Gravis started reading the Lightning Codex, and surprisingly, the first thing the Lightning Codex talked about was Life Energy. Life Energy was the inherent Energy in a body that was used to sustain its life.
One could have an uninjured body and have little Life Energy. Old people were a good example of that. They might be uninjured, but they would be tired, and they couldn't stimulate their bodies too hard, or their bodies might fail.
One could also have a severely injured body and be full of Life Energy. When Gravis came out of the ravine in the Basin of Nature, he was severely injured, yet he still had a lot of stamina and power. His body then worked on healing his injuries.
The concept of Life Energy seemed ethereal. It was not something that Gravis could point to and say: "That's Life Energy." It was basically just a thing inside of a body that allowed people to remain young and regenerate.
After the Lightning Codex explained Life Energy, it described the destruction and creation aspect of every element, which was something Gravis had not thought about before. He had only thought about the power of the elements.
Fire was a destructive element, and it couldn't create. One might think about fertile lands after a fire and how the ash would help new plants sprout, yet that was not the creation of fire itself. The other elements would take over and use the remains of fire's destruction to fuel their own creation.
Yet, there was balance. While fire couldn't create, it reigned supreme in pure destruction. Fire didn't care about anything and just destroyed everything it touched. No other element could beat fire in pure destruction. Yet, from a combat standpoint, fire couldn't help someone heal and couldn't be used defensively.
Earth also couldn't create. Living things might be able to use earth as help to live, yet earth by itself, couldn't create. Earth also didn't have the pure destruction of fire. So, what made earth equal to the other elements?
Earth reigned supreme in defense. The hardness and sturdiness of the earth could be used as a defensive shield and to protect others. Earth was also not too bad in an attack. An earth wave could swallow the enemy.
Water could create. It transferred Life Energy and nutrients. It was said that life originally came from the oceans, yet Gravis was not so sure about that.
Water was incredibly effective in healing. It had the ability to transfer the Life Energy of the user to the patient. This allowed someone, no matter how heavily they were injured, to regenerate, because water was not using their Life Energy to heal, but someone else's. In contrast, water's destructive potential and defensive potential were average to low.
Wind couldn't create. Wind was able to offer oxygen to living things, yet without life, it was useless. Wind's destructive potential was a little stronger than water, but not outstanding. It also couldn't be used as a shield or something similar. It also couldn't create. So, what made wind so special?
Wind reigned supreme in speed. Speed could be used defensively with evasion, and it could be used offensively by out-speeding the opponent. If no one were fast enough to hit you, you wouldn't be hit. If no one were fast enough to defend against your attacks, they would be hit.
Light could create. Light was an incredible catalyst for Life Energy. Light could stimulate one's Life Energy to multiply and to transform. In comparison to water, light used the inherent Life Energy of the patient. At first glance, light seemed to be inferior to water.
Yet, one would need to make a distinction. If the goal were to save someone from death, then yes, water would be superior.
What about a lighter injury? Water would still be better in healing when it came to the patient.
What about several heavily injured people? Water would be able to heal some of them, but then the user would need to regenerate their own Life Energy. A lot of people would still die. This is where light would shine. Light could keep up the healing indefinitely, as long as the patients themselves had enough Life Energy.
What about several lightly injured people? Water couldn't even begin to compare to light in that department. Light could heal everyone and keep them on full fighting strength. In that scenario, water could only watch on bitterly.
Light's destructive property was the weakest of every element. It could be used to burn the opponent, but it was not nearly as effective as fire. Yet, light was not bad in defense. It could blind opponents and disorient them with well placed light beams. It might even be able to bend the natural light so that the attacker's target was actually in a different position than the attacker thought.
Darkness was a tricky one. It couldn't create, and its immediate destructive potential was also weak. It also couldn't block. So, what made darkness so special? Darkness was incredibly versatile. Darkness attacked the Life Energy in the target directly, so while the target looked uninjured after the attack, they might succumb to injury later.
Darkness was similar to poison. It ate away at the Life Energy until the body didn't have enough of it to remain alive. If a darkness attack were paired with a physical attack, it would be devastating. The darkness would sap the enemy of the ability to heal, and a cut from an attack might never receive enough Life Energy to recover fully. Like that, someone might succumb to a simple cut.
Darkness was also incredibly silent and sinister. It reigned supreme in stealth and had a lot of methods of escaping. In short, the darkness element was the perfect element for assassins.
Before the Lightning Codex started talking about lightning, it first explained all the other elements and also showed a spreadsheet of the elements.
Fire:
Destruction: Pinnacle
Creation: None
Defense: Weak
Versatility: Weak
Earth:
Destruction: Okay
Creation: None
Defense: Pinnacle
Versatility: Good
Water:
Destruction: Weak
Creation: Pinnacle
Defense: Okay
Versatility: Weak
Wind:
Destruction: Good
Creation: None
Defense: Good
Versatility: Good
Light:
Destruction: Weak
Creation: Pinnacle
Defense: Good
Versatility: Weak
Darkness:
Destruction: (Weak) Good
Creation: None
Defense: Good
Versatility: Pinnacle
Gravis now understood a lot more about the different elements. The Lightning Codex went into more detail about the other elements. It also explained that the reader first had to realize the strengths and weaknesses of the other elements so that they could better judge the strengths and weaknesses of lightning. Because...
Lightning was different from the other elements.