Thread: Difference between Elementals and Sprites (1.0 to 2.0)

Not the WHM questline, but it's the level 25 CNJ quest line where two 'fairy' type elementals appear to help the player. It basically shows that the 'proper' elementals have gone quiet following the Calamity, and that the FFXI-style 'sprites' now commonly seen are just formless elementally-aspected aetherial energy created as a result of the Calamity which have no actual connection to the fairy-style elementals. So yeah, the two types are mutually distinct.

I formed the same conclusion as Enkidoh, though it would be nice to know a little bit about their taxonomy. As far as I can tell, they're not Ashkin (undead), Beastkin (mammalians), Cloudkin (avians), Forgekin (machines), Scalekin (reptilians), Seedkin (plants), Soulkin (cursed), Spoken (bipedal sentients), Vilekin (insects), Voidsent (not-of-hydaelyn) or Wavekin (aquans; assuming both fish and amphibians).

My theory is that there's a twelfth Kindred for aetherial entities such as sprites, elementals, and primals. It would be a second class in the Transcendent kingdom, except instead of coming from the World of Darkness (the Void), they would come from the aetherial realm, fitting both with Minfilia's powerpoint presentation from this patch as well as the recurring instances of the number twelve, which is as prominent in Final Fantasy as it is in the real world.

Still hoping for clarification on that one.

Originally Posted by Zohar_Lahar

Given the appearance of the Elementals, what I really want to know is how they're related to SCH Eos/Selene arcanima.

Heeey! This old thread!

Since this thread died, we've learned a lot. There is a 12th Kindred for the Elementals, the game was just didn't say it in a way that made it clear that elementals are part of the Elementals, same as sprites, primals, and arcanima constructs. Aether is the building block of the corporeal world and there are ways that it can manifest as an apparent entity outside of biological processes, though they don't all qualify as what one might call alive in a spiritual sense. Sprites seem to just arise when there's a lot of aetherial energy in a place, and they have little discernible intelligence. The winged elementals, however, seem to be old and wise - though exactly what they are is mysterious. Are they just old sprites? Or did belief once shape them? Were they created by a past civilization? Who knows!

Primals are manifested through rituals involving crystals and prayer.

Carbuncles are temporary beings created using raw mathematics; arcane geometry outlines the shape and behavior of the construct created by the arcanist.

Egi are quite similar, but tap into primal essences the arcanist has overcome and can bend to their will.

Fairies are a unique twist on these creations, however. Instead of being summoned anew each time, the fairy's essence is bound to a scholar's soul crystal once created. Its memories, like the scholars, flow through the crystal. Therefore, unlike carbuncle, each fairy gains experience and develops a personality. If the crystal is passed to another scholar, so might the fairy.

Originally Posted by Anonymoose

The winged elementals, however, seem to be old and wise - though exactly what they are is mysterious. Are they just old sprites? Or did belief once shape them? Were they created by a past civilization? Who knows!

They seem similar to Midgardsormr to me... The Guardian of Silvertear Falls. The Guardians of the Twelveswood. Heck, you could even argue there are parallels between Gridanian/Elementals history and the current situation in Ishgard... The intro to both games also has a slight connection; 1.0, the Battle of Silvertear Skies puts Midgardsormr out of action. 2.0, the Calamity is frequently mentioned as having completely weakened the Elementals.

I'm fully expecting we'll get a future plot line dealing with the Twelveswood and Elementals, no doubt an Ascian named Halmarut, and Krile finally making an appearance. Lots of obvious connections I can't see them not making ever since dropping the Krile bomb....

The elementals have a much weaker presence since the calamity in the black shroud so I think to fit this in they made it so there are no elemental mobs to fit in with the more.
The sprits are probably more of a mutation caused by imbalance in crystals.

The elementals are the guardians of the Shroud they dictate what game is ok to hunt what trees may be cut down what palaces people are and not allowed to be and the biggest thing that why lots of people outside of Gridania don't like or care for them is who is and isn't permitted to live in the Shroud this has caused problems for people from Almahigo who fled hopping to find safety only to be turned away and they receive no aid despite every thing they went thru. there are even a few npcs at the conjure guild who want one of them to help heal a sick girl only to be told it is the elementals will that they don't.

This is how much power they hold in the Shroud and to anger them is to cause big problems.

Personally I don't hold any stock in "The Elementals" and their "almighty" power. I've long held that the Elementals and Primals are similar to each other or are the same thing entirely. Though my theory on them being one and the same was debunked by the Lore Team they still are similar enough to question their integrity. The Whole "Follow us or be destroyed" thing seems very primal-ish to me and I've started to not trust things with "God Like" power that never have their authority questioned. (The Elementals, The Primals, and The Ishgaurdian Archbishop to name but a few)

So it seems to me that at least some of the elementals are very picky about who's allowed to live and who must die in the Twelves Wood and it seems very odd to me that "The Greenwrath" only seems to be fear by the Gridanians that actually follow the elementals. After all how many times do we see Trents and Gobus storming The Courulclaw Nest and Red Belly Hive because the poachers have invoked "The Green Wrath" by disobeying the law of the Elementals?

Since that answer is Zero then I'm calling BS on this "Elemental" crap and saying that there's something more at work there than some over powered wood pixies that control the forest. For ex. People get sick and die and it's blamed on "The Greenwrath" but on the other hand the conjurors who could heal them "Aren't Allowed" to heal them because "The Elementals said so". And who do the Elementals not like? The Miqo'te, The Ixal, The Ala'mhigans, and outsiders in general. Sounds like a cloak and dagger version of Lord Lolorito's "Let the outsiders starve in the desert for all I care" very explicit prejudice against Non-Ul'dahens.

And don't even get me started on how no one other than "Hearers" can actually tell what the Elementals are saying. Not even us Echo Users and we can understand ALL languages that are spoken. So this obviously means that the Elementals aren't "Speaking" in a physical audio sense.

Originally Posted by Kaiser-Ace

And don't even get me started on how no one other than "Hearers" can actually tell what the Elementals are saying. <...> the Elementals aren't "Speaking" in a physical audio sense.

While some elementals truly are the large, fairy-looking, sentient beings that speak clearly (WHM storyline 1.0 and ARR), my theory is that, sometimes, "hearing the elementals" is akin to a psychic sensation that arises from interacting with the aether present in literally anything corporeal.

Originally Posted by Kaiser-Ace

So it seems to me that at least some of the elementals are very picky about who's allowed to live and who must die in the Twelves Wood

They seem to demand balance above all else; anything that upsets equilibrium of the wood's overall health even in a way that is subjective to them makes them angry. We've seen that "younger" elementals are quicker to anger and more indiscriminate about unleashing it, which leads me to believe that they may actually just be very old and experienced sprites - but working with usually turns out pretty well for Gridania, but that need not mean they're in any way divine.

Originally Posted by Kaiser-Ace

After all how many times do we see Trents and Gobus storming The Courulclaw Nest and Red Belly Hive because the poachers have invoked "The Green Wrath" by disobeying the law of the Elementals?

I'm not sure if you've done the WHM story arc of ARR, but, essentially, the elementals have grown too weak to be anything like they once were. Still, everything that's happened since the start of the game (from poaches to the Ixal assault on the Guardian Tree) finally has them enraged enough to summon the strength needed to lash out, and the Seedseers let you join in on pacifying the greenwrath.

Originally Posted by Kaiser-Ace

I'm calling BS on this "Elemental" crap and saying that there's something more at work there than some over powered wood pixies that control the forest.

Given what we know, this could be an accurate (albeit cynically framed) interpretation, but I wouldn't shout it out loud while burning a tree.