History Main / ElementalEmbodiment

* The Trolls of ''{{Literature/Discworld}}''. According to Pratchett's ''THUD!'', every troll takes on the properties of the nearest stone/mineral/gem material to the place they are 'born'. Brick becomes a dirty red, Mr. Shine is iridescent like diamonds, etc..

* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'': Elementals are a creature type ranging from the [[http://ww2.wizards.com/gatherer/CardDetails.aspx?&id=20198 generic]] to the [[http://ww2.wizards.com/gatherer/CardDetails.aspx?&id=48174 more exotic]] to [[http://ww2.wizards.com/gatherer/CardDetails.aspx?&id=74237 the really exotic.]][[note]]Note that the last one is from a deliberately parodic set[[/note]] In general, they tend to represent the basic forces and building blocks of nature given life and form, are most associated with Red, Green and Blue {{mana}}, the colors most associated with the elements of nature. They usually embody the elements most associated with their color -- i.e., Red has elementals of rock, fire, lava and lighting, Blue tends to have elementals of air, water, storms, ice and more esoteric concepts like thought, and Green mostly has elementals of wood and plants.

* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' has plenty of elementals. There's the usual fire/water/earth/air ones, but also various combinations of the types (for example, a lava elemental combines the elements of fire and earth) and more exotic types such as arcane elementals and voidwalkers (while technically demon- not elemental-type mobs, they can be considered elementals of shadow). Plant creatures are also elemental-type mobs. There are also the Elemental Lords -- Neptulon the Tidehunter, Smolderon the Firelord, Therazane the Stonemother and Thunderaan the Windlord (as well as Ragnaros and Al'Akir, the former Firelord and Windlord) -- massively powerful elementals who rule their lesser kin and respective [[ElementalPlane planes]].
** They're notably ''not'' mindless mooks, they were the original inhabitants of the planet before life was created (and they were banished to AnotherDimension) and have had civilizations (and wars) that have lasted millions of years. The little guys tend to get enslaved rather easily, but the [[RankScalesWithAsskicking leaders tend to cause geographical changes when summoned.]]
** In addition to the four classic elemental lords the Burning Crusade expansion also introduced Murmur, the elemental lord of ''sound''. However no lesser such entities have been encountered as of yet, making Murmur's origin something of a mystery.

** They're notably ''not'' mindless mooks, they were the original inhabitants of the planet before life was created (and they were banished to AnotherDimension) and have had civilizations (and wars) that have lasted millions of years. The little guys tend to get enslaved rather easily, but the [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking leaders]] [[PhysicalGod tend to cause geographical changes when summoned.]]

* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVII'' features the classical element versions as important [=NPCs=] in the final third of the game. Only the Fire Spirit is fought during the main game (although all of them features as {{Bonus Boss}}es, and [[spoiler:the main character has part of the mark of the Water Spirit on him]].

** AnIcePerson named Patience St. Pim tries to recreate this system. She succeeds during the "Elementals" mini-series, turning herself, [[EmperorScientist Princess Bubblegum]], [[PersonOfMassDestruction Flame Princess]] and [[MoleMen Slime Princess]] into the new four; in the process, non-Elemental characters are transformed into one of the four elements (for example, [[FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire Marceline]] becoming a Candy Person calling herself Marshmellowline).

* The ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'' has a few of these, such as [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-054 SCP-054]], which is composed of water, and [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-457 SCP-457]], which is composed of fire. Not only are these two opposites in terms of their elements, but also in terms of their behaviour: SCP-457 is obsessed with burning absolutely everything, including people, whereas SCP-054 is friendly and playful with people, or at least women now since it was traumatized by male researchers' experiments.

* ''Literature/TheCityOfBrass'' has three races of powerful, intelligent elemental embodiments from TheTimeOfMyths:
** The Peri are giant centauroid bird-creatures with human torsos, arms, and heads. They have PersonOfMassDestruction-level [[BlowYouAway power over winds]], but are [[AllPowerfulBystander strict isolationists]].
** The Marid are legendary even among magical beings for their near-godlike [[MakingASplash power over the waters]], but hadn't been seen in centuries. It's unclear what physical form they have; a {{Flashback}} mentions tentacles and implies that they exist partly in the SpiritWorld, but a modern one [[PossessingADeadBody animates a corpse as an avatar]]. They used to accept mortal {{Cult}}ists and HumanSacrifice and have a long-standing grudge against the daeva.
** The Daeva ''were'' [[PlayingWithFire spirits of pure fire]] before the Prophet Suleiman cursed them for their crimes against humanity. [[BroughtDownToBadass In their new humanoid bodies]], they're immune to fire and wield powerful magic, albeit a shadow of their old strength. Those who refused to repent became the ''ifrit'', keeping their original bodies but losing all their powers.

** ''TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}}'' features elementals of grave, mist, blood, and pyre, which are corrupted versions of earth, air, fire, and water respectively.

-> ''They were born in stable orbits within black holes. Creatures formed from the primary elements: Air, water, fire, earth. The Science Division had a technical name. We just called them Elementals.''

* ''Film/BigTroubleInLittleChina'' has the Three Storms: Thunder, Rain, and Lightning, personified as buff martial artists with magical powers and [[CoolHat awesome hats]].

** The ''TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}}'' campaign setting features elemntals of grave, mist, blood,and pyre, which are corrupted versions of earth, air, fire, and water respectively.

{{Golem}}s (which may be made of or contain earth, stone, metal, crystals, [[SentientSands sand]], [[{{Snowlems}} ice and snow]], or similar materials) are a common variation (while ImprovisedGolems can be made of other elements), as are the {{Cumulonemesis}}, the EvilLivingFlames, the LivingLava and the RockMonster. May have VolcanicVeins. If ice-based, could wear AnIceSuit. Will ''rarely'' be turned into a HybridMonster due to HybridOverkillAvoidance, although elemental [[OurDragonsAreDifferent dragons]] are not unheard of. Can often be found living in an ElementalPlane.

The ultimate extension of ElementalPowers, the Elemental Embodiment is when the elements that are the basic building blocks of the universe [[EverythingTryingToKillYou get up and come for you]]. (And no, we're not talking about, say, fluorine here — though that would be a [[RuleOfCool pretty cool]] a-, in-, sub-, or perversion.) Usually called "elementals". They may be mindless {{Mooks}}, or they could be very dangerous. If they're sapient, that usually means that they have status as a type of NatureSpirit; if they're mindless but associated with nature anyway, they may serve as a midway point between [[GaiasVengeance Mother nature attacking you]] with animals and with natural disasters. They will usually be [[ElementalBaggage summoned out of thin air]] by people with ElementalPowers.