The Seventh Element

Chapter Seventeen

Autumn had come to the Arrow which meant that only two months remained before the end of the school year and the end-of-year presentation. While I had continued to improve slowly, I had yet to figure out what I would do for the presentation. Time was running out. I had to make a decision so that I could practice. Part of the problem was that I didn't feel like I had anything worth presenting.

My element was not naturally showy nor something I felt proud of.

No one else seemed to have the same issue. The other nova were excited about getting to show off everything they'd learned in the past year. Even bearing in mind my unique element, I was nowhere near their level.

"Tor, you shouldn't compare yourself to others. You are you and they are them. There is nothing typical about you from your element, to your home region and being pretty much self-taught. No one else has faced the uphill battle you have." Vic put his hands on my shoulders. "Under the circumstances you've made remarkable progress."

I had never heard someone say that before. "Well, when you put it like that."

"I do," Vic said dropping his hands from my shoulders.

"I'll think about it." I gave him a considering look. "What are you doing for the presentation?"

Vic beamed, clearly pleased with himself. "Now that I've finally gotten control of shadow manipulation, I want to show it off. You know that there's a tradition of traveling shadow play actors in Dhark Forest? I've been giving it some thought and I think that's something I'd like to do when I'm older. It'd suit me, don't you think?"

I nodded.

While I couldn't really picture what Vic was talking about, my friend was a natural entertainer. Anything that would allow him to do that would be a good fit for him.

"You can do this, Tor. I know that you can," Vic said, giving me a reassuring smile before leaving me to my work.

Bolstered by my friend's encouragement, I refocused on my current work. I had learned how to create not just snow but ice and was now learning to control both at different levels. With that skill improved, I was trying to extend my range, learning to cover larger areas. Along with that, I also needed to reabsorb that energy once it was expended.

As I had come to expect, none of it was easy. It didn't matter that I'd spent the better part of two months actively working with my powers. Progress was uneven thus far. Some days were better than others but I kept at it. I had tried giving up and that hadn't done me any good.

I had to keep working with my powers.

Today was one of the slow days. I had gotten a thin layer of frost to cover an area about the size of my body. My end goal was to cover an entire wall with frost. I had been at it most of the day and the frost seemed to crawl, if it moved at all. I huffed an icy breath and took a step back, needing a break.

Would this ever get easier?

"Frost is beautiful, isn't it?" Bennett, one of the Aria fins, commented as he stopped beside me.

Intent on my work, I hadn't noticed his approach. I looked at him. I didn't really think about how things looked. I was more focused on how things worked.

"I'm from the mountain so I only know the damage that frost can do. There's nothing beautiful about that," I said.

"Well, it doesn't really snow in Nomala. It's a destination, you know, rather than an everyday thing where I'm from. So, for Nomalans, it's really special. The other Aria and I think it's great that not only is there an ice mage but we know him! How cool is it that you can just make it snow whenever you want?" He beamed at me, eyes glowing with excitement at the idea.

I was strangely touched by this (as much as I could be anyway). The Nox were always telling me positive things about me and my element and the Ice King knew I needed that encouragement but even if I didn't they were good friends. I had come to expect it from them but no other element was nearly as complimentary. So, hearing it from another element was a pleasant surprise (even if it came from the eager-to-please Aria).

Before I could form a response, we were interrupted.

"Bennett!" Aminah, one of the Ignis fins, called. "Come on! We're all waiting for you!"

"Keep up the great work, Tor!" Bennett clapped a hand on my arm in support before joining his friend.

Our brief conversation had left me food on the table. I had seen my friends and the other students do creative and beautiful things with their elements. I had never thought I could do the same. But now...

I looked at the wall I had been working on. It was only a flat sheet of frost. But, could I work with this? If I looked at it as a blank canvas and my ice as the medium to paint with, what could I do with it? I didn't know what was possible but I was willing to try.

So, what to create?

I hadn't been the most creative before. My interest had always been in physical activity, being outside in the snow and ice that I had always loved...until it had become my prison. Becoming an elemental had taken everything from me. For the very first time I wondered: could I take everything back?

Much as I hated my element, this presentation was forcing me to look at it in a more positive light. I had to show the other students (and myself) that my element was good for something. I had been born and raised on the mountain, a place of perpetual snow and ice. What better way to show off the beauty of the mountain and yes, my element, than to capture that landscape through ice?

I knew the mountain as intimately as I knew my own hands. I knew the scene I wanted to create. Now it was just a matter of getting my powers to cooperate.