Gods and elements - is there a lore-reason for this?

[Anonymoose]

The Twelve are often associated with the element around the place of which they are a patron. Lightning gods in the highlands of Gyr Abania, fire gods in the deserts of Thanalan, earth gods in the forests of the Black Shroud, ice gods in the mountains of Coerthas, water gods in the riverlands of Dravania, and wind gods across the meadows of La Noscea.

We're often influenced by our expectations. We assume a thalassocracy would have a "God of the Sea", such as Poseidon. With that expectation, wind makes little sense. But the water is only what the sea is on and below the surface, the winds above are what bring it to life for the sailor. The winds drag across the surface and generate both the waves that fall upon the beach and the breezes that roll across the plains. They are the force that fills the sails and allows for navigation. All of that is far more salient to the La Noscean sailor than simply the existence of the water. The sea is both. And more than simply gods of the sea, Llymlaen and Oschon are gods of movement and exploration. The only thing it doesn't really account for is the fact that fishing for sustenance and profit is also a huge part of the maritime culture ... but I guess that's why Llymlaen is a fisherwoman, eh? Besides, staying above the water is pretty important to the sailor, too.

That's not to say that they don't have a healthy fear of and respect for the sea, of course. Even on Vylbrand there were those that preferred to focus on the depths - ancient religions, worshipers of great sea serpents. Were these seeds of faith the same as those from which sprung the modern Leviathan of the Sahagin tribe? Perhaps. The remnants of the serpent worshipers sometimes joined the Sahagin faith of their own free will, before the summoning of primals made their faith ... complicated.

I am the waves that bear.
I am the winds that guide.
I am the evening stars.
I am the morning sky.
I am born of the sea.
And there shall I die.

- Sailor's Requiem

Also, shards just symbolize what's happening. Weavers use wind shards in association with shearing things apart the same way they use lightning shards to break something down and earth shards to bond it together. There's a simple but clever philosophy to it all.