Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Elementals ❯ Class ( Chapter 3 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Elementals

Chapter Three

Rodem awoke early the next morning, unable to get back to sleep. A thin sliver of light was visible under the door to his room. He blinked a few times, trying to adjust his eyes to the lack of light, before looking over to the bed that should have been occupied by his roommate, Nalen.

He frowned and stood up, gathering his sandals. A piece of paper fell out of one. He picked it up, holding it in front of him and squinting to read it in the darkness.

Be careful.

Everything is taken care of.

Good luck.

He smiled, recognizing the handwriting. Relief washed over him. He'd been extremely nervous the day before when he saw the king in the dining hall. This note assuaged his fears. Whistling softly to himself, Sholren got dressed and opened the door, walking into the hallway.

Everyone appeared to still be asleep and he wasn't sure what time it was. It wasn't long, however, before he found a guard on duty. “Good morning,” he said cheerfully.

The guard barely glanced at him. Then, as if realizing something, the guard looked back at him, more closely this time. “Good morning, Y--” He paused. “Young man,” the guard said, finally.

Rodem grinned. “Do you know what time it is?” he asked.

“Four o'clock,” the guard said without looking at his watch. “Are you planning to explore the academy?”

Rodem nodded. “It looks like I have a couple hours to spare, anyway.”

“If you take these stairs down, there is a door on your left that leads to the garden.”

“Thank you,” Rodem said, before taking the route the guard had suggested. He opened a large, heavy door, revealing an immaculate garden, filled with hedges, flowers, and a fountain in the center. He immediately walked to the fountain.

He had always felt more at peace near water. It was probably due to the element's influence, but it was soothing, for whatever reason. He sat on the edge of the fountain, dipping his hand into the water. The fountain seemed to respond. The water spraying out from the top began to splash farther, hitting him.

“Stop that,” he said, laughing. The water obeyed him, returning to its original destination. He removed his hand from the water, sighing happily as he slid off the fountain and rested his back against it.

He sat like that, alone in his thoughts, for several minutes, before he heard the voice of a young girl calling him. He looked up into the face of Nululesa Sienril, one of the other two water elementals in his class.

“Hello, Rodem,” Nululesa said, smiling as she sat down beside him.

“Hello, Nululesa,” Rodem said, smiling back. “You're awake early, aren't you?”

“A bit,” she said. “Please just call me 'Lesa.' Nululesa is so long and complicated.” She closed her eyes, resting her head against the cool stone wall of the fountain. “I think this might be my new favorite place in the whole school.”

Rodem laughed. “Didn't you just find it, though?”

“I did,” she said. “But it's so relaxing and beautiful.”

Rodem had to admit that she had a point. The fountain was pretty, and so were the plants in the garden. To someone who hadn't grown up with such scenery as an everyday thing, it would seem even more impressive.

“Oh...hi,” a small voice said, from beside them. Rodem turned to face the speaker.

“Tilara, hello,” Nululesa said. She was still smiling. Rodem gave the girl a smile of his own.

“Would you like to join us?” he asked.

Tilara nodded, yawning sleepily. “Thank you,” she said, sitting beside Nululesa.

The blonde girl eyed Tilara, her eyebrows wrinkling in worry. “Did you sleep well, Tilara?” she asked gently.

The other girl blushed, turning her head away. “Not really,” she mumbled.

“Why not?” Rodem asked. “Was your bed uncomfortable?”

Tilara turned to him. She laughed quietly. “No, not at all. I just...” Her voice trailed off. “It's not important.” She turned away. Rodem sighed, turning away from the two girls and closing his eyes. Nululesa said nothing else, but Rodem was sure she was still worried about the other water elemental.

Rodem opened his eyes again when he heard another set of feet approaching them. “Lesa, breakfast is in fifteen minutes. We should go,” Orashi said. She nodded to Rodem and Tilara. “Hello, Rodem, Tilara.”

Rodem and the others rose. Tilara yawned again. Rodem wondered how the girl planned to stay awake for their lessons later. The group of four wandered into the dining hall, where other students had begun to trickle slowly in, most looking exhausted.

Just like the evening before, there was little spoken as the children piled their plates with food. Rodem barely looked at the food selection, absently filling his plate and walking back over to the seat he had chosen the day before. Tilara, Nululesa, and Orashi joined him. Only Orashi switched her seat from the previous night, choosing to sit beside Nululesa, on the opposite side of Tilara. Rodem's roommate, Nalen, was also already sitting at the table, next to him, shoveling food into his mouth, as if he would never have another meal like this.

The next person to join the table was Rixana, who gave Tilara a mean look before settling into the seat she had chosen before. Tilara turned away, her face flushing just before her hair slid down to cover it. Rodem wondered what had caused such a strange interaction between them. Apparently, he was not the only one to notice. Nalen had stopped eating for a moment and was looking at Rixana with an unreadable expression.

Honel followed, sitting down between Rixana and Tilara, also in the same spot he had been the day before. Clather was the last to arrive, pausing for a moment, before sitting in the final spot, where Orashi had been the day before.

They ate in relative silence. Only Nululesa and Orashi spoke, mainly to ask the other if a food item that she had chosen tasted good. Everyone else was silent. The meal seemed to last an eternity, before Issaya Yuwa, their instructor, approached.

“Have you all finished eating?” she asked, noting the empty plates in front of most of the children. She frowned, seeing that Tilara's plate was not empty, and that the girl appeared to be fighting to stay awake.

“Tilara, will you please come with me for a moment?” she asked. The girl's eyes widened.

“Y-yes, ma'am,” she said softly, rising from her seat.

“We'll be back shortly,” Issaya told the rest of the children, before leading Tilara out of the room.

Rixana snorted. “Good. Maybe now I'll get some sleep tonight,” she said.

“What do you mean?” Nululesa asked.

Rixana shrugged. “That girl kept me up all night. You can't tell me you didn't hear her screaming all night. Eventually, I couldn't take it anymore and I told her to get out.”

“Why was she screaming, though?” Orashi asked, frowning.

“Nightmares, I guess. I don't know. She just wouldn't stop. I did end up getting a few hours of sleep, after she finally left the room.”

Nalen, who had risen to take his plate into the kitchen, now let the plate fall with a clang onto the table. “What the hell is wrong with you?” he asked, glaring at Rixana, before turning and leaving the room to follow Issaya and Tilara.

Rixana stared after him, wide-eyed. “What just happened?” she asked.

Clather laughed. It was the first noise of any kind that he'd made since the day before. Honel frowned.

“Rixana,” Nululesa said softly, “Don't you think there might be a reason that Tilara is having nightmares that cause her to stay up all night, screaming?”

“You punishing her for it, when she obviously can't stop it, isn't going to help her,” Orashi added, unable to hide her disgust.

“They have a point,” Rodem added. He glanced in the direction Issaya and the other two had gone. “Nalen did say that he was living on the streets, Rixana. We don't even know what Tilara's experience has been, but obviously it hasn't been good.”

“If she has it that bad, they really shouldn't have her sleeping in the same room as someone else,” Clather said, smirking. “It's not fair to Rixana.”

“Thank you,” Rixana said, rolling her eyes.

“That is true,” Honel said. “But some people need to be treated with a little bit more sensitivity,” he added.

“That's not what I do. I'm not nice. I don't want to be nice,” Rixana said, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Maybe we can ask Issaya if Rixana can move into our room for a while?” Nululesa suggested, turning to Orashi.

The earth elemental looked doubtful. Her expression spoke for itself. Orashi wanted no more to do with Rixana than was absolutely necessary.

“I don't want to switch rooms,” Rixana said just as Issaya, Nalen, and Tilara walked back into the room. Tilara slipped back into her seat, keeping her head down.

Nalen, however, looked directly at Rixana, glaring. Rixana turned away.

“If you are all finished, I will take you to your first lesson,” Issaya said. She looked at Rixana. “Rixana, I need to discuss something with you later.”

Rixana sighed. “Fine,” she said.

Rodem thought Issaya might say something to the girl about her attitude, but instead, she smiled. “Very well. Take your plates to the kitchen and follow me.”

Rodem couldn't help but be amazed at the room in which they now stood. Obviously, it was the ballroom where they had been selected the day before, but everything was different now. There was a large circle on the floor, with four layers, colored green, blue, purple, and red. Every other student was inside the circle, sitting comfortably on cushions that were placed on the floor. Rodem and the rest of his class joined the others, sitting on the cushions that remained. The other instructors were sitting on identical cushions, in front of their students.

“For the next hour, we will teach you to meditate,” Issaya said, sitting in front of her students. “This does not mean that you have a free hour in which to fall asleep or goof off. Meditation is a very serious part of using elemental magic. Right now, you need it more than you realize. You currently have very little control over your power. Through regular meditation, you will gain the control you need. I'm sure you're all aware of how dangerous it can be to have unrestrained magic.”

Rodem settled himself into a comfortable position. Unlike most of the others, he had had a tutor throughout most of his life, so he had practice meditating. He focused his mind on the image he often used while meditating. A lazy river appeared in his mind, and he found himself sitting on its bank, simply watching and listening to it.

He barely noticed when Keshi Miwa, the air elemental, ended the session. He was only jarred from his thoughts when one of his classmates gently shook his shoulder. He looked up, seeing his roommate, Nalen.

Nalen grinned. “You were really into it. Issaya asked me to wake you up, though. We have to go.”

Rodem nodded, standing up and ignoring the cramp in his legs. Sitting in one place for a long time had its consequences. He followed Nalen to the line the rest of their class had formed.

A few of the children looked dazed, but all of them seemed calmer than they had before entering the room. Clather, who seemed to have his fists perpetually clenched, now kept them at his sides. Even Rixana, who had become even more hostile with a lack of sleep, seemed to be almost happy. Tilara, who always seemed ready to run, like an anxious squirrel, was now talking with Nululesa and Orashi. He glanced over at Nalen, who was also watching the three girls, but his eyes wrinkled in worry. Rodem frowned, wondering why the other boy seemed to be concerned.

He decided to keep his thoughts to himself as the group began walking to their next class. They were led into the courtyard, which was mostly open, with a path leading to the garden where he and three of the girls had been earlier. The fire elemental, Naro Ruhan, was standing in front of them. His class, which consisted of the youngest children, were quietly lined up behind him.

Issaya nodded toward the other elemental, who returned the gesture, before she walked forward to stand beside him. The man turned to the children behind him. “Go join the others,” he said, pointing to Issaya's class. The younger children quickly obeyed.

Only now did Rodem see what lay on the ground beside Naro. What appeared to be eight sticks of approximately the same length were stacked neatly in a pile by his feet.

“Line up side-by-side, in a straight line,” Naro barked. The children quickly scattered, lining up as he ordered within seconds. He walked in front of them, sizing each of them up. Rodem tried to hide his discomfort, looking the man in the eyes, despite his nervousness at being inspected.

“You,” Naro said, pointing to Clather.

“His name is Clather,” Issaya whispered.

“Clather,” Naro clarified. “Step forward.” The blonde boy did as he was told, taking one step forward. “And you...” He pointed at Honel, turning his head toward Issaya.

“Honel,” she said.

“Honel, step forward, also.” The other boy took a step, standing beside Clather.

“Have either of you had combat training before?”

Clather grinned. “I just started my second year,” he said.

Naro nodded. “And you, Honel?”

Honel shook his head. “Not really, no, sir. My family doesn't encourage violence.”

“Well, then, this will probably be easier for Clather than it will be for you. Both of you, pick up one of these staffs.” He waited a moment while the boys selected two rods. Clather immediately settled into a defensive position, but Honel merely held the staff in front of him, seeming confused about what to do.

“Place your hands in the center of the staff,” Naro said, guiding Honel's hands into place, about a foot apart. “Turn one hand the other way, so you can turn the staff more easily.” He waited for Honel to follow his instruction before continuing.

He turned to Clather now. “You know how to block an attack, I assume?” Clather nodded eagerly. “Good. I need you to do that.” Turning back to Honel, he gestured toward Clather. “Attack him.”

“What?” Honel asked, his eyes wide. “I can't...”

“You can. Attack him,” Naro repeated.

“Come on. Do it,” Clather said, grinning. “It isn't like you're going to be able to hurt me.”

Honel frowned. “How?”

Naro shrugged. “It doesn't matter right now. Do whatever comes naturally.”

Honel nodded, taking a deep breath before turning back to Clather. “Are you ready?” he asked.

“Absolutely,” Clather said, holding the staff in front of him.

Honel charged toward him suddenly, shoving the staff toward his opponent as if it were a sword. Clather quickly shifted his own staff, blocking the motion. The two rods hit, vibrating and emitting a cracking noise.

Honel stared at the staff in his hands, wide-eyed. “Did I break it?” he asked.

“No.” Naro nodded at Clather, giving him a small smile. “Impressive,” he said. He turned back to the others. “Did you see what he did?”

Rodem felt himself shaking his head. “It was too fast,” he said, unaware that the words had left his mouth. He was still shocked by the speed at which Clather had blocked the attack.

Naro turned to Issaya. “Will you help me demonstrate?” he asked.

She nodded, taking the staff from Honel, while Naro took Clather's. “Boys, you can join the others, now,” she said, before turning to face Naro.

The two adult elementals demonstrated the blocking technique slowly, giving step-by-step instructions. Issaya attacked first, while Naro blocked. Then they switched, with Issaya blocking. Finally, after about an hour, they handed the staffs back to Clather and Honel and paired the children up to attempt it themselves.

Sholren found himself facing Nalen, who appeared to be on his skill level. Neither boy had had any formal combat training, and it showed. Glancing around, he was relieved to discover that very few of the children seemed to be doing well at first. Clather, of course, was doing well, and had been switched into attack mode in order to improve Honel's blocking. Unfortunately, Honel was too slow for Clather, and received several blows that looked rather painful. The only pair that seemed to be doing well on both ends was the one constisting of Orashi and Rixana, who seemed to have caught on quickly, switching off as soon as one had consistently blocked the other's blows ten times in a row.

After another hour, Naro announced that the class was over. He led his class out of the courtyard.

“Is anyone hurt?” Issaya asked, looking around at her students. None of them said anything. She looked at Honel, whose right cheek was already beginning to bruise from the first blow Clather had made. “Honel?”

He shook his head. “No, ma'am. I'm fine,” he said.

She sighed. “You should let me heal that.”

“It will only get worse, won't it?” he asked. “If we do this every day, we're bound to get some injuries.” He gently touched his cheek. “Something like this isn't worth worrying.”

Reluctantly, she seemed to accept it. “Very well,” she said. “We should move on to your next classes.” She pulled eight pieces of paper from the bag she carried with her. “There is a map here for each of you. At this point in the day, you will be split up based on your elements.” She handed a map to each of the children. “Hopefully, with these, you will not get lost. Does anyone not know how to read a map.”

“I don't,” Tilara said softly.

“Me neither,” Nalen said.

“Tilara, you're going with me, anyway, so we won't worry about that yet.” Issaya turned to Rixana. “Do you know how to read a map?” she asked.

Rixana nodded. “I'm sure I can figure it out,” she said, glancing at it.

“Nalen is going to the same classroom as you are, so would you please lead him? The room where you need to go is colored in purple ink. Honel, Clather, yours is in red. And Orashi, yours is green.”

Orashi frowned. “I have to go alone?”

“You are the only earth elemental in this age group,” Issaya said. “Don't worry. Mr. Uniso will take care of you once you get there.”

Orashi nodded doubtfully, holding the map in front of her as she and the fire and air elementals left the courtyard.

Issaya turned toward the remaining three students: Rodem, Nululesa, and Tilara. “You three are staying with me. I'll show you our classroom.”

Rodem looked at the room marked in blue on his map. It was larger than the other students' classrooms. He realized why as soon as he stepped into the room.

Almost half of the thirty-two students in the school were assembled in the room, all wearing the blue uniforms of water elementals. They were seated at desks placed in neat rows of five, five, and four. The three seats remaining were in the front of the classroom. He chose one, sitting next to Nululesa, who was between him and Tilara. On his other side was one of the boys from the youngest class.

“This is the only class where you will be separated from the rest of your group,” Issaya said, standing in the front of the room. “I am Ms. Yuwa, your instructor in the element of water. In this class, you will learn to improve your skills individually. While it is fortunate for humanity that water elementals are the most common, it is somewhat unfortunate for you in this class, because it will be harder to work with you individually. She smiled at the boy next to Rodem.

“What is your name?” she asked.

“Inory Idano,” the boy said quietly. Rodem noticed that the boy was very small, smaller even than the other children in his class. He did not appear to be any older than six.

“And how old are you?” Issaya asked.

“Nine,” Inory replied.

“How long have you known about your power?”

The boy paused. “Well,” he said, after a moment, “I don't really know. I've always known, I guess. My sister is a fire elemental, and I think my parents knew what I was because of that.”

Issaya nodded. “And what can you do with your power? Can you heal?”

Inory nodded. “I used to make people feel better when they were sick, but I don't really know what I did to do it.”

Issaya smiled. “That happens sometimes. Have you ever summoned rain?”

He shook his head. “I don't think so,” he said.

“Have you ever had a magic instructor?”

“No,” Inory said. “Mama and Papa don't like us to use our magic.”

Issaya nodded. “That's fine. Thank you, Inory.” She looked at Rodem. “How about you, Rodem? Why don't you tell us your name and age?”

“I'm Rodem Estath,” he said. “I'm eleven years old.”

“And what can you do?”

“I can heal. I've had a trainer for the past four years. I'm not very good at anything that isn't healing, though.”

“What have you done, besides healing?”

He lowered his head, suddenly embarrassed. “When I was younger, sometimes I'd get angry and it would rain.”

“That happens to all of us at times, if we are undisciplined,” Issaya said gently.

“It would rain inside,” he added quietly.

A couple of children giggled, but Issaya frowned. “That is still not uncommon. We plan to work on discipline issues with all of you. Thank you, Rodem.”

Now it was Nululesa's turn to speak. As usual, the girl was very forthcoming with information. Rodem was still surprised at how much she revealed.

“I'm Nululesa Sienril,” she said. “I'm eleven years old. I've known about my...power...since I was about three years old, when my mother found me splashing water out of the tub without using my hands. I can heal. I've healed a lot of wounds that our cows have gotten, and healed my mother when she was sick, too.” She paused. “I've also made it rain, especially when I'm upset. One time I was so upset, it rained for days and I couldn't stop it.”

“Thank you, Nululesa,” Issaya said once the girl had finished. She turned to Tilara. “How about you?”

Tilara shook her head. “I can't heal,” she mumbled. “I can only use my magic if I'm upset.”

“And what happens?”

“I can't control it. Sometimes it rains, but usually I end up freezing things.”

“You create ice?”

Tilara nodded miserably. “But I can't heal.”

“Healing is useful, but it isn't everything,” Issaya said. “And you might be able to heal, later.”

Tilara put her head down on the desk, covering her face with her hair. Issaya moved on to the next row of students.

After the introductions were done, Issaya instructed them to move the desks into a circle. She moved a table into the center of the circle, placing a bowl of water on it, beside an empty bowl of identical shape and size.

“One by one, I want you all to try to move water from the full bowl to the empty bowl. You each will have five minutes to try, and then it will be the next person's turn. It's okay if you can't move much of it, or any. Just try.” She turned to an older teenager, one of the girls in the oldest class. “Lodely, why don't you start?”

The girl stared at the filled bowl, squinting her eyes as she concentrated. For a moment or two, nothing happened. Eventually, however, a few tiny drops of water rose from the bowl, hovering in the air, before falling back into it. The girl groaned in frustration.

“Try again. You still have a couple of minutes. You almost had it,” Issaya prodded her gently. “Stay focused.”

It was no use, though. Whatever had made the drops of water rise was gone. Lodely's five minutes ended and the boy next to her took his turn.

Five students tried, none succeeding, before it was Tilara's turn. The strawberry blonde stared at the bowl, not blinking. For a moment, it looked like nothing would happen. Then, a small stream of water trickled out of the bowl, pouring down the side. Tilara lost focus for an instant and the water pooled around the bowl, but she quickly regained control. The water slowly meandered its way into the empty bowl. By the time her five minutes ended, both bowls had an even amount of water.

“Very nice, Tilara,” Issaya congratulated her, emptying one bowl into the other. “Go ahead, Nululesa.”

The blonde girl nodded, looking at the bowl, but she did not seem as focused as the others were. Still, after a moment, the water began to rise into the air, creating an arch as it traveled from one bowl to the other. The bowl was completely drained within three minutes.

“Show-off,” someone murmured. Rodem, while amazed, was forced to agree. The act had seemed a little too easy for the girl.

“Excellent control, Nululesa,” Issaya said, shifting the bowls. She turned to Rodem. “Go ahead.”

Rodem took a deep breath, lowering his head to the desk and resting it on his hands as he stared at the filled bowl. Move. Rise. Spill. Do something, he thought. Nothing happened. He tried a different tactic. I need that water. I need it in that bowl, he thought. Still nothing. Please move. Please, please move. He frowned. Several minutes had gone by, and nothing had happened. Finally, he switched his methods completely, no longer commanding the water to work for him. See that bowl over there? He asked the water in his mind. It's much nicer than the one you're in now. Wouldn't you like to go there? I can help you? He felt something leap out of him, a trickle of magic that he usually felt when healing. It approached the bowl. To his amazement, the water began to ride out of the bowl. He focused his attention on the flicker of magic, willing it to guide the water into the bowl. It was a quarter full when his five minutes ended.

He had no idea what Issaya said after that. He was simply thrilled at his ability to move the water. It seemed like a simple task for a water elemental, but as he had seen, it was difficult for nearly all of them. He never expected to be able to do it. He suddenly realized he was still grinning stupidly and looked down, unwilling to see the rest of the students staring at him.

A few more students moved the water, but most were unable to even stir it. After the last student had tried, Issaya picked the bowls back up. “That should end today's session,” she said. “You all did very well. If you are disappointed, don't be. Everyone has different skills and abilities. You may be able to do it in the future, or you may not.” She looked around. “Please move your desks back into the rows, and you will be dismissed. You may meet the rest of your classmates in the dining hall for lunch.”

Lunchtime. Rodem hadn't even noticed how hungry he was. He caught up to Tilara and Nululesa, who, for some reason, were waiting for him.

“Want to walk to the dining hall with us?” Nululesa asked, smiling.

“Sure,” Rodem said. He suddenly felt guilty for thinking that the girl was showing off before. She was probably just as excited about what she had done as he was.

“That was fun, wasn't it?” Nululesa asked. “Everyone looked so happy when they managed to do it.”

“I could never control my magic like that before,” Tilara said. Rodem was surprised to see that she was actually smiling. “Maybe that meditation this morning worked.”

Rodem smiled. “It did seem to calm everyone down.”

“I noticed that,” Nululesa said, nodding. “Like Clather...he wasn't quite so...” She searched for the right word. “Mean,” she said.

Rodem laughed. “Even Rixana seemed nicer.”

Tilara frowned at the mention of her roommate's name as she opened the door to the dining hall. The smell of butter and freshly-baked bread wafted through the air.

Rodem lingered behind as the two girls approached the buffet table. He looked around, hiding a smile. The nearly-silent dining hall of that morning was now bustling with energy. At their table, even Rixana and Clather seemed to be having a polite conversation.

It's a good thing I decided to come here, Rodem thought happily to himself. Something wonderful is happening. I know it. Not even the threat of a future battle could damper his spirits as he followed his classmates to the buffet table.