Primordials¶
"They have been around since the beginning and cannot be destroyed (the gods tried and ended up imprisoning them instead)." — Fae Magic, on the Primordials (S279)
The Primordials, or Primordial Elementals, are the first and greatest of the Elementals: the elemental lords who "shaped, played and created on the Material Plane" before the Einar came (S208). Defeated in the Primordial War, they were imprisoned rather than destroyed, bound by the Titans as the foundations of Terrun. Four of them bargained their way free when the Throne of Law was shattered, and the Age of the Dark Sun loosed many more.
What they are¶
"PRIMORDIAL - they have been around since the beginning and cannot be destroyed (the gods tried and ended up imprisoning them instead). Most are bound/imprisoned and make up the foundations of Terrun. A handful are kept in a sort of minimum security prison on the Elemental planes (these helped Kalar overthrow the Old Gods). Primordials don't really like the Faeries... they consider them usurpers. They faeries also generally fear the release of the Primordials. It is believed that there is one primordial per domain (18 total)" (S279). The eighteen domains are the realms of Fae magic, Forge, Rock, Vigor, Sun and the rest; see Fae. Only Primordials can form an Elder elemental, and Primordials or Archons reform the spirits of dead Fae into new Fae (S279).
The Cosmology Revision calls them "the most powerful elementals that were unable to be controlled" (S001), and the Eldritch are "Believed to be ascended Primordial Elementals, the Eldritch are beings of immense psychic power that left most of their elemental nature and form behind" (S001).
The Primordial War and the binding¶
"The Elemental Plane (known originally as the Elemental Chaos) pre-dates the arrival of the Einar and every other plane. The other planes are built on top of the raw Elemental energies brought to order by the Einar. When the Elementals were imprisoned on their plane at the end of the Primordial War, the Fae and Material planes were built on top. The Primordial Elementals (the most powerful elementals that were unable to be controlled) were imprisoned on the Astral Plane to prevent a resurgence of elemental power" (S001). The Titans were made for the binding: "created by the Einar as living chains for the Primordials (Elementals). Imbued with tremendous Elemental and Ethereal energy, the Titans literally bind together the physical plane and elemental" (S448, S543). "Each primordial is bound by several Titans. A titan also often bind more than 1 primordial" (S279). Among the frescoes on the vault door of Khardas at Kilmarn is "The dominion of the earth (Khardas binding earth primordials)", and the vault's illuminated histories include A Catalog of Earth Primordials (S163).
Earlier accounts¶
The archive's Terrun Cosmology has the Primordial Elementals "instead imprisoned on the Material Plane to prevent a resurgence of elemental power" (S421, S389); Fae Magic has most of them bound as the foundations of Terrun (S279); the 2026 revision moves the prison to the Astral Plane (S001). The Into the Rift outline speaks of "the Second Primordial War" and of a spear "Forged by Khardas for the Einar warrior Calcadyia during the Second Primordial War", where the cosmologies know one war (S010).
The four who were freed¶
"When the Throne of Law was shattered, the four Primordial Elementals which assisted the young gods were freed as part of the bargain. These four primordials (known as the Elemental Aspects) ruled the Elemental Planes exclusively" (S001). The history tells how: "A group of Einar led by Kalar made a pact with four imprisoned Primordial Elementals and managed to break into the Astral Plane and destroy the Throne of Law" (S386). The Cosmology Revision names the Aspects: Aurastus, Elemental Aspect of Wind; Dharanak, Elemental Aspect of Stone; Neptulos, Elemental Aspect of Sea; and Vulcanex, Elemental Aspect of Magma (S001).
"The uncontested rule of the Elemental Aspects ended during the Age of the Dark Sun and a subsequent release of many other Primordials. Conflicts are now common across the Elemental Planes as a new balance of power is being established" (S001). In the Fifth Age "Fae Realms, whose independence and laws were once managed by the all-powerful titans, have fallen under the sway of Demons, Demi-Gods and Elemental lords" (S014).
The known Primordials¶
| Primordial | Title (S001) | Earlier accounts |
|---|---|---|
| Ambusthene | Primordial Flame Elemental | One of three primordials contesting the Plane of Fire (S013); "Sovereign of Searing Refulgence (one of the Six Sovereign Fire Primordials)", imprisoned beneath the Tethers of Ambusthene in the Illuri Fold of the Rift (S010) |
| Aurastus | Elemental Aspect of Wind | Primary ruler of the Plane of Air "with 3 other significant rival primordials" (S013); its ruler (S421) |
| Dharanak | Elemental Aspect of Stone | "undisputed ruler" of the Plane of Earth "with 4 subordinate primordials" (S013); its ruler (S421) |
| Neptulos | Elemental Aspect of Sea | One of six ruling primordials of the Plane of Water (S013) |
| Poseidos | Primordial Ocean Elemental | One of the six of Water (S013) |
| Sequanos | Primordial Water Elemental | One of the six of Water (S013); "Sequana", ruler of the Plane of Water (S421) |
| Tempestallos | Primordial Storm Elemental | "Tempesallos", one of the six of Water (S013) |
| Vulcanex | Elemental Aspect of Magma | "Once ruled" the Plane of Fire, "now tightly contested" (S013); its ruler (S421) |
The Plane of Water, in the older cosmology, "has been subdivided into 6 regions and a cold war exists between its 6 ruling primordials" (S013). The Into the Rift outline adds a fire primordial named Maegera, "held by Khardas", and three "greater water lords", Typhi, Orsis and Hygoram, whose focuses bound them in the Illuri Fold (S010).
Ambusthene's prison is the fullest picture of a bound Primordial. The fire cult that camped on it "built a crude shrine from Felsite on top of Ambusthene's prison" and planned to free her: they needed a frost archon's heart "to douse the flame wards (made up of Ambusthene's essence) around the prison", the souls of four red dragons "whose brood is bound together using fire elemental essences", and elemental focuses "to allow them to draw her out of the prison". Her power still shackles an imprisoned Einar in the back of the temple, and books in her name survive: Of Fire and Earth: The Late Primordial Wars and The Radiance of Ambusthene (S010).
Gap
Nothing describes a Primordial's form or mind, how the eighteen-per-domain count squares with the named rulers of four planes, or what became of the Primordials released in the Age of the Dark Sun beyond "conflicts are now common". The Primordial language of the archive's rules drafts is a separate matter for Life & Culture.
In Play¶
A Primordial is a prison, not an encounter: a thing cults dig toward, as the Primal Union of Ter'Gaia dug toward Ambusthene with Guhvil airships and stolen relics (S010). The Faeries' fear of their release is well founded; the Primordials "consider them usurpers" (S279).