Supernatural Creature Data Files: Elementals (including Wraiths)

Supernatural Creature Data Files: Elementals (including Wraiths)

Description: Elementals are the fusion of elemental magic with a human soul – usually that of a living being, as imbued ghosts are said to dissipate in time (something we have yet to fully observe, as detailed in Supernatural Creature Data Files: Ghosts). These beings are capable of using a fair amount of magic of the type they have been imbued with, offensively and defensively. Recovered information indicates that at one point imbued ghosts were favoured, due to the great difficulty involved in killing them.

            Imbued humans are indistinguishable from normal humans, though those able to sense ‘life’ within people have stated that they feel slightly ‘off’. Imbued ghosts are easy to observe – the elemental will be permanently visible, possessing the colour of its associated element. Strangely, they will take the form of a floating ‘cloud’ of sorts, rather than that of their ghost/living form. They will often hide in out of the way places when not needed, allowing them to appear from nowhere to surprise intruders or attackers.

            Elementals are created by mages for several reasons, but usually either to grant friends power to defend themselves or to create guardians for their laboratories. In the course of guard duty, they will only be hostile if the mage is hostile – and this will depend on the mage.

            One particular type of ‘elemental’ is completely different – wraiths. Wraiths are ‘elementals’ created by using necromancy, instead of one of the ordinary elemental magic types. As necromancy is usually inimical to a soul, and our relative lack of information about necromancy, we are unsure how it is at all possible. Regardless, it is impossible to create a ‘living’ wraith – the process will, without a doubt, kill the victim. A theory of note is that zombies and most other forms of necromantic undead are the equivalent of human elementals.

            As they utilise the power of necromancy, the presence of a wraith is inimical to nearby life. From the one encounter we have had, it seems that they are unable to manifest any magic – instead they simply ‘grip’ living beings, exposing them to the necromantic energy they are made up of. The result is highly deadly. Also unlike other elementals, wraiths are quite likely to be openly hostile to living beings.

Physiology: Human elementals are physiologically indistinguishable from ordinary humans, and may be killed in the same manners. Their ability to channel magic does, when active, seem to grant them some resistance to heat or cold (depending on their associated element), but this is not significant and is similar to that mages seem to exhibit while channelling.

            Ghost elementals are more or less non-corporeal, similar to inactive magic that is being channelled by a mage (that is, somehow, slightly corporeal and affected by solid objects, rather than being completely incorporeal like ghosts). They will be visible at all times, and appear as a ‘cloud’ of magic of the colour associated with their element. As nigh incorporeal beings, they are very difficult to harm through conventional means.

            Wraiths, unlike other ghost elementals, are completely non-corporeal. Additionally, examination has revealed that unlike other elemental types, and like other necromantic creatures, wraiths seem to have no ‘life’.

            All types of ghost elementals seem to have difficulty communicating (they are unable to produce sounds except through the use of magic), but appear to have no trouble understanding us (assuming we are speaking a language they know). This, unfortunately, includes wraiths.

Identification and Destruction: Visual identification of imbued humans is very difficult – they are, outwardly, completely identical to anyone else. Visual identification of ghost elementals and wraiths can be easily made on sight. ESP detection of imbued humans is possible, but difficult – something is said to be ‘wrong’ with the imbued human. Detection of ghost elementals is difficult but easier, as they will be as ‘alive’ as a human, yet in a strange shape (as they are only likely to be present in a mage’s home it is not particularly difficult). Unfortunately, wraiths have no like (as with other necromantic creatures), and are thus completely undetectable through ESP and several other methods. If a wraith’s presence is suspected, keep your eyes peeled.

            Imbued humans are easily dispatched, however, attack from a range if possible to avoid attacks (their magic is too weak to give them true range). Luckily, upon death the ‘magic’ attached to their soul will dissipate. Imbued ghosts are very difficult to kill with conventional weapons, and wraiths cannot be. It is advised that active offensive psychic powers and specialised gear acquired from the clerics be utilised to eliminate ghost elementals and wraiths if encountered.

Other Details: We have only rarely encountered elementals, much like we have only rarely encountered mages. These are both related to the ‘strange’ decline in the number of ordinary (that is, non-necromancer) mages over the past few hundred years – something we believe the Meander Corporation has played a significant role in during more recent times (no proof).

            Much of what we know about elementals has been cobbled together from various tomes. Although several of our operatives have experimented with magic, both elemental and necromantic magic seems somewhat opposed to our psychic abilities, and as such we have not succeeded in creating elementals ourselves.

            One important, but unverified, fact about wraiths has come from the Meander Corporation. When asked why they did not employ them at all, they claimed that ‘all created wraiths will turn on their creators – or, rather, anything that possesses a soul – immediately.’ By soul, we presume they mean the life that seems to exist in most living things to some degree.

            Only two actual encounters are on record. Firstly, a human elemental of the fire type was encountered during one of our (few) encounters with living mages. Unfortunately, due to the mage’s preference for isolation, we could not learn much from this encounter. The second encounter was with a wraith. As detailed in the case file, it was a disaster – we were unable to eliminate the wraith until a specialist was called in. Later analysis has shown that any high level offensive abilities, or a cleric/paladin, would also have been effective.

            One final piece of information of note is that several records have indicated that, on occasion, an imbued human who has children will pass their imbuement on to their child. Though we have no knowledge of any extant cases, it is unlikely that they would show up on our radar – being as they are, apart from an innate ability to channel some type of elemental magic, entirely human.