Fire

Fire slimes are a constant presence at the mouths of active volcanoes and deep inside any cave systems nearby, but they also appear in the wake of wildfires, in razed settlements, and after brutal sieges. They grow to a 4-inch core in roughly a month and stick around well after the initial damage is done, sometimes starting new fires or exacerbating existing damage. They're not aggressive by any means, but they can give off enough heat to cause third-degree burns just by holding your hand over them. If threatened, they'll spit cones of flames hot enough to warp steel. Needless to say, attackers are typically roasted alive.

Domesticated fire slimes are usually calm and very careful about their body temperature around those they're attached to. They're fairly smart and well aware of how destructive they can be; most tend to freak out if they mess up. While they'll control their temperatures without complaint, they enjoy being able to let loose and be helpful at the same time, which is why acting as the hot coals of a forge makes them very happy.

The glowing, red, and orange gel maintains a seriously painful temperature on its own and needs special bottles to keep. Most of the usefulness comes from the slime itself, but the gel is used in several home temperature regulation devices as well as high-grade winter coats. Also, a drop of it in your cooking recipe helps keep food warm longer and gives it a spicy kick; whoever discovered that was either very brave or very stupid.

Fire slimes aren’t particularly expensive, but the average person, or ranch, isn't going to have any. Demand for the gel is lower than the demand for the slimes themselves. The only problem with that is that they crystallize after destructive events; not many people are going to climb an active volcano. They're naturally popular in frigid climates, but they have uses everywhere with smiths of all kinds. They make very good travel companions, too.

Energy

Energy slimes are quite the rarity because of the circumstances necessary for them to appear. They only crystallize during abnormally harsh weather or amid a significant natural disaster. They scatter rather quickly to go join other slimes where it takes them nearly 5 months for their core to grow to a meager 3 inches. The going theory is that they need the extra time to strengthen their core to withstand their defense mechanism; their core vibrates, turning its gel from pale yellow to glowing white over several seconds, then it explodes. Anything within 10 feet of it might as well be considered a goner, but the slime itself is never affected by it. There's a roughly 30 second cooldown period before it'll try again.

Not only are energy slimes hard to find, but they're also one of the most difficult varieties to get along with. The smallest things can agitate them, and one miscommunication is all it takes for a wild one to explode like the little rechargeable bomb it is. Fully bonded slimes still aren't fond of strangers and do have a bit of a trigger finger. They're quite protective, but they can also be quite reckless.

Their pale yellow gel is unstable, naturally. It'll explode with a force proportional to the amount of gel if it's shaken up too much. It doesn't have many practical uses for the moment, but it's the primary gel being heavily researched for machinery. For those fancy folks, a drop in any drink gives it a fizzy bubbling.

Containing energy slimes is extremely difficult due to their hair-trigger defense mechanism. They're not popular by any means, and it's a common superstition that they bring disasters wherever they go, despite the fact they only appear after said disasters. The only real demand for them is for dedicated research facilities.

Arcane

Arcane slimes are considered by most to be an atypical variety of energy slimes due to the major parallels between them. Most of the differences lie in their appearances; arcane slimes are a deep blue and purple with tiny sparkles floating inside, very much resembling the night sky. Despite the similar growth rate, arcane slimes only reach a core size of 2.5 inches. They only crystallize in the wake of a magic well’s collapse, but they share a violent defense mechanism with their parent variety. When threatened, it’ll condense its body and the tiny lights inside it will orbit around the core with increasing speed until they become blurred lines, then the slime itself will start to glow faintly. After around 15 seconds or so, it’ll explode with enough force to completely atomize anything within several feet and shred anything within 30 feet. People lucky enough to only feel the shockwave describe it as “soul-shaking”, which is just unnecessary evidence toward the magical nature of the explosion. Fortunately, it takes the slime a few minutes to recover before it goes for round 2.

Befriending an arcane slime is a life-threatening endeavor, to say the least. They maintain the trigger finger and easily provable attitudes, so it is very important to be calm, clear, and patient with wild arcane slimes unless you want to be turned into human paste.

The arcane gel is beyond volatile; any more than a drop in recipes will cause reactions violent enough to destroy standard mixing equipment. Curiously enough, the gel doesn’t react on its own no matter how much it’s shaken up, making it rather stable to keep around, at least. A single drop in any recipe can be contained, but it has the unique property of rendering every other gel completely inert. If the resulting solution is diluted further, the end product is a strange dye that can be applied anywhere, mainly clothing.

Arcane slimes are virtually impossible to keep contained, as they can blast through just about any material without issue. There’s no demand for them aside from very expensive clothing, and keeping them around is a major health risk, to put it lightly.

Nature

Nature slimes aren’t that rare, but they only appear deep inside forests about as far away from civilization as possible. They’re somewhat small, with their core growing to 3 inches in diameter after two and a half months. The faint yellow streaks of light that glow inside them can extend outward, transforming into faux vines that it uses to protect itself and other slimes; they can use them to trap or whip attackers or use them to pull themselves up into forest canopies where they’re nigh impossible to find.

When they aren’t being attacked, nature slimes are among the most talkative and intelligent varieties. They’ll go on about anything and everything, having extensive conversations while utilizing their vines as an extra layer of body language to convey more complicated ideas. They’re known to snatch small objects from people and keep them inside their bodies until they get bored of it or find something else. Ones that are kept outside ranches tend to occasionally disappear for hours at a time only to come back with some strange item they found who knows where. It takes a certain kind of person to handle them without eventually losing their patience.

Their light green gel has a reputation for being difficult to use. It’s hard to predict and has seemingly random effects depending on the amount used; the precision required makes it an unreliable ingredient and a major risk to mix commercially. Most of its uses involve flavoring since its unpredictability applies to taste when used in tiny amounts. Eating more than a cup at a time is not the best idea, but it has a minor antidote-like effect that can slow, and sometimes cure, the symptoms of poisons and venoms.

It can be a pain to keep them contained and they have low demand since you only need drops at a time for recipes, so the majority of ranchers don’t have them. Most of the gel sold comes from people who simply have them as companions.

Petal

Petal slimes are an atypical variety of nature slimes. They appear in very similar locations except for crystallizing near remote meadows instead of forests; the few that are found are always discovered during spring and summer when everything is in full bloom. They look exactly like their parent nature slime, but the streaks of light inside their bodies are more of a pale pink than yellow color. Much like with the faux vines, their streaks of light can fold outward into a pair of exceptionally tough shields that mimic the appearance of pink rose petals. They're more effective against magic than anything.

The general attitudes of petal slimes don't stray too far from their parent variety. They're a little less talkative, but they're just as smart and just as energetic. It's also just as easy to get along with them if you’re patient.

Petal gel is inert. It's safe to eat and tastes kinda like paper, but it doesn't do anything beyond that.

Because their gel is essentially useless, the only practical reasons to seek one out are to sell it or to have one just for the sake of having one. A truly motivated person can travel out into the wilderness and find one eventually.

Air

Air slimes are hard to find, but not because they're rare. Despite growing to a core size of 5 inches in a month, they're most often spotted floating with a breeze or gust of wind. It's presumed that they crystallize at high altitudes, but good luck trying to prove it. They can travel great distances without really doing anything at all and usually go unnoticed unless they're floating closer to the ground or they've decided to land with a group of slimes. They're not all that great at defending anything, but they can spit a mean blast of air that'll knock most people flat.

Air slimes communicate quite well, but it's really hard to get them to sit still, partially because they can make themselves weigh next to nothing, and partially because they like to float through the air at every opportunity they can. They'll bounce up themselves, but they're much happier being tossed. The higher the better as far as they're concerned. No matter where they end up, they somehow always know how to find their way back to whoever they like the most.

Their grayish, foggy gel finds most of its use in the production of clothing and foods. It can help fabrics feel lighter and more breathable, while it'll make various foods fluffier. Doesn't work on solid materials, though; it'll stretch it and make it brittle. The gel tends to expand if left unbottled.

It's naturally a challenge to keep air slimes contained at all, but it doesn't take much more than a barn since they're fairly weak, all things considered. Most ranches keep a few due to the stable demand for food ingredients and higher-end cloth.

Cloud

Cloud slimes are an atypical air variety that can be quite hard to differentiate from their parent variety without looking closely. They grow to the same size at the same rate, but cloud slimes are a slightly brighter white with a thicker internal fog. Their defense mechanism also involves spitting air, though it’s not quite as strong as their parent variety. It’s unclear how rare cloud slimes are since they often get mistaken for air slimes, which lowers the odds of them being approached by anyone. It’s also unclear where exactly they tend to crystallize, but people kinda need to figure out air slimes first before they tackle that question.

Cloud slimes and air slimes act almost identically with the only difference being that cloud slimes float constantly. They practically never touch the ground and instead propel themselves with short bursts of air that leave behind little puffs of clouds that quickly dissipate.

The similarities don’t end there; cloud gel has near-identical properties to air gel, but it’s “higher grade”. Substituting air gel with cloud gel creates a softer, lighter, and/or fluffier end product while using the same amount.

Anything made with cloud gel is inherently more expensive without being any more difficult to make, so there’s always a demand for it. Large ranches will buy them at exorbitant rates because the profit of having them long-term far outweighs their initial cost. The majority of people sell them if they find them.

Water

Water slimes are incredibly easy to find for anyone who goes out looking for one. They crystallize in larger bodies of water; lakes, rivers, marshes, seas, and even the ocean where they’ll sometimes wash up onto the beach. They grow to a core size of 4 inches after somewhere around two months. It's hard to pinpoint because they only ever show up above water after they’re fully grown, so people don't usually find them when they first appear. They're generally passive, but they can fire streams of water that can break through weaker materials and cause serious injury to anyone unprotected.

It's not super difficult to befriend water slimes. They can be snappy and a little impatient, and they're no stranger to splashing people with harmless sprays of water out of annoyance, but they're generally nice as long as you're not mean about anything. They don’t take slights very well, though.

The almost entirely clear, blue gel sees nearly as much use as red gel does. Its properties mimic that of regular water, so it’s the base for many drinks, both cheap and fancy. It can, in fact, hydrate people, despite the consistency.

Both water slimes and their gel are regularly in high demand due to their usefulness in drinks and as a clean water source for those who don't have any. They can be a bit of a pain to keep and deal with, but it's always worth the extra effort.

Ice

Ice slimes are quite common when compared to the other elemental varieties. They appear just about anywhere that maintains a temperature below freezing year-round; the higher elevations of mountain ranges and the far northern glaciers being the most common. They reach a core size of 5 inches over two months, and they are notoriously passive. They’re most often found huddling in small groups tucked into a crevice where they’ll just sit there for days at a time. It’s impossible to get them to attack unless you’re actively trying to destroy them. Their main defense mechanism is to spit clusters of sharp ice crystals that can easily pierce the skin and thin clothes, which will cause frostbite in a matter of seconds after imbedding themselves into someone.

Domesticated ice slimes are extraordinarily calm and are perfectly happy to sit around and just hang out. They’ll communicate a decent amount if someone tries to interact with them first, but it’s not entirely uncommon for them to start something, especially with people they like. They’re low energy, but they understand a lot more than they let on and are always listening. It’s super easy to get along with them.

Their light blue and white gel maintains a temperature well below freezing regardless of where it’s being kept, so trying to handle it without some kind of protection is… stupid. It has little use outside of temperature regulation, but it can be used in certain foods/drinks in tiny amounts. There’s nothing like an ice-cold drink on a hot and sunny day.

The demand for ice slimes is pretty limited to warm climates or more expensive luxuries, but despite that, they can be pricey because they’re usually imported from northern countries. A solid chunk of ranches will have at least one since it’s not a waste to have one and they’re easy to contain.