Magical Elements First Stage

Previous Article: Magic

Intro

A mage's life and journey are dictated by their inborn element, their talent. It will decide how they have to use their magic and what kind of mage they will become. All elements are different and are used differently; they all have benefits and drawbacks that the mage will have to learn to deal with and utilize optimally in their journey to become a master, and then a grandmaster of the magical arts.

The first element, or primary element, as it is often called, is decided at birth.

First stage Elements

Water

Rarity: Common
The element of fluidity—flexible, practical, and surprisingly dangerous. Water mages are popular in every corner of society: they heal, irrigate, and fight with the same element. Water is shapeable, scalable, and brutal when pressurized. It hardens with speed and wears down everything over time. But don’t count on it in dry terrain—no moisture means no magic.

Strengths:
Water excels in adaptability and application. It’s a healer’s tool, a warrior’s weapon, and a farmer’s lifeline. In areas with natural water sources—rivers, mist, humidity—it becomes nearly unstoppable, and many learn to carry moisture with them. Its spells are scalable and tend to be reliable even at low mana cost, making it a favorite of battlemages and village menders alike.

Weaknesses:
But water doesn’t make itself. In deserts, dry caves, or other places removed from water's presence, water mages struggle to summon anything meaningful unless prepared in advance. It also lacks natural defenses, offering little in the way of barriers or armor. For all its flexibility, it often relies on its wielder to stay out of harm’s way.

Earth

This is a partial Conjuration Type
Stability: High
Degeneration: Cracks and crumbles before disappearing.
Weight: High

Rarity: Common
The element of sturdiness and force. Earth mages are builders, guardians, and breakers of sieges. Their power comes from the world beneath their feet—manipulating soil, stone, and sand to create walls, weapons, or traps. More advanced users can conjure phantom matter: temporary stone-like constructs that vanish after use. It’s a durable and direct magic, and when given time, earth always wins.

Strengths:
Earth magic is excellent for control and defense. Its ability to reshape the battlefield—raise walls, close paths, open pits—makes it incredibly useful in both combat and construction. The phantom matter, while less durable, offers faster and cheaper solutions when real material isn’t available. When prepared, Earth mages are nearly immovable, turning any terrain into an advantage.

Weaknesses:
But Earth is slow. Every movement of matter takes time and effort, and most Earth spells have a heavy mana draw early on. Offensively, it often lags behind faster elements unless the mage is experienced or has the element pre-prepared. In duels, many earth mages are forced to rely on endurance while waiting for an opening.

Fire

Rarity: Uncommon
The element of flame—wild, living, and dangerously beautiful. Fire mages summon flames from their own mana, unbound by physical fuel or oxygen. Their flame spreads, consumes, and destroys. Yet it’s not all chaos—those who master fire learn to shape it, contain it, and even use it to seal wounds. Fire is both a threat and a savior, but only to those who survive its demands.

Strengths:
Fire offers devastating offensive power with immediate results. Unlike elements that need preparation or physical matter, fire is self-generating and quick to cast. Its ability to ignite real materials makes it doubly dangerous, as one spell can start a chain reaction. It also boasts a rare trait—basic regenerative magic—allowing skilled mages to cauterize or stimulate healing, albeit roughly.

Weaknesses:
Fire burns everything, including the user. It requires extreme control, and younger mages often suffer accidents. It is terrible for defense, with flame-walls being brittle or too taxing to maintain. Worse, once ignited, real fires can spread beyond the mage’s control, causing collateral damage or worse. Fire gives power, but it demands responsibility.

Air

Rarity: Uncommon
The element of motion and breath. Air mages manipulate wind, lift, and pressure—pushing themselves and others with invisible force. It’s the element of sails, storms, and speed. A sharp gust can be enough to cut, and a practiced mage can glide, leap, or send entire ships forward with little effort. Air is momentum given form, but momentum is nothing without direction.

Strengths:
Air is unmatched in speed and versatility. It makes movement easy—on foot, in flight, or for allies. It enables fast attacks, quick repositioning, and even surgical strikes. In combat, it allows for rapid evasion and the ability to strike from a distance without obvious warning. For travel and support, it is invaluable.

Weaknesses:
Air lacks stopping power. Its offensive techniques depend entirely on speed and precision, which can be countered by armor or heavier magic. Defensively, it is unreliable; while gusts can disrupt, they don’t block or absorb attacks. Air’s adaptability is its biggest asset, but without a sharp mind and constant adjustment, it slips through the cracks of combat. It is easy to learn, but among the hardest to master.

Light

This is a partial Conjuration type.
Stability: Medium
Degeneration: Light fades until it is lost in the background light.
Weight: Medium

Rarity: Rare
The element of visibility, brilliance, and illumination. Light mages sculpt what is seen. They can bend it, hide in it, magnify it, or focus it into weapons of energy. More than any other element, Light offers creativity—spells that mislead, distract, blind, or illuminate. But it’s also capable of raw force: solid-light weapons, radiant armor, and lasers that burn through steel.

Strengths:
Light magic is extremely versatile. It allows mages to deceive opponents, manipulate perception, and create both offensive and defensive constructs. Solid-light conjuring is incredibly useful, forming tools or weapons limited only by the mage’s imagination and experience. Light can also communicate across long distances using coded pulses, making it a favorite of commanders and scouts.

Weaknesses:
Light is complex and demanding. Even simple illusions can require high mana cost and precise control. While light travels fast, the spells themselves are slow to shape and cast, making it less suitable for close combat. Its constructs, while strong, are temporary and break under sustained force. New mages often struggle just to make a single beam behave correctly.

Dark

This is a partial Conjuration type.
Stability: Medium
Degeneration: Fade into shadow, occasionally breaking into fine shards first.
Weight: Medium

Rarity: Rare
The element of shadow, deception, and control. Where Light reveals, Dark obscures. Dark mages thrive in concealment, blending into shadows, manipulating fear, and vanishing from sight. Their magic erases light, creates silence, and distorts reality. Like Light mages, they can conjure temporary tools and armor—but theirs are silent, unseen, and often far more deadly.

Strengths:
Dark excels at disruption and defense. Shadow portals allow for near-instant repositioning from shadow to shadow, and dark fields can absorb or deflect incoming spells. Dark mages are specialists at making enemies miss, misjudge, or fall into traps. Against non-magical enemies, their abilities can render them nearly untouchable. Their conjured tools are quieter, sharper, and often laced with subtle effects.

Weaknesses:
Dark lacks in direct offense. While it can incapacitate and confuse, it struggles to cause sustained or explosive damage without relying on trickery. It also struggles in brightly lit environments, where shadow is scarce. While difficult to counter, Dark mages often play a longer game—those who favor direct combat may find the element frustrating to wield effectively.

Blood

This is a Conjuration type.
Stability: Medium (Decreases quickly with distance)
Degeneration: Dries into sharp shards, then flails around violently, eventually disappearing.
Weight: Medium

Rarity: Exclusive (Born Vampires only ~ 65%)
The element of living control. Blood mages can summon a thick red liquid that acts as an extension of their body—shifting from vapor to liquid to hardened weapon in an instant. It can heal or kill. Blood that touches another being becomes a conduit of control, allowing the mage to manipulate them, however briefly and subtly. Among vampires, it is both feared and revered. Those with this element are easily placed high in their hierarchies.

Strengths:
Blood is incredibly adaptable. It can be layered onto claws and blades, shaped into armor, or even flung as projectiles. Its ability to influence another’s blood makes it excellent for short-term control or debilitation, especially against other vampires. Because its conjured form requires little upkeep, many blood mages coat their weapons or bodies in it constantly. Solidified blood is also easy to manipulate telekinetically.

Weaknesses:
Its range is short, and its control is limited by consistency. The more fluid the blood, the harder it is to direct with precision. In solid form, it's easier to wield but loses its controlling properties. The element is useless without close engagement, and like fire, it carries danger to the user if overextended. This is because its imbued properties remain when mana runs out, and a mage can easily hurt themselves if not carefull.
Its stability decreases rapidly when removed from the caster, occasionally causing it to degenerate violently.

Next: Magical Ellements Second Stage