Advanced Elements

Advanced Elements is a collective term for manipulating elemental electricity, flora (sometimes referred to as poison), and metal. Few ever master more than one of these in a lifetime, and most people don't master any. They are more formidable in the hands of the Kasil Races, while the Vartiz Races tend to favour their affinitive elements by race. While Lakamaté rarely specialize in these elements, their Kasilzé counterparts, the Kavasazi, are notorious for mastering them.

While the core elements are centric to the six different Vartiz Races, with each one corresponding to a different race, the "Advanced Elements" are more associated with the Kasil Races, with Flora/Poison being closely tied to the Zukuren, Metal being heavily associated with the Dorenzu, and Electricity having close connections with the Renkida. Unlike the base Mencuan Elements, the advanced elements are not numbered officially, although they are sometimes considered the 7th, 8th, and 9th elements of the cycle, despite not actually being part of said cycle.

## Electricity

Electricity, also called Lightning, is sometimes referred to as the "7th Mencuan Element". The art of manipulating electricity is referred to as lightningforming, and is usually associated with the Renkida due to their natural affinity for mastery over the element, as well as their technological savviness, which is 2nd only to the Madizi. It is symbolized by an emblem that resembles an upside-down T flanked on either side by narrow S/Z-shaped line that are mirror images of one another, and is associated with the color cyan.

## Metal

Metal, occasionally classified into some of the many different manipulable metals on Mencu, is sometimes referred to as the "8th Mencuan Element". The art of manipulating metal is appropriately called metalforming, and is often associated with the Dorenzu due to their homes under the mountain surrounded by ores and metals, and for their natural talents in working these metals and putting them to use. Its emblem is a pair of mirror image Ls surrounding a square upside-down U, and is usually symbolized by the color silver or grey.

## Flora

Flora, also called poison, "plants", or growth, is sometimes referred to as the "9th Mencuan Element". The art of manipulating these types of exotic substances is referred to as "plantforming" despite the many other things it entails, and is generally associated with the Zukuren due to their forest homes surrounded by a slew of different plants and trees. Incidentally, despite some of their transformative abilities, the Komera are not usually associated with plantforming. The emblem for this element is a low, square U shape with two upside-down mirror-image Ls springing from it, almost like a flower in a pot, and its corresponding color is magenta or pink.

## Role in the Series

Many powerful elementalists that wield these abilities appear throughout the many volumes of the *The Crest of Zabutur* series, with notable protagonist or antagonist individuals including Asami, a powerful master of electricity; Zulera, a cunning and manipulative metalformer, and Varsha, a deadly master of poisons; to name a few.

## See Also

Mencuan Elements

Kavasazi

Žkha