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Referring back to https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/2781/magic-came-back-catastrophes

In the interest of narrowing questions down, I am splitting these out into particular elements and element combinations.

So, in summary, Ley Lines have just become active again on Modern Earth, and are wreaking natural and unnatural havoc on the world.

This question will focus on the Fire ley lines, and their interactions with the world around them, as well as interaction between Fire and the other 4 elements: Water, Air, Earth, Wood. Ley lines are not restricted to a particular area, but exist across the entire world. Some places have denser concentrations than others.

What are some catastrophes that could be caused by very high volumes of Fire magic going rampant, and clashing with other elemental magics also going rampant? Again, this can be of any scope, as long as it does not result in a mass extinction event. And I'm quite okay with every combo not always producing the same results... For example, Fire + Air may result in burning tornadoes in one place, firestorms elsewhere, and flaming hail in another.

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  • $\begingroup$ Flaming hail?!?! I don't even want to know how that would work. $\endgroup$
    – James
    Oct 17, 2014 at 15:35
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    $\begingroup$ Yeah, rampant magic is pretty horrifying, and my brain is not a normal place. $\endgroup$
    – guildsbounty
    Oct 17, 2014 at 15:38
  • $\begingroup$ Also, it is a little bit, sorta, possible. If there are high concentrations of Methane in the atmosphere when hail is forming, it is possible (in theory, I don't think it has actually ever happened) for the ice to trap the methane within its structure. Then, while falling, this methane-impregnated hail is ignited by electrical discharge from the storm. Boom, flaming hail. Falls quickly enough to hit the ground before it melts. $\endgroup$
    – guildsbounty
    Oct 17, 2014 at 15:43
  • $\begingroup$ is it above, under the ground or both ? $\endgroup$
    – Vincent
    Oct 17, 2014 at 17:31
  • $\begingroup$ Flaming hail i think the term we want here is brimstone (i.e. sulfur) $\endgroup$
    – Culyx
    Oct 17, 2014 at 20:22

4 Answers 4

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Results of fire magic going rampant on earth

Well, fire magic first of all results in fire. So I would expect things like frequent spontaneous combustion of anything that burns, like wood, textiles, plants, and even animals and humans. Also, any naturally occurring fire will be amplified; things that normally just smoulder would suddenly burst out in flames. Explosives would, of course, spontaneously explode; but also any sort of combustible dust might cause a dust explosion. I wouldn't want to be a bakery when a fire magic stream arrives, for example.

But then, fire is just an exothermic chemical reaction, so I'd also expect other exothermic chemical reactions to be enhanced. For example, iron could rust in accelerated speed, and also other corrosive processes would likely be enhanced.

Also, there's no reason why the effect should be restricted to chemical reactions; nuclear reactors could explode, and nuclear warheads might go off (of course, if the war head is mounted on a missile, ignition of the missile fuel might mean that this happens not exactly where the warhead is stored).

Another effect, not related to reactions, is that sleeping volcanoes could wake up. And finally, fire causes heat, so in general the regions where fire magic flows would likely get hot very quickly.

Clash with other elemental magic

Fire + Water

Fire causes water to evaporate, so a clash might cause steam explosions. It might also cause hot rain, close to the boiling temperature. On the other hand, water extinguishes fire, so the pure fire effects might be reduced.

Fire + Air

The first think that gets into my mind here is a firestorm. Fire and wind can enhance each other, and wind can carry fire and sparks over larger distances.

Fire + Earth

Volcanism is the primary effect which comes to my mind here.

Fire + Wood

Wood is of course feeding fire, so it would probably cause the fire magic to get stronger, while the wood magic would be diminished (fire eats wood).

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  • $\begingroup$ Actually, nuclear warheads would burn up and fizzle (the explosive is extremely heat insensitive, and the blast sequence required on implosion warheads is far too precise to be achieved randomly during a fire)... $\endgroup$
    – Shalvenay
    Nov 28, 2016 at 23:34
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Keep in mind that fire is a source of destruction but also the source of life since stars are like giant fireballs. What makes the air and water move is the difference of pressure caused by a difference of temperature.

Increasing the fire energy...

  • Fire + air: It could increase the force of the dominant winds.
  • Fire + water 1: When they mix, water could reduce the temperature of lava. The magma could solidify inside the planet. After some time, it could make the magnetic field weaker.
  • Fire + water 2: It could increase the temperature of surface water enough to make it boil.
  • Fire + water 3: Increasing the temperature of the water could encourage algae bloom too.
  • Fire + water 4: You could mix the proprieties of fire and water to get some rivers of lava.
  • Fire + water 5: Increasing the temperature could lead to more evaporation. Overland, it means more frequent drought. Higher evaporation could also produce more rain if there is enough water in the environment.
  • Fire + water 6: It could increase the force of the oceanic currents.
  • Fire + earth 1: I will put this one here but I could also put it in the question related to the earth element. It will create more powerful earthquakes.
  • Fire + earth 2: It could make the earth and the rocks very hot. They could even start to melt at some point.
  • Fire + air + water: - It could increase the force of the storms. Because storm are formed when a cold air mass meats a hot air mass. If you increase the difference of temperature between them, you could have more powerful storms.
  • Fire + earth + air: You need very strong winds for this one : a magmarnado (tornado of hot magma). Or it could be a tornado of burning ashes.

I need to say that I got inspired by the Limbo plane of Dungeon and dragon. Here the description from the wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limbo_%28Dungeons_%26_Dragons%29):

Limbo is a place of pure chaos where everything is in constant motion and change, especially the landscape, which can shift unpredictably and randomly rolls over upon itself like liquid. Very few places in Limbo are stable enough for normal travel.

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  • Just fire - Wild/City Fires running rampant
  • Fire+Earth - Volcanic activity
  • Fire+Water - Flaming oil spill or an insane lightning storm if not already covered
  • Fire+Air - Firenados (you know what I mean) or flaming meteorites from the sky
  • Fire+Wood - I usually think wood to mean nature. This could be forest fires or the arrival of fire based beasts like imps, dragons, or (because it would be cool) fire breathing charcoal ents. In more minor cases, a sweating dehydrating highly feverish plague.
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Lots of possibilities here, depending on how one conceives of Fire (and/or other Elements) working/being motivated:

Personally, I'm a big fan of volcanoes, especially if Fire + Earth works in your world. An even bigger, Krakatoa-level event would also bring in Water (Krakatoa was a magma+steam explosion.) Or geysers, if you want a milder version

Lightning is also a strong form of Fire, to my mind.

If it were to manifest amid a society like ours, do you think Fire would be able to resist the lure of Nukes??

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