Element Number Five: Difference between revisions

In spite of the name, this trope can also be another number- the Chinese elemental system, for example, normally contains five elements (Earth, Fire, Water, Metal, and Wood), so in works based on that mythology this will be Element Number Six. This trope occurs naturally in the [[wikipedia:Aether (classical element)|Greek]], [[wikipedia:Bön#Elements|Tibetan]], [[wikipedia:Classical element#Classical elements in Babylonia|Babylonian]] and [[wikipedia:Five elements (Japanese philosophy)|Japanese]] elemental systems, where Aether, Space, Sky and [[Power of the Void|Void]] fulfill the narrative role of this trope - note that these four are essentially the same thing.

 

 

See [[Infinity+1 Element]] for the gameplay ramifications of this trope occurring in [[Video Games]].

* ''[[The Sovereign Stone]]'' trilogy uses Void as its fifth element.

* In the ''[[Discworld]]'', the fifth element is Surprise.

* ''[[The Dresden Files]]'' is an interesting example - magic flows from the mind, so no single elemental system totally encapsulates it. We've seen wizards use fire, water, ice, electricity, wind, earth, and even particle beams, but none of these are more mystical than the others, and every mage uses his or her own different system. However, Angels and Fallen Angels possess Soulfire and Hellfire respectively (and can grant it to others), which are shown to be solidly this trope, even when actual numbering is impossible.

 

* Void was the traditional fifth element in Japanese mythology.{{verify}}

** Void, as element number five, also appears in [[Legend of the Five Rings]], a role playing game whose setting is Japan (and China) [[Fantasy Counterpart Culture|with the]] [[Serial Numbers Filed Off]].

* In ''[[WITCH (animation)|WITCH]]'', the girls have powers based on the four elements, with Will being [[What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?|the heart]]. [[Playing with a Trope|Instead of getting this fifth element later, she gets a]] ''power-up'' that lets her use Quintessence, an [[Shock and Awe|electrical power]] that could bring appliances and golem-like beings to life, summon ghosts from the site of their deaths and [[Lightning Can Do Anything|a whole lot of other applications]].

 

* [[Real Life]] alchemists sometimes talked of such a concept - also called ''Quintessence'' ([[Altum Videtur|Latin]], roughly, for [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|"Element Number Five"]]). Common ideas were "Aether" and "vital essence" (essentially life itself). It was thought that the heavens were made of pure quintessence, and the imperfect Earth of the lesser elements. The extraction of quintessence was considered one of the fundamental goals of alchemy.

* The ''Goethe-Gymnasium'' in Berlin-Wilmersdorf was built a few years before World War I in a historicist style. On the side facing Uhlandstraße are carved representations of the five elements - fire, earth, air, water and ''electricity''.

 

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