The Elemental Realms - Book One

Chapter 1.

The stars shine brightly above the realm of Wind tonight, with no clouds to obscure their beauty. As I stare up at the universe, I wonder if the skies are as bright back home in the realm of Earth. As much as I hate to admit it, I'm feeling more homesick than ever and the need to return grows with every passing minute. I miss the dense forests, the rolling hillsides, and the magic of nature that my homeland provides. I even miss my sister witches, despite them expelling me from the coven and abandoning me at a time when I needed them the most. That was two months ago, and my heart still hurts when I think of that night.

"You are a burden to this coven, Briar, and we can no longer tolerate it. You have failed to produce a single potion or tonic of use, every spell you have ever cast has backfired and now you've somehow summoned Witch Wind - placing us all in the gravest of danger. You are a stain upon our sacred circle and a hindrance to this coven. As of tonight, you are expelled! Do you understand what this means, Briar? Come daylight, you are no longer a member of this coven and therefore no longer welcome here."

I never knew why Imelda hated me so much. I had never done anything to purposely upset her or the coven, I tried my hardest to learn from them, I did as I was told, I followed her orders and I tried not to burden them, but it was never enough. The look in her eyes as she delivered that speech was one of satisfaction - she enjoyed cutting me off and she did so with the most wicked words that lashed my heart like a venom dipped whip. Granted, most of what she said is true. I am a terrible witch and I've barely contributed anything good to the coven in my twenty-three years.

Ironically, it was Imelda who saved my life and took me in, raising me within her coven after my mother died during childbirth. I asked her about my mother once, but she wouldn't tell me much, only that my mother was a stray witch who stumbled upon the coven and begged for their help during labour. I'm sure there is more to that story, but Imelda seemed to find pleasure in keeping me in the dark. Despite saving my life and providing me with a home and a family, she never hid her distain or dislike for me. It was clear she regretted saving my life and I think that's what she truly meant when she called me a burden.

The night she expelled me was the worst night of my life. I remember it like it was yesterday. I was upset because I ruined a potion that had bloom berries in it. Those berries are hard to come by and took me three weeks of scavenging to find. I tried my hardest to make that potion and I ruined it, just like I ruined all the others. I screamed in anger as all the repressed emotions bubbled up to the surface and I ran outside into the garden, in need of space and air. I hated myself. I hated my life. I hated how useless I was - how powerless and weak I was. I hated how Imelda treated me. I hated how I ruined or broke everything I touched. I hated feeling trapped. I hated how I had no freedom and no life outside the coven, but most of all, I hated being a bad witch. I had never felt that level of anger, frustration, and disappointment before and the repercussions of it were cataclysmic.

Outside in the garden, the wind suddenly picked up like a storm had arrived. The trees shook from their roots and pelted leaves like torrential rain. My hair was flying in every direction and my pretty white dress felt like it was going to be ripped from my body, but I couldn't move. I just stood and stared at the plants and flowers being ripped from their beds, at the trees being stripped bare of their bark and leaves and of their branches twisting and snapping off in the wind. The hurricane-like gale howled and whistled as it travelled through the trees, almost as if it were talking to me in its own strange language and I somehow knew what it was saying.

It was me. I was doing this.

I held my palms out and something blasted from within me, using my palms as some sort of portal. It was so strong that it knocked me back and I fell to the ground. When I looked up, I could see a swirling mass - a tunnel of wind - heading down the garden straight towards Imelda's herb and vegetable patch. My anger immediately dissipated and was replaced by horror and fear. As soon as I realised what was happening, the wind began to die down, but not before the tornado ripped apart Imelda's precious garden and ruined everything that she had been lovingly growing.