The Seventh Element

Chapter Two

"It took me a week to leave the mountain. When I found myself in an evergreen forest without any snow, I knew I'd completed the first leg of my journey," Father began.

"No snow? What did you do with the dogs?" my oldest sister, Catrine asked.

"Thankfully, I came across a lone traveler named Vaza. He was dressed so very oddly with a strange hood that completely shielded his face and in fact gave me a fright at first because he seemed to appear directly from the nearest shadow. You know our dogs are always alert but even they were caught off guard!" Father shook his head. "Despite that, he was very kind and quickly apologized for causing us alarm. Anyway, I explained what I was looking for and Vaza told me that elementals aren't unheard of and in fact, was one himself!"

My family exchanged shocked looks.

"There are others like me?" I asked, not thrilled by the thought.

"He was able to guide me to a nearby village at the foot of the mountain. It was here that I was able to leave our dogs with someone willing to watch them while I continued on my journey," Father continued.

"But where did you go?" Mother asked.

"And how did you get there without the dogs?" Stefan, my younger brother asked.

"Vaza explained that there is an elemental school located across the country. I had to take a train for four days to get there," Father explained. "When I arrived, I was greeted by a student of the school who took me to meet the High Mages who run the place."

It was here that Father paused, mouth thinning to a grim line. Apparently, it was not a pleasant memory.

"Eirik, what is it?" Mother urged softly.

"When I told them that my son was an ice elemental, the High Mages explained that there are only six elements: fire, earth, darkness, light, air and water. Ice elementals don't exist. They told me that I must be mistaken. Either I was lying or if I was telling the truth, then I was wrong about which element Tor was presenting with."

"And then what?" Mother asked, her own brows furrowing as she took this in.

"I was ready to leave then and there. They seemed like they couldn't agree on anything and bickered like children. Yet, they stopped me and told me that I if my son was an elemental, it was law that he had to attend their school to receive training on how to control his powers."

"So that's it then? I'm to be shipped off to this school?" I asked. Before, I may have felt trepidation at the thought of being parted from my family. Now, all I felt was a surge of anxiety over everything I had just heard.

Father shook his head. "They have an assessment day at the beginning of their school year. Its mid-summer now. Their new school year doesn't start until spring."

"Next spring?!" Mother exclaimed.

"But that's eight moons from now!" Catrine exclaimed.

"I know. But that's what they told me. I stayed for part of that day to take a look around. I wanted to know what sort of a school it was and whether it would be truly help Tor to go there. While not every element I met and saw was pleasant, most of them seemed to be happy enough at the school. The students seemed to get along well enough with each other though some elements clearly kept to themselves more than others. The High Mages despite their differences, all seemed to enjoy their role as teachers and had strong bonds with their students." My father looked at me. "I know this is a lot, Tor but from what I saw, it seems to be the place where you can get the help you need."

"Does that mean I'm stuck with my powers?" I asked.

Father gave me a sympathetic look. He nodded. "Yes, son. It was explained to me that children aren't born with elemental abilities. They appear randomly when a child turns thirteen. No one knows how or why it happens that way. Once the powers show up, there's no getting rid of them."

This was the last thing I wanted to hear.

I buried my face in my hands. I felt like crying but the tears wouldn't come. I hadn't been a big crier before but at least it had been possible. Not anymore.

Was this really what my life was going to be like from now on?