Elemental
Elementals are a somewhat odd type of Outsider, having marked differences from their more “structured” counterparts. They inhabit the energy planes of elemental air, earth, water, fire, radiance, and shadow, but they’re more akin to low- and middle-tier spirits than the Outsiders who inhabit any of the alignment-based realms. Their sapience levels are also highly variable, with some being no more self-aware than a rock or a fish, and others being as fully sapient as the mortals (or immortals) they sometimes watch. Elementals are pure energy beings, made up of the force of nature they represent, and can therefore take on any desired shape - or no shape at all, meaning they can be amorphous.
Elementals, as categorized and agreed upon by the most intelligent of their own kind, come in several varieties:
Primal - These are elementals who have no sapience or self-awareness, and are little more than rocks, basic flames, bubbles, or dust on the wind.
Nascent - Considered barely above the lowest class, these are somewhere between the intelligence of rocks and most bugs.
Ambient - Considered at about the level of very smart, organized bugs, but still seen with some disdain.
Sentient - Basic elementals reach roughly the intelligence level of small, instinct-driven animals.
Cognizant - These can be considered a step above, likened to most larger, more social animals.
Sapient - These are another step up, and are about the same level as very early, truly sapient evolving species.
Lucent - Finally, these are some of the smarter elementals, and while sapient, they’re still considered somewhat simple.
High - These are, at the very least, as smart as the average civilized human, and at the most, are as intelligent and keen-minded as a learned human scholar.
Grand - Grand elementals are considered the most intelligent and wise, and could be compared to some human geniuses. They’re also the most rare. Elementals, at least the ones of low to mid levels of awareness and intelligence, are often attracted to the material realm, where they try to sate their curiosity about mortals and all the strange things that occur. Higher-intelligence elementals, while still often curious about other realms, tend to take a more tempered, cautious approach when interacting with the material. Many mortals who have the power to wield alkos in their world have learned to harness not only the forces of reality, but also have learned to summon, capture, and harness the power of elementals, though these are usually not the higher elementals. Interestingly, the higher elementals, no matter their alignment, can choose to make pacts with mortals for an exchange of mutual benefit. Usually, the mortal gets to share the elemental’s power in various ways, and the elemental gains knowledge and experiences to satisfy their desires. Elementals can’t partake of most mortal things, such as food or common physical experiences, but through a pactbond, they can sense and experience things they normally couldn’t. On rare occasions, a higher elemental who’s pactbonded to a mortal can take on a physical form, but usually this has to be done through intricate alkos manipulation. Once done, it then becomes possible for a union between mortal and elemental, and though exceedingly rare, this has resulted in some unique children throughout history and worlds. These children, at least on Yalasra, are called essenrin.
Nascent - Considered barely above the lowest class, these are somewhere between the intelligence of rocks and most bugs.
Ambient - Considered at about the level of very smart, organized bugs, but still seen with some disdain.
Sentient - Basic elementals reach roughly the intelligence level of small, instinct-driven animals.
Cognizant - These can be considered a step above, likened to most larger, more social animals.
Sapient - These are another step up, and are about the same level as very early, truly sapient evolving species.
Lucent - Finally, these are some of the smarter elementals, and while sapient, they’re still considered somewhat simple.
High - These are, at the very least, as smart as the average civilized human, and at the most, are as intelligent and keen-minded as a learned human scholar.
Grand - Grand elementals are considered the most intelligent and wise, and could be compared to some human geniuses. They’re also the most rare. Elementals, at least the ones of low to mid levels of awareness and intelligence, are often attracted to the material realm, where they try to sate their curiosity about mortals and all the strange things that occur. Higher-intelligence elementals, while still often curious about other realms, tend to take a more tempered, cautious approach when interacting with the material. Many mortals who have the power to wield alkos in their world have learned to harness not only the forces of reality, but also have learned to summon, capture, and harness the power of elementals, though these are usually not the higher elementals. Interestingly, the higher elementals, no matter their alignment, can choose to make pacts with mortals for an exchange of mutual benefit. Usually, the mortal gets to share the elemental’s power in various ways, and the elemental gains knowledge and experiences to satisfy their desires. Elementals can’t partake of most mortal things, such as food or common physical experiences, but through a pactbond, they can sense and experience things they normally couldn’t. On rare occasions, a higher elemental who’s pactbonded to a mortal can take on a physical form, but usually this has to be done through intricate alkos manipulation. Once done, it then becomes possible for a union between mortal and elemental, and though exceedingly rare, this has resulted in some unique children throughout history and worlds. These children, at least on Yalasra, are called essenrin.
