Elements

Meeting, Defeating, and Escaping

They had been traveling for almost a day and a half, and the baby dragon had gone through some frightening changes. He was already the size of a small dog, and was beginning to learn key words to talk. He had also learned to fly and shape shift. Sorsa had learned a great deal about what an Elemist was, and what a Wealsk was. A Wealsk was a special species of dragon that has the power to disguise itself as other creatures. For instance, the dragon could quickly go from a full grown, giant dragon to a small dorm mouse. An Elemist was a magician who could only control one of the elements. Each of which had its own color. Earth was green, fire was red, water was blue, and air was white. Sorsa was apparently air, and Morn earth. 

Sorsa, Morn, Lien, and the baby dragon had learned to trust each other (at least a little), they could talk freely anyway. On this specific day the baby dragon and Lian had gone off on a practice flight. Morn and Sorsa were left alone to keep going towards Clear Lake. Morn had been uneasy for the past few days. Sorsa could tell.

“What’s wrong Morn?” Sorsa asked while walking in silence.

“Is it that obvious?” Morn replied.

“Yes. Yes it is.”

“I have been traveling in this land for over ten years, and the men after us have been after me for longer. Before we began traveling together, Lien and I were attacked almost every other day. Something’s not right.”

“Well, maybe the emperor has finally called them off.”

“Impossible, their captain has me on his death list, and he will never give up.” 

They walked for another few miles in silence before coming to Clear Lake. The lake was clear as crystal. Everything in the lake straight down to the bottom could be seen from the lake bed. There was bridge across and the current was too strong to swim across. Sorsa and Morn stopped.

“Well, we made it to the lake. Now there’s the matter of crossing it,” Sorsa acknowledged. 

“It’s a simple matter of making stepping stones. We should rest first though, and get a drink.”

Crouching down to get a drink of water, Sorsa observed, “No wonder they called this Clear Lake, it’s like liquid glass.”

The water was crisp and clear, tasting better than any water Sorsa had ever tasted. She gasped and smiled. Not only was this the best water she had ever tasted, it was shockingly cold. The vegetation around the lake was more lush than anywhere else in the forest. The water currents made the water ripple before the sun, making a most beautiful scene. This could be a beautiful place to watch the sunset, Sorsa thought. She sent the image to the baby dragon, who sent back a picture of cliffs and the forest canopy from above. 

Sorsa heard the whistle of metal flying through the air. 

“Sorsa, look out!”Morn yelled. She ducked just in time to miss the dart, which landed in the tree next to her. Many more darts came from the bushes behind them, only to miss their targets. A dart surged from behind Morn. Seeing it, Sorsa put her arm out, and the dart hit her instead of Morn’s back. 

“Sorsa!”Morn cried.

“Don’t worry about the dart! Just find away to get us out of here before we get hit, again!” 

Morn put his hands flat on the ground, and then retched upward. As his arms went up, so did large circles in a straight line in the lake appeared. 

“That is very nice,” Sorsa said, “stepping stones.”

They ran and jumped from circle to circle, soldiers coming out from the bushes and began chasing them. Sorsa’s arm was now numb, but from what she knew of the darts that all they did. They numbed the area surrounding it, that’s why the shooter always aimed for a major area. She’d be fine. Sorsa and Morn made it to the other side of the lake. Only to find company. Seven magicians jumped from behind the bushes and began to chant an ununderstandable language. More soldiers came across the stepping stones , Morn and Sorsa were completely surrounded.