Elementalists (completed)

Chapter 6

The whole rest of the week and all next week we practice warping. Fulgur calls me up two more times and I twist the ball, making it into shapes and moving it around, which I can do pretty fast now. Purna manages to get the ball around decently fast and make it into a mini Fulgur. The others get just as far as Purna when Fulgur finally seems satisfied enough with our warping.

When we walk over to our training area and line up, Fulgur turns to us and smiles, "Today I will show you conjuring."

Everyone cheers.

Finally!

Fulgur smiles and chuckles slightly. "Who could like to help?" He asks.

Everyone looks at me and Fulgur calls me up, "Come one Blitz. Okay, this is kind of the same of warping except it's much harder."

Purna snorts.

"Concentration, concentration, concentration. Just picture it. Very hard."

I take a deep breath and do what Fulgur did when he conjured. I put my hands out with my palms up, except I cup my hands. I concentrate very hard at where I want the ball of electricity to appear. I even squint a little, tapping into my Shinju and once again digging through that seemingly endless space of electricity.

Slowly, ever so slowly, the air in front of me starts sparking.

"There you go Blitz...." Fulgur whispers as though talking to loud will make it go away, "Focus...."

I do. I barely even hear Fulgur, that's how focused I am, when my fingers start tingling and my hair gets staticky, a sure sign that I am about to warp. The ball of electricity appears like Fulgur's, slowly growing until it's the size of a golf ball. Then a tennis ball. Now a basketball.

"Careful Blitz..." Fulgur says nervously. He had told us before that it doesn't matter if the electricity hits one of us, we'll just absorb it, but if can go wrong and break something around us.

I then try to warp.

Move up. I think, practically saying it. The basketball of electricity does as I command. Move up more. Faster.

It does, zipping up. I grin.

Then stop.

Am I showing off? Do they think I'm a snob? I glance behind them and see them staring at the ball in awe. Maybe I am....

I make the electricity disappear and Fulgur claps, shaking his head. I blush.

"Well done, Blitz! I continue to be amazed!" He says, then calls Mole Boy up. Everyone else goes a couple of times before Fulgur decides we're done.

"I would like to make an announcement." Fulgur says. We look up at him curiously. "As you all know, the Harmony Games are coming up."

I gasp along with everyone else as I remember.

How could I forget?

The Harmony Games are a series of games that test your ability to work with other types of elementalists. They happen every seven years though, so they're a pretty big event.

"As you know, everyone is entered into it and seven people from each city are randomly drawn and sent to the arena. You might be chosen so I will try my best to train you. That is all. Come on." Fulgur starts walking toward the doors.

Me and Purna share a purposeful glance before slowly walking after them. Once everyone else is a good distance ahead, we talk.

"What if I'm chosen! I completely forgot! I can't go out there! I'm awful in front of crowds!" I cry in anguish to Purna.

She chews her lip, looking sorry, "I don't know! If you're chosen, you're just chosen!" She gets a dreamy look, "And imagine all the money....."

Each person on the winning team gets one million dollars and the pride of knowing you won.

I imagine it. One million dollars....wow....

Suddenly, I fall and slam onto the ground, caught completely off guard.

"So...Worm has a friend, huh? A squid, too!"

I sigh as I recognize Zhen's voice. He had left me alone since our last encounter. Until now. Purna helps me to my feet.

"Awww, a nice squid!" He sneers at Purna.

"Who are you?" She snaps.

"What's it to you?" He says curtly.

She shakes her head, "Nothing! Absolutely nothing! Goodbye!" She says, turning on her heel and pulling me after her as she walks away.

I look back at Zhen who is standing there, startled. I laugh out loud and look at Purna, "Oh my gosh Purna! What was that?"

She stops and turns to me, "Why does he know you?" She asks.

"Why?" I ask. She is shaking slightly and looks like she might cry.

"Nothing." She mutters, turning.

I stop her, "He pushed me down the first day and called me a Worm. Purna, are you okay?" I ask.

She is shaking now. She shakes her head, "No, no I'm not." She mutters and starts walking away toward the hover-car. I don't stop her, just follow a good five feet away. We get back and go to bed without a word.

For all of the next three weeks we learn to conjure and warp more. Fulgur eventually splits is into pairs and has us practice together. By the end of the third week, Fulgur has a new challenge for us.

"I want to see if you can use your powers for fighting and speed." He says to us after we finish a partner session.

"Fighting?" Blonde Boy asks.

"Speed?" Mole questions.

That's right, I still don't know their names.

"Yes, that is what I said." Fulgur says, rolling his eyes with a smile.

"Lets do fighting first. Just do the same thing you would for conjuring and warping except hit me." Fulgur says, "All of you."

I look over at Purna and see her concentrating so I do the same. Putting my arms out in front of me so the heels of my hands are facing Fulgur I imagine a bolt of electricity shooting out of them at Fulgur while using my Shinju, which I can feel sparking. With a loud crack, a streak of lightning shoots out of my hands and hits Fulgur.

He flies backwards and lands on the ground with a thump.

I gasp and run up to him, worried, but he just smiles at me, unharmed, "Blitz, in the next ten years you'll be the one teaching me." He says, rolling his eyes. I laugh and help him up.

"What did that feel like? Did it hurt?" Elf Girl asks Fulgur curiously.

He shrugs, "Not really, just when I landed, but if I wasn't an electric elementalist, that would have hurt very much." He says, shooting me a look.

I smile proudly.

"Now." He says. "Darting and powering machines is what Dendo City is know for. So, of course, you must know how."

I start to get excited. I'm going to know how to Dart! I've always wanted to know how!

Fulgur looks at us, "The key is your Shinju. You have to concentrate the electricity in your feet. Everything will slow down. Here, watch." He says. I hold my breath as Fulgur Darts. He takes one step and with the speed of lightning is halfway to the other side of the field. We cheer and Fulgur Darts back.

"Those are all the basics. Some other things you can do are power machines, which is easy, or make your hands and hair spark in a really cool way." Fulgur says, demonstrating. We all laugh as his hair starts sparking and his hands curl into menacing fists at his sides as they start throwing off bits off lightning, too.

He laughs and the effect goes away.

"Wow, Fulgur!" Purna chuckles.

He smiles and claps to get our attention, "Now, partner up and start doing what you want! Attacking, conjuring, warping, Darting, I don't even care if you try what I just did." He says, "Just do something!"