Elementalists

Sam waited anxiously in the crowd for the Elemental Masters to step up to the wooden stage, weathered from many years of choosings. Perspiration dripped down his face as the crowd whispered quietly to each other, making guesses for who would be chosen. Then, all of a sudden there was a roar of hot red flame. When it finally died down the Master of Fire was standing there basking in the flames. He slowly stepped out of the flames. In his hand was a staff topped by a raging fireball, fire licking the edges of his robes.

“Can I get some of those fireproof robes, they would come in handy,” He joked.

Everyone laughed nervously, and the Master started reading the names of his new students. Sam tensed, hoping that he wasn’t called up. He was never good with fire. The Fire Master started announcing names.

“Leo Sanders, Tasha Underwood, Nichole Guerrero, Kara Warner, Joanne Grant.” The Fire Master announced in his booming voice.

He paused for a moment, and said, “ Finally, Cole Rogers!”

Sam clapped extra hard when his friend’s name was announced, who had been hoping to be picked by the Fire Master. The Fire Master finished, and in another roar of flame — he was gone.

Next, there was a break between the next announcement, so Sam let himself be pushed along in the flow of bodies towards the food stands on the edge of the stage. After grabbing a cupcake, he wandered back to the stage. Once the crowd had walked back to their original spots and settled in, there was a tremble in the ground, and a boulder fell from the sky crashing into the old stage but managing not to break it. When the dust cleared, the boulder split in half to reveal the Earth Master. Some of the younger kids jumped in surprise, but the adults had been around long enough to know what to expect. He stepped out of the rock and dusted off his uniform, made of vines, which appeared to be growing around him. He also held a staff with a large gray rock on the top. He took off his stunning hat— made of rock inlaid with an assortment of gemstones. “Let’s get this over with,” he said.

The Earth Master took a deep breath and in a gravelly voice said, “Kim Kelley, Laura Davis, Emma Williams, Leslie Diaz, Jade Herrera, Teri Dunn”. Sam was pleased that Jade had been picked by the Earth Master; he had been friends with her since he was four, and she had always had a knack for earth magic. After a final wave, a new boulder fell on the Earth Master and when it crumbled away, he was gone. The crowd wandered away for a bit while the workers cleaned up the cracked boulders. As Sam wandered through the food stands looking for something else to eat, he quite literally stumbled into Jade. Jade fell over, and Sam helped her up, apologizing and congratulating her for being chosen. She thanked him, saying she was so grateful and amazed she had been one of the few people chosen. After talking for a little, Sam walked to one of the brightly painted food stands and bought Jade a congratulatory pagoto, a deep fried meat with an earthy scent. While Jade was eating the pagoto, Sam said, “So, when are you leaving for the Earth quadrant?”

“I don’t know when I have to leave yet, but I hope it isn’t too soon.”.

“ Yeah I won’t know when I leave either until I find out what quadrant I’m in, if any.”

“Don’t think like that Sam! I’m sure you’ll make it.” Jade said.

“Yeah, well I hope I get water.” Sam says, but can’t get the image of the dirty and starving teens that weren’t chosen and who live in the dark corners of the city.

They said goodbye, and both walked to their respective spots in the crowd. When everyone was settled again, the Elemental Master appeared. There was a rumble in the sky, then a massive thunderstorm appeared. After a moment, a jagged lightning bolt hit the stage and the Sky Master appeared, wearing a gray robe still sizzling with electricity. She also sported a long braid down her back that almost reached her belt, which had multiple daggers in it. The Sky Master appeared every bit the cunning warrior she was rumored to be. After a few moments of silence, she started to read off the names of her new students, “Anna Lowe, Garrett Woods, Angelina Johnson, Alice Connolly, Roxanne Carter, Cecilia Lloyd.”

Man, Sam thought to himself, all my friends are in different quadrants. After listing her new students’ names, a cloud fell upon the Master, and she was gone. Before the final Master chose his students Sam decided to wander around the game booths set up around the stage. The game booths were a favorite among younger kids and Sam remembered when he had played at the booths, testing his abilities. He wandered over to the earth booth first. In the earth one, you had to create pebbles, which would grow as they flew through the air, until they hit the target. However, this game would only work if you could do Earth magic. Sam decided to try this game; he had always been decent at Earth magic. Everyone was born with a little bit of each elemental magic, but there was always one type that they were best at. Since Sam had been born, there had never been a case of someone being really good at more than one type of elemental magic.

“Excuse me, are you going to go?”

Sam turned around and saw a young boy.

“Yeah, I am, sorry.” Sam said. Sam concentrated really hard and was able to make several rocks appear. Sam focused on the target and the jagged rocks rapidly grew in size and flew toward the target; but one of the rocks shattered and the other fell to the ground, carving a small trench in the ground, so he only managed to clip the target. Feeling slightly confident, given what had happened last time he tried the booth, Sam decided to try his luck at the fire booth next. Sam watched the other kids in line, trying to find a technique to the game. In theory, all you had to do was concentrate enough to make a tiny ball of fire appear, then throw it towards a ring of achyro, one of the most flammable substances in the four quadrants. After a few minutes of watching, Sam had finally figured out a strategy for the game. Fire magic had always been his worst type of elemental magic, but he had been at the top of his class in science and his teachers had always complimented him on his ability to think on his feet. So, while the other kid in front of him was going, Sam came up with a strategy. Sam knew that achyro was completely flammable. But, he also knew that the shinier parts of the ring were covered in different types of substance mined from the glowing silver caves that filled the fire quadrant. If Sam aimed for a spot in between two shiny sections in the metal, he would have a single controlled flame. Sam concentrated, creating a small ball of fire, and launched it at the section he planned to hit. Except Sam had not accounted for one thing; his own ability. Sam’s fireball missed his intended mark and instead hit the lower half of the circle, and the fire grew, igniting the hat of the booth owner right below it. Sam hurriedly rushed to pat out the fire, running very quickly to the next booth.

Sam was equally as bad at fire magic as he was at sky magic, meaning there wasn’t much to say abou what happened, but somehow a lighting bolt hit the booth, igniting it After a half dozen decent excuses, Sam managed to leave without any trouble. After those last accidents Sam decided to try the booth he was actually good at, the water booth. When Sam got to the station he didn’t even need to wait and think because he had done it so many times. The object of the game was to jump into a deep glass square of water, and slowly move the water outside the tank until it was only you in a sphere of water left. This booth had always been the hardest but most rewarding. When it was his turn, Sam got into the tank and floated to the bottom. He didn’t even need to hold his breath— most elementalists could breath underwater for a short period of time, but water elementalists and trainees could breathe underwater for as long as they wanted to. Sam decided to show off a little; willing the water above the tank in an elaborate water spout above the tank. Finally, he turned the water into a sphere around him. When he got out of the tank, the water rolled off his body, and within seconds he was completely dry. Sam walked back to the stage and shivered with nervous excitement as he waited for the Water Master to appear. Once everyone had gathered, waves appeared in the distance and sped towards the crowd from all directions, traveling inches above their heads and crashing into each other in the center of the stage until they collided with each other in a spray of mist. When the mist and water dissipated, the striking form of the Water Master could be seen. He was clad in a dark blue cloak that seemed to roll like waves and had a glowing three pronged spear strapped across his back. Sam had always admired the spear, but you only received one when you were an official elementalist in the water quadrant. Finally, the Water Master started to call the names of his new students. Matthew Freeman, Roy Heath, Ben Irwin, Floyd Bensen, Abdul Hogan, Lorenzo Sykes, and Sam Evans. Sam didn’t realize he had been called until a cloaked figure walked up to him and pushed him towards the stage. Sam, finally realizing, walked slowly, a path in the crowd opening to let him pass. When Sam finally reached the stage the water Master shook his hand briefly. Sam and the other students then walked off the stage back to their respective spots, and with another crash of waves, the water Master was gone. Then it hit him, he would see his sister once again. She had always been the nicest of his siblings and Sam had been heartbroken when she left for the water quadrant. The Tripon finished by giving his annual speech about the history of the quadrants. Sam zoned out, as he had heard it so many times he knew it by heart. Basically, it had all started as four flat fields. Then, the original Elemental Masters came and created the four quadrants, along with Kentro, a central place for all. Kentro was filled with markets and large buildings that could house the many families who lived there while they waited for their child to be chosen. People who were chosen lived in one of the quadrants until they were thirty, and at that point could choose to stay in a quadrant and not have a family, or move to kentro and marry another elementalist. If you choose to have a family you will have your memory wiped of the quadrants and everything that happened while you were there. If their child was not chosen, their child continued living in Kentro for three more years, until they were thirteen. When they reached the age of thirteen they were sent to the Outlands, where everyone who wasn’t chosen went. At the outlands, the people who weren’t chosen worked on fixing and creating new water pipes or farms, or other things vital to Kentro. They were kept in line by the same hooded figures who were guarding the ceremony now. No one knew who they were, or if they were even human. Some even said they were trained in an unknown element. After some time though, the Elemental masters began to disagree with each other, and what once were open fields became massive mountains. Soon after that the quadrants started warring with each other, though quadrants had been known to ally together. This started what had become known as the Betar Yi, which loosely translates to the age of war. The Tripon said that it allowed people to show their true potential in the face of combat, but everyone knew that was a lie. The Betar Yi only caused people to die and families to separate, and the Tripon did nothing about it. If there were any rebellion, he would be safe in his Kentro, surrounded by the hooded guards. Finally, he ended by saying that all chosen students would receive a letter when they got home, telling them when they would be expected to arrive in the quadrant of their Master. The crowd slowly dispersed and Sam ran back to his house, so excited he had been chosen by the water Master, but he tripped. He got up and went a little more carefully.