MC, a stranger on Imera, with no knowledge of the world around her.

There is something odd about Aila, and how the world itself seems to lend her its strength.

A merchant that Aila met when she went to sell her first kill, a flame wolf.  He is the only regular merchant she will trust due to his honest nature.

A Cananes, Toril is a blacksmith, and one of the few trusted merchants the MC will deal with.

He has a rough and honest character, and will often laugh when others will take offense.  He seldom allows himself to become insulted, unless the one speaking has that intention.

To the Cananes, intentions are what measure the words and character of a person. If the intention is mean spirited, most Cananes will find fault with your words.  If the insult is unintentional, they will take it as a part of the person's ways of interaction, and only correct them if they step over the line.

A slave dealer.

Toral found himself in this profession after his father passed away and he inherited the business.  After being exposed to the business for a long time, he's come to his own understanding of human nature.  If he refused to be a slave dealer, others would take his place, and the slaves would have no one to help them find a good master.

Toral will often refuse to sell a slave to certain people, ones who treat their slaves worse than a wild animal.  He will also not sell a sick slave, or one disabled.  He spends his own coin to heal his slaves, and is not so focused on the bottom line that his people suffer.

As a result, he's not a rich slave dealer, but he is a respected one.

The Silver King is a well known elementalist, a powerful high leveled Core realm being, but it is unknown whether or not he is a respected powerful person.

His elemental affinity is Flame elements, and since flame elements are most commonly trained, his affinity made him grow more powerful than others of his age group.

The reason behind him being called the 'Silver' King is because of his silver colored hair, which is unusual among the people of the Kingdom of Thules.  Most do not have silver hair until they become quite elderly, while Kohl developed his hair color in his early teens.

Brer retired as the king of Thules when his health began to deteriorate, and is the power behind the throne.  Although ministers may believe it to be easy to gain power, Brer watches with amusement.  The only reason Aros has never been invaded is due to the intelligence of Brer, and his forefathers.

There were once garrisons in the old forest between Teshele and Thules, however, Brer was able to lure a few packs of storm wolves into that forest.  The result was destroyed garrisons, power loss of their enemies, and more conservative notions of peace circulating in Teshele.

Known only by her title, The Black One has a dark elemental affinity, but due to the traditions of Underground Black, and some secrets buried within its walls, there were many details that were unknown to her, or her sister.

Note - This glossary of the Black One will be updated as the story is updated.

A light element user, known only by her title, as dictated by the traditions of Underground Black.  The Seer, and her sister, the Black One,  are practically prisoners within their own home, and have never known the love of their parents, or what being free to choose really means.

Note - this glossary will be updated as the story is updated.

The town of Aros is a town located just slightly north of a stone wasteland, west of the most dangerous forest on the continent, and east of the kingdom of Teshele.

Due to the rampant wild elemental essence on the wasteland, no known roads meander through it, even though there is a large bay on the eastern side that opens onto the ocean.  No ships travel the ocean as it is too dangerous to do so.

The Cananes are a demi human race with wolf ears, enhanced senses, larger canine teeth, and enhanced strength.

Within Cananes communities, their sacred traditions speak of how their races became mixed, but have deleted the original stories as they were far to shameful to speak of to the original descendants.

A Staffer is a verbal slight, an insult towards those who do not have elementary channels, and can not naturally channel elemental essence.

A Staffer is someone who wields a staff with a elemental crystal embedded to absorb and use any elemental essence.  The essence is then channeled into a beast core also embedded in the staff.

The beast core is the storage device of the elemental essence, while the crystal is a common tool that all elementalists use to absorb elemental essence.

Elementalist is a general term used to describe someone who can absorb the elements, and channel it for their own use.

Other than the MC, all elementalists need to use a crystal to filter the essence so they can absorb it in its pure form.  If an elementalist absorbs an element they do not have an affinity to, it can damage their body over time.

The wastes from impure elements can clog their channels, as well as wear out their bodies prematurely.  Those who are able to absorb their own element can grow stronger physically.

An elementalist is resistant to disease, as well as sickness.

An elemental beast can regenerate over time, even regrowing a lost limb.

Elemental beasts come in different ranks, which is used to place them into a category of strength.

All animals start out without any rank, being the most basic or normal strength.

Flame wolves mature into a rank one elemental beast, with the attribute of flame.  They are temperamental, and travel in small packs.  Their clean flame attribute makes them a difficult enemy for normal people to deal with.

Their hides are worth forty silver, a quarter silver piece per pound of meat, and fifty silver for the core.

The hide can make flame resistant armor, but has an inherent weakness to water based attacks.

A sentient plant beast, of the life attribute, a tree-man will stay near other trees to use as a hiding place, and only attack if other beasts get too close.

It is a rank one elemental beast, and will not attack others if there is more than one enemy, and prefers to hide.  If the enemy is alone, unless it shows a large amount of power, the tree-man will automatically try to attack.

It is vulnerable to flame elements.

The rank one life element stone within its chest is worth ten large silver due to rarity.

The storm wolf matures into a rank one elemental beast, but due to its diet, its core is unstable, and has multiple conflicting attributes within it.

Storm wolves are stupidly aggressive, and will continue to attack a strong opponent until most of the pack is wiped out.  The reason the storm wolf has such a plentiful population is they breed like rabbits, and can eat just about anything.  They can live just about anywhere, but will overpopulate an area quickly if they don't live in the territory of other beasts.

They are mostly used to keep other breeds of beasts that breed quickly under control, and used as a prey species for larger carnivores and omnivores, like the stone bear, and the iron tusked boar.

Their fur is worth thirty silver, the same as a cow's.  The meat is a dime a pound, and the unstable core is worth thirty silver.  It is not rare, and it can be dangerous as the unstable core could explode.  Also, its elemental base is impure, so usually only staffers will attempt to use it.

A brown bear larger than a Canadian Grizzly Bear, running at roughly a thousand pounds plus.

It is called a stone bear as it has an earth based elemental beast core, and has bony plates along its spine for self protection.  These plates are as fine as the ivory on some Earth animals, and highly sought after.

The meat is considered a high end product, as is the hide, and plates.  The organ meat is a luxury good.

The earth base core is a rank three at a minimum, and priced at four hundred silver.

Meat is one silver per pound, and the fat is half a silver per pound.  Organ meat is four silver per pound.

The hide is priced at an average of two hundred and eighty silver, and has a natural resistance to earth based attacks, and a partial resistance to flame based attacks.

Armor made of a stone bear hide is more highly sought than flame wolf as it has two resistances.

The black panther, an extremely large feline with a dark elemental affinity, is a particularly brutal hunter that will hunt down iron tusked boars with a partner.

They are silent, with muffled footsteps, and easily hunt in the darkest parts of the forest.

They are rank four elemental beasts when they mature, are born a rank two, and advance to a rank three during their early adulthood.

Though they have less hide to sell, their intact fur is well over six hundred silver, and their organ meat is often sold to the apothecary for a high price.  The meat is on par with a stone bear, but due to there being less, the entire carcass will sell for another six hundred silver.

The rank four dark elemental beast core is worth five hundred silver pieces alone.  There isn't much call for dark element based beast cores, but the price is high due to the scarcity.

A true monster the size of an adult grizzly bear, or larger, it eats iron rich plants and stones, as well as animals.  It is like all other pigs as they are omnivores and eat meat.  The tusks and bones are laced with iron, and are high end materials.

At two thousand pounds, there is a lot to harvest if one is able to kill such a beast.  Unfortunately for humans, its hide is resistant to slashing damage from blades, along with its sheer weight, it is a fortress wrecking monster.  Wooden doors, gates, and portcullis are barely considered barriers.

Fortunately for humans, iron tusked boars seldom come out of the forest, as the elemental essence it requires to sustain itself, it thin outside its natural habitat.

A person's elemental affinity is the key to their physical health, but also their mental health.

There is a commonality among most elementalists, as they don't seem to understand that their affinity is set at birth, and can not be changed.

There are only a few ways to measure this, but the Kingdom of Thules has not discovered this method.  As a result most practitioners absorb flame elements as that is a flashy and powerful offensive element.  Also, flame wolves are fairly common, and flame cores are only considered uncommon in the market.

If a person absorbs an element not of their affinity, they will not have the benefits of an enhanced physical body, or increased longevity.

Flame elements, within those without an flame element affinity, will corrode their channels and shorten their lifespan. It will increase the volatility of their temperament as well. It is basically poison, and some are more susceptible than others.

To measure a person's affinity is to check their absorption of different elements, and the one that they absorb much faster than others is their affinity.  This is the easiest way to determine affinity.

An elementalist will show they are channeling their elements when their eyes glow.  For most practitioners, there is a glow on their retina that radiates outward, which can then be seen by others.

For the MC, she has such a vast quantity of elemental essence, her eyes don't just glow, there is a physical change to her eyes, and the light radiated will be so strong as to cause others to feel the negative effects associated with being exposed to the elemental essence of another person.

If a practitioner is emotionally  unstable, or becomes too upset, their control erodes, which causes their more abundant elemental essence to become agitated.

In the MC, flame elements can line the skin and bring her no harm.  Those same flames would burn others easily.

The strongest practitioner within Aros, the one known as the Magistrate, is a high level core realm practitioner, and his eyes will look as though there is a candle glowing when he is angry.

In comparison, the MC's eyes can resemble a red hot glowing coal from a forge, or red hot molten metal.

An elementalist needs to develop their abilities over time, and slowly absorb the essence to forge their elementary channels, and gradually form a core.

The core is a focal point, or similar to a focusing lens in a magnifying lens.  This concentrates the essence for the practitioner to use, and is forged similar to a beast core.  It is pure concentrated elemental essence, and only forms when there is enough of it.

The core is also the door to their personal elemental space, where a practitioner stores their elemental essence in pools.

The MC does not know if she has a core, as that is not what she's seen.  She has seen the emptiness of the void, and gems in the colors of the elements.  If any practitioner were to hear this, they would not understand it, and believe she was only dreaming.

The difference between herself and others is so vast, only her closest companions will know the truth.

Novels that feature cultivation often refer to the levels of power as realms and ranks.

On a go forward basis, and over time, this will be changed to Elemental Layers.

Each Layer is focused on certain aspects of the physical body, whether it's the skeleton, the muscles, the organs, or the consciousness, each requires an entire layer of elemental essence to strengthen.

The reason cultivation terms seem to be common among the people is that someone from Earth, hundreds of years ago, was reincarnated upon Imera, and their 'knowledge of cultivation' has persisted, long after it's been proven to be ineffective as a method of elemental channeling, or determining a person's elemental affinity.

Normal humans upon Imera do not absorb pure essence, and the vast majority do not absorb their natural elemental affinity.  As a result, some things are unknown about the influence of the elements upon the human body.

Aila's servants are fed extremely pure sources of elemental essence, ancient spring water, and elemental beast meat.

The effects are varied, and sometimes as subtle as a scent.

Mental and physical effect are as follows:

Flame - Temperamental, and quick to anger. Passionately aggressive.  Erodes physical strength as elemental essence enhances the natural human strength, but flames are offensive in nature, and destructive. Will add a light cinnamon and pepper flavor, with a spicy personal scent.

Earth - Steady, firm, but heavy. Erodes speed, but enhances physical strength and durability. Makes less prone to bursts of temper, but makes more sexually aggressive towards lovers.  Earth adds a robust salty flavor, along with the tender scent and taste of almonds.

Water - Enhances physical power with relentless agility and force. Purifies mental strength, and the physical body.  Temper may appear cool, but once angered, will stay angry for a long time, just like boiled water.  Water essence have a pure spring rain scent, along with spring water flavor.

Wind - Enhances physical speed, and relieves the force of gravity upon the body. Will scour the body clean, but can dry their constitution. May appear flighty, but is naturally steady, and relentless. Flows around and over rather then through a problem.  Wind elements add a combination of sweet from pollen on the wind, and spice from the flame elements it carries.

Dark - Erodes the physical strength of others, muffles sound, and increases their dark passions. Likes the dark, secretive, and full of guile. Dark elements have no real scent, but induces a boiling passion, and lust.

Light - Soft and fluffy personality, along with emotive, and cuddly. Does not lack passion, but is more even, and less prone to lustful intentions.  Practically immune to disease and regenerative. Light elements carry a cinnamon scent from the flame elements they share the sky with, and a light honeyed cinnamon flavor due to the influence of light on plant life.

Life - Embodies the motherly instincts, and the natural opponent of death.  Appears soft, and warm, but depending upon the environment, may be wildly passionate.  Needs to mother someone.  Life elements are floral and woody, with some wildflower and cedar scents, yet meaty flavors when within the forest as it's wild in nature.  Life elements change a person's scent to match the environment they settle in.

Death - Considered the end of life, one with a natural death affinity will strongly influence those with life. Can animate dead corpses not beheaded. A death element user can alter the living to become a servant, but the servant becomes completely reliant upon the master.  Death elements have an underlying scent of decay, and will change based on the location.  Within the graveyards, or near zombie infested lands, the scent is dry, musty, with mildew. In the forest, it is of decaying plant matter, or compost, as life in the forest will mix with death, but not overwhelm it.  Life is a part of death after all.

The central figure in the religious beliefs of their world, Imera is a living planet, with a consciousness, and a will.

The other gods are not known by name, nor is it known if they are at peace in the god's realm.

There are stories of godlings, children of Imera, but they don't seem to interact with the world unless the temples force them with actions that catch Imera's attention.

In the eyes of the temple, Imera has slept for thousands of years, and does not interfere in their business.  It's also why they have grown corrupt over the centuries, and a period of awakening is scheduled for their future.

And destruction.

In Skeletal Reinforcement, the elementalist needs to saturate their entire skeleton with their element.  Once this is complete, they will finish the first layer, and begin a transformation that will allow their bones to be quite resistant to breaks, or damage.

Once the transformation is triggered, the elementalist will need to find a place to rest, and recover.  Their essence source will weaken as the entrance to their space is partially, or fully closed.

The first layer leaves the elementalist in an extremely vulnerable state where their bones are quite brittle, and their bodies weak due to the lack of elemental essence flowing in their bodies.  Once the transformation is complete, the door to their space swings wide open again, and they can handle a lot more damage then before.

Not a true layer of elemental essence, or a rank.

The Null Layer is where the elemental channels are forged, and the elementalist's core is formed.

During this 'Null' layer, the channels are more easily damaged, and the core can be polluted with impure elemental essence.  If the elemental affinity is not compatible, their elementary channels will be forged with an incompatible element, and the elementalist will never be able to advance passed the first layer of Skeletal reinforcement.