The Source (Chronicles of the Elements #1)

Chapter 1

People are not born strong. True strength comes to those who have walked through hellfire and come out on the other side intact and better than they were before. It is not a strength that you can see in physical appearance. It is a strength that is in a person's soul.

As the sun began to peek over the horizon, Aiden had already been awake for hours. Sleep was not something that she had the pleasure of enjoying as most do. She tries, but it has always alluded her for as far back as she can remember. Getting comfortable is not the problem. The issue is that the quiet starts to sink in and suffocate. The brain begins to propel thought after thought through her mind until it feels like drowning in a sea of doubt and anxiety. After tossing and turning, she eventually gives up and turns to her books that are a haven from the chaos of the mind.

Today, however, Aiden was up before dawn not because of the maelstrom of thoughts in her head but because of what waited when the sun fully rose. Today was the day she would fight the monster. Today was the day she would officially take her place in the kingdom and begin to take over the responsibilities of her father who ruled the kingdom.

At the age of eighteen, every citizen must battle their monster to the death. It has been that way for as far back as their history books go. One goes to the Tairseach the day before their eighteenth birthday and enters alone. It cannot be said that all come out alive. Some do not return at all or come out so mentally damaged that they do not survive more than a year or two. The Chosen Ones, as they are called, emerge from battle with magical abilities that were somehow won. No one fully understands why or how this happens because all are made to forget the fight in great detail. No one knows why memories are erased. They just are.

Training begins mentally and physically seven days a week at the age of seven as part of a required curriculum for all no matter what his/her family status is. A wooden sword is put in children's hands that they are to practice with until their palms are calloused permanently. Archery, knife throwing, and hand to hand combat begin at age eight. Meditation starts early on to strengthen minds. Then, at the age of thirteen, comes learning how to withstand capture and torture. Instructors explain that all skills must be mastered because none know what each monster will do or say. None know what each monster will look like. All that is known is that no two monsters are the same.

The ones that excel in training are known as Hopeful Ones. These seem to have the best chance of gaining abilities and then using those gifts to aide in protecting the kingdom. Not every Hopeful One becomes a Chosen One though. It has gotten extremely rare for one to come out of battle with any magic that seems more than just a drop. That is until recently.

One of Aiden's best friends, Darren, or maybe he is more than that now, fought his monster last summer. He was the best of them all always seeming noble, brave, and strong. He, along with Aiden and their four best friends, was a Hopeful One and had surpassed all classmates in each skill taught, but even he couldn't help but to shake from head to toe on the day of his fight. Anyone who is any sort of intelligent knows that one must go into the battle with a healthy dose of fear to keep from getting arrogant and making a mistake that could prove fatal.

Aiden sat with Darren in the early hours before holding his hand trying to stay strong for him but internally falling apart at even the slightest chance that he would not walk out. Fortunately, he did walk away from his battle, but he is different now. He seems immensely wise beyond his years like he has seen and done more than even the eldest of the elders. He came out a Chosen One with the ability to manipulate air, but what was even more unique was the quantity of power he won. He is the most powerful Chosen One their kingdom, or any kingdom, has seen in 500 years. To add to that, within the last year, their four other best friends had come out of their battles with large amounts of power as well, but none had quite as much as...