The Four Elements
Air represents intelligence, wit, awareness, and erudition.
Air is the most important element because it is key to everything. Air is necessary to understand how the universe and the arcane powers work rather than just guessing. Air is also important for mastering the strategy and tactics of war. If your plan is good enough, you will overcome those who operate on gut instinct, who rush in where angels fear to tread, and those who just wait out the storm. Characters who are low in Air will be outplanned and outthought by their brighter opponents.
Air is associated with the power of Sorcery.
Of your aunts and uncles, Benedict is supposed to be the sharpest. He is a master of strategy, having studied warfare in thousands of shadows. His brilliance and mastery of weapons tactics have won him a reputation as a swordsman without peer.
Having served under Napoleon, Lee, and MacArthur, I appreciated the tactician as well as the strategist. Benedict was both and he was the best I had ever known.
-- Corwin, Sign of the Unicorn
Earth represents endurance, resistance to disease and wounds, and tirelessness.
Earth is the most important element because without it, you may not be able to sustain yourself through the wielding of great powers. You can be smart or sensitive or pushy, but if you tire out before the end, you'll never win the race! Characters with low Earth scores will be exhausted after walking the Pattern or performing similar endeavors, and will not be able to sustain themselves in rituals for long periods.
Earth is associated with the power of Shapeshifting.
Of your aunts and uncles, Corwin is supposed to be the toughest. He was blinded by your Uncle Eric after his unsuccessful attack on Amber, but regrew his eyes while imprisoned. And he has probably walked the Pattern more often than any of his brothers or sisters.
I regenerate faster and better than anybody I've ever known.
-- Corwin, Nine Princes in Amber
Fire represents forcefulness, energy, daring, charisma, and weapons prowess.
Fire is the most important element because drive and energy are what keeps you ahead of your relatives. It does you no good to make brilliant plans or sense all the undercurrents or stick it out toughly if you never have the drive to get ahead! And of course, a character who is low in Fire will have a tough time surviving when it comes down to bared steel, as it so often does.
Fire is associated with the power of Pattern.
Of your aunts and uncles, Eric was supposed to be the most forceful. He took the crown after your grandfather's disappearance and defeated an army led by two of his brothers to hold it. Even the combined effects of several years of incursions by Chaos, a blood curse, and two armies attacking were not enough to defeat him -- he died fighting.
What an enormous chutzpah you possess. What makes you better than the rest of us, and more fit to rule?
The fact that I was able to occupy the throne. Try and take it.
-- Corwin and Eric, Nine Princes in Amber
Water represents sensitivity, feelings, wisdom, and intuition.
Water is the most important element because without it, you can never really instinctively work with the greater powers. And it's easy to manipulate the stolid, the overly rational, and the restlessly energetic with a high Water score! With a low Water, a character cannot hope to be a truly great metaphysicist -- and she will never know when her relatives are lying to her.
Water is associated with the powers of Trump and Mirrors.
Of your aunts and uncles, Brand was supposed to be the most sensitive. He was the greatest of your great-grandfather Dworkin's students and one the few creators of Trumps. Some people speculate that his sensitivity was what drove him mad.
If you did not prepare that Trump, who did?
My best pupil. Your son Brand.
-- Corwin (as Oberon) and Dworkin, The Hand of Oberon
Specialties
For each element, your character has a specialty, which reflects some part of the element at which the character is especially good. Your character is at an effective +1 in the element when performing a task related to the specialties. Sometimes the specialties are obviously useful, and other times not.
Specialties must be narrow; overly broad specialties will be rejected. For instance, a character may take "swordplay" or "knife work" as a Fire specialty. However, a specialty of "fighting" is too broad.
Additionally, characters can take "cross-specializations" if the GMs approve them. A cross-specialization is a specialization in one element that normally would be a specialization in another. For instance, a character with a high Air might take an Air specialty in Archery.