The Four Elements,” can be recited by any child across the Empire:

“Air sings and lets us sigh,
Earth loves and lets us lie,
Water grieves and lets us cry,
Fire hates and lets us die.”

This crude rhyme serves to teach all from a young age how important the Four Elements are to life. Air allows us to breathe, Earth gives us solid ground, Water gives us bodily fluids, and Fire grants us death. The last part of the rhyme, of course, references the “cleansing” power of Fire, which prevents reanimation and the creation of Horrors, granting a true death.

Both Wizards and alchemists base a lot of their philosophy on the Four Elements. So as every practitioner knows, the children’s rhyme only explains so much. Alchemy generally uses the Four Elements as per the rhyme, but ascribes them with various and sundry properties or even personalities. Along with other “elements,” an alchemist can make various products and predict experimental results based on how all of these elements interact. Alchemists typically work with all of the Elements more or less equally, without prejudice. Wizardry looks at the Four Elements a little differently. The majority of common battle spells, for example, does not use air but instead use lightning. Indeed, within most standardized teaching, the Four Elements are instead referred to as *Ignis, Gelus, Acidus, *and* Fulminis*, also called Fire, Ice, Acid, and Lightning. Wizards will also typically focus in one of the Elements, though this results in the loss of ability with the Conflicting Element. Some Arch-Wizards posses a focus in two Elements, though this is extremely rare.