Prime Materials (the obligatory elemental system)

        

Alchemy is a long-favored art among the peoples of the Known World. The arts of miracle and gnosis kept safe in flasks and alembics, the laws of the world distilled into potable reagents and tablets. Only sometimes does it go horribly wrong. Certainly such malfunctions are more a matter of misfiring equipment than the rending of the soul through exertions it is incapable of. A detonating boiler cares not for what purpose it heats water.

It is understood that there are four essential elements which make up all Worldly matter. Indeed, all materials of the world can be burnt, boiled, distilled, or dissolved into these fundamental materials. However, the more durable the material, the more effort must be expended. The more complex the material, such as living flesh, the more nuanced and complex the recipe must be to fully separate it into its purest components. And of course, if one can break something apart, there is also the possibility of reconstituting it. As the chaos of Creation mixes the Prime Materials, they combine into wholly new substances through the Numinous Miracle, gaining new properties and further capable of combining and  altering themselves into yet more sophisticated and derived forms. But all the chaos of existence is not without its bounds. The odds of some combinations are rarer than others. Some materials cannot exist with others, and are destroyed. Thus there is disparity. 

But with careful study, this disparity can be amended, and the rare and precious made your own. Such efforts are the great works of the most acclaimed magi. To grow gold in a cauldron, to quicken life in a flask, to create the combustible powders which fuel the guns and cannons of the wealthiest realms. This is the domain of the alchemist. 

The first alchemists were said to be blacksmiths, and their arts were treated with the same reverence as the great magi of the present. 

Hyla

The base of all solid matter, Hyla is either a grayish-white powder of seemingly infinite granularity, or a condensed stone, typically flaking and rugged but sometimes greatly compressed into smooth and solid layers. Though it can be cracked, crushed, displaced, and eroded, its grains cannot be destroyed, only shaped into a new form through the supplementation of the other Prime Materials. It is said that if  Creation should come to a true end, it shall be all as spheres of cold Hyla, floating endlessly through a pitch-black void.

Azoth

Azoth is the agent of change, of separation, of combination. A mirrorlike fluid in its basest state, the presence of Azoth can soften, tarnish, and dissolve materials. Most fluids which are close to pure Azoth are acids. Even mere water, which most Worldly life relies on, is a solvent, is it not? Azoth's presence in a material is what allows it to interact with other matter and change it's form.

Theion

The animating force of matter. It is what makes up the sun, what inhabits the core of all flames, what embodies lightning and the spark of life within the mind. The slightest amount of Theion in a material is enough to allow it to burn, provided enough heat is provided. Materials rich in Theion burn easily, ones bereft resist it. If Azoth may change or supplement a material, Theion is a winnower. It subtracts, refines, purifies. It is a crucible or a destroyer; that which it touches is rendered purer or into oblivion.

Pneuma

The breath of existence which flows through all the world and beyond. It is known that the celestial bodies of Creation call Pneuma down and condense it richly, while it is sparse in the Outer Black. All living things not fueled by sorcery or miracle require it in some capacity, suffocating if deprived. Unlike all other Prime Materials, Pneuma benefits Worldly creatures in its raw form. Theion burns and Azoth poisons, and Hyla can choke those who breath it in its powdered state, but the proper circulation of Pneuma within the body is vital to one's health. Indeed, all foul airs and vapors are due to the pollution of other Prime Materials within Pneuma.

Numen

The substance of the soul, the ineffable aether which suffuses all Creation and shapes the minds sparked within the bodies of the Prime Materials. It is the prism by which their light is reflected into countless gradients. The expenditure of Numinous Essence can reshape all Prime Materials at will, and grants Daimons and other powerful beings an unsurpassed mastery of creation. Not reliant on the esoteric subtleties of gradient and combination that alchemists must contend with, they create as they wish through will alone. 

Those who use the power of Gnosis without the wisdom of alchemy may replicate this, but only in pale imitation. Their conjurations flicker and fade, their summons crumble to dust. What they make cannot last. But they try anyway.

The Elemental Magi

When one speaks of a sorcerous master of the elements, it is typically referring to those who through crude manipulation of the Prime Materials turn them into weapons of brute force, working their will around them through their chosen methodology. Though many do use their arts for mundane purpose, their flashy and simplistic methodologies are well-suited to war and adventuring, so it is this that they are often known for.

Hylotheurges use Hyla to conjure clouds of dust, pull walls from the ground, and propel stones at foes. The greatest of them can create fortifications or dwellings with ease. Many of the great structures which dot the land like the corpses of behemoths are the result of the Hylotheurgic arts, and now lay abandoned, slowly decaying into mere worldly stone as the other Prime Materials brush against them. They are considered the most noble and wise of the elemental magi, more known for their creations than the destruction they can wreak.

Azotheurges use Azoth to flood, choke, and dissolve. They divert rivers, drown trenches, and can condense the substance into quicksilver blades and bolts, spread it into fog and vapor, or excite it into a state that can erode through stone and armor. They are oft reviled as some of the wickedest of the elemental magi, considered poisoners and assassins. And in truth, they often are.

Theiotheurges burn, yes, but they may also empower their bodies. By emitting jets of Theion from their limbs, they can vastly increase the speed of their movement and the power of their strikes. They are like living comets, their trailing tail of flame as much a part of them as the body itself. Their gleaming coronas and beams of light can see them mistaken for holy figures, but their art may be used by any.

Pneumatheurges master the breath of creation. They dance through existence, near-untouchable, calling storms, whirlwinds, and gusts to move themselves and displace others, though rare is it for them to possess a means to directly inflict harm. In addition, they may hasten healing, staunch bleeding, and cure minor ailments by improving the circulation of Pneuma within a body.

While some of the elemental magi may be more respected than others, all carry a cost. By drawing forth a Prime Material from the world around them, they destabilize a delicate balance. A minor working is no great danger, but to draw immense quantities out of the World is often to result in unexpected transmutations of matter, explosive eruptions, the rising of harmful vapors, or other such calamities. As such, the smartest of them dabble in the alchemical arts, if only to understand the potential risks of their workings.

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I've tried to create something that is somewhere between the conventional alchemical Tria Prima and the stereotypical four elements. Hopefully it stands on its own as something unique. Though I think elemental systems can be overdone or overfocused on, I've always wanted to try my hand at one. Personally I dislike when they're used as a means to systematize magic or put it into neat boxes that remove all the mystery from it, and I think they are at their strongest when they encourage lateral thinking by players (a unique elemental system can lead to creative solutions or interesting interactions) or sell the vibe or atmosphere of a setting (such as the fundamental elements in the video game OFF0). For me, this is more an exercise in the latter.