Elementals

Ars Magica Primer
Game Setting
Mythic Europe
The Order of Hermes
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Elementals are magical creatures composed of very pure elemental matter. They are not truly alive, and are capable of neither growth nor reproduction. Instead, they form from pure physical matter under some magical impetus, such as a Magic aura. Nothing that is or has been alive can generate an elemental, nor can matter that is no longer in a raw state, but which has been moved, cut, or otherwise interfered with by a living being.

The process of forming an elemental is called rarefication. This process causes atoms of matter to take on a pseudo-life of their own, freeing themselves from the atoms of other elements and self-organising into an elemental. Usually only one elemental forms, of a maximum size determined by the amount of matter present. Magi of the Order know spells that can catalyse this process, but they may also create elementals by accident with careless use of elemental magic. Further, raw elemental matter possessing a Warping Score of 5 may spontaneously rarefy into an elemental; for example, a natural spring within a Magic Aura of 6 might generate a water elemental after 75 years. However, not all Warped matter develops an elementa1, and this process is little understood by those who have studied it.

Once rarefied, the elemental exists until it is destroyed; elementals do not age, they have no need for nutrition, and do not succumb to disease. They suffer from impulses that drive them to certain actions based on their elemental make-up, but they possess no capacity for thought in the traditional sense.

Magic and Elementals

Some magi who are skilled in elemental magic routinely create and bind elementals to their bidding, but the primitive sentience of these beings, combined with the difficulty in obtaining the appropriate raw materials and vis required, means that most do not bother. Ritual Creo spells can create elementals, and they may be controlled using Rego magic. New guidelines for these effects are given in the nearby insert. In addition, standard Rego guidelines may also create wards (or prisons) for elementals with spells that affect creatures from the Magic Realm, and Perdo Vim spells can destroy the Magic Might that animates their simple bodies.

Other spells involving the elemental Forms may accidentally cause an elemental to rarefy, if cast on sufficiently pure matter that is already substantially Warped, such as that found within a Magic aura. The production of an elemental) is a potential consequence of any botched spell or lab activity involving an elemental Form while in a Magic aura. Similarly, magic used to purify an element can have a similar effect more than one Flambeau magus has tried to make his flames hotter, and accidentally rarefied a fire elemental.

Earth Elementals

The earth elementals are known to the Order as genomi (singular genomus, meaning "earth-living"), but they go by a number of other names including gnomes (contracted from their Hermetic name), pygmaei, and telluri. They may be rarefied from any large concretion of earth that has not been worked by human hands, such as untilled soil, natural rock features, and naturally occurring nuggets of metal. It is no harder to rarefy a genomus from soil than it is from metal, but the quantity of raw material available limits the size of the elemental created - a gold nugget of Size -10 can only produce an elemental with Might 3. Genomi are extraordinarily long-lived, and are as durable as the substance from which they are formed. They are patient predators, driven by an unslakeable thirst to extract the delicious moisture from living beings. They are fiercely territorial, and will attack any being who intrudes upon their defined space; thus genomi make excellent guards - most attacks from a genomus result from having stood upon one!

An earth elemental appears much like any other object of earth or rock, except it is made up of sharp edges and right-angled corners that form cubic corpuscles of different sizes. Earth elementals move by sliding these cubic components around in endless cycles; this appears awkward and laborious in hard-bodied genomi, but can be hypnotically smooth in those made of sand or soil. Genomi are exceptionally strong and remarkably fast. An earth elemental made from a hard substance attacks by bludgeoning its prey with its stone limbs. Softer genomi of sand and soil will engulf their prey first by making a grapple attack, and then crush the immobilised target within their bodies.

A Size 0 earth elemental is a boulder about one pace in diameter. A Size +9 genomus is as tall as a small cliff; whereas a Size +15 genomus is the size of a hill. The elemental's body is composed entirely of soil, sand, or rock. It can match a walking man for speed, and overtake a running horse when tumbling downhill. Only bludgeoning weapons such as hammers, maces, or axes can damage an earth elemental; piercing or slashing weapons will merely plunge into the body of a soil elemental or glance off the surface of a rock elemental. Spades and picks are also effective weapons.

Earth elementals are able to crush, and sometime to to rust and/or extract the moisture from a target.

Water Elementals

The lymphae ("pure waters") are also called undines, undena, or ondines (all from Latin unda, meaning "fluid, wave"), as well as aquacolae ("water dwellers"), nymphs (a term also applied to certain faeries), and alcyones. Only naturally occurring liquids can produce elementals, typically of salt or fresh water. Water that has been separated from its source cannot be rarefied into a lympha, nor can liquid extracted from its source by human effort. Lymphae in a relaxed state sink into a thin film or puddle, perhaps even soaking into the ground. They can pull themselves up into symmetrical humps faceted with triangular units - their corpuscles are naturally icosahedral. The fluid that makes them is always of the utmost purity, often crystal clear and sparkling.

Lymphae have the best capacity for learning and understanding of all elementals, and are remarkably resilient to damage. However, their slow and languorous movements make them unsuitable as protectors. They are driven by their nature to collect and mix substances together, and their homes are often the site of eclectic collections of garbage that they have gathered. They commonly attack by pulling their opponents down to the ground and then smothering them, separating and recombining their possessions with an obsessive interest.

A Size-0 lympha constitutes a pool of water about 4 feet across and 2 feet deep. At Size +3, the elemental is the size of a small pond or stream; at Size +6 that of a small lake; and at Size +12 equal to a lake, inlet, or respectably sized river. A water elemental's body is composed entirely of water. It can roll across the ground, either slowly if derived from a body of still water, or as fast as the current if from a river or stream. The elemental's speed is halved if moving up even a gentle incline. Most weapons are meaningless to a lympha - blades and piercing weapons simply pass straight through, although bludgeoning weapons can stitl harm them. A water elemental's attacks only inflict Scuffle damage, and it often attempts to disarm, trip, or grab worn items with its Attack Advantage rather than inflict damage (ArM5, page 175). A source of fire that does damage less than the elemental's Might is extinguished on contact, while more powerful flames will evaporate the elemental's body, inflicting "wounds" as normal. Successful fire attacks destroy any Aquam vis that might have been present in the evaporated matter.

All water elementals have an attack form “drown” and possibly others also.

Air Elementals

Zephyrus is the name given to an air elemental by members of the Order of Hermes, but they are also known as silvestres, sylphs, aeoliae (wind elementals), nenuphas (cloud elementals), and brontes (thunder and lightning elementals). Any air under the open sky or any natural weather phenomenon can produce a zephyrus. A zephyrus is composed of chains of octohedral corpuscles: in wind elementals, these chains form ropes; cloud elementals consist of interlocked loops; and a lightning elemental is a branched chain of scintillating energy.

Zephyri are utterly restless - they cannot remain still, even for a moment. They are travellers, moving through the world beneath the sky unless constrained by magic. They rarely descend from their lofty heights, but are occasionally curious about what is going on below them. They are highly perceptive, and are aware of everything going on around their home. They can sense the slightest movement of air from any direction, and are impossible to catch by surprise. They crave the disintegration of rigidity and barriers, and many are capable of dissolving structured matter.

A patch of mist constitutes a Size 0 elemental; a Size +4 zephyrus is a wind of sufficient strength to blow a man down, or a small cloud; a Size +6 air elemental is a large cloud; at Size +9 it is a bolt of lightning reaching from the clouds to earth; and at Size +12, a medium-sized storm. A zephyrus' body is composed entirely of air. It is capable of moving through landscape unobstructed by other objects in its way, and can enter any space that is not air-tight. The speed of movement varies by elemental type: a mist elemental can roll at walking pace, whereas a lightning elemental is literally lightning fast. Weapons are meaningless to a creature with this power, they simply pass straight through. However, the elemental has no natural attack and must use its powers instead.

All air elementals have an attack form “suffocate” and possibly others also.

Fire Elementals

Fire elementals, or phlegethi (singular phlegethus, meaning "burners"), also go by a host of other names, such as ignigena (Latin for "fire-born"), vulcans, rolamandri, salamanders (not to be confused with the Beasts of Virtue), and aethnici (a term also used for fiery demons). They are uncommon on earth, for they can only rarefy from naturally occurring sources of flame - usually lightning strikes, but occasionally earth-fires, certain natural alchemical reactions, or the fire from the upper atmosphere. Feeding a naturally lit fire with fuel does not inhibit rarefication, and once formed, a fire elemental can consume normal fuel. A fire elemental is often short-lived, lasting as long as it has fuel, and prone to sudden movements of remarkable speed. Man's fascination for fire is often enhanced when viewing fire elementals and they can easily beguile those who stare too deeply.

A phlegethus appears as a collection of flames that move contrary to nature. Each Elame is actually a tetrahedron; sometimes these pyramids may be stretched long and thin, while at other times they may be low and flat. The motivations and instincts of a fire elemental are basic: they desire to burn, to consume cold and replace it with heat, and to escape confinement.

A phlegethus of Size 0 is the size of a typical bonfire. The fire from a lightning-struck tree would raise a Size +6 fire elemental, and a volcano is capable of spawning the largest phiegethi, up to Size +2 t. The body of a fire elemental is composed entirely of fire. The elemental can only cross surfaces composed of potentially flammable material; the more flammable it is, the faster it can move. Through typical vegetation in a temperate climate, a fire elemental can move at the speed of a running man. It may also jump a gap of non-flammable surface (such as bare rock) up to a width equal to its Magic Might in Feet. Weapons are meaningless to a phlegethus; they simply pass straight through the elemental, and may catch fire. A source of water that is smaller than the elemental's Size is evaporated on contact. Larger sources of water quench the elemental's body, inflicting "wounds" as if it were fire damage; typically +5 to + 10 damage, but possibly more depending on the quantity. Successful water attacks destroy any Ignem vis that might have been present in the evaporated matter.

All fire elementals have this power Burn and they may also have others, such as Fascination.

Spell Guidelines

CREO (ELEMENTAL FORM)

Level 25: Create an elemental From a base amount of elemental matter (Ritual)

MUTO (ELEMENTAL FORM)

General: Convert part of an elemental's body into another type of matter of the same element (soi( to dust, wind to smoke, etc.), reducing the elemental's Might pool by the level of the spell +10. If the elemental is not destroyed by this effect, when the duration ends it can restore this Might by re-absorbing the matter.

PERDO (ELEMENTAL FORM)

General: Destroy sufficient matter to reduce an elemental's Might Score by the level of the spell + 10

REGO (ELEMENTAL FORM)

Level 5: Completely control an elemental

New Spells

RAREFY THE CRUDE WATER Creo Aquam 30

R: Touch, D: Mom, T: Ind, Ritual This ritual spell rarefies a base amount of water (up to a pool of 5 paces diameter and 2 paces deep) to bring the elemental into existence. At its maximum size, the elemental has a Might of 15 and a Size of 0, but smaller bodies of water will yield smaller elementals. For larger (and thus more powerful) elementals, this spell must be invented with a Size modifier to the target, with each application of the modifier giving +3 Size. Since Size determines Might (see later), 1 extra size magnitude gives an elemental a Might of 20 (Size +3), 2 a Might of 25 (Size +6), etc. This spell doesn't need to penetrate the Might of the elemental instantiated; until the completion of the spell, the elemental does not exist.
(base 25, + 1 Touch)

COMMAND THE LIVING FIRE Rego Ignem 20

R: Voice, D: Conc, T: Ind
This spell allows the caster to control the actions of a fire elemental up to Size 0, if the Penetration Total exceeds the elemental's Magic Might. For larger elementals, versions of the spell with a Size modifier to the Target are required. If an elemental is already under supernatural control, the most recent spell or power used is the one that commands it.
(base 5, +2 Voice, +1 Conc)