In the beginning, and so in the end, are the Five Elements of Creation, and thus of Destruction. These Five Elements are Earth, Air, Fire, Water and Spirit. None of the Five should be confused with their more mundane manifestations upon the Planes of Men. The Five Elements are the ultimate archetypes from which all else is descended. We as mere mortals simply use the closest words in our vocabularies to describe these things which defy finite comprehension.
Thus when we speak of the Five Elements, we are truly speaking of a model, an interpretation of reality that allows us to comprehend things that are truly vast in proportion to ourselves. Therefore do not confuse Fire with that which cooks your food. While the fire which cooks your food is an Aspect of Fire, so is the lightning in the sky and the light of the sun as well as all forms of heat energy. All of these are Aspects of Fire. Fire is fast and direct and cuts directly to the point. Fire is the energy that drives creation, and the conflagration that destroys.
Likewise when we speak of Water, we mean all things liquidic in nature, moving and mutable. Acid and water are both Aspects of Water, as is knowledge and truth. For when we speak of knowledge and truth, both are relative terms that are not absolute. Water is also calm and engulfing, Water surrounds all in a shifting embrace. Water provides balance to creation and destruction, it regulates and calms the energy of Fire.
Earth is steadfast; it is the ground beneath our feet and the minerals in our bodies. Earth is that from which living creatures spring. Earth is hard and immobile, slow to change yet eternally loyal. Earth is iron and Earth is rock. It is the foundation upon which creation stands.
Air is ephemeral, it cannot be touched, it is both the life giving gas that allows us to live, and it is the suffocating smoke that chokes us. All forms of gases are Aspects of Air, as is the absence of gas, vacuum. Air is transient and fleeting. It may perceived one moment and not the next. Like clouds that are its Aspect, Air can appear to be many things. Air sweeps through with reckless abandon, like the wind it can be an element of destruction.
Spirit is the Element of Life. Spirit is the essence of life, it is that which provides sentience and that which directs the creation and oversees the destruction of the universe. Do not confuse the spirits of the Planes of men with Spirit, nor any bodiless such beings. While Spirit is akin to the energy of life, the life force, it is not Alive in itself. Only through interactions with other things may true life come. This may seem like a contradiction, Spirit is Life, but it is not Alive, and perhaps it is. Spirit in itself is a contradiction and perhaps the least understood Element. For Spirit brings life, and while the other elements may destroy the physical form of living creatures, only Spirit may truly destroy Spirit.
