Elements The elements of fire , air , earth , and water serve as the basic building blocks of all matter in the physical universe . Shamanic culture have long sought to live in harmony with , or assert dominion over , the elements . To do so , they call upon the primordial forces of Spirit and Decay . Those who seek to bring balance to the elements rely on Spirit ( sometimes referred to as the " fifth element " by shaman , or " chi " by monks ) . This life - giving force interconnects and binds all things in existence as one , sacrificing its life . Sacrificial magic was considered the greatest violation of life and the energies of life , most commonly known as nature magic , promote growth and renewal in all things . Death , in the form of necromantic magic , acts as a counterbalance to life . It is an unavoidable force that breeds despair in mortal hearts and pushes everything toward a state of entropic decay and eventual oblivion . Decay is the tool of the shaman seeking to subjugate and weaponize the elements themselves . An Arcane Mystery . The arcane , the language of order , is a fundamental power which mana is just a measure of . If mana were water , then arcane would be steam pressure . In keeping with an author ' s theory that the arcane is an element unto itself , the author humbly offers the fact that there is at least one documented occasion wherein the Focusing Iris was utilized to enslave , direct , and control various elemental beings . Fel . Fel is the primal force of chaos , which is order unrecognized by a lesser mind according to an arcane user . It can pool into a green goop when it ' s in physical form . It is a substance that can be animated and , according to Sean Copeland , is entropic as in " destroys life " . It seems like Copeland doesn ' t understand that destruction is , essentially , the process of destroying structures , breaking them down into the parts that they ' re constructed of . Fel can ' t be " entropic " as in destroys life because life would be a construct , which was never alive really ( like a toaster ) . Micky Neilson — veteran of Blizzard Entertainment — states that it seems like just a change of energy and fel ( according to how it is described ) is chaotic energy that life is converted into by warlocks . If fel is a form of life , the last element , one can view warlocks as a form of shaman . Elemental Mysteries . Before life even began , before even the cosmos took shape , there was Light . . . and Void . In the form of a boundless prismatic sea , the Light swelled across all existence . The ocean of Light was dynamic and ever shifting . Yet as it expanded , some of its energies faded and dimmed , leaving behind pockets of cold nothingness . From the absence of Light in these spaces , a new power coalesced and came to be . This power was the Void , a dark and vampiric force driven to devour all energy , to twist creation inward to feed upon itself . The Void quickly grew and spread its influence , moving against the waves of Light . The mounting tension between these two opposing yet inseparable energies eventually ignited a series of catastrophic explosions , rupturing the fabric of creation and birthing a new realm into existence . In that moment , the physical universe was born . An Astral Dimension . The most unstable energies coalesced into an astral dimension known as the Twisting Nether . The creatures that had emerged from this realm were known as demons . They had been formed as a result of the Light and Void energies that had bled together at the borders of the Twisting Nether . The demons embraced their furious passions and reveled in pushing the boundaries of their power , heedless of the consequences . Many of these aberrations indulged in the energy that pervaded the Nether . Some learned to wield the all - consuming powers of fel magic and , before long , the bloodthirsty demons clawed their way into the physical universe , terrorizing mortal civilizations and bringing ruin to world after world . Fel - Connected Worlds and the Elements . The energies released by the clash of Light and Void raged across the nascent cosmos , raw matter merging and spinning into primordial worlds without number . Composed of the primordial matter from which the universe was born , the titans were godlike beings who were uniquely susceptible to fel magic . Their spirits — known as world - souls — formed deep within the fiery core of worlds . Denizens of the Cosmos . Elemental Spirits . The elemental spirits are primitive and chaotic beings of fire , earth , air , or water . They were some of the first sentient creatures to inhabit the nascent worlds of the universe . The elemental spirits appear in an almost infinite variety of shape and sizes . Each of these creatures has a distinct personality and temperament , traits that are heavily influenced by a spirit ' s elemental nature . The presence of the fifth element — Spirit — also affects the disposition of these elemental beings . A world with an overabundance of Spirit may give rise to native elementals who are passive and lack physicality . Conversely , a world with too little Spirit may birth elementals who are highly aggressive and incredibly destructive . Sludge Beasts . These strange creatures share an elemental heritage , but have been corrupted by the powers of chaos . Now they exist as tortured masses of semi - sentient goo . No one knows what their motivations are or if there is any specific ecology behind their existence . Titans . Composed of the primordial matter from which the universe was born , the titans are colossal godlike beings who were uniquely susceptible to fel magic . Elemental Duality . Many shamanic cultures have discovered that the elements can influence a variety of emotional states . For this reason , mortals associate the elements with different feelings , both positive and negative . Fire . Positive Trait : Passion Negative Trait : Fury Air . Positive Trait : Cunning Negative Trait : Madness Earth . Positive Trait : Stability Negative Trait : Stubbornness Water . Positive Trait : Tranquility Negative Trait : Indecisiveness Spirit . Positive Trait : Bravery Negative Trait : Naivete Decay . Positive Trait : Efficiency Negative Trait : Ruthlessness Professions of the Cosmos . Conjurers . Conjurers are seers of mystery , holders of secrets and dwellers in dream . These practitioners of the Arcane Arts have learned through researching the ancient tomes to bend the forces of nature to do their will . They can make the energies of nature strike down opponents , summon forth great creatures or command the elements . They are a secretive sect , and will only gather and train in their own specially prepared mystic towers . Conjurers maintain a close relationship with the elements about them . Mages . Mages are spellcasters who favor magiks involving the cardinal elements of the universe . Priests . Priests are devoted to the spiritual , that which relates to the " Spirit " , the primal life force that shamans tap into . Shaman . For millennia , since the primitive tribal cultures of Azeroth and Draenor , the natural elements of the physical universe have been celebrated , feared , and even worshipped . Mystics sought communion with the earth , air , fire , and water , and learned to tap into their raw power . In time , these spiritual guides came to understand that nature ’ s elemental forces aren ’ t wholly benevolent , but have , in fact , been locked in an unending conflict of chaos and primal fury that once consumed the physical realm . So began the calling of the Shaman , to bring balance to these volatile energies , leveraging their intensity to mend wounds . . . or inflict them . Warlocks . If the energies of a world can be used for destruction , then the energies of the underworld could destroy . It is this destructive power that the warlocks use in their incantations and rituals . As the most powerful of the sects , these dark brethren of Hades go where none others dare in search of ultimate power . Their Towers hold the keys to unleashing the very essence of evil upon those they see as a threat to their devious plans . Spells that channel the fire and brimstone of hell through their bodies , or can summon forth great creatures - even daemons - are theirs to use .