Elementals

There are 6 elementals at any one time in this world. In this world, elementals are not like what you may be accustomed to from a variety of other stories involving their own elementals. 

There are six elemental potentials. Fire, water(including all its phases. ie, ice, snow, etc), earth, wind/air, dark, and light. 

Elementals in this world are not born as such. They do not inherit their gift nor do they pass it down. There are no rituals or rights of passage to claim an element. This status has no relation to a character's initial magical talent or attribute. Elementals are "chosen" by a unique, living organism that reminds many of a virus or parasite. It is unclear what are the determining factors that decide a host. It seems to have no gender, race, or species preference. The only consistency between hosts is that they show signs during early puberty. Pubescent age range may vary from species to species, so one may take that into consideration. The element carrier is microscopic, and sends its signals from its initial invading region to all cells of the body, mutating them slowly by altering the DNA itself. Mutuations are not consistent, as they rely on the initial genetic traits in combination with how host may incorporate the element. 

It is speculated that there is only one element carrier per element, as only six ""elementals" ever exist at once and they are always the full range of elements. Another idea the common mass have pondered is that the carriers are sentient, and decide on one host at a time. That they may actually be separate hoards that focus on their own elements as grouped individuals. These ideas have gone untested, as the carriers have never been caught. There have been many attempts to test infected hosts, but none have provided any insight.

additional notes: old elementals may live on after their infected status passes. They are no longer considered elementals when their carrier leaves, however. The carrier often leaves when its host is too old to channel their potential. This varies somewhat from individual to individual and significantly between species. (a full elf may still qualify into hundreds of years of their life span, but a human is likely to lose theirs in their 40's to 50's.) A new pubescent host may show signs of mutation within a day after the old element host has lost their status. ex-elementals tend to lose their elemental magic entirely. (as in, any magic or elemental abilities granted by the element carrier) However, their bodily mutations generally stay with them. this suggests that the magic belongs to the carrier and not the host; that the host is simply borrowing the magic. 

The current set of elementals are all male beast-men. 

The previous set had: one male elf(air), one male dwarf (water), one female (dragon?)beast-man (dark), one male human (earth), and two succubi (fire and light)

(there is some overlap between sets. The previous set lost their fire first and tsuneo of the current group took her place. making him the first elemental of the new wave. The last of the previous set was light, who stayed an elemental long enough to personally meet most of the new wave. )