Elemental Shift: Powers, Abilities, and Ranks

This page is a list containing all the powers with their abilities, and Mastery ranks. The eight base abilities are Fire, Lightning, Earth, Water, Wind, Nature, Light and Dark. Every base power has one combo with another base power, plus a sub-element. Some Power Combos have been lost to the depths of time, forgotten, and so are left as "Unknown". Every Shifter has two base elements, and most of the time the combo that comes with it (if it has one).

Fire
Base elemental power associated with heat, infrared and other powers pertaining to thermal based attacks and Pyrokinesis.


 * Scorch: Light combo. Basically it's extremely hot fire capable of disintegration to a point of no byproducts. The fire is bright white and is smokeless, and the heat is concentrated within the core of the flames, and the fire can't spread without the Shifter's will. It gives off a bright white light and is only dangerous if touched directly, so it is more defensive than Blaze. The fire is widely respected among Shifters and is used to light torches of the Olympics or Castles.


 * Blaze: Dark combo. Flames that are said to be cursed, and have deadly splash and AoE attacks, on a nuclear scale if mastered. The colour of these flames are primarily black, and when activated, act very wild and instantly grow large without consuming all oxygen, as it is mainly fueled by Dark Energy. The fire releases a lot of smoke and harmful gasses, and the waste noise energy makes the fire seem like it is screaming, as it resembles animalistic screeches and roars. The fire is nigh impossible to put out, unless the Shifter commands it to, and gives off practically no light other than a few flickers here and there. The fire is very hard to control, thus Beginner Students are immediatly given extra training before being allowed to interact with other students. The fire is mainly used in the military for its terrifying offensive techniques.


 * Sparks: Lightning combo. A flashy combo, rare in Shifters. The lightning is a lot messier and can create millions of deadly sparks, even from its flames.


 * Lava: Earth combo. Control of molten rock which is somewhat rare. There is a sport based around this power, obviously named Lava-Surfing.


 * Smoke: Wind combo. Control of smoke and other harmful gasses. Somewhat common among all the combos.


 * Boil: Water combo. Creation and manipulation of hot ice, boiling water and very hot steam. It requires no heat up time if mastered well enough. It is very hard to create a perfect block of hot ice or stable boiling water, considered one of the hardest combos to manipulate.


 * Unknown: Nature combo.


 * Ash: Sub-element of Fire. Ash Shifters can generate burnt matter such as ash and ember, and embue other types of matter with it, as well as convert matter to ash or disintergrate objects. The ash is created by the Shifter "shedding" matter while burning it in their bodies beforehand, thus releasing all the built up burnt matter. A beautiful yet harmful equivalent to Paper, as these two subs are seen as opposites.

Lightning:
Base elemental power associated with electrical currents, electrons and other powers pertaining to Electrokinesis. Opposite of Earth.


 * Proton: Light combo. A more concentrated and faster form of lightning. It is faster than regular lightning, is positively-charged, and is mostly conjured in the form of strikes or bolts. It is coloured blue or white.


 * Electron: Dark combo. A more conductive and "messy" form of lightning. It is negatively-charged and has a higher voltage, and is conjured in the form of arcs. It is coloured red or black.


 * Sparks: Fire combo. Same as above.


 * Explosives: Earth combo. The use of explosive solid substances such as gunpowder, flash powder, or other explosive powders, that can be ignited with lightning to cause devastating explosions and colourful fires.


 * Plasma: Wind combo. The ionization of gas to create plasma of deadly power, somewhat rare in Shifters.


 * Unknown: Water combo.


 * Life: Nature combo. This combo can create minions for the Shifter to fight with. It works by creating an animal body using nature, then jump-starting the heart with lightning. The minions work more like AI (coded through lightning, with the complexity depending entirely on the Shifter's skill) than actual life forms, as they cannot mate nor live for a long time (they will die or decompose after a certain amount of time, longer if the Shifter is skilled). The Shifter also has a strong bond with animal life with intense training. Sometimes called Summon to avoid creating a blasphemous assumption that the Shifter is a god who can create life. This combo has only been recorded once in history to exist, though there have been many claims of Nature Shifters to be Life Shifters, though these claims haven't became more, or shown sufficient evidence to be taken as fact.


 * Magnetism: Sub-element of Lightning. Shifters of Magnetism can create fields of anti-gravity magnetic fields or attract metal towards them. This power has greater potential than what is known and Magnet Shifters are truly one of the phenomena of Shifters.

Earth:
Base elemental power associated with rocks, stone, crystal, diamond and all naturally found material in the ground. Opposite to Lightning.


 * Mould: Light combo. Basically just more pure and thermo earth, good for specific constructs or complex sculptures.


 * Harden: Dark combo. More robust, stiff and jagged earth. Hard to break and very brittle. Good for armor, spikes or blunt weaponry.


 * Lava: Same as above.


 * Explosives: Same as above.


 * Diamond: Wind combo. The Earth is put under huge amounts of pressure to achieve diamond, one of the hardest materials on Earth. Diamond seems to be unbreakable, thus it is widely respected among Earth Shifters and a Diamond Shifter makes a great fighter. Diamond can be used as armor, shields or weapons. A Diamond Shifter is naturally a great fighter, as it is nigh impossible to break the diamond without using diamond to cut it. Diamond Shifters usually graduate to be professional fighters or soldiers.


 * Unknown: Water combo.


 * Rubber: Nature combo. Rubber Shifters have access to all types of rubber, this allows them to create shields and walls that can catch bullets or absorb all damage and force, or use its elasticity to their advantage. Rubber Shifting is hard to master, yet the end result is a great combatant with good agility and versatility.


 * Glass: Sub-element of Earth. Glass Shifters can generate thousands of glass shards, create really tough glass, and make glass constructs. This power is deadly and admired amongst Earth Shifters.

Water/Fluid:
Base elemental power associated with fluid and liquid substances. It is NOT restricted to just water. Also called Fluid, mainly in academies to avoid confusing children. One can also control the state of the controlled fluid, changing it between a solid, liquid, or gas state when trained properly; although said ability is innate to all Fluid Shifters.


 * Dissolve: Light combo. More clean liquids to give better reactions and easier control over a wider range of liquids. The fluids are crystal clear and very easy to control.


 * Swamp: Dark combo. More murky and dirty fluids, to give it a harder kick and easier to weaponise, yet at the cost of being harder to use/control. It is usually a mixture of many liquid substances.


 * Boil: Fire combo. Same as above.


 * Unknown: Lightning combo.


 * Unknown: Earth combo.


 * Cyclone: Wind combo. Cyclone Shifters can generate very powerful storms and cyclones easily, and partially control the weather. They can manipulate clouds and rain, and generate them both. They also have a very strong form of wind and water, and can erode substances in seconds. Works well with a Lightning Shifter to help. This is a rare but powerful combo that is feared yet loved by many.


 * Growth: Nature combo. Grants a very strong control over plants and vegetation, allowing the Shifter to create their own types of plants from imagination and increase its lethality by modifying their genes to grant them venom or thorns.


 * Acid: Sub-element of Water. One of the most widely known and practiced sub elements of Fluid, involves manipulation of acids, poison, venom and other corrosive or lethal liquids.

Wind:
Base elemental power associated with controlling air currents and gasses.


 * Echo: Light combo. A more controlled form, allowing for a greater use of one's imagination in their attacks.


 * Screech: Dark combo. Grants a more powerful and destructive form of wind, can be used for eroding blasts of wind or some harmful gasses.


 * Smoke: Fire combo. Same as above.


 * Plasma: Lightning combo. Same as above.


 * Diamond: Earth combo. Same as above.


 * Cyclone: Water combo. Same as above.


 * Spores: Nature combo. Spore Shifters can generate and direct spores without having to create fungi. Spores can be used to infect humans or animals, infected beings are victims of slight mind control and temporary zombification, so the Spore Shifter can command the infected to make them do small commands, starting off with one word commands, then mastery with full brainless zombies under the Shifter's complete control. The spores wear away after a while, depending on the Shifter, and can have slight health side-effects, making the infected appear like zombies. Spore Shifters are feared by the government, so their education is monitored and regulated, so the Shifter doesn't become too dangerous.


 * Sound: Sub-element of Wind. Sound is a hugely respected sub element of Wind. Allows for the Shifter to control and amplify sound waves via the wind. It offers a huge variety from beautiful music to deafening frequencies.

Nature:
Base element power associated with controlling plant-life and vegetation, or plant cells in general.


 * Heal: Light combo. It has the ability to heal other life forms, animal or plant, to full health even if they are an inch from death. Extremely valuable, yet one of the most rare types to pop up.


 * Kill: Dark combo. It induces intense pain in life forms, slowly degrading them till they eventually die. Takes complete mastery before degradation is even possible, and has never been recorded to appear in a regular society ever in history. It is also illegal and if one is sighted, they will be heavily monitored or used for military purposes. Also known as Death Shifting.


 * Unknown: Fire combo.


 * Life: Lightning combo. Same as above.


 * Unknown: Earth combo.


 * Growth: Water combo. Same as above.


 * Spores: Wind combo. Same as above.


 * Paper: Sub-element of Nature. The user can generate paper at will, sharp enough to cause deep paper cuts, and fold paper a thousand times without effort, something it would take only the most advanced machines to do. This power is seen as beautiful and graceful, yet it can be equally as deadly as Blaze.

Light:
Rare base element power associated with manipulating Photons, particles of light, into focused shapes such as lasers or constructs. Often described as an illusion-based power on its own. When used in combos, this power makes the combined element much more controlled and precise when used.


 * Scorch: Fire combo, same as above.


 * Proton: Lightning combo, same as above.


 * Mould: Earth Combo, same as above.


 * Dissolve: Water combo, same as above.


 * Echo: Wind combo, same as above.


 * Heal: Nature combo, same as above.


 * Laser: Sub-element of Light. Laser Shifters can generate powerful concentrated beams that can cut through objects. This seems to be the only element "worthy" of clashing with Scorch. Very rare, yet very appreciated.

Dark:
Very rare base element power associated with Dark Energy. As fictional as it sounds, Dark Energy is just a type of energy that can only be accessed by a Dark Shifter. These Shifters, who are said to be born "cursed", can convert regular energy (even light energy, though it depends on the strength of both, the Light Shifter and Dark) to Dark Energy. Dark Energy is theorised to be the missing piece that created all base elements. Dark Energy is thought to be a counterpart, or another side of Elemental Energy that isn't as commom. It is speculated that Dark Energy and Elemental Energy were manipulated by the first humans to create the other base elements and invent Element Shifting. Dark Energy acts as a fuel source and catalyst for the other elements, and is even used as a replacement for other forms of energy in powering cities, because of its immense versatility and power. It is named so because the energy appears very negative and "cursed", as the energy tends to make whatever it fuels look and act more sinnister and destructive. However Elemental Scientists call bull, and just sees Dark Energy as a fuel source that scares humans because of its psychological connections with traditional evil.


 * Blaze: Fire combo, same as above.


 * Electron: Lightning combo, same as above.


 * Harden: Earth Combo, same as above.


 * Swamp: Water combo, same as above.


 * Screech: Wind combo, same as above.


 * Kill: Nature combo, same as above.


 * Drain: Sub-element of Dark. Drain Shifters are widely feared for their powerful abilities, much like Death Shifters are. These Shifters can drain elemental energy directly from a Shifter, the same energy that the 8 base elements stemmed from, and use it to power their own elements. They can transfer this energy to other Shifters too, much like Heal Shifters can increase a Shifter's health, these Shifter's increase a Shifter's power. This is great to have on a team, and works best in large groups against large groups.

Abilities
Each power has specific names, but they all function the exact same way. This is a basic list of the vague, unnamed abilities.


 * Weapon Construct: Each power can generate a weapon unique to the power and the Shifter. Weapons can range from a simple knife made from Fire, or a Lightning Rail-gun. Though all Shifters can generate weapon constructs, most prefer a solid weapon to channel their abilities through.


 * Basic Projectile: A Shifter is able to fire a basic projectile of their element.


 * Heavy/Charged Projectile: With enough experience, a Shifter is able to fire off a Heavy/Charged projectile, like a Smoke missile, or a Lightning rocket.


 * Wide-spread Attack: Like the Heavy attacks, a Shifter is able to attack with a wide-spread, shotgun-like form of their basic projectile.


 * High-Speed Movement: After enough training, a Shifter can use their powers to move at high speeds, such as transforming into a smoke cloud to dash forward, or creating a grappling hook out of Lighting.


 * Melee: This elemental ability is commonly taught to young Shifters in order to prevent them from hurting themselves with weapons for obvious reasons. All shifters canimbue their melee attacks with their powers.


 * Elemental Constructs: Once trained well enough with elemental constructs, a Shifter can create armor or other constructs with their powers.

When the Shifter has passed through all the Basic training and Intermediate training, that Shifter can go through Advanced training and learn to become one with their elemental abilities, allowing them to transcend their base limits and temporarily tap into the source of their own pair. In this state, the Shifter's powers will increase tenfold, sometimes a hundredfold if the Shifter's power is great enough. This state is simply known as "Transcendence" for obvious reasons.

It is not uncommon for a Shifter to be wielding unrealized abilities. This means that a Shifter is not using the true extent of their powers. This can be fixed by traveling to the Grand Blacksmith. Traveling to the Grand Blacksmith is quite the journey. First, one must break the Dimensional barrier and open a Shifter Rift, which exists in another, completely separate dimension from the regular one and the Grand Blacksmith's dimension. Those who have been lucky enough to survive the trip back and forth though the rift state that when traveling though, one day in either of the Grand Blacksmith's or our regular dimension is equal to 16 days in this alternate dimension. Due to this, researchers have labeled this dimension the Traveler's Precipice. Anyway, once one has traveled through the Traveler's Precipice, they will reach a door. Open the door and one will see the Grand Blacksmith's workshop. No, it's not a cluttered mess. It's clean, organized, and well-kept. Once you meet with the Grand Blacksmith, s/he will take the time to train you properly, thus granting you access to your true abilities in the process. If the Shifter in question wants a new weapon, they can have it forged then and there. But the forged weapons need to cool, I know.

A giant, endless ocean lays outside the workshop. This sea is the Sea of Cooling, created by the first Grand Blacksmith in order to work properly. Stalagmites born from Dissolve-type ice capable of self-replenishing are kept underneath the workshop, melted by a pit of Scorch-type flames that burns eternally into streams of Dissolve-type Fluid that flow outwards into the Sea of Cooling in several waterfalls. Through this process, the Sea of Cooling is constantly being replenished in a never-ending cycle. If a Shifter already has access to their true powers but wants to reforge their weapon, that Shifter can do so. There are certain amounts of the Sea of Cooling used for its purpose. NOTE: The Sea of Cooling is so vast, no maps for it exist at all.


 * Weapon Reforge: 10 Gallons from the Sea of Cooling.


 * Power Enhancement: 50 Gallons from the Sea of Cooling.


 * Transcendence Unlock: 100 Gallons.

Ranks
With all of the abilities and the potential each Shifter has, they all need to be labelled and identified. There have been cases of older Shifters joining a school where they would have to start as a Beginner Student, though their age advantage usually helps them skip a few ranks easily to catch up. As such, here's the list:


 * Youngling: This is the title given to a Shifter who is still young, like a little kid being called toddler. They are not allowed to train, nor use their powers, though this isn't so much a law, just a social norm, as many rich or dedicated families begin their child's training at such age.


 * Learner: Usually, anyone not very well-trained or beginning their training will be given this title. Noob is an insult form of this title. This is ages 5 and younger or a Shifter before they've joined a school. Some people give this rank to adult Shifters who couldn't afford to attend school or didn't graduate, as a form of bullying to the misfortunate.


 * Beginner Student: This is like an elementary school student level Shifter. There are five levels in this title.


 * Rank 1 Beginner Student: This rank is equivalent to a First grade elementary school student. Ages 6-7 years old.


 * Beginner Rank 2: A Second grade equivalent. Ages 7-8


 * Beginner Rank 3: A Third grader IRL. Ages 8-9


 * Beginner Rank 4: Like a Fourth grader IRL. Ages 9-10


 * Beginner Rank 5: This rank is equivalent to a Fifth grader. It's the final stage to a Beginner Student. Ages 10-11


 * Intermediate Student: The Middle school students are the real life equivalent to an Intermediate Student. This level has three levels to it.


 * Intermediate Rank 1: Grade 6 equivalent. Ages 11-12


 * Intermediate Rank 2: Grade 7 equivalent. Ages 12-13


 * Intermediate Rank 3: Grade 8 equivalent. Ages 13-14, final rank in an Intermediate Student.


 * Advanced Student: This would be a High schooler level. This Level has 4 ranks, and is the level where our protagonists are in Balance Academy.


 * Advanced Rank 1: Grade 9 equivalent. Ages 14-15


 * Advanced Rank 2: Grade 10 equivalent. Ages 15-16


 * Advanced Rank 3: Grade 11 equivalent. Ages 16-17


 * Advanced Rank 4: Grade 12 equivalent. Ages 17-18, with a graduation ceremony that allows a Shifter to roam free and go on for further study as a master.


 * Graduated Shifter: Though the age depends on the Shifter, this is the title one is given after graduating from an Academy, and one's career is free to be chosen.


 * Master Shifter: The highest rank a Shifter can reach. This is used to describe one who has graduated and went on to master their abilities or simply a Shifter with immense power. These Shifters usually are old and offer their teachings to Shifters willing to learn how to fight, and are usually visited on school field trips or Graduated Shifters looking to become soldiers or Masters themselves. Masters have the highest respect among Shifters, and even have power within the government.


 * Elemental Master: Rank given to a Shifter who knows all about and has completely mastered their element(s). Shifters, whether a Graduated or Student, will visit these Masters for advise on how to master their element, as opposed to regular Masters, where people visit just to learn how to fight with any element. Elemental Shifters are bound to their own elements and will refuse to teach a Shifter of a different element. So usually these Masters are only visited by Element-Specific Classes of Students, or for a Shifter looking for a personal master.