History Main / ElementNumberFive

* At the end of the original run of ''Webcomic/IrregularWebcomic'', the "Fantasy" theme ended with the wizard Kyros initiating a new quest in which he seeks ''The Quintessential Fifth Elementalist'', an eldritch tome that would allow him to master all that remains after the four classical elements. Naturally, this plot thread was picked up when the webcomic returned in 2015.

[[folder:Film -- Animation]]

[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]

* In ''Literature/TheSecretsOfTheImmortalNicholasFlamel'', there is a fifth element hinted at throughout the series. [[spoiler:It's Aether, or the magic of Time.]]
* ''Literature/TheSovereignStone'' trilogy uses Void as its fifth element.

* ''Literature/{{Deverry}}'' has Aethyr as the fifth element, with its own [[AlchemicElementals Wildfolk]].

* In Zarathan, the setting of ''Literature/TheBalancedSword'', there are said to be five elements -- Air, Earth, Fire, Water, and Spirit -- with magic based on Spirit being particularly rare and powerful.

* In ''Literature/TheWitchlands'', in addition to four classical elements, there is an Origin Well dedicated to Aether, which bestows powers related to the mind. There's also element number ''six'', the Void, which is a darker counterpart to the Aether and thought mythical.

* ''Literature/TheFamiliarOfZero'' features Void, an element about which the general population knows nothing but that is nonetheless incredibly powerful. Void users are very rare, and only appear once every several centuries. The easiest way to identify one is apparently they always summon a human as their familiar

* ''Literature/{{Slayers}}'': Astral Shamanistic magic, to go along with the classic [[PlayingWithFire fire]], [[MakingASplash water]], [[DishingOutDirt earth]], and [[BlowYouAway wind]] shamanistic magic. Astral magic is unique insofar as it can damage a person's "astral body" (something of a spiritual form) instead of their physical body. There are various elements used in the series' line of BlackMagic and Holy Magic as well.

* ''Literature/{{Deverry}}'' has Aethyr as the fifth element, with its own [[AlchemicElementals Wildfolk]].

* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' has elementals, items which are the elements in a tangible form that are used for advanced crafting recipes. Originally there were more than four, but with each expansion the extra elements have been phased out; as of Cataclysm, there are five such elementals called Volatiles: Fire, Water, Earth, Air and Life.

* ''WesternAnimation/FrozenII'' has a notable aversion. It features an enchanted forest guarded by nature spirits that [[ElementalEmbodiment embody the four elements]]. Legend has it there's one more spirit. However, the fifth spirit is not an element, but a bridge between the magical and the mundane. This bridge turns out to be [[spoiler:the sisterhood of Elsa and Anna, two children of a marriage between a Northuldran and an Arendellian.]]

* In ''Literature/TheBible'', the Holy Spirit is alternately described as a whisper/breath, as baptismal water, and as baptismal ''fire'' (''probably'' just a metaphor...or is it?).

Not to be confused with [[DoingInTheWizard Boron]], the fifth element in the RealLife periodic table; ''Film/TheFifthElement'', which uses this trope as its eponymous PlotDevice; or ''Literature/TheFifthElephant'', which has nothing to do with any of this but is [[JustForPun rather a cheap pun]].

%%** Other ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' games also tend to have elements more obscure than the "main" ones. The four western elements (earth, fire, air and water) are [[FourElementEnsemble standard set]] for the crystals and the elemental archfiends, but the magic system is more complicated. While the standard three elements for spells are [[FireIceLightning fire, ice and lightning]], there are quite a few spells and special attacks with other elements or element-like properties, including air, water, earth, poison, holy, darkness, healing, gravity, as well as non-elemental spells.

* ''Webcomic/SleeplessDomain'': The {{magical girl}}s of Team Alchemical form a FourElementEnsemble, with each girl controlling one of the classical elements of Air, Earth, Fire, and Water. The [[TheLeader team's leader]] Tessa Quinn, however, falls outside the classical paradigm with her power over [[PureEnergy Aether]]. As such, she's the strongest of the group in terms of raw magical power, with the ability to [[HandBlast unleash powerful blasts of energy upon her opponents]], or [[HealingHands channel energy into her allies to heal them]].

* ''{{Deverry}}'' has Aether as the fifth element, with its own [[AlchemicElementals Wildfolk]].

** Slood is a theoretical element, harder to discover than water but easier than fire. One of the reasons why humans on the Roundworld are believed to be unintelligent is that they haven't discovered slood yet.

* ''LightNovel/TheFamiliarOfZero'' features Void, an element about which the general population knows nothing but that is nonetheless incredibly powerful. Void users are very rare, and only appear once every several centuries. The easiest way to identify one is apparently they always summon a human as their familiar
* The ''[[Anime/SixGatesWorld Rokumon]]'' (Six Gates) franchise already has six elements as part of its premise, with the fifth and sixth being light/holy and dark/curse. The anime ''Anime/MonColleKnights'' introduces a seventh. This element is called Time, but seems to work more like existence itself. It has no specific form, and exists in everything. Messing with it causes the physical universe to start falling apart very quickly.

* ''LightNovel/{{Slayers}}'': Astral Shamanistic magic, to go along with the classic [[PlayingWithFire fire,]] [[MakingASplash water,]] [[DishingOutDirt earth,]] and [[BlowYouAway wind]] shamanistic magic. Astral magic is unique insofar as it can damage a person's "astral body" (something of a spiritual form) instead of their physical body. There are various elements used in the series' line of BlackMagic and Holy Magic as well.

Some non-European traditions have five elements, either integral to the system or added to the "classical" four in an OlderThanPrint instance of this trope. For example, Chinese systems normally define five elements (Earth, Fire, Water, Metal, and Wood). (So works based on that mythology sometimes introduce a version of this trope in the form of an Element Number Six.) In [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aether_(classical_element) Greek,]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_element#Tibet Tibetan,]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mah%C4%81bh%C5%ABta Indian,]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_element#Cosmic_elements_in_Babylonia Babylonian]] and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godai_%28Japanese_philosophy%29 Japanese]] elemental systems, Aether, Space, Sky, [[PowerOfTheVoid Void]], or Sound may fill the narrative role of this trope, or just be treated as a "standard" fifth element (again allowing for the possibility of a plot-significant, secret Number Six).

Another common variation is for this to be some kind of mental, spiritual, or [[PureEnergy energy]]-related {{foil}} to the physical elements; ThePowerOfLove, MindControl, and LightEmUp are all common choices. The above rules may still apply (especially if the hero or the villain are the ones using it), but non-omniscient powers are equally likely to be balanced as not. The InverseLawOfComplexityToPower often favors Element Number Five since it doesn't always fit the same system as the rest.

* ''LightNovel/MyNextLifeAsAVillainessAllRoutesLeadToDoom'': In the setting of ''[[ShowWithinAShow Fortune Lover]]'' there are the four traditional elements of Fire, Water, Air and Earth, with Light as the fifth element. The game's protagonist Maria Campbell possesses it, but since she's a commoner it drew the attention of nobles like the original villainous Catarina Claes. [[spoiler:There's also a sixth element, Darkness, which is even rarer still since the only way to obtain it is to perform a secret ritual that involves human sacrifice.]]

* In the ''VideoGame/QuestForGlory'' series, the fifth element is Pizza, which researchers describe as representing the well-roundedness and wholeness of the world. That, and it tastes good. In the fan-made remake of the second game, there's even a Pizza Elemental as a BonusBoss.

* Ordinarily, the ''Manga/Reborn2004'' universe uses the seven Elements of the Sky: Sun, Rain, Storm, Cloud, Lightning, Mist, and Sky. Each one is associated with an Element of the Earth. But the best example of this would be the eighth element: [[spoiler: Night, which is fueled by the PowerOfHate.]]

* ''VideoGame/EternalDarkness'' substitutes the three Ancients, Xel'lotath (representing sanity, or lack thereof,) Chattur'gha (representing brute force and health) and Ulyaoth (representing the mind and mana) for the four elements, their respective runes being used to power spells and trumping each other in the standard ElementalRockPaperScissors style. There's also the fourth Ancient, Mantorok, [[spoiler: who is conspiring to destroy the other three Ancients]], and whose rune trumps all the others. WordOfGod states that there's also a fifth Ancient that is never seen, but does have a few enemies with its color coding who appear.

** A previous-life flashback revealed that [[spoiler: spiritbending was the original source of the the other four bending abilities in humans, as well as the Avatar cycle itself.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' there are four elements: fire, ice, [[BizarroElements candy, and slime]]. There are also four [[ElementalEmbodiment embodiments]] for each element: Flame Princess, Patience St. Pim, Princess Bubblegum, and Slime Princess respectively. However, the "Elements" miniseries introduces a fifth element which holds the universe together: [[spoiler: lumps, which Lumpy Space Princess embodies]].

** More information on quintessence [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aether_(classical_element) here]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{WITCH}}'', the girls have powers based on the four elements, with Will being [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway the heart]]. [[PlayingWithATrope Instead of getting this fifth element later, she gets a]] ''power-up'' that lets her use Quintessence, an combination of LifeEnergy and [[ShockAndAwe electrical power]] that could bring appliances and golem-like beings to life, summon ghosts from the site of their deaths and [[LightningCanDoAnything a whole lot of other applications]].

* There a four elementary gauge bosons in the Standard Model of particle physics, which are responsible for the transmittal of the electromagnetic, strong nuclear, and weak nuclear forces. A fifth elementary ''scalar'' boson is also included and, until recently, was undiscovered: the Higgs.

** Actually, at least according to Wiki/TheOtherWiki, there are at least ''seven'' other states of matter, meaning that, under certain interpretations, there are up to twelve elements in RealLife.

* The Digital type in ''VideoGame/{{Temtem}}'' was artificially created not long before the game's events, while the rest of the types are naturally-occurring.