tales take place in England, with The Fire Rose taking place in North America and focusing on the San Francisco area, while Blood Red and From a High Tower are set in Germany, with a focus on the Black Forest. While history does tend to follow the real-life time line, historic calamities such as the Great Chicago Fire and the earthquake in San Francisco are attributed to the elemental mages that serve as the series namesakes. Also the 1918 flu pandemic is hinted in Phoenix and Ashes due to the machinations of a malevolent Master. Magic The world of the "Elemental Masters" is home to two main types of magic: the elemental magic that plays an important part in the series and ESP that is largely explored in The Wizard of London. There have been mentions of different types and degrees of magical ability in the series. Elemental magic Elemental magic is the most commonly seen form of magic in the series, with every book having at least a couple of elemental masters as major characters, with one serving as the antagonist. The masters' abilities are tied with their ability to see and control spirits of a particular elemental affinity. Different regions of the world have different Elementals. Elemental magicians are classed by their affinity (Earth, Air, Fire, and/or Water) and by their mastery of their magic; one can be an Elemental Magician or an Elemental Master. It is mentioned in Blood Red that there is a fifth kind of magic, Spirit, which has no Masters, as the Masters of this element would be able to control the very angels of heaven, and as such no master can be born of this element. This is later proven to not be the case in "A Study In Sable", which features a Master of Spirit who uses a violin to summon spirits and communicate with them. The Power of Ice and Necromancy The power of Ice can be seen as a partial exception of the normal abilities of an Elemental mage. Ice can be controlled by a skilled master of Fire, with cold being the inverse of heat. As seen in The Wizard of London, the power of ice is seen as a perversion and innately destructive, as it calls for a basic twisting of a master's nature as well as the world around them. Similarly, Necromancy, the power of death, in