The Trials of the Elements

Chapter 2: Broken Myth Forest

Hope felt like she had been running for hours. Her lungs heaved with effort, her eyes streamed with water, her hair flapped violently in the wind causing it to hit her face and neck, and her legs felt like they were on fire. As her energy began to deplete, the frail girl finally stopped running. Her breathing had become ragged and short, making her feel lightheaded. Her body screamed at her to take a rest, and without much resistance Hope obliged. Sitting down against an old pine tree, the girl began looking at her surroundings.

The canopy of green and yellow above her cast beautiful shadows on the forest floor, the ground was littered with stones, fallen leaves and dead branches as far as the eye could see, the thick large pine and oak trees surrounding her made the place look more like a jungle than a forest, and as much as this place felt like a sanctuary, Hope felt unnerved. She knew every inch of these magnificent woods, and yet she had never seen this place before. Of course it's possible that she may not have come here before, but that seemed unlikely, as she had constructed a map of the forest as a child. With her breathing now steady, Hope stood and began walking around the area. The farther she walked, the more confused she became.

What is this place? Hope thought to herself curiously.

As she made her way between two pine trees, a strange sight greeted her. In front of her stood a magnificent willow tree about 50 ft. tall. Nowhere in this forest had Hope encountered a willow tree, let alone one as large and as beautiful as this one. With excitement filling her body, Hope jogged towards the tree to get a closer look. The curtains of leaves were thick and linear yet it imitated the calming waves of the ocean as it danced in the wind. Hope frowned. There wasn't any wind near the tree - it seemed like it was moving on it's own. Cautiously, she pushed away some of the branches of the weeping willow and peered inside. Hope gasped in awe, she couldn't see the trunk of the willow; instead she saw a circular clearing divided into four equal parts by small stones and pebbles, with each part holding a large beautiful tree at it's center. Almost as if she were in a trance, the girl stepped inside, causing the leaves behind her to disappear and turn to dust. Hope found herself in an entirely different world than where she had been previously. Without the large canopy of leaves in Broken Myth Forest, the sky seemed clearer and bluer than she had ever seen it before. Even though the sun wasn't in the sky, she could clearly see rays of sunshine hit the green grass below her feet. Although the clearing was beautiful, it didn't compare to the four great trees facing each other. As Hope arrived at the centre of the clearing, she could see the distinct differences between each of the trees.

To the north lay an oak tree with the thickest and strongest of branches intertwining each other like a maze; it had a trunk larger than an elephant's foot, it had a large tree hollow, and had more green leaves than she could ever count. A beautiful orchid tree lay to the east, but instead of having pink orchids, it had ocean blue. Surrounding the tree was a small blue pond, covered with blue lilies and lily pads. On closer inspection, the tree was covered in dewdrops as if it had just stopped raining. At the south of the clearing was a birch tree with silver and white leaves. As Hope stared at the tree, she noticed that the leaves weren't on the branches, and instead were moving around it in the wind. And finally, to the west stood a flaming red maple tree. Its bark looked black and rough as if it were ash, its leaves seemed to be layered with different colours: yellow at it's core, then orange, then red outlined the rest of it, and with all the leaves together, the tree acted like a burning fire. Suddenly, Hope could hear voices coming from each of the trees.

"Could it be? The chosen one?" A warm voice questioned - it seemed to be coming from the oak tree.

"If she managed to come through the portal she must be!" A rough voice curtly replied from the maple tree.

"Now, now, there's no need to get snappy. It's been at least 2,000 years since the last human arrived here, so you're allowed to be hopeful" An airy voice calmly stated from the birch tree.

"You all realize that the girl can hear us, right?" A fluid voice asked from the orchid tree.

As the conversation continued, orbs of wispy energy floated out of each of the cores of the trees and began to make their way towards Hope. Each sphere had it's own colour that represented the tree they had just come from: blue for the orchid tree, red for the maple tree, white for the birch tree, and green for the oak tree. Once the orbs were within 3 meters of the girl they began speaking simultaneously:

"Welcome stranger to our home,

where you are now permitted to roam.

We are the spirits of the past,

here to make our powers last.

You my child, have been chosen to fulfill our trials,

and if you complete them, your name will be known for miles."

A tense atmosphere lay in the air as the orbs waited anxiously for the stranger to reply. However, Hope was utterly speechless. With her curiosity getting the better of her, Hope slowly walked towards the red orb, and cautiously put her hand up to touch it. Hope gasped in pain and instinctively reeled away as it burnt her.

With anger evident in the orb's voice, it shouted, "How dare you touch me! Have you no manners?!"

"Oh I am so sorry! It's just I've never seen this place before and there are talking orbs from trees that exist in a willow tree, which is all very strange and new to me and I don't know what's going on, who you are, where do you come from and I just- I don't know I'm sorry!" Hope apologized in rapid succession of words.

"Hmpf." The orb responded.

"It's alright my dear, it's understandable how you'd act this way. Now, to answer your question, I am Valterra the Earth spirit," Introduced the green orb.

"I am Llyn, the spirit of water," Continued the blue orb.

"I am the wind spirit, Isaure," Stated the white orb.

"And I am Nuria, the fire spirit," Finished the red orb with evident annoyance in it's voice.

"As for where we come from, well, that's a long and complicated tale. So to keep it short, thousands of years ago a powerful Mage mastered the elements 'earth, wind, water and fire,' and used their powers to manipulate them in whatever ways he pleased. As the Mage grew old, he became very ill. This made him realize that once he died, the magic he had managed to control would disappear forever. In order to preserve the magic, he created a form of 'pocket dimension' so that the magic could be stored safely away. We are the embodiments of the elements and their powers. This place was made to make sure that only people with a good heart and a great need for something could enter. And if you met the criteria, the portal would open up to you in Broken Myth Forest, and give you the opportunity to learn the magic the mage had discovered. And now, here you are," Valterra explained.

Hope eyes grew wide in both disbelief and awe. This situation seemed like something a child would dream about in their sleep, and yet it was happening right in front of her.

"If you wish to learn the ways of the elements, you will have to complete a trial that each of us have created. As you progress, the more difficult the next trial will become. When you accomplish a trial, you will be granted the power of said element and the knowledge on how to use it. If you do not want to learn our magic, we will have to cast a memory loss spell on you that will erase any and all memories of this place and how you came here, and you will never be able to return," Llyn said gently.

Hope paused to think a moment, As much as I want to learn these powers, what on Earth - excuse me Valterra, would I use them for? Yes I could use them for small tricks and things, but otherwise what good could I do?

Out of nowhere, a brilliant thought struck her. Hope had one week left till she left the orphanage and there was only one week left till Henry Evanston cut down the forest she loved, along with the new discovered portal and the magic it possessed.

Having made her decision, Hope spoke, "I want to learn the ways of the elements."

"I want to complete the Trials of the Elements."