Elements of Change

Mason Creek

Ezo shivered in the evening chill as he trudged up the muddy hill. Rain poured around him and he was wet all the way through. His good coat which he'd treated against the rain could only do so much. Water dripped down his neck and back and even his boots had gotten soggy. Sure, he could use magic to repel the water, but there was a limit to any man's strength and slogging through the mud took most of his attention.

There were days when he wished he'd bought himself a horse, but he wasn't a horseman, and he preferred his own two feet to a creature that had its own opinions.

He reached the inn and opened the door but lost his grip as the wind caught it and slammed it shut. The wind roared even louder than the bloated river beside the inn and Ezo looked uneasily at it as he tried the door once more.

Light spilled across the wet streets as he managed to get a decent grip on the handle this time. He rushed inside and swept off the hood that had barely managed to keep the rain from his face. Finally, away from the downpour, he closed his eyes and imagined the water pulling away from his clothes and sliding under the door.

He had to concentrate harder when he worked with the element of water, but he was still proficient. Earth was his natural calling, but Uncle Jacob had been adamant that a good elementalist should never neglect any element. Ezo learned it wasn't a popular belief though. When he'd gone to Malla City, the elementalists had looked aghast that he focused on more than one.

Idiots, the bunch of them. No wonder Jacob had stayed in the village whenever he could.

The water left his clothes and his hair dried, but when he moved the dried mud was still caked on his clothes and the fabric was stiff. He needed to get a room and change before he thought about food. And his stomach was reminding him - loudly - that he hadn't eaten much as he walked through the rain all day.

"Can I get a room?" he asked as he looked towards the bar.

He should have paid attention before he started to do magic, but he was still learning. Not every village took to elementalists as his own had. The inn was mostly empty, except for a few travelers, the keeper, and the maids. All eyes were on him, and silence settled uneasily around the room.

"Can I get a room to clean up?" He stepped towards the bar and smiled. "And something to eat when I finish wouldn't be remiss."

"You got coin?" The woman wiped her hands on her apron and bit her lower lip.

"Of course. How could I pay for the room if I didn't have coin?"

"Somes come through thinking they have a right. Elementalists. Soldiers."

A snort rang out from one corner of the room, but Ezo ignored it in favor of smiling again. "And they would be wrong to do so." He dug under the jacket and vest and the extra layers of fabric he wore until he had a handful of coins. He placed them on the bar for her. "Which way?"

"Maggie, show him."

The maid came forward and eyed him up and down before she led him to the back of the inn where steps took them up to the guest rooms. She stopped in front of the last door on the right and opened it for him. He'd seen it before. They placed him as far away from others as they could.

Uncle Jacob taught him how to use the elements and the role of elementalists in the world. What he didn't teach was how the world actually worked. People revered elementalists, or they hated elementalists, but people wanted to be elementalists. They held power, and people wanted what they didn't have and feared it in equal measure.

"Thank you," he said to the maid, slipping another coin to her for the trouble. He didn't have a lot, but sometimes it was worth the coin to leave a good impression.