History Main / ElementalNation

This is when the process of defining nations in {{fantasy}} settings is to have each group be under the domain of one kind of magic. The main appeal to this is, naturally, the easy convenience of being able to define who is from what nation, since they'll have the appropriate [[ElementalPowers elemental affinity]] to go with it, and the trappings of the culture itself will be clearly delineated by that element as well. This is often paired with tropes like ColorCodedElement and SinglePaletteTown in order to get the full effect. On the downside, this can sometimes result in a PlanetOfHats situation on a small scale, since all members of a specific nation must, by definition, fit into the general archetypes of their nation's element.

This is when the process of defining nations in {{fantasy}} settings is to have each group be under the domain of one kind of magic. The main appeal to this is, naturally, the easy convenience of being able to define who is from what nation, since they'll have the appropriate [[ElementalPowers elemental affinity]] to go with it, and the trappings of the culture itself will be clearly delineated by that element as well. This is often paired with tropes like SinglePaletteTown in order to get the full effect. On the downside, this can sometimes result in a PlanetOfHats situation on a small scale, since all members of a specific nation must, by definition, fit into the general archetypes of their nation's element.

* In the world of the ''Literature/TheSovereignStone'', certain individuals are chosen to be Dominion Lords, who are basically {{Magic Knight}}s with elemental powers. In the beginning, only the humans had this power, being associated with the element of earth. However, in an act of goodwill the king of the strongest human kingdom uses the titular artifact to share this power to other races inhabiting the world. As a result, the elves received power over wind, the dwarves power over fire and the orcs (here being a race of seafaring nomads) gained power over water.
* The world of ''Literature/ShadowMagic2016'' is split into six countries for six elements: Fire, Earth, Water, Air, Light and Shadow. The main setting is the Shadow kingdom, Gehenna, a nightmarish, macabre land that lives up to its element. The other countries include the Sultanate of Fire, the Kingdom of Lumina (Light,) Herne's Forest (Earth,) the Eagle Mountains (Air,) and the Coral Isles (Water.)

* The fire people in Pixar's ''WesternAnimation/{{Elemental}}'' come from a volcano-filled nation called Fireland. It's not specified if the other elements come from similar lands.

* The fire people in Pixar's ''WesternAnimation/{{Elementsal}}'' come from a volcano-filled nation called Fireland. It's not specified if the other elements come from similar lands.

* ''WesternAnimation/TrollsWorldTour'' has a variation on this idea. Troll society is based on music embodied in magical lyre strings, and each tribe of Trolls possesses a different string/genre. Everything from their behavior to their architecture follows their genre's stereotypes.

* ''WesternAnimation/FireAndIce'' involves a war between the nation's of Icepeak and Firekeep. Icepeak is ruled by the EvilSorcerer, Necron who makes his glaciers gradually spread towards Firekeep. The people of Firekeep aren't magic but have their citadel built around a volcano and can open valves to flood lava over invaders and Necron's glaciers.

* Each ''Toys/{{Roborider}}'' has a region based on their own element. Lava lives in a volcanically-active region, Frost patrols a frozen region filled with ice-thorns, Onyx fights monsters in a mountainous and rocky land, Swamp cruises through a poisonous marsh, Dust fights against monsters in a desert, and Power has to fight creatures in a city.

* Lost Island Theme Park is set on an island divided into five realms home to the scholarly inventors of the Udara Air Kingdom, the easygoing voyagers of the Awa Water Nomads, the forest protectors of the Yuta Earth Tribe, the warriors of the Mura Fire Clan, and the Tamariki Spirit Realm which helps maintain the balance between the four elements.

** UsefulNotes/NorthAmerica is affiliated with Air, due to TheOldNorthWind.

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** UsefulNotes/{{Oceania}} is affiliated with Fire, due to its harsh climate and bushfires, and the many Pacifc islands formed from volcanic activity.

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* The elves from ''WesternAnimation/TheDragonPrince'' have clans for each Primal Source of Magic ([[{{Lunacy}} Moon]], [[ThePowerOfTheSun Sun]], [[BlowYouAway Sky]], [[MakingASplash Ocean]], [[DishingOutDirt Earth]], [[StarPower Star]]), each one giving the elf a natural ability. For example, Moonshadow Elves can become [[VisibleInvisiblity Visibly Invisible]] at night, while Sunfire Elves have a SuperMode and a [[HealingFactor Healing Mode]].

* The elves from ''WesternAnimation/TheDragonPrince'' have clans for each Primal Source of Magic ([[{{Lunacy}} Moon]], [[ThePowerOfTheSun Sun]], [[BlowYouAway Sky]], [[MakingASplash Ocean]], [[DishingOutDirt Earth]], [[StarPower Star]]), each one giving the elf a natural ability. For example, Moonshadow Elves can become VisibleInvisible at night, while Sunfire Elves have a SuperMode and a [[HealingFactor Healing Mode]].

* ''VideoGame/RivsOfAether'' has four nations based on the classical elements. Each element has one representative, plus two other characters representing some "sub-element":

* ''Manga/AkatsukiNoYona'': The five tribes are Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, and Sky (the reigning tribe), though it's subverted in that each was supposedly founded by a dragon of that element, and there's very little magic in the world at large.

* In ''WebComic/YokokasQuest'', each character (aside from Grace, due to coming from Earth) has allegiance to a particular elemental Clan.

* In ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' games, forest residents (Deku, Kokiri, or Korok) have the Forest element; Gorons have the Fire element; Zoras and Parella have the Water element. This has more to do with their temple and artifacts than their magical abilities, since spellcasting isn't common in these games. Other races connected to elements (some of which are more abstract than anything) include the Gerudo (desert/[[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway spirit]]/electricity in ''Breath of the Wild''), Yeti (ice/snow), the Wind Tribe/Rito (air/wind), the Sheikah (shadow), and the Twili (twilight).

* In ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' games, forest residents (Deku or Kokiri) have the Forest element; Gorons have the Fire element; Zoras have the Water element. This has more to do with their temple and artifacts than their magical abilities, since spellcasting isn't common in these games. Other races connected to elements (some of which are more abstract than anything) include the Gerudo (desert/[[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway spirit]]), Yeti (ice/snow), the Wind Tribe (air/wind), the Sheikah (shadow), and the Twili (twilight).

* ''VideoGame/GenshinImpact: There are 7 regions that follow each of the seven elements, and are protected by one of the [[EthnicGod 7 Archons]] (e.g. Mondstadt is the region of Wind, blessed by the Anemo Archon, Barbatos). The characters who come from each nation, however, do not necessarily wield the designated element (e.g. among the many playable characters from Mondstadt, only 3 wield Anemo). There are also other regions aside from the 7 (which may or may not follow any elemental motif), such as Khaenri'ah.

** The Five Great Shinobi Countries are the Lands of Wind, Earth, Water, Lightning, and Fire (the last being the homeland of the main cast), all of whom tend to produce ninja with a corresponding elemental affinity. However, it's subverted in that many, if not most, ninjas can use abilities that do not correspond to their respective national affinities; in fact, Naruto's own main affinity is wind, while most of the main cast his age specialize in NonElemental abilities and don't use ''any'' fire techniques onscreen.

** The real-world places that the four nations of WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender are the FantasyCounterpartCulture of:
*** The Fire Nation is based on Japan, which has strong volcanic activity, thus is Fire.
*** The Earth Kingdom is based on China, which is covered in deserts (Taklimakan and Gobi) and mountains, representing Earth.
*** The Water Tribes are inspired by Inuit, which live in the North Pole, and the Ainu people of the cold Hokkaido, both of which live in contact with the cold seas (Water).
*** The Air Nomads are based on Tibet, which is located on a high mountain range, representing Air.

** It's played with by the time ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' comes along. Due to the cultural blending caused by having the Fire Nation colonize part of the Earth Kingdom for a hundred years, plus waves of subsequent immigration, these former Fire Nation colonies have developed into a fifth nation called the United Republic that's a mix of people from the Fire Nation, Earth Kingdom, and Water Tribes, as well as the home of the world's only living airbenders.