What are "The Elementals" of the Black Shroud?

[MikkoAkure]

In ye olde 1.0 lore, Elementals are EVERYWHERE and in EVERYTHING, not just trees in the Shroud. It just happens that the gigantic forest being the gigantic forest has the most living things in a concentrated area and that's where they decided to mostly congregate and where they congregate, their power goes up.

They actually used to be buddies with the Ixal. The Ixal lived in the forest at peace with the Elementals while the Hyur and Elezen were hiding underground. Then the Ixal pissed the Elementals off by clearing land without asking permission and so they booted them off into the mountains where they lost their feathers and ability to fly. Then the underground people asked the Elementals if they could live in the forest and protect it and be cool and after 50 years of cooling off, the Elementals said "sure, why not".

But after the recent Calamity, West Shroud is destroyed completely (that's why we can't go there, there's nothing to see and it all looks like the rocky, treeless parts of North Shroud), the Elementals are weakened and no longer have the power they had in 1.0. The Hedge, which was a magical barrier that prevented anyone from getting in, is severely weakened and the Elementals can't go around marking people with Woodsin and attacking them with Greenwrath like they used to. That's why in ARR there's a conjurer customs agent talking to the Ala Mhigan refugees and the Elementals are telling him which Ala Mhigans they like and which they don't because otherwise they can't do anything about it anymore and are working through the Hearers.

I don't remember them having anything at all to do with the Void or Voidsent though.

[Rangiswimming]

The elementals have a lost of history with the voidsent and not necessarily because of the War of Magi.

It is most noted in the CNJ and WHM stories. The CNJ story is around a voidsent that is corrupting the forest, The Elementals are sending uninterrupted voicemails to Sylphie (a hearer) about it, and you have to destroy it. The HW WHM is about Alaqa doing necromancy and the forest going ballistic because the corruption could reach them. SB story is about how a unsupervised Padjal child is a potential voidsent snack, and how if they aren't taught how to control their emotions/powers they can make a rift into the void (and have a voidsent eat them up).

[Nezerius]

But after the recent Calamity, West Shroud is destroyed completely (that's why we can't go there, there's nothing to see and it all looks like the rocky, treeless parts of North Shroud)

I doubt the West Shroud is actually destroyed completely. Especially considering Lichenweed (Feast PvP map, added in patch 3.21) looks fairly normal.



Not to mention the West Shroud, and the Crystal Shrine (both inaccessible since 2.0) being very odd picks for the posters on the wall of the Baldesion Annex.
They could definitely use the zone to pick up on the story of the Elementals, especially now that we're at the beginning of a new arc. Although chances are it'll simply be reduced to an expert dungeon.