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-The Elemental Plane-

The Elemental Plane is linked to the Material Plane through the equator, the source of Earth's most chaotic and violent weather, where the elements are truly at war with each other, however it is nothing compared to what the plane itself experiences. Much like it's natives, the Elemental Plane is a ever changing quagmire of strife and power. What was a marsh one day is a fiery pit of tar the next and the day after it could very well be an ocean trench. The reason for this is that the plane is so very closely connected to Earth, a storm in our world causes a shift in power in the Elemental Plane, every air elemental would feel it and gain power from it as well as the land itself shifting to show this surge of strength for the element, same could be said for a volcano exploding and causing the fire element to grow more common, scorching the land black and changing part of it. The plane is also guided by the wills of those that live inside it, the four Elemental Lords have the most control over it and if they war or work together the entirety of the plane could change literally over night. When there is a relative peace within the ranks of the Elementals the plane changes far slower, taking weeks to mold itself instead of days or even moments. This however means that navigating the realm is all but impossible, only those sensitive to enigma can even begin to find their way around the chaotic landscape. For the most part the plane exists as a single large orb, the elements stacked on top of each other with the Realm of Fire as the center, the Realm of Earth surrounding it followed by the Realm of Water and finally the Realm of Air forming the final layer. However, that does not mean the elements and their masters stick to these limitations, the earthen realm often juts up into and out of the water, forming solid landmasses which the water tries to swallow up. Vast plumes of lava bubble up to the surface in seemingly random locals while hellish torrents of wind funnel down through the water and earth to reach fire. The entire plane itself mimics the balance of the planet it is so closely tied, in times past each element has come to rule and then balance, currently the realm of water looms larger than it's fellows. There are very few focal points that remain the same in the Elemental Plane, more often than not these are connected to the inner sanctums each of the four elemental rulers hold though there are less powerful areas of note. Each of the four elemental lords hold sway over a direction, be it North, South, East or West and no matter how deep or high it is inside the plane, their realms are forever connected to these points, cementing the only true constants in this realm.

-Alternate Names-
Realm of the Elements, Realm of Strife, Plane of Chaos, Plane of Survival, Second Well of Magic, The Plane of Summons, World of Chaos, The Source, Shifting Hell

-Notable Features-

Palace of Eternal Ice- Ruled by the distant elemental king of water Mar. Cold and silent Mar wishes only to rest, though elementals do not truly sleep, they do go into a form of hibernation to conserve energy and Mar see no point in remaining 'awake' for long stretches of time. Mar always seems tired, as if his eternal waves have been grinding him down as well, the constant motion of his element seems to annoy, even tire him greatly. Because of this he makes his home in a massive castle of ice which is the only time his element is remotely stable, deep under the frozen waves of the Northern Ocean which is little more than a wasteland of sea and icecaps. His palace is a towering wall of ice, full of rounded shapes and shining beauty, similar to the marble palaces of the Material Plane but far outshining anything built by man.

Castle In the Sky- Carefully watched by the prideful elemental king of air Onis. Above it all, even his sibling rulers, Onis sees himself as the king of the plane as no one can rise to his heights or even reach him so that they might challenge this claim. At times he seems foolish but Onis has a wealth of experience to back up his boasting, he is not so prideful as he would ignore defeat, though it will burn the tornado king to his wits end until he rises above it, as he always does. In the distant Southern Expanse there is a blasted stretch of land, water and fire which are all hammered by unrelenting winds, often great whirlwinds of stone and flame billow up over the landscape as air demonstrates it's mastery. In the center of this howling mass if a single structure, made of clouds packed together so tightly it might as well be solid stone, an arching castle made up towers and spires that reach into the very limits of the Elemental Plane so that none may ever be higher.

Mountain Locked Fort- Held by the reclusive elemental king of earth Humus. Out of all the elemental rulers, Humus is the most reclusive, enjoying his great solitude as he sits and contemplates his position in his realm and the universe as a whole. He is the most attentive of his element, keeping a close eye and regulating it with a near feverish drive. In the Western Landmass the king resides, under the crust of the realm he makes his kingdom, above a mixture of broken mountains and rock, ore of all kinds are quite common here and stripe through the mountain range like great rainbows. Underneath however is a chasm which is home to a giant fort, made up a great gates that bar all entry, with no windows or doors beside those gates, it is built into the rock itself, there is only one way in or out and that is how the ruler of earth keeps his privacy.

Burning Arena of Fire- Captivated by the childish elemental queen of fire Incendia. As chaotic and mad as the element that spawned her, Incendia rarely has the same thought twice and is fond of anything different and new, though if she tires of something then all should be frightened. Incendia is the only elemental ruler who bares humans any mind, in fact she is quite obsessed with them as they have done more for change than almost any other species. Deep in the Eastern Lavaflats she lives, deeper than even Humus would go, Incendia makes her home near the center of the realm itself, where eternal lava and heat flow. Made out of hardened magma her 'Happy Place' looks much like a massive arena where she often pits her subjects to entertain her, be it through fighting or other displays, she is not above taking none elementals to her hellish pits but she is the most willing to listen to those that might wish her favor.

Focal Gates- Scattered throughout the plate are small 'gates' which resemble little more than humble arch, built out of stone, magma, ice or condensed cloud mater. They are not all they different from the construct known as 'Stonehenge' in the Material Plane, about the size of a small one-story house, these points are tied into the other planes, they have an aura of about ten feet in a bubble where the shifting chaos of the realm is forced to move around them. These are the only safe zones, though they are rare and their true number is unknown. Beings visiting from other planes often come through these gates as they are the easiest way to get into the Elemental Plane and the only safe landing zones.

-Non Elementals-

Common Creatures- Many creatures from the other planes cross over or borrow power from the Elemental Plane, they have learned to adapt to the ever chaotic nature of the panes, from the terrible salamanders to the dim witted rock giants the realm is drowned in strange yet dangerous beasts. More often than not these are Fey creatures, as the Elemental Plane shares a deep connection with their's, though creatures and people from the Physical Plane have been trapped there from time to time and they either adapt or die out. However, any creature or being that finds itself in the enigma saturated plane can suffer rather odd effects, sometimes mutating out of control or just flat out exploding if their bodies don't manage to adapt to these harsh lands. While not true elementals these creatures often take on attributes from one element or another to help them hunt weaker elementals and other creatures that have manage to make a home in the plane. Unlike true elementals, the flora and fauna that battle it out in this realm are not restricted to any one element and can freely take aspects of several or consume those of opposite elements, these are both things that true elementals are very leery of in their own kind. In the Elemental Plane creatures like lava-wolves, which are more akin to six legged badgers who burrow through lava-tubes, are common, attacking and ripping apart anything in their path. Another equally strange creature is a titanic crab like creature with small ice-flows growing out of their shells, drifting with the current in eternal slumber, until something makes the mistake of calling these ice-flows home and then the crab feasts. The diversity in the plane is stunning to the extreme, everywhere one glances there are new species adapting and dying out all in a single breath.

Common Plants- Much like the animals, the plants native to the Elemental Plane come from other planes, either transported or blown there by the winds of chance. Likewise the plants have been forced to adapt to the harsh nature of nature, able to take on the heat, cold, water and crushing rock of the plane. Some of the rarest and most destructive plants come from the elemental plane, nurtured by it's fierce environment, but they are equally sought after for their regents and special properties. Many of the plants of this realm are just as likely to prey on each other, the elementals and general fauna as they are to just remain and absorb essence from the world around them. Some of the most notable examples are the bombtree, it resembles a palm-tree though covered in a thick rocky armor up the truck and the 'nuts' are in reality lump of rock filled with lava which explodes when struck, it drops these bombs on intruded and blows bits off them which the tree will feed off of through it's roots. The plant-life of this realm swing between the familiar, like the bombtree, and the flat out alien which seemingly have no place off Mars. Like the plane and the animals, the plants are more than willing to change and adapt, matching the shifting landscape with their various adaptions allowing them to make use of such rare and valuable resources which no normal flora could manage.

-The Elementals-

The true natives of the plane, the elementals are beings of pure willpower bonded to enigma and bonded to one element or another, the power and width of this affinity differs from one elemental to another. Each one is sentient but very much alien, what passes for society among the elementals boils down to fear and respect for their four rulers, barring the four any elemental who is strong enough can take whatever it wants and do as it pleases. There are of course rules in place to make sure the chaos is at least manageable, but in large the elementals are a very free people with little in the way of restraint or understanding. Said rules are bare bones to the extreme and each elemental reads them their own way, there is only one which they all abide. They live to survive and gain more power, they are obsessed with being as strong as possible. Might makes right, the strong do as they will and the weak must either figure out a way around their rival's strengths or find a way to gain power themselves. Over the great many years tyrants have risen and fallen but the elementals still believe in their rather savage base ideas to carry them and the next generations into a brighter, more diverse tomorrow.

Form and Function- In their most basic state an elemental has no body, they are little more than raw enigma which has a will of it's own, however they are connected to one element or another when they are created. In spite of the forms some take, elementals do not have true genders, they look and sound like whatever they wish, even those that might mimic the male or female form might not consider themselves as a gender, there are some who take to the the idea and are considered rather 'odd' by other elementals. To show off their power the elementals form themselves a body out of their attuned element, they are careful to never make it too large or too small. If the body is too large for them to retain easily it will just begin to break down under the stress, rendering them an easy target. If too small they can be easily caught and handled without much trouble. Most elementals follow the ideal of one-third, meaning that their bodies at any one time are kept together using only a third of their power, allowing them to focus on other tasks and bring their will to bare on the elements around them if need be. There are several ways to create an elemental, the most common is 'budding' which happen when an elemental loses part of itself, either through an attack or just misplacing a bit of it's body during every day activities, these fragments have a chance of becoming a fully functional elemental, with some of the memories and personality of the one who spawned it. Elementals can willingly create these buddings if they wish but very few do as giving up even a small part of their power is something most elementals are very weary of. The other most common form of creation is just enigma swelling up in a local and imbuing the native resources with it's power, randomly this can at times create a 'natural' elemental, though rare they start out as little more than naive children and typically don't last very long. Any other method is typically a variation of one of those two, sometimes even a mix. Elementals can gift each other their power, provided they are the same element, though this is also rather rare as charity is not a concept that elementals understand very well, even those related to them are seen with the same fondness as just another rival. Normally elementals feed of the energy that swells within their realm, however they are not above feeding off the creatures of their realm or each other, taking the power and memories of their neighbors for their own greed. This works only to a point, elementals can only prey on those of their own element, though this restriction does not apply to non-elementals such as the creatures adapted to their realm. It is possible for an elemental to devour another who isn't of their clan but to do so creates very disastrous results. Because of this it is a rule that elementals will only prey on their own element, any who breaks from this rule are subject to the fear of the entire plane and the attention of the four elemental lords.

Use as Summons- Because of their bodies and wills being affected so strongly by enigma, it should come as no surprise that beings who manipulate enigma found ways to abuse this connection. Any being skilled in 'magic' can reach through the barrier of the planes and take an elemental, as they are just raw power without a true body it costs very little for the mage to bring an elemental to another plane. However, elementals need high amounts of enigma to survive and remain stable, too little and they will be pulled back to their own plane or risk being trapped. If trapped they might suffer being truly bonded to their form and will be no longer considered an elemental, but some kind of mortal. Once summoned the elemental must feed off it's master, the mage can restrict the amount of enigma flowing to the elemental and punish it for not following orders, if they don't outright assume full control over the elemental to begin with. However, if a mage makes a mistake or misjudges the elemental they can find themselves in a battle of wills, the victor will decide the fate of the fallen and the outcome very rarely involves mercy. It doesn't often happen but occasionally a magi enters a deal with or impresses a very powerful elemental, a being who they could not hope to overpower, these elementals can be consulted with for secrets of controlling the flow of enigma and their patron element. These insights can grant a great boon to the mage, making them far more dangerous without adding any extra power.

Lifeblood Flaw- All elementals, no matter what type or level of power, can be harmed through the use of enigma based attacks, weaponry or abilities. They are so sensitive to enigma that even in some small way these can affect them, as does the Materiel Plane's chaotic nature give them their strength. Those who can manipulate and harness enigma are the most dangerous, shaping an elemental's own life-force against it and laying them low. Still, even if it does weaken them stronger elementals will understand how to minimalism the affects or deflect the attack, knowing full well the damage it can cause them. It is a major crux of their kind and one that no amount of adapting or power seems to be able to fix, they are simply too closely bound to this chaotic resource and it could very well be their doom as easily as it is their salvation.

Power Surge- When the Material plane changes it affects the Elemental Plane and the elementals themselves, it can cause great shifts in the landscape and for very weak elementals to gain massive amounts of power over the course of a single day. The only problem is that these sudden surges of power can strain an elemental's will, it is hard to adapt an ocean's worth of strength when you only know the ripple of a puddle. The four elemental lords sponge most of this power for themselves, allowing some to trickle down and in turn they keep their weaker subjects from going insane, though even they can't absorb all of it less they as well reach their own limits. From time to time an elemental will go insane and must be destroyed in spite of how careful they are, these creatures are a danger to themselves and everything around them, preying on other elementals and growing even stronger and more unstable as they no longer head the only rule this realm has. These power surges also happen if an elemental taking in the power of one of another element, such as an earth elemental preying an a water elemental and taking it's strength for it's own. Because the four elements are so drastically different the elementals have trouble understanding how their new element works and their minds are shattered trying to comprehend such a new and fundamentally 'wrong' existence. These elementals are the most dangerous as they wield the elements in new and frightening ways, bonding them together and becoming more of a mindless vacuum of power. Thankfully these happenstances are very rare, the elementals are far too frightened of the destruction it could cause to break the rule and of course the ever watching lords are quick to strike down any who might threaten their power, leading the creation of these rare monstrosities almost unheard of. Sadly the ramifications of these rampages have long reaching affects, being one of the few things that every elemental fears.

-The Elementals Divided-

Earth- The first and oldest breed of elementals, they are said to have been formed with the very planet itself and were spawned from it's desolate crust. The earth element is all about being strong and enduring, no matter what happens they expect to survive it, shrug it off and continue on as if nothing happened. The Earth elementals cover a vast array, from general rock and stone to more specialized elementals who are made up of various metals. There are elementals of sand and particulates, some who are made up of flint and can create sparks when they slam their body parts together. Earth is also the only element which include living things, as many earth elementals have plants growing on or in them, after many years the plant and the elemental become one, each feeding and befitting off the other. The strongest earth elementals are living mountains, rarely ever moving unless challenged or disturbed but when they act they shake the ground for miles around, letting everyone know when they are enraged.

Fire- The second oldest type of elemental, they were born from the lava that bubbled up from the depths, forged in the blood of the planet. Fire elementals are at best a bit random, every bit as excitable as their element, their emotions can change so quickly one can be be enjoying itself one moment and the next it's at your throat. Though fire might seem like a restrictive element, it has far more verity than most would expect, from lightning elementals to those who embody certain colored flames such as blue or orange. The most powerful fire elementals enjoy lording their power over others, often bragging of their great ability and power, though if tested they are more than willing to turn their immediate area into a burning wasteland just to prove a point.

Water- The third in the line of creation, water elementals came from the boiling seas which aided in cooling down the planet. Water elementals are some of the hardest to pin down, like their element the are so very flexible and can be stoic, unmoving or a boiling pot of rage. They typically take on one of the three base states of water, though some might take different variations of one of the states, such as boiling water or black-ice. The more powerful water elementals can easily switch between the different states of water at will or even mix and match them to create quite an impressive show of force. When their anger is aroused, a water elemental can strike with the force of an entire ocean, baring down with a fury unmatched.

Air- The final member of the elemental family is the air elements, formed when the planet began to cool and a large amount of gases were released into the air. Taking the form of living tornadoes, storms and typhoons, air elementals can darken the sky as they manipulate the air around them. While stranger than their more physical kin, air elementals come in a variety of forms and types, from those who are like the different sorts of clouds and even some who are so specialized that they take on the the properties of sound or even chemical bases gasses. Air elementals can condense the air around them and that of their bodies, making it as hard as steel, any who think an air elemental is nothing but hot air will be in for a shock. It should also be noted that as they are not fire or water elementals, they can't create or direct rain or lightning, though both often come about through their manipulation of the weather and are able to circumvent lightning without harm. The most powerful of their kind can create winds that lash with enough force to lance flesh from bone and scatter mountains in their wake.

Hybrids- Insanely rare but they do exist, hybrid elementals embody more than one element, though typically they are made up of two very limited aspects of the elementals halves, such as sulfur from the earth side and bubbling foam from the water side. Hybrids come in two varieties, the second are two elements bonded together, such as fire and earth being magma, unable to claim being a true member of either side but something new. Any hybrids that exist these days are the shattered remains of those who went insane and had to be destroyed, but since they grew up in this odd state from such a tiny, weak form they manage to stay sane. Because of the emotional and mental distress the 'parent' suffered, surviving hybrids will have no memories or personality traits from the tormented elemental they were spawned from, instead they have to build themselves from the ground up much the same way a natural spawned elemental would. However, because of the fear the original hybrids caused the younger sane ones tend to be the target of fear and anger, though at the same time they are often left alone as no elemental wants to find out if feeding on one of these 'stable' hybrids would cause another wave of insanity and throw the realm into more chaos than it can handle.

The Bound- It doesn't happen often, if an elemental manages to somehow cut itself off from an influx of new energy and for a time just consolidates it within it's element shell, it's will and 'spirit' can be forever bound to the shell. Elementals in this state can never grow in strength, they are stuck at whatever size and amount of power they had when they were first bound. Elementals in this state still hold a power over the elements but no where near as powerful as a 'true elemental' which can shape it's body and the elements around itself at a moments notice. This tends to happen one of two reasons, the first being a magi master who locks their summoned elemental to a form and forces it to remain that way and the second is that the elemental was trapped on the Materiel Plane in a time of low magic and was just unable to return. Elementals who suffer this fate often grow depressed and tend to lose the will to live, not used to being so constrained they badly miss their freedom and if this depression isn't curved the elementals can starve themselves of energy until their will falls apart and they die. Some elementals will just break down and follow their magi to the bitter end, seeing no reason to live for themselves any more, becoming little more than mindless servants. There are a couple cases of the elementals bouncing back, one or two even managing to return to their home realm, the bound elementals are however not recognized by their kin and are treated like a Fey, human or some other being not of their own. The few bound ones who manage to remain sane tend to default back to the Material Plane where they act as master mages, teachers and openers of the planer pathways to humans and other beings who might have the power to travel them, whatever they can think of to keep themselves useful. One of the few perks of being a bound elemental is that it can still shape it's form, just not gain mass, it can also exist in times of low to no enigma, at least as long as it doesn't try to use any of it's remaining abilities. There are even rumors that some of the bound can be considered truly organic, to the point that they can mix their blood with humans, though this is possibly just the lewd imaginings of an alchemist working too many late hours.

-History-

It is impossible to say when the elemental plane first came into being, though the natives claim that it is a mirror of the planet itself and came about at the same time it did. The truth, whatever it might be, is impossible to know as the elementals never developed reading or writing, they simply remember events that come to pass or orally pass them on to others in the form of stories, often bragging about their own power. Not all elementals agree with this of course and some state the creation of their people and their plane came at a later date, but without any proof nothing can be completely trusted. What all do agree on is that even in ancient times there were four elemental lords, the originals which the current rulers patterned themselves off of when they in turn took power. Their names were Grandmother Mountain the earth elemental, Grandfather Ash the fire elemental, Father River the water elemental and finally Mother Wind the air elemental. Though elementals do not fully understand the concept of parents as a living creature knows them, they widely consider these four with the beginning of their race and revere them almost as if they were gods. When they are asked about them they add on titles, as they see these parental names as honorifics rather than true declarations of genetic connection. Regardless the four ruled over the plane for an unknown hundreds and hundreds of years, they fought against the first wave of unstable elementals created by the changing Material Plane, which brought about the very first hybrids in the process, these were quickly exterminated under the rule of the original four. The plane continued to change and thrive, until a strange natural earth elemental was born, weakly it had an even stranger connection to the new organic creatures who lived in the Material Plane. It was an oddity but left alone as new divisions of the main four elementals came about all the time. Then it happened, a massive extinction event. Normally these didn't affect the Elemental Plane too badly unless caused by the planet reshaping itself, but this time it was a mix of poor conditions and a nasty host of viral agents. This caused an odd power surge, one that no elemental felt, expect for a certain little oddity and it grew, very fast. It ballooned up to a massive size, dwarfing even the four rulers as the young elemental lost control of it's power, promptly going insane an began to try to destroy all inside the plane. The four fought hard against the upstart, they clashed again and again but soon it became clear that the rulers were on the losing side of the battle.

Desperate they tried something new, the elemental rulers used what was left of their raw might and focused it on their world, ripping it's main building blocks in a new way which none before imagined. They managed to breech the walls of their realm and working together they pooled all their power to force the attacker through the portal but in this massive effort the four lords were in turn destroyed, the effort to suppress, rip a gigantic hole in their realm and then beat back their foe had all added up and it was too much for even these titans. Pushing out of their realm the insane elemental was forced into the ravages of the Abyss where it was warped, overwhelmed and broken down by a force stronger than itself. Within the plane the survivors swore to remember their fallen lords and in a rare moment of selflessness many of their kind came together and fed their powers into four of the most powerful elementals remaining and these four grew into the rulers who preside over the plane to this day. Cunning and careful the new rulers were quick to dominate their kin and prove to be worthy successors, fighting off the surges which might doom their lesser kin and destroying any who might breech the only law of their realm. The plane has remained much in this state, though it changed near constantly nothing of true note happened beyond personal grudges and the ire of the lords which might be turned against elementals who might try and take their power away. At least until the Fey race figured out how to summon the elementals, the two races are rather indifferent to each other as the elementals believe any who were unable to resist these alien creatures deserved whatever fate they were given. As the Fey made summoning servants popular, opening rifts to the elemental realm became very common, even letting creatures from other realms fall through the cracks far more rapidly than ever before, allowing the plane to evolve at a frightening rate. It was new, a change, but the elementals were use to changes and even when a few magi from the Material Plane learned to summon them, little was changed save for the quality of an elemental's story which could vary widely depending on what sort of beings they interacted with. Even the elemental lords found themselves meeting with Fey and mortals alike, often to utterly crush them under their might, but the rare few who held their attention would be remembered long after their entire family line was dust. Then came a time of inactivity, the Material Plane was cut off, while not the first time it was certainly the longest that any could remember. In this time the plane continued on, warping, changing and adapting as they always did without a second thought to the future or past. Then they felt the pathways open again, though few if any elementals were brought over or decided to cross into to the Material Plane, the majority acted much as if it remained closed to them. After all, what happened outside of the plane was no business of their's and would not help the elementals continue on their drive to gain power and to evolve.

Description
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-The Elemental Plane-

The Elemental Plane is linked to the Material Plane through the equator, the source of Earth's most chaotic and violent weather, where the elements are truly at war with each other, however it is nothing compared to what the plane itself experiences. Much like it's natives, the Elemental Plane is a ever changing quagmire of strife and power. What was a marsh one day is a fiery pit of tar the next and the day after it could very well be an ocean trench. The reason for this is that the plane is so very closely connected to Earth, a storm in our world causes a shift in power in the Elemental Plane, every air elemental would feel it and gain power from it as well as the land itself shifting to show this surge of strength for the element, same could be said for a volcano exploding and causing the fire element to grow more common, scorching the land black and changing part of it. The plane is also guided by the wills of those that live inside it, the four Elemental Lords have the most control over it and if they war or work together the entirety of the plane could change literally over night. When there is a relative peace within the ranks of the Elementals the plane changes far slower, taking weeks to mold itself instead of days or even moments. This however means that navigating the realm is all but impossible, only those sensitive to enigma can even begin to find their way around the chaotic landscape. For the most part the plane exists as a single large orb, the elements stacked on top of each other with the Realm of Fire as the center, the Realm of Earth surrounding it followed by the Realm of Water and finally the Realm of Air forming the final layer. However, that does not mean the elements and their masters stick to these limitations, the earthen realm often juts up into and out of the water, forming solid landmasses which the water tries to swallow up. Vast plumes of lava bubble up to the surface in seemingly random locals while hellish torrents of wind funnel down through the water and earth to reach fire. The entire plane itself mimics the balance of the planet it is so closely tied, in times past each element has come to rule and then balance, currently the realm of water looms larger than it's fellows. There are very few focal points that remain the same in the Elemental Plane, more often than not these are connected to the inner sanctums each of the four elemental rulers hold though there are less powerful areas of note. Each of the four elemental lords hold sway over a direction, be it North, South, East or West and no matter how deep or high it is inside the plane, their realms are forever connected to these points, cementing the only true constants in this realm.

-Alternate Names-
Realm of the Elements, Realm of Strife, Plane of Chaos, Plane of Survival, Second Well of Magic, The Plane of Summons, World of Chaos, The Source, Shifting Hell

-Notable Features-

Palace of Eternal Ice- Ruled by the distant elemental king of water Mar. Cold and silent Mar wishes only to rest, though elementals do not truly sleep, they do go into a form of hibernation to conserve energy and Mar see no point in remaining 'awake' for long stretches of time. Mar always seems tired, as if his eternal waves have been grinding him down as well, the constant motion of his element seems to annoy, even tire him greatly. Because of this he makes his home in a massive castle of ice which is the only time his element is remotely stable, deep under the frozen waves of the Northern Ocean which is little more than a wasteland of sea and icecaps. His palace is a towering wall of ice, full of rounded shapes and shining beauty, similar to the marble palaces of the Material Plane but far outshining anything built by man.

Castle In the Sky- Carefully watched by the prideful elemental king of air Onis. Above it all, even his sibling rulers, Onis sees himself as the king of the plane as no one can rise to his heights or even reach him so that they might challenge this claim. At times he seems foolish but Onis has a wealth of experience to back up his boasting, he is not so prideful as he would ignore defeat, though it will burn the tornado king to his wits end until he rises above it, as he always does. In the distant Southern Expanse there is a blasted stretch of land, water and fire which are all hammered by unrelenting winds, often great whirlwinds of stone and flame billow up over the landscape as air demonstrates it's mastery. In the center of this howling mass if a single structure, made of clouds packed together so tightly it might as well be solid stone, an arching castle made up towers and spires that reach into the very limits of the Elemental Plane so that none may ever be higher.

Mountain Locked Fort- Held by the reclusive elemental king of earth Humus. Out of all the elemental rulers, Humus is the most reclusive, enjoying his great solitude as he sits and contemplates his position in his realm and the universe as a whole. He is the most attentive of his element, keeping a close eye and regulating it with a near feverish drive. In the Western Landmass the king resides, under the crust of the realm he makes his kingdom, above a mixture of broken mountains and rock, ore of all kinds are quite common here and stripe through the mountain range like great rainbows. Underneath however is a chasm which is home to a giant fort, made up a great gates that bar all entry, with no windows or doors beside those gates, it is built into the rock itself, there is only one way in or out and that is how the ruler of earth keeps his privacy.

Burning Arena of Fire- Captivated by the childish elemental queen of fire Incendia. As chaotic and mad as the element that spawned her, Incendia rarely has the same thought twice and is fond of anything different and new, though if she tires of something then all should be frightened. Incendia is the only elemental ruler who bares humans any mind, in fact she is quite obsessed with them as they have done more for change than almost any other species. Deep in the Eastern Lavaflats she lives, deeper than even Humus would go, Incendia makes her home near the center of the realm itself, where eternal lava and heat flow. Made out of hardened magma her 'Happy Place' looks much like a massive arena where she often pits her subjects to entertain her, be it through fighting or other displays, she is not above taking none elementals to her hellish pits but she is the most willing to listen to those that might wish her favor.

Focal Gates- Scattered throughout the plate are small 'gates' which resemble little more than humble arch, built out of stone, magma, ice or condensed cloud mater. They are not all they different from the construct known as 'Stonehenge' in the Material Plane, about the size of a small one-story house, these points are tied into the other planes, they have an aura of about ten feet in a bubble where the shifting chaos of the realm is forced to move around them. These are the only safe zones, though they are rare and their true number is unknown. Beings visiting from other planes often come through these gates as they are the easiest way to get into the Elemental Plane and the only safe landing zones.

-Non Elementals-

Common Creatures- Many creatures from the other planes cross over or borrow power from the Elemental Plane, they have learned to adapt to the ever chaotic nature of the panes, from the terrible salamanders to the dim witted rock giants the realm is drowned in strange yet dangerous beasts. More often than not these are Fey creatures, as the Elemental Plane shares a deep connection with their's, though creatures and people from the Physical Plane have been trapped there from time to time and they either adapt or die out. However, any creature or being that finds itself in the enigma saturated plane can suffer rather odd effects, sometimes mutating out of control or just flat out exploding if their bodies don't manage to adapt to these harsh lands. While not true elementals these creatures often take on attributes from one element or another to help them hunt weaker elementals and other creatures that have manage to make a home in the plane. Unlike true elementals, the flora and fauna that battle it out in this realm are not restricted to any one element and can freely take aspects of several or consume those of opposite elements, these are both things that true elementals are very leery of in their own kind. In the Elemental Plane creatures like lava-wolves, which are more akin to six legged badgers who burrow through lava-tubes, are common, attacking and ripping apart anything in their path. Another equally strange creature is a titanic crab like creature with small ice-flows growing out of their shells, drifting with the current in eternal slumber, until something makes the mistake of calling these ice-flows home and then the crab feasts. The diversity in the plane is stunning to the extreme, everywhere one glances there are new species adapting and dying out all in a single breath.

Common Plants- Much like the animals, the plants native to the Elemental Plane come from other planes, either transported or blown there by the winds of chance. Likewise the plants have been forced to adapt to the harsh nature of nature, able to take on the heat, cold, water and crushing rock of the plane. Some of the rarest and most destructive plants come from the elemental plane, nurtured by it's fierce environment, but they are equally sought after for their regents and special properties. Many of the plants of this realm are just as likely to prey on each other, the elementals and general fauna as they are to just remain and absorb essence from the world around them. Some of the most notable examples are the bombtree, it resembles a palm-tree though covered in a thick rocky armor up the truck and the 'nuts' are in reality lump of rock filled with lava which explodes when struck, it drops these bombs on intruded and blows bits off them which the tree will feed off of through it's roots. The plant-life of this realm swing between the familiar, like the bombtree, and the flat out alien which seemingly have no place off Mars. Like the plane and the animals, the plants are more than willing to change and adapt, matching the shifting landscape with their various adaptions allowing them to make use of such rare and valuable resources which no normal flora could manage.

-The Elementals-

The true natives of the plane, the elementals are beings of pure willpower bonded to enigma and bonded to one element or another, the power and width of this affinity differs from one elemental to another. Each one is sentient but very much alien, what passes for society among the elementals boils down to fear and respect for their four rulers, barring the four any elemental who is strong enough can take whatever it wants and do as it pleases. There are of course rules in place to make sure the chaos is at least manageable, but in large the elementals are a very free people with little in the way of restraint or understanding. Said rules are bare bones to the extreme and each elemental reads them their own way, there is only one which they all abide. They live to survive and gain more power, they are obsessed with being as strong as possible. Might makes right, the strong do as they will and the weak must either figure out a way around their rival's strengths or find a way to gain power themselves. Over the great many years tyrants have risen and fallen but the elementals still believe in their rather savage base ideas to carry them and the next generations into a brighter, more diverse tomorrow.

Form and Function- In their most basic state an elemental has no body, they are little more than raw enigma which has a will of it's own, however they are connected to one element or another when they are created. In spite of the forms some take, elementals do not have true genders, they look and sound like whatever they wish, even those that might mimic the male or female form might not consider themselves as a gender, there are some who take to the the idea and are considered rather 'odd' by other elementals. To show off their power the elementals form themselves a body out of their attuned element, they are careful to never make it too large or too small. If the body is too large for them to retain easily it will just begin to break down under the stress, rendering them an easy target. If too small they can be easily caught and handled without much trouble. Most elementals follow the ideal of one-third, meaning that their bodies at any one time are kept together using only a third of their power, allowing them to focus on other tasks and bring their will to bare on the elements around them if need be. There are several ways to create an elemental, the most common is 'budding' which happen when an elemental loses part of itself, either through an attack or just misplacing a bit of it's body during every day activities, these fragments have a chance of becoming a fully functional elemental, with some of the memories and personality of the one who spawned it. Elementals can willingly create these buddings if they wish but very few do as giving up even a small part of their power is something most elementals are very weary of. The other most common form of creation is just enigma swelling up in a local and imbuing the native resources with it's power, randomly this can at times create a 'natural' elemental, though rare they start out as little more than naive children and typically don't last very long. Any other method is typically a variation of one of those two, sometimes even a mix. Elementals can gift each other their power, provided they are the same element, though this is also rather rare as charity is not a concept that elementals understand very well, even those related to them are seen with the same fondness as just another rival. Normally elementals feed of the energy that swells within their realm, however they are not above feeding off the creatures of their realm or each other, taking the power and memories of their neighbors for their own greed. This works only to a point, elementals can only prey on those of their own element, though this restriction does not apply to non-elementals such as the creatures adapted to their realm. It is possible for an elemental to devour another who isn't of their clan but to do so creates very disastrous results. Because of this it is a rule that elementals will only prey on their own element, any who breaks from this rule are subject to the fear of the entire plane and the attention of the four elemental lords.

Use as Summons- Because of their bodies and wills being affected so strongly by enigma, it should come as no surprise that beings who manipulate enigma found ways to abuse this connection. Any being skilled in 'magic' can reach through the barrier of the planes and take an elemental, as they are just raw power without a true body it costs very little for the mage to bring an elemental to another plane. However, elementals need high amounts of enigma to survive and remain stable, too little and they will be pulled back to their own plane or risk being trapped. If trapped they might suffer being truly bonded to their form and will be no longer considered an elemental, but some kind of mortal. Once summoned the elemental must feed off it's master, the mage can restrict the amount of enigma flowing to the elemental and punish it for not following orders, if they don't outright assume full control over the elemental to begin with. However, if a mage makes a mistake or misjudges the elemental they can find themselves in a battle of wills, the victor will decide the fate of the fallen and the outcome very rarely involves mercy. It doesn't often happen but occasionally a magi enters a deal with or impresses a very powerful elemental, a being who they could not hope to overpower, these elementals can be consulted with for secrets of controlling the flow of enigma and their patron element. These insights can grant a great boon to the mage, making them far more dangerous without adding any extra power.

Lifeblood Flaw- All elementals, no matter what type or level of power, can be harmed through the use of enigma based attacks, weaponry or abilities. They are so sensitive to enigma that even in some small way these can affect them, as does the Materiel Plane's chaotic nature give them their strength. Those who can manipulate and harness enigma are the most dangerous, shaping an elemental's own life-force against it and laying them low. Still, even if it does weaken them stronger elementals will understand how to minimalism the affects or deflect the attack, knowing full well the damage it can cause them. It is a major crux of their kind and one that no amount of adapting or power seems to be able to fix, they are simply too closely bound to this chaotic resource and it could very well be their doom as easily as it is their salvation.

Power Surge- When the Material plane changes it affects the Elemental Plane and the elementals themselves, it can cause great shifts in the landscape and for very weak elementals to gain massive amounts of power over the course of a single day. The only problem is that these sudden surges of power can strain an elemental's will, it is hard to adapt an ocean's worth of strength when you only know the ripple of a puddle. The four elemental lords sponge most of this power for themselves, allowing some to trickle down and in turn they keep their weaker subjects from going insane, though even they can't absorb all of it less they as well reach their own limits. From time to time an elemental will go insane and must be destroyed in spite of how careful they are, these creatures are a danger to themselves and everything around them, preying on other elementals and growing even stronger and more unstable as they no longer head the only rule this realm has. These power surges also happen if an elemental taking in the power of one of another element, such as an earth elemental preying an a water elemental and taking it's strength for it's own. Because the four elements are so drastically different the elementals have trouble understanding how their new element works and their minds are shattered trying to comprehend such a new and fundamentally 'wrong' existence. These elementals are the most dangerous as they wield the elements in new and frightening ways, bonding them together and becoming more of a mindless vacuum of power. Thankfully these happenstances are very rare, the elementals are far too frightened of the destruction it could cause to break the rule and of course the ever watching lords are quick to strike down any who might threaten their power, leading the creation of these rare monstrosities almost unheard of. Sadly the ramifications of these rampages have long reaching affects, being one of the few things that every elemental fears.

-The Elementals Divided-

Earth- The first and oldest breed of elementals, they are said to have been formed with the very planet itself and were spawned from it's desolate crust. The earth element is all about being strong and enduring, no matter what happens they expect to survive it, shrug it off and continue on as if nothing happened. The Earth elementals cover a vast array, from general rock and stone to more specialized elementals who are made up of various metals. There are elementals of sand and particulates, some who are made up of flint and can create sparks when they slam their body parts together. Earth is also the only element which include living things, as many earth elementals have plants growing on or in them, after many years the plant and the elemental become one, each feeding and befitting off the other. The strongest earth elementals are living mountains, rarely ever moving unless challenged or disturbed but when they act they shake the ground for miles around, letting everyone know when they are enraged.

Fire- The second oldest type of elemental, they were born from the lava that bubbled up from the depths, forged in the blood of the planet. Fire elementals are at best a bit random, every bit as excitable as their element, their emotions can change so quickly one can be be enjoying itself one moment and the next it's at your throat. Though fire might seem like a restrictive element, it has far more verity than most would expect, from lightning elementals to those who embody certain colored flames such as blue or orange. The most powerful fire elementals enjoy lording their power over others, often bragging of their great ability and power, though if tested they are more than willing to turn their immediate area into a burning wasteland just to prove a point.

Water- The third in the line of creation, water elementals came from the boiling seas which aided in cooling down the planet. Water elementals are some of the hardest to pin down, like their element the are so very flexible and can be stoic, unmoving or a boiling pot of rage. They typically take on one of the three base states of water, though some might take different variations of one of the states, such as boiling water or black-ice. The more powerful water elementals can easily switch between the different states of water at will or even mix and match them to create quite an impressive show of force. When their anger is aroused, a water elemental can strike with the force of an entire ocean, baring down with a fury unmatched.

Air- The final member of the elemental family is the air elements, formed when the planet began to cool and a large amount of gases were released into the air. Taking the form of living tornadoes, storms and typhoons, air elementals can darken the sky as they manipulate the air around them. While stranger than their more physical kin, air elementals come in a variety of forms and types, from those who are like the different sorts of clouds and even some who are so specialized that they take on the the properties of sound or even chemical bases gasses. Air elementals can condense the air around them and that of their bodies, making it as hard as steel, any who think an air elemental is nothing but hot air will be in for a shock. It should also be noted that as they are not fire or water elementals, they can't create or direct rain or lightning, though both often come about through their manipulation of the weather and are able to circumvent lightning without harm. The most powerful of their kind can create winds that lash with enough force to lance flesh from bone and scatter mountains in their wake.

Hybrids- Insanely rare but they do exist, hybrid elementals embody more than one element, though typically they are made up of two very limited aspects of the elementals halves, such as sulfur from the earth side and bubbling foam from the water side. Hybrids come in two varieties, the second are two elements bonded together, such as fire and earth being magma, unable to claim being a true member of either side but something new. Any hybrids that exist these days are the shattered remains of those who went insane and had to be destroyed, but since they grew up in this odd state from such a tiny, weak form they manage to stay sane. Because of the emotional and mental distress the 'parent' suffered, surviving hybrids will have no memories or personality traits from the tormented elemental they were spawned from, instead they have to build themselves from the ground up much the same way a natural spawned elemental would. However, because of the fear the original hybrids caused the younger sane ones tend to be the target of fear and anger, though at the same time they are often left alone as no elemental wants to find out if feeding on one of these 'stable' hybrids would cause another wave of insanity and throw the realm into more chaos than it can handle.

The Bound- It doesn't happen often, if an elemental manages to somehow cut itself off from an influx of new energy and for a time just consolidates it within it's element shell, it's will and 'spirit' can be forever bound to the shell. Elementals in this state can never grow in strength, they are stuck at whatever size and amount of power they had when they were first bound. Elementals in this state still hold a power over the elements but no where near as powerful as a 'true elemental' which can shape it's body and the elements around itself at a moments notice. This tends to happen one of two reasons, the first being a magi master who locks their summoned elemental to a form and forces it to remain that way and the second is that the elemental was trapped on the Materiel Plane in a time of low magic and was just unable to return. Elementals who suffer this fate often grow depressed and tend to lose the will to live, not used to being so constrained they badly miss their freedom and if this depression isn't curved the elementals can starve themselves of energy until their will falls apart and they die. Some elementals will just break down and follow their magi to the bitter end, seeing no reason to live for themselves any more, becoming little more than mindless servants. There are a couple cases of the elementals bouncing back, one or two even managing to return to their home realm, the bound elementals are however not recognized by their kin and are treated like a Fey, human or some other being not of their own. The few bound ones who manage to remain sane tend to default back to the Material Plane where they act as master mages, teachers and openers of the planer pathways to humans and other beings who might have the power to travel them, whatever they can think of to keep themselves useful. One of the few perks of being a bound elemental is that it can still shape it's form, just not gain mass, it can also exist in times of low to no enigma, at least as long as it doesn't try to use any of it's remaining abilities. There are even rumors that some of the bound can be considered truly organic, to the point that they can mix their blood with humans, though this is possibly just the lewd imaginings of an alchemist working too many late hours.

-History-

It is impossible to say when the elemental plane first came into being, though the natives claim that it is a mirror of the planet itself and came about at the same time it did. The truth, whatever it might be, is impossible to know as the elementals never developed reading or writing, they simply remember events that come to pass or orally pass them on to others in the form of stories, often bragging about their own power. Not all elementals agree with this of course and some state the creation of their people and their plane came at a later date, but without any proof nothing can be completely trusted. What all do agree on is that even in ancient times there were four elemental lords, the originals which the current rulers patterned themselves off of when they in turn took power. Their names were Grandmother Mountain the earth elemental, Grandfather Ash the fire elemental, Father River the water elemental and finally Mother Wind the air elemental. Though elementals do not fully understand the concept of parents as a living creature knows them, they widely consider these four with the beginning of their race and revere them almost as if they were gods. When they are asked about them they add on titles, as they see these parental names as honorifics rather than true declarations of genetic connection. Regardless the four ruled over the plane for an unknown hundreds and hundreds of years, they fought against the first wave of unstable elementals created by the changing Material Plane, which brought about the very first hybrids in the process, these were quickly exterminated under the rule of the original four. The plane continued to change and thrive, until a strange natural earth elemental was born, weakly it had an even stranger connection to the new organic creatures who lived in the Material Plane. It was an oddity but left alone as new divisions of the main four elementals came about all the time. Then it happened, a massive extinction event. Normally these didn't affect the Elemental Plane too badly unless caused by the planet reshaping itself, but this time it was a mix of poor conditions and a nasty host of viral agents. This caused an odd power surge, one that no elemental felt, expect for a certain little oddity and it grew, very fast. It ballooned up to a massive size, dwarfing even the four rulers as the young elemental lost control of it's power, promptly going insane an began to try to destroy all inside the plane. The four fought hard against the upstart, they clashed again and again but soon it became clear that the rulers were on the losing side of the battle.

Desperate they tried something new, the elemental rulers used what was left of their raw might and focused it on their world, ripping it's main building blocks in a new way which none before imagined. They managed to breech the walls of their realm and working together they pooled all their power to force the attacker through the portal but in this massive effort the four lords were in turn destroyed, the effort to suppress, rip a gigantic hole in their realm and then beat back their foe had all added up and it was too much for even these titans. Pushing out of their realm the insane elemental was forced into the ravages of the Abyss where it was warped, overwhelmed and broken down by a force stronger than itself. Within the plane the survivors swore to remember their fallen lords and in a rare moment of selflessness many of their kind came together and fed their powers into four of the most powerful elementals remaining and these four grew into the rulers who preside over the plane to this day. Cunning and careful the new rulers were quick to dominate their kin and prove to be worthy successors, fighting off the surges which might doom their lesser kin and destroying any who might breech the only law of their realm. The plane has remained much in this state, though it changed near constantly nothing of true note happened beyond personal grudges and the ire of the lords which might be turned against elementals who might try and take their power away. At least until the Fey race figured out how to summon the elementals, the two races are rather indifferent to each other as the elementals believe any who were unable to resist these alien creatures deserved whatever fate they were given. As the Fey made summoning servants popular, opening rifts to the elemental realm became very common, even letting creatures from other realms fall through the cracks far more rapidly than ever before, allowing the plane to evolve at a frightening rate. It was new, a change, but the elementals were use to changes and even when a few magi from the Material Plane learned to summon them, little was changed save for the quality of an elemental's story which could vary widely depending on what sort of beings they interacted with. Even the elemental lords found themselves meeting with Fey and mortals alike, often to utterly crush them under their might, but the rare few who held their attention would be remembered long after their entire family line was dust. Then came a time of inactivity, the Material Plane was cut off, while not the first time it was certainly the longest that any could remember. In this time the plane continued on, warping, changing and adapting as they always did without a second thought to the future or past. Then they felt the pathways open again, though few if any elementals were brought over or decided to cross into to the Material Plane, the majority acted much as if it remained closed to them. After all, what happened outside of the plane was no business of their's and would not help the elementals continue on their drive to gain power and to evolve.