Bring order to the world of Elemental... one way or the other...
That led me to a brief period of daydreaming about what a two-axis (i.e., D&D-style) alignment system would look like in Elemental. I was never into D&D, so my interpretation of their alignment system might be a bit "free".
Lawful Good = a civilization of crusading paladins out to subdue the evildoers (i.e., everyone who isn't them).
Neutral Good = a small, prosperous civilization that wants to deal evenly and fairly with all its neighbors.
Chaotic Good = going Gandalf; nuff said.
Lawful Neutral = a civilization built around enlightened tolerance for all ways of life, even those that involve the occasional, or not so occasional, ritual sacrifice or zombie raising. Focused on building coalitions and diplomatic institutions (to the extent Elemental supports this); will happily go to war to enforce treaty obligations.
True Neutral = a small den of bear warriors .... er, a civilization that specializes in recruiting and training the roaming beasts of the world. Mostly wants to be left alone to investigate the properties of these really interesting plants, man ...... purely for research purposes, of course.
Chaotic Neutral = a lone channeler going for an Unvictory condition by raising the oceans / fracturing the world / opening portals to the nether regions / triggering the Zombie Apocalypse. Hahahaha! BWAHAHAHAHAHA!
Lawful Evil = tyrannical despot out to subdue everyone who isn't paying him/her tribute. Oddly similar to Lawful Good, but with less self-rightousness and more steepled fingers, petting of cats, and sinister laughter.
Neutral Evil = a civilization of crooked merchants and diplomats who will cheat you blind if you take your eyes off them for a moment.
Chaotic Evil = a band of marauding heroes out to kill and loot, led by a super-powerful channeler. If they can stay on task for long enough to complete the Master Quest, well, let's just say we all hope they don't.
Actually, looking over that, it looks like we may have a lawful/chaotic axis after all, just not one that's explicitly called out as such by the game.