion of the real thing. They will take all that is evil about the aspect and use it against their foe. The enemy often use air to assassinate their enemies, and to listen in on places where they should not. However, in its uncorrupted form air is the most heavenly of the four.

Aether

The heavens are one and the same as the Aether. Aether is air, but it is more godly: it is the pure form of air, the kind that the gods breath. All the spiritual beings are made up partly of Aether, with some of each other element as well. Unlike the other elements Aether cannot be corrupted. However, though the creatures of the Aether are pure in being they have their own agenda, separate from that of the mortal races. They are therefore not to be trusted. What they do is rarely for the good of mortals.

Most of the worlds people have forgotten the Aether so much that they do not even remember its true name. Only the northern Air Temple, blest with the care of the Aetherak, the ancient weapons, remembers its true name. Other temples call it the Ether. All the worlds other peoples, save for a few faithful, call it the Other. Many associate it with all that is evil, and only the few faithful still regard it with honor. In some societies the worship of the Aether is punishable by death, as many see it as evil. There is a constant persecution of the faithful in cities, although the numbers of faithful are decreasing over time. They are moving to the countryside, and to the wild. Their belief is that the Aether is responsible for all the beauty in the world.

There are heavenly beings known as Celestials that come down from above shining in light and fight in the worlds battles. There have only been six confirmed sightings of them to date, although every man in power claims to have seen them in one form. This is in doubt, however, because these are generally the same men who are caught lying about other things, and who have a great hatred for the Aether, calling it the Other. They do not realize that the Celestials are in fact of the Aether.

*EDIT* I added in air. I will type up the other stuff I have as soon as I can.


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## Ambush Beast (Oct 31, 2010)

*Hi*

I think I was expecting a story but instead I felt like I was back in school receiving instruction from my teachers. That said, it wasn't bad at all, however it was somewhat boring but educating at the same time. Keep at it.

Was this the set-up for the story you are yet to bring?


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## JAMOB (Dec 30, 2010)

yeah this thread is like a plog. i am right now doing the background and stuff, most of this I am making up but basing it off greece or some other culture. It is a work in progress. The story will come hopefully by christmas... at this point I have a one sentence description of the book.

"The son of the Barbarian King of the North must come to terms with his past, and with his future."

I will get into the tribes later, I have it written but not typed up. I have to study for a history test now but when I can I will edit in the air section and type up what i have written.
it will be a story but as of now it is just background stuff


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## JAMOB (Dec 30, 2010)

*Dragons*

So, guys, I typed up some stuff about Dragons, just a little more in depth than what is above and also more organized. I will upload that when I can, and I will try to find the papers... I lost my whole basis for the book but hopefully it is in my room somewhere :/

*EDIT* thought I might as well post it. Sorry it took me so long, i kept forgetting... I havent actually written more but I hopefully will soon.

Here it is, Dragons.


*NOTE* Some of this is repetitive, such as the Dragons by Element section. However, I moved it here to make it more organized and then expanded on it.

There are two types of dragons, earthly and spiritual. Each dragon has both forms and assumes one at any given time.

Earthly dragons are more commonly seen. They are like giant (usually), monstrous beasts that can fly. All true dragons fly. Very few groups will work with dragons, most slaying them viciously. Those that do choose to work with dragons are destroyed and called demonspawn. In general dragons are hated and feareed.

Spiritual Dragons are much different. They are all roughly the same size, growing bigger through age. All dragons have a Spiritual and Earthly form, but most choose to reside in the earthly realms. It is very difficult to change between the two forms and the two worlds. In order to do so it is necessary to turn your body into pure energy and then guide it along through very dangerous places to the spiritual realm, where it is possible to transform into the more powerful spiritual form of a dragon.

When a Dragons earthly body dies their spirit goes without the body to the spiritual realm, and will still have a body there. However, it will not be nearly as powerful as it had been when on earth. For this reason many dragons choose to attempt the journey on their own instead of dying.

To return to the earthly realm is even more difficult, and seldom attempted. The spiritual realm is so much superior that most do not want to. However, some do. Those become the most feared of all dragons. They have a greater knowledge of themselves and their abilities from having gone to the spiritual world, and almost always take some pure energy with them to make them even stronger.

Spiritual dragons breathe not fire but pure energy. If one were to somehow get to earth in its spiritual form, the whole world would cower before it and it would take an alliance of all the dragons in the world to defeat it. The northern air temple is the only place in the world that could defeat one, and even then many of them would die, and it could only be one of the weaker dragons.

Dragons by element

Dragons are varied depending on type. There are dragons of each type, the most famous being the Fire and Water Dragons.

Fire Dragons are the most feared among all mainland peoples. They come down from above breathing their deadly fire, and kill many before they can be harmed. Fire dragons have souls of Fire and Air, but there is fire in their body as well. Fire dragons have very little water in them. The water in them is instead (mostly) replaced with fire, and it makes them hot-headed and reckless. They are the most often killed, but some how the most plentiful. The most commonly seen dragons breath fire, and they are the most feared in the mainland.
Perhaps it is just that they are the only ones who will come out and fight?

Water dragons are most commonly Sea Serpents, and are similar to giant snakes. They tear ships to pieces and prevent much trade. They have no weapons but their bodies, and that is enough. However, Sea Serpents are not technically classified as dragons as they cannot fly and do not have a spiritual form. Another prevalent type of Water Dragon is the Ice Dragon. They live in the mountains, rarely coming out. They breath a mist that freezes targets instead of the usual fire. At the poles, the Ice Dragons are the most feared, as they can freeze whole villages. The greatest fear of all northmen is to return home from a raid to find their village and everyone in it frozen in place, and many of the people missing. 

Earth dragons tend to stay hidden as hills or mountains, and most are asleep, and have been for thousands of years. There is one tale of a boy who explored a cave, only to find the entrance had disappeared when he returned to it. It was investigated by he and his friends, and when they could not find it they told people. Soldiers examined the hill for secret passage ways, possibly leading to criminals in hiding. Instead they found that the mountain was a sleeping dragon who had yawned. That is how the boy entered. They woke the dragon and it, enraged, attack them, destroying their whole village in a mighty earthquake before returning to sleep.

Air dragons are very dangerous if aroused. The most common form is the Green Dragon. Like most other dragons, there are two forms: the spiritual and the earthly. Air dragons also come in the form of sprytes, which are basically small green dragons that hover around and love to torment the inhabitants of the world. Sprytes are a failed experiment of the darker powers, who tried to recreate the mighty green dragons for their own use, and instead created something much smaller and more annoying. However, sprytes are not true dragons because they do not have a spiritual form, and they are much too small. Green dragons rarely stay still, using superior speed and agility to defeat their foes. They are the smallest form of dragon in their earthly form. The Air Dragons are not feared, because they are only seen by those who look for them. They are seen only at the northern sky temple and on the mountain temple. They are said to nest in the clouds.


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