The Elemental Planes, the Foundations of Everything Real

The Court of Elements The Lady of Brass is a notorious adventurer, who often takes her floating Castle of Fire into other planes to do battle with tyrants. In her absence, she leaves her home plane of Quintessence and its greatest city, Alloy, in the hands of her personal guard, the Court of Elements.
The Court patrol Alloy—the Burning City, the City of Four Elements—and enforce the Lady’s law. Beings from across the timescape come to Alloy, and many bring their grudges with them. The Lady has spent eons building Alloy’s reputation as a neutral city, open to trade and available for loremasters seeking knowledge not available on their home plane. The Court of Elements enforce this order, ensuring the safety of visitors, unless they come seeking conflict.
Fire Motes The motes are elemental sprites, tricksters, mischievous imps who enjoy sticking their noses into other people’s business, harassing anyone who looks suspicious until the more puissant authorities arrive.

The fire motes in particular enjoy tormenting spellcasters, teasing them, trying to provoke them into using their spells and violating the strict rules of Alloy. Basically, the fire motes try to frame wizards visiting the Burning City. But, the fire motes argue, if these magic-users can be provoked into violence by something as harmless as a mote, what might they do if they became seriously angry? Keep those fingers holstered, spellslinger!
Source of Earth The Sources hover at the crossroads of Alloy pronouncing the Lady’s law and reminding citizens of important dates. They can also be depended upon to grant aid to newcomers, including help as mundane as directions. The Sources of Earth seem most to enjoy helping visitors, and while their pronouncements are booming and melodramatic, they are enthusiastic about their task.

“THE CLOSEST SAGE SPECIALIZING IN MIRROR

MAGIC CAN BE FOUND ON THE ORRIDAN WAY

WHERE IT INTERSECTS HIGH STREET.”

The Sources of Earth act as vigilant sentinels, stoning anyone seen committing a crime or running from a representative of the law. They are the hovering, eternal watchmen of Alloy.
Pillar of Water If the Sources are watchmen of Alloy, the Pillars are the jailors. They spring from the ground, imprisoning those caught violating the law of the Lady. Like the Sources, they have an attitude, but not much actual personality. In the city of Alloy, the Pillars imprison suspected criminals, awaiting the arrival of a Magistrate. When summoned to the Mundane World, the Pillars obey the commands of the concordant who summoned them. They will release the prisoners they hold at the concordant’s demand, granting the opportunity to parley.

The Pillars of Water are generally skeptical of those imprisoned, assuming openly that they must have done something to piss off the Sources. They believe anyone they trap must be guilty of something and leave the judging to the Magistrates.
As with the Knights and Sources, there are many different Pillars not described here. Pillars of Fire, Pillars of Earth. But the Pillars of Water are most common. In times of great distress, when the city of Alloy is threatened, they are known to join together to create a massive gestalt entity to defend this, the most diverse city in the timescape.
During the Battle at the Doors of Morning, when the Lady of Brass lost her greatest general, the Pillars of Water joined the battle by forming the Tidal Wall, a great, unstoppable wave said to be one hundred feet tall. Thanks to this overwhelming display and the work and effort of the rest of the Court of Elements, the city held.
Knight of Air The Knights of Alloy enjoy the privilege of being neutral in the conflicts that rage across the timescape. Because Alloy is neutral ground, the Knights are often seen in the company of visiting members of the Court of Arcadia (especially the Mantis Knights or the Orchid Count) or the Knights of Axiom. Even the unchanging changers from the Court of All Flesh are welcome. The Knights of Fire especially seem to enjoy the company of Korsoth Vastikan.
The Knights keep tabs on the most powerful visitors to Alloy. While within the city walls, they have a sixth sense that alerts them to the presence in the city of newcomers who are able to cause a lot of trouble. Presuming they’ve sobered up from the previous night’s festivities, the Knights will check on the newcomer to make sure they’re behaving. The Knights of Fire make no pretense of hiding while doing this, but the Knights of Air are skilled at following powerful entities without them knowing about it.
Should violence threaten, the Knights can instantly summon a Source and a Pillar, though this power is granted them only in the city of Alloy.
Storm Magistrate The Magistrates of the Burning City are the priests and judges of the Lady of Fire. The motes, sources, and knights are diagnosticians. They identify and evaluate the problem. The Lords of Storm cure it.
Exactly as high and mighty as you would expect them to be, the Magistrates are a cruel and bastardly bunch, enjoying their power, using it casually, some say recklessly. They give no thought to the consequences of their actions—they assume the Sources, Pillars, and Knights have done their jobs and identified a criminal. The Magistrates arrive ready to prosecute.

“You have done nothing of value in your short

and meaningless life. Take this opportunity to at

least die well.”

High Templar of Dust The High Templars serve the Lady of Brass, but unlike the rest of the Court of Elements they were not created by her. They were the original Elemental Lords who dwelled on the Plane of Quintessence before the arrival of the Lady. Before the construction of Alloy, the City of Brass, began. When Quintessence was a wasteland. The beings who would become the High Templars were formless creatures then, cursed by primordial forces as punishment for some ancient war they were on the losing side of. They do not speak of this, though it is clear they remember it.

The Lady of Brass arrived and gave them form and substance, and for this they pledged their lives to her. They are her fanatical death commandos, willingly giving their lives if necessary and sacrificing their eternal being to aid her.
They are grim and taciturn. It appears they resent being summoned but do their duty in the name of the Lady.

“Concordant, our queen commands me aid you,

and this I have done. This world of yours is pain

for us. Do not ask more of me, for I have no more

to give. I leave.”