Elym (Elementals)

The elym are chaotic beings from the universe of Monar and are the creators and caretakers of The Niriad. They are extremely powerful beings that feed off of the chaos of the universe Aetha. Their timeless, formless existence has a direct effect on the fabric of The Niriad.

Elym exist outside of physical concepts of time and space, and so it is unclear whether they can be born or created. It is also unclear whether they are ageless and immortal, or simply have life expectancies that span millennia. With regard to anatomy, very little is known. Everything that is known about elym is usually explained from Niradian perspective; how the elym behave, influence, and exist in relation to the beings of the Niriad.

Domains
The elementals are responsible for creating Ayanun and Synun and as such, each elym has accepted responsibility for a certain aspect of its existence. The aspect a elym presides over is called a 'domain'. ''It is critical to know that the only reason that something exists in The Niriad is because there is a elym that represents it. If an elemental were to disappear, the domain they represent would do the same.''

Domains also influence how the elementals can observe the physical world. From their home universe of Monar, each elemental is able to perceive The Niriad from the vantage of their domain only. This can be restrictive or expansive depending on the domain.

The elym are inherently the domain that they represent; they do not choose which domain they are responsible for. It is assumed that in the chaotic realm of Monar, all elementals are of equal importance and power, however in the physical universe, some domains may appear to be less important than others.

The size and significance of a domain dictates the class of elym they are classified as in The Niriad.

Elemental Classes

Grand elym

There are only two grand elym in The Niriad: Ar and Mon. They are a dyadic elemental; which means they are identical but opposing forces who are jointly responsible for the same domain. Ar and Mon are the only instance of dyadic elementals and so it is unclear whether all grand elym become dyadic; if the pair are grand because they're dyadic; or if their dyad has nothing to do with their position as grand elym.

Ar and Mon jointly own the domain of The Niriad continent, and it is accepted that this likely extends to the planet as a whole. It is unknown how much farther their influence goes in the universe of Ayanun.

Major elym

Major elym domains vary the most with regard to size. A major elym is classified as any elemental whose domain spans the domains of multiple other elementals (including other major elym). The major class notably includes the patron elym of each of The Niriad's sanctums.

Minor elym

Minor elym have domains that are extremely specific aspects of the universe. These can be a specific type of plant, a particular mineral, or a localized area of a river, for example. It is thought that everything in the physical universe has an assigned minor elym. Not all these elym have names or have been identified.

Soul elym

Soul elementals appear to exist outside of the politics of major and minor elym. Instead of visible aspects of the universe, soul domains are intangible elements of life itself. Peace, joy, invention, change, etc. are all represented by soul elym. It is said that every soul elym provides a piece of themselves to create each new life, and that the percentage given by each is what creates a being's nature. The soul elementals represent both the presence and absence of an essence. There is no elym for 'goodness' and 'evil' because these do not exist.

Tethers
In order to manage their domains, the elym form aethic tethers. Tethers allow a elym to maintain a 'beacon' in the physical universe so they can live in Monar until they're needed. An elemental's tether and domain aren't necessarily the same. For example, the grand elym Ar is responsible for the whole of The Niriad, but is only tethered to a solitary shrine within the region of Korglersa't. Maintaining large tethers takes more effort, but also makes the elementals more accessible for those who practice aethery to form allegiances.


 * Domains and tethers can - and often do - intersect. Regions where the crossover is extremely heavy create lifepools.


 * If a elym's tether is destroyed, then the elym has to create a new one before they can manifest in the physical universe again.

Elemental Politics
There is very little known about the inner politics of the Niradian pantheon. However, it is known that a elym's basic nature and responsibility is to act in the best interest of their domain. Specifically, it is an elemental's responsibility to maintain balance within their domain, whatever that involves. They will never make a choice that will intentionally harm or destroy their domain or tether. However, the methods and strategies each elym uses to achieve balance within their domains varies greatly, and similar to humans and other beings, this assortment of opinions and outlooks leads to disagreements within their ranks. There are many well-recorded instances of these fights affecting the fabric of The Niriad; the most notable being the first siege of Ketar'o; which separated the wild days from the creation of The Sanctums.

A note from TheLoreAxe: ''When it comes to laws, rules, and disagreements, it seems that soul elym remain outside of the fray. Nobody knows why this is the case. I call this the Soul Elym Exception.''

The grand elym are 'in power' within the Niriad - and it is their job to keep the entire continent in balance. On a day-to-day basis, the grand elym are hard to access and largely absent. To aid this absence after the First Siege, the patron elementals became the next-in-command. The major elementals organize themselves and their patron pass judgement in the case of conflict. The minor elym do the same, although in the case of conflict the patrons usually delegate to a more local major elym.

As revealed during the First Siege; elementals are only able to be killed by other elym and physical beings bound with elym. Since the devastation of the first siege, maintaining order within the elemental pantheon has been paramount to the patron elym's role.

The Niradian Pantheon
The true names of the elym are not truly known. Their native language defies physical beings' abilities to speak it. For the benefit of the people of The Niriad, most elym chose different names for themselves. They either picked sounds that they liked, or took on the names ancient Niradians used for them during the wild days.

Minor
A note from TheLoreAxe: There are multitudes of minor elym in The Niriad, and so this table simply consists of honourable mentions.

Soul
Soul elym never take on a physical form, they appear as visions in whatever form is most useful for the person experiencing it.