Elementals are living spirits of air, earth, fire or water. They are manifestations of the living nature of these elements. As the spirit infusion in "dead" matter is very low, the elementals tend to be small, lethargic or both. They subsist upon the presence of their native element.
Elementals tend to have a diffuse animal outline, with a head, a body, limbs and possibly a tail. Air elementals often resemble flying creatures superficially, earth elementals tend to be low and blocky quatropeds, fire elementals are reptilian, and water elementals may resemble marine creatures.
Elementals are usually seen in their native element, perhaps the most commonly seen is small fire elementals, which can be spotted by staring carefully into bonfires and the like. Earth elementals can sometimes be spotted in the summer, when they are most active, crawling around on rock and patches of bare earth. Air elementals are invisible, and water elementals nearly so, when they remain in their native elements.
Mostly, elementals keep themselves to themselves. However, they may be summoned and bound as servitors by sorcerers and conjurers.
Occasionally, the elements give rise to relatively lively and intelligent manifestations, these are known collectively as ultraelementals. The various known strains are called sylphs (air), gêgeneês (earth), korrs (earth), salamanders (fire) and undines (water). Unlike the lesser elementals, these spirits are quite attached to their physical bodies, and fear excarnation.
Paraelementals are of ultraelementals of one element tinged with another: These include djinn (airy fire) and steropes (fiery air).