The Elements Book One: Gilly

Prologue: Set the Stage

Immortality. It's what every human longs for. The lure of living forever, preserved for eternity drives humanity to madness. So much so that for those beings that possess immortality, humanity began to resemble pathetic ants, scrambling about for woefully short periods of time before disappearing. And yet, what of the humans? Such petty, arrogant creatures, yet with such a capacity for more. A capacity to change what they are if they so choose.

Humans realized this, and set about doing what humanity does best: taking what it wants. Humans became bounty hunters. They collected and carefully tabulated information on the immortals. They hunted down the immortals, trying to divest them of what set them apart from humans. But what the humans failed to realize is that immortality is not that wonderful.

Immortality is the sleepless nights. Watching those you love wither away and die. Watching the world spin on around you, knowing that you will never make a difference.

The immortals became angry. The humans, after all, had something they didn't. Humans could change things, make things better, alter the future. After all, it was humans that enabled the immortals to thrive. Immortals were weak, barely existing. But then, humans found magic. Magicians breathed vitality into the immortals, not knowing what they were doing.

Immortals owed their new life to humans, and hated it. When humans set out to destroy them and take away that which was impossible to take, it was the last straw. Many immortals became predators, sacrificing their morals and intellect to become slaughterers of men. Hunters in the night. The select few that remained loyal to humanity became rejected, hunted, by both their fellow immortals and the humans who saw all immortals as evil. They were forced into hiding, disappearing into legend as humans cast aside their "outdated" need for the mystical to explain their world.

So why do I protect them? Good question. I'll get back to that one. Moving on.

Oh. Who am I? That I can answer. The name's Gilly. I'm 700 years old. I think. I've kinda sorta lost track. I know that I was born shortly before the Black Death, so sometime in the 1310's. Ha. Physically, though, I resemble a 13 year old girl.

See, I used to be a human. Was, for 13 years. Then I was betrayed, turned into a special kind of immortal: an Element. I still don't know how exactly the incarnation takes place, I was a little traumatized at the time that it happened to me and I never watched it happen to someone else. There are eight of us, all unbelievably powerful. And all especially sought for by bounty hunters. After all, if we were transformed by this spirit, shouldn't we be able to separated?

Sorry, no. See, I became an immortal when another spirit entered my body, merging with my own. Key word there: merged. We can't be separated by force without death to both. There's a special process to go through that previous incarnations went through to rid themselves of immortality. So far I'm thinking that I'm good.

As for what I am, I am half human, in essence, I retain my human soul and mind. But I now get a voice in my head. That's Fire. Very original name, yes, yes. I didn't name her. The Elemental spirits were spawned by Aristotle upon the presentation of his theory of the four Elements. Since then, technology and humanity's capacity for creation developed four new Elements: Metal, Light, Sound, and Electricity.

But I already know what your next question is. Who are the others? Well, ah, still don't know who three of them are. Sorry. I, obviously, am Fire. My 'older brother', Dave, created alongside me, is Air. Andy, I met a little later on; he's Earth. Evret, a couple centuries passed before I had to put up with him; he's Water. Patrik, the youngest; he's Metal. I think you can guess which three I haven't yet found. Which is why we are now enrolled in a local Alaskan middle school, following the strongest trail we've felt in a long time.

And now, I suppose I should cut to the chase. I've decided to tell you about the other side of this Earth. That we are not legend. We are real. And that if you and I are not careful, the immortals could finally win the silent, secret war on humanity that has never truly ceased.

This is my story.