Nightborn

Fat raindrops made intricate patterns on the cold, smooth windows. Situated at the top of the tower, the classroom had enough room for up to thirty pupils. Usually, the palace guard trainees would gather here to have the basics of elemental theory beaten into their heads. Today there was a private lesson taking place. Jacob Teach was sitting in a chair in the very center of the room, paying little attention to the shackles that bound his wrists and legs and less attention to the sweaty bald man pacing in front of him.

Professor Oliver Stone was a short, pudgy old man. The son of a baker and a housewife, he had risen through the ranks of the Blissvale Academy and was now known as one of the most intelligent and respected men in the entirety of the Kingdom of Galadriel. He was a man who took his work very seriously and he thought that there was no problem that could not be solved by maintaining a stiff upper lip. Queen Anabel had hand-picked him to tutor her first-born son and he absolutely refused to disappoint her.

“I apologize for the shackles, my lord, but this is what you get when you insist on acting like a petulant child. You have left me no choice.”

Jake snorted and rolled his eyes. He was eighteen years old and built like a sailor. Standing at slightly less than six feet tall, he had a head of roughly cut black hair and lean, rippling muscles that were easily seen under his loose black shirt.

“Enough of the ‘my lord’ nonsense, Stone. I’m a bastard, remember? ‘Naturally dead’ they call it. I may be Anabel’s first-born, but that crown will never sit on my head. Also, I resent being called a petulant child. A misbehaving child cries, shouts, and throws things at walls. I tricked you into eating a handful of magic mushrooms which led to you dancing around the palace in your knickers while singing about the true beauty of nature. Let’s give credit where credit is due and agree that I am far worse than a mere ‘petulant child,’ alright?”

Professor Stone’s ears burned as the memories of that indignity came rushing back. He thought it likely that the palace guards would snigger every time they saw him until the day he died. Jake took advantage of the Professor’s moment of embarrassed recollection to test the limits of his bindings.

“It won’t work, by the way. Those shackles are made of pure iridium,” said the Professor.

Jake cursed. Iridium was a rare metal that was prized for its unique ability to neutralize the elemental abilities of all who touched it. He had allowed himself to be shackled because he thought the bindings were mere iron. Professor Stone stood with his back straight, looking awfully proud of himself.

“Now, my young lad, let us begin the lesson! You may begin by explaining to me the basic foundations of elemental theory.”

“You’re the professor here, not me. You should be the one doing all the explaining.”

Professor Stone shook his head patiently. If he noticed the stinging venom in Jake’s low baritone he did not show it.

“You must explain it to show that you truly understand it. I will help you along. How many elements are there?”

“Four,” Jake spat.

“And they are?” pressed Stone.

“Mucus, phlegm, spit, and bile. What the bloody hell do you think they are?”

“Master Jacob!”

A blast of power emanated from Professor Stone, rippling through the air, rattling the flimsy wooden desks and shaking the windowpanes. “Such vulgarity will not be accepted! Now, I ask you again, what are the four elements?”

Jake was unimpressed by the Professor’s little display. He was desperately thinking of another way to get free. Without his power to influence the elements he would be forced to sit in that chair for hours. The only thing Stone loved more than the subjects he taught was the sound of his own voice.

“The four elements are water, air, earth, and fire. All matter, living or dead, organic or otherwise, is made up of a combination of those four elements.”

Professor Stone nodded. Jake noticed a peculiar bulge in the front pocket of the mauve shirt that was stretched too tight over the old man’s upper body. He had to get the key to those shackles. The iridium shackles stripped Jake of his elemental power, not his wit, cunning, or charm and Jake could be very charming when he wanted to be. All he had to do was pretend to be the thing that Professor Stone so desperately wanted him to be: a wide-eyed, enthusiastic student.

“Very good, my boy. These four elements make up the foundation of all life as we know it. All people are born with the ability to influence one of the four elements depending on which celestial power is dominant at the time of their birth. If you would be so kind as to-”

“Those born under the planet Venus have control over the element of earth and are known as Venus elementals. The other three planets are Jupiter, Mars, and Neptune. The elementals of which influence the elements of air, fire, and water respectively.”

The change in Jake’s tone was subtle, moving from one of arrogance and venom to one more becoming of the ardent student Professor Stone had spent the last two months trying to shape him into. Stone clapped his hands and bounced on the balls of his feet.

“You know I was terribly reluctant to have to resort to such militaristic measures,” He gestured towards the iridium shackles. “But one cannot argue with results I suppose. Now I want you to explain to me what exactly is meant by ‘influencing the elements?’”

Jake nodded and made sure to make eye contact with Professor Stone. “Oh, of course, sir.”

Stone’s smile grew so wide when called ‘sir’ that Jake had to try hard to stop his eyes from rolling.

“It is not as simple as moving water or conjuring flames with one’s mind, although that is within the realm of possibility. Venus elementals can move objects with their mind, reinforce their bodies, and accelerate the growth of plants. Fire is the element most suited for combat. Mars elementals can make things explode and cloud the minds of others, sending them into a berserker rage. Neptune elementals can heal wounds and, as water is the elemental opposite of fire, Neptune elementals can soothe emotions and dull the senses. Air is the most perplexing element of the four. Jupiter elementals are prone to premonitions of the future, they can teleport from one place to the next, and they demonstrate an acute affinity with powerful storms and hurricanes when well-trained. Air is the elemental opposite of earth. Just as Venus elementals have no power whatsoever over the mental faculties, Jupiter elementals are unable to influence the physical world directly in most cases. All master elementals, regardless of element, can affect the physical world in some way through the release of their raw, elemental energy whether it be through the summoning of gusts of winds or creating miniature earthquakes.”

The Professor clapped his hands once more, overjoyed at how well the lesson was going. Everything was going just as Jake had planned. He kept smiling innocently upward at the Professor, biding his time.

“Excellent, my boy! Excellent indeed! You are an intelligent individual, you know. Why, I daresay that, if you so desire, you can be a great scholar one day!”

“Venus elementals are generally not suited to a life in academia, sir. We are creatures of strength and physicality,” Jake said.

“Nonsense!” Stone waved his hand, dismissing Jake’s statement. “The element one can influence has no bearing on their personality or aptitude. Such thoughts belong in the minds of the uneducated and those moon worshipping lunatics.”

“All the same, sir, I have no particular love for book-work. What else will we be doing today?”

“Today I wanted to touch on the premise of elemental combinations. One powerful elemental can do great things with their element. They can make the earth shake, call down bolts of lightning, conjure up terrible walls of fire and freeze vast oceans. The true beauty of the elements is seen when different elementals work together.”

“There are exceptions to the one person-one element rule, isn’t there?”

It was so easy. All Jake had done was ask a simple question, but his timing had been perfect. Like most teachers, Professor Stone loved having discussions with his students.

“I only know of one such exception, lad. Your mother, Queen Anabel, was born with the ability to influence all four elements. Every five years, the various colleges and universities of the world send their best to compete in a sort of elemental gauntlet. No matter what they say about the tournament being used to ‘strengthen international bonds’ I can tell you that it is about bragging rights more than anything else. Even scholars and bookworms are prone to giving in to their competitive instincts every now and then. Queen Anabel has entered and won every single competition since she was sixteen years old. She is thought of as being the most powerful elemental alive. As her people, we should be proud of our monarch’s accomplishments and, as her son, you should feel even more proud.”

“I’m sorry, Professor, but I sort of lost track of what you were saying. These bonds are awfully tight. I am sure that they will end up leaving a bruise.”

Professor Stone started. “Oh, well, I think you’ve learned your lesson.”

Jake watched as Professor Stone retrieved the key to the shackles, which was tucked into his left sock, not in his jacket like Jake had initially assumed. Stone closed the distance between him and Jake, smiling genially all the while. First, he unlocked Jake’s legs, then he freed the boy’s wrists. Jake got to his feet, rubbing his wrists gingerly. The iridium cuffs had indeed left a bruise. He met his Professor’s gaze. Stone’s smile faltered as Jake’s own twisted grin grew.

Queen Anabel was the strongest elemental in the world and Jake, at his young age, had already gained a reputation as an exceptionally powerful Venus elemental. Jake swept his hand through the air, sending a desk speeding at Professor Stone. The desk would have collided with the Professor if it weren’t for the older man’s own sharp instincts. Moments before the desk made contact with his flesh, Stone’s body glowed a bright white, and then he was gone. The desk hit the stone wall with a sickening crunch and broke into hundreds of pieces.

‘Jupiter elementals are always so slippery,’ Jake thought.

There was little time to spare. Stone would no doubt notify the palace guard of Jake’s misbehavior and he was in no mood to deal with them. They were under direct orders from his mother to ensure that he took his lessons peacefully. He opened a window, stepped onto the ledge and paused for a moment to take in the view of Nightsbridge, the capital city of Galadriel.

Hundreds of years ago, when the city was being built, the people believed that the source of their power was the moon and stars, not the four dominant planets. They believed that they could grow stronger if they spent time closer to the night sky. Nightsbridge was a city of high towers that stretched towards the sky like a mass of thin fingers.

The rich and powerful lived at the tops of the ivory white towers while the rest of society toiled away in the lower levels. Jake did not care for the towers at all; his love lay beyond them. Nightsbridge was a port city and, far away from the palace, was the open ocean. It was just after noon and the rain had stopped. The sun was high in the sky, reflecting its rays on the ocean’s calm surface, making it difficult to look at. He supposed that Professor Stone was right when he said that one’s element has no effect on one’s personality. Otherwise, why would he, who was born under Venus, be so drawn to the salty wind and crashing waves.

Jake let out an exasperated sigh. Behind him, he heard guards making their way to the room. His body began to tingle as his muscles compacted and hardened. The door to the classroom burst open. Jake waved at an astonished guard and leaped.