The Elemental Planes

The elusive Elemental Plane is often described as being "the core of the material world," and that "atop the Elemental Plane sits the mortal world." Obviously, being a core of something and being a plane below something are quite different, but the immaterial Elemental Plane is somehow both and neither. It is therefore difficult to describe the Planes, keeping in mind that the Planes all intersect each other to produce a number of secondary Planes. Perhaps the best way to think of it is an atom. Both the Prime Elemental Planes and the Elder Elemental Planes make up the nucleus for their importance, while the other Planes are the electrons.

The Planes have opposites, and react badly in contact with them-- Chaos and Unity, Fire and Water, Light and Shadow. There is only one Plane without a definite opposite-- Balance. However, the Planes of Time and Life are similar. As neither have opposites, but cannot function without each other, making them partners of sorts. The Elemental Planes are all primarily composed of their respective element, with the landscape changing according to the respective Embodiements will. The Elemental Embodiments, physical manifestations of the Planes, will be covered more later on. Should the Planes be unbalanced, they will "tip" and elemental users of all timelines will lose their elemental powers.

The Energy Planes are unique in that they are the north and south pole of the Elemental Planes and share Elemental Embodiments with the Planes of Life and Time, making all four Planes essential for the Elemental Planes as a whole to function. The North Pole, radiating creation energy, is directly linked to "inner light" like most other Planes. Despite the Plane's life's giving effects, living creatures entering the Plane quickly become overloaded with life energy and may subsequently explode. The South Pole, emitting stagnation energy, is often associated with the Elemental Plane of Shadow and the Underworld itself for the Necromantic Arts. Any unprotected living creature exposed to this energy will have its life force rapidly drained and will die when said energy runs out.

Inner Light is a term to describe an individual's mindset on a scale of pure to corrupt. For example, Xanthos' inner light has a much higher purity than Xenon's, so his powers are more divine as opposed to her more demonic powers. Inner Light can be manipulated, as seen by the Titan Hyperion, who can steal or inject Inner Light into people who were born on his home planet of Mobius. As individuals became more corrupt, they became more and more like monsters, eventually becoming shells of their former selves.

The beings who reside here, the Elemental Embodiments, are forces of nature itself, and influence the material world as if by second nature. They are a race of beings a tier above the pantheonic gods, and actually are the only reason why many gods have their powers. In fact, many Embodiments used to turn mortals into Elemental Champions, beings who exemplified the ideals of their Planes and worked as a material conduit for their Embodiment. While the topic will be covered more later on, the Embodiments made several more conduits besides the Champions.

The Embodiments as a whole are neither stronger nor weaker than each other. In reality, all Embodiments have the same amount of strength, but apply it in different ways. Finally, the Embodiments are able to exist outside of the multiverse and timelines, making them one-of-a-kind and without alternates. The level of control over the elements possessed by them is extremely high, and they are impervious to the effects of their element. Their personalities are influenced by their element, and they act accordingly. The Embodiments can project their own consciousness onto an element, manifesting the element into certain shapes or forms without them being present. If their essence is affected, it affects their original form as well.

There are several "cliques" within the Embodiments that one should be knowledgeable about. The first are the Elder Elemental Embodiments, the two oldest and most essential beings to the Planes. They govern life and time respectively, and watch over the Planes of Existence with a discerning eye. The second are the Primes, who rule over Madness, Order, Chaos, Unity, and Balance. They are the main council of the multiverse and can only be superseded by the Elders. Next are the Classicals, who are well known in history for their great deeds. They are Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, and Ether. The fourth are the Mindsets, who consist of Light and Shadow. Finally are the Secondaries. There are many, many secondaries, and only a few can be named here, like Ice and Plantlife. There are easily as many Elemental Planes are there are stars in the night sky.

Elders
Time.................................................Chronos
Life...................................................Vitera
Space...............................................
Primes
Madness...........................................Abyssion
Order...............................................Justicia
Chaos...............................................Chaos
Unity................................................Kronos
Balance............................................Lybra
Classicals
Fire..................................................Vanadus
Water...............................................
Earth................................................
Air....................................................
Ether................................................
Mindset
Light.................................................Inalior
Shadow............................................
Secondary
Ice....................................................
Lightning............................................Vanion
Energy..............................................
Plantlife.............................................
Acid..................................................
Metal................................................
Sonics..............................................
Gravity.............................................
Electromagnetism..............................
Storm..............................................
Dust................................................
Ash..................................................
Crystal.............................................
(More to be added later)

Millenia ago, the Embodiments chose warriors to draw upon their powers to protect the weak and destroy evil in battle. The practice fell out of use for some time, but recently the Champions have once again been selected by Embodiments to prepare for the coming storms. Although the Champions tend to serve the powers of good, this is not guaranteed. Champions are in fact capable of being swayed by their negative emotions and turning their back on their Embodiment, which is why the process ceased for some time.

Champions often manifest their powers in different ways-- Xanthos had to transform into his Super Form to utilize trademark weapons of his Thunder Gods, Xenon can stay in her base form and manifest the armors of different Thunder Gods, Ouranos can channel Thunder Gods through his body and use their knowledge and power for his own. However, some Champions are unaware of their special manifestation, like the current Champion of Fire, Sivica. The Champions powers are divine or demonic in origin, paralleling directly with the Energy Planes. Xenon is more South Pole, while Xanthos is a North Pole.

Proficiency with an element is a learned skill, with more experienced Champions able to perform a wide range of tasks. Using the element draws upon a reserve of power that is constantly recharged and grown like a muscle. Champions are incapable of using elements opposite of their own, but can combine their power for greater effects.

Also, an interesting note is that Xanthos' speed was greatly enhanced, allowing him to move as fast as lightning, and Sivica's physical strength parallels Xanthos' speed. This means that a Champions defining physical attribute is enhanced with them to incredible extremes. Usually, Champions are unaware of their status, and can be born into it or granted it.

In recent times, the Embodiment of Chaos has been split into a trio-- Pure Chaos, Feral Chaos, and Peaceful Chaos. These three, for some reason or another, seem to require a host of sorts. Feral Chaos is housed in Raem Hadesson, Peaceful Chaos is in Zeke, while Pure Chaos has actually taken over the body of Gattrei. These Vessels are capable of enhancing their individual abilities using their respective Chaos' powers. As of now, there is very little information on the topic of these Vessels and whether they can be considered Elemental Champions as they all represent the same basic element. There can never truly be more than one Champion of any given element, but these three have several Champion-like traits.

All sentient species to the known galaxy have an affinity for different Elemental Planes, which might differ from other members of said species because of an individuals mindset or destiny. However, a few select species are actual disciples of sorts for the Embodiments and are called Harbingers. They are said to embody qualities of their element, like the Keshin for example. They are a race of beings that can manipulate Madness, an Elemental Plane that induces insanity and instability to not only the user, but also influences those who are near it. Therefore, Keshin are usually somewhat insane to different extents and several have titles reflecting various forms of Madness-- Phobia, Schizophrenia, and Megalomania are just a few of these said titles.

The Harbingers come into contact with their Embodiments often and usually serve directly underneath them. However, some Embodiments rarely, if ever, contact their Harbingers. It is possible for an Embodiment to have multiple Harbinger species, but the Embodiment will generally rely on the species that is the most efficient as controlling their element, like how the Keshin were chosen over the Drakkael.

Some Embodiments, like Vitera, spend their time caring for other Embodiments' Harbingers. In this case, the Yuuni are under Vitera's protection until they can get their population back up. The Elemental Harbingers essentially replaced Elemental Champions for ease, and so that the Embodiments tasks could be carried out more easily. Currently, the Balance Harbinger known as the Zion has only one member, Riley Law, so Vitera has been looking into finding a secondary Harbinger species to assist Riley in tasks the Balance Plane asks of him.

Elemental Channelers are those who are not Champions or Harbingers, but still have access to an Elemental Plane. These individuals are usually either elemental mages or elemental psychics, which brings another factor into play-- magic versus psionics. When magic is used to channel Elemental energy, magic particles known as merlins are infused from the mage's magic. The merlins differ greatly from the psi particles of a psychic.

To put the difference into perspective, imagine a spar between a cryomancer and a cryokinetic. The cryokinetic traps the cryomancer in a block of ice with psi particles. Because the psi particles are directly linked to the cryokinetic's mind, it's difficult for the cryomancer to infuse the block of ice with merlins and break the block. This is not to say that it is impossible, however. If strong enough, one user can manipulate the powers of the other, though the results will be sloppy, at best.

Not all elemental abilities are derived from the Planes, however. Several species have natural elemental physiology, such as the Iciauran Ice Wolf. Their bodies are capable of naturally generating and sending forth freezing effects from their unique physiology. These natural powers are usually less extreme than psychics and mages, like frost breath and freezing touch for the Ice Wolf as opposed to ice bolts or the like. Most of these natural skills require physical contact. Another example is the Ignian, who are a race of lava-like humanoids who can manipulate lava and the earth. Their bodies, being naturally made of lava, does not derive from the Elemental Planes. Another note is that those with natural elemental physiology have their powers linked directly to their emotional state. This means that their powers can fluctutate based on their mood.

Elemental Necromancy is a practice that hasn't been utilized for a long time. Generally, necromancers rely on the Plane of Shadow to bring back the dead for the destructive abilities the undead gain as a side effect, but it is entirely possible to use other Planes. This ability would, for example, be especially useful for a Champion of Light who also happens to be a necromancer. Being a Champion of Light, using Shadow magic is impossible, so using other elements to bring back the undead is essential. Undead summoned through other elements tend to gain physical or other special attributes based on said element. An example would be Xenon's thunderdead, who were summoned through the Plane of Lightning. The thunderdead emit lightning from their eye sockets, and are generally much faster than Shadow-based undead.