Air

The element of air was one of the four fundamental building blocks of matter, and the origin of everything that is gaseous. It represented change, flexibility, and freedom.

Cosmology
Air manifested its position in the cosmos as the Elemental Plane of Air, one of the Inner Planes. The element was also represented there in living form as air elementals.

The ruler over the portfolio of air in Faerûn and Zakhara was the elemental lord Akadi – in the Hordelands known as Teylas – while in the Maztican pantheon it was held by Qotal. Among demihuman deities, Aerdrie Faenya of the elves held dominion over air. While Auril's portfolio were cold and winter, she also claimed the title Queen of Air and Darkness. The archomental Yan-C-Bin announced his wish to dominate the element, too, by calling himself Master of Evil Air.

A number Torilian powers were concerned with the less directly elemental aspect of moving air, either as beneficial wind – Bahamut, Hakiyah, Haku, Valkur – or destructive storm – Anhur, Talos, Umberlee (at sea), and Set (in the desert).

School of elemental air
Many magical spells utilized the element of air. Elemental air was recognized as a "school of effect" (rather than one of the eight traditional schools of magic). Wizards specializing in this school were called air elementalists. Air was opposed to the element of earth, both as a school of magic and as a worldview.

Magic-users in Zakhara had a similar but not identical notion of air magic in the form of the province of wind.

Divine air magic
A number of deities granted divine spells that relied on the element, either in the form of the elemental air sphere, or the air domain.

Celestial bodies
Spacefarers also used the four elements to distinguish different types of celestial bodies present in the crystal spheres. The one major air body in Realmspace was the gas giant Coliar.