Elemental Plane of Air
Of all the inner planes, the plane of elemental Air is the most hospitable to Prime planar life. The plane's substance can be breathed and is excellent for travel. Beings of elemental air are the most easily summoned and controlled (the aerial servant, dust devil, and invisible stalker spells all summon elemental creatures from the plane of Air, yet no equivalent spells exist for the other elemental planes).
The traveler first notices the sterling blue color of the plane, like the bluest high-summer day in the Prime plane. Unlike conditions in the Prime, this blue extends under foot as well as overhead, so that the traveler is surrounded by a great vault of sapphire hue. Small pieces of matter float in this realm, bits of other elemental planes that have found their way (or been brought by powerful forces) into the plane of elemental Air. lt is in and around such matter that other-planar creatures usually make their homes; the open space is the home of the air elementals.
As the traveler moves through the plane of elemental Air, the terrain changes. As the traveler moves toward the plane of paraelemental Smoke, the air becomes thicker, warmer, and harder to breathe. ln the opposit edirection, the air becomes cooler, and snow and ice crystals begin to hang in the air until they fill the sky, becoming the thick, crystalline walls of the plane of para-elemental lee. Toward the plane of quasi-elemental Lightning, the air thickens with rain clouds and fogs, and there is the distinct tang of ozone, until lightning erupts and the traveler knows the buffer area between these planes have been reached. Finally, toward the Negative Material plane, the air begins to thin out until an airless state is reached in the plane of quasi-elemental Vacuum, looking into the heart of the Negative Material plane.
None of these regions can be reached by the unguided traveler, though it seems possible to move from hot to cold, or to follow a scent on the breeze. ln reality, the winds of the plane of Air are contrary and treacherous, mixing warm and cool air, scents of flowers and brimstone, hints of soft rain and hot gusts of desert wind. A traveler following the tang of electricity may find the scent dying on the wind, while one seeking a city built upon an intruding island of earth may find the structure blocked by a passing cloud and disappearing from view.
Survival in the Plane of Air
Breathing
As noted earlier, breathing is one problem that does not exist for the traveler in this plane, though there are other hazards. lt should be noted that clouds of dust, acid, poison, and other harmful substances exist for the traveler to encounter.
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