The Fire Inside

Chapter 2 - The Final Steps

Waking up was always easy, or rather made easy. Luna snuck out from under the covers of the bed, went to the door on the other side of the room, then bolted across the floor and did a leap of faith. The end result was the last breath of air leaving Vera in a loud “oef”, followed by her hands trying to hold her pained stomach, only to find a wet tongue playfully licking her hands. Vera, like any other morning, sat up and held Luna, tickling her stomach in revenge, while the puppy wriggled and squirmed to get out of her hold.

Today, however was a special day for them. Luna was a familiar for Vera, this meant that she was to be her spirit animal. On a person’s eighteenth birthday, they are given their counterpart by the head board of the school. On the day the familiar turns four months old, they are bonded. This meant that Luna would be able to understand Vera, and vica versa. However, over the last two months, Vera was beginning to believe this was not necessary for them.

As Vera got ready, slipping on some clothes, Luna started running excitedly around her feet. Since Vera never let her out her sight, the two had become inseparable, and this is the way she liked it. If she was out of Luna’s sight for a moment too long, she would sit right where she was and howl. This defence allowed Vera to quickly find her and it also made sure that she knew exactly where Luna was at all times.

Finally ready to leave, Vera opened the door and started sprinting to class. As fast as she could run, the puppy always kept up with her. She was not popular in the school, however as she ran down the cobbled road that went from the dormitories to the main building, students congratulated her and gave her smiles. It was quite a big event for a student to finally link with their familiar, and although the ceremony was a closed event, everyone knew them. The simple fact was that the ceremony was the finally step to graduating.

Coming to the main building, Vera stopped, and looked up at the vast white building. The massive castle, when standing at its gates, took up a person’s entire vision, blocking out any scenery around it. The building, like all of the different campuses, where floating on a giant platform high up in the sky. There was no way to know that the buildings where all on a floating island while on the island itself. Most of the building cut off the sight, both for safety reasons and to stop the area being covered in clouds. There were a few sightseeing spots, though the students barely had time to use them. Much like Vera, they were caught up in the wonder that was the school.

Estrial School of Elemental Magestry

The name was etched into a large board hanging over the gateway leading into the main garden of the school. Vera had been training here for the last eleven years after she had been discovered abandoned at its steps. She knew nothing of her parents, as did anyone from the school. It was a mystery as to why she was abandoned as well. The school did not charge fees for those who can control elements from a young age, only to those who wished to be taught, as it was much more difficult to acquire.

Walking through the garden towards the looming wooden doors, the excitement rose in Vera, and she could see Luna getting restless, starting to bounce up the stairs, running ahead and jumping back down to her. Eventually Vera had to pick her up because she began yelping in excitement, but even in her arms, the puppy was looking around excitedly, and trying to run. Vera nuzzled her in an attempt to calm her, but Luna just playfully nibbled her nose and continued her squirming.

Putting up with the excited Luna, Vera quickened her pace, walking through the wooden doors now. The main hall had hundreds of smaller wooden doors, leading into small classrooms or offices of teachers. Ignoring all the people and walking straight up another large flight of stairs, Vera quickly turned off to the left. A corridor lined with small windows that ran for a hundred paces and ended in a deep black door.

The wood looked as though it had had suffered a serious burning many years ago, and no one knew the cause. Every graduation was done differently, catered for the person in question of their skills, so one could only assume a fire caster showed off in their graduation. There were five different types of Casters; fire, wind, earth, water and spirit. Although spirit did not involve the control of an environmental element, and the users were much rarer than the other elements, it was considered the most powerful. Spirit users were able to control the will of those around them. The only way to counter this was to practice on focusing your will into a defence, a skill not easily learnt.

As Vera pushed open the blackened door, she saw the headmaster, the strongest spirit user in the school, High User Garret. He was a tall man, a clear head taller than Vera, and had a strong stature. He was very young and had deep grey eyes that always seemed to be unfocused. Despite the look in those stormy eyes, he was quick witted and could out match anyone in ability.

He was standing in the middle of the round room, hands cupped together and surrounded by four other Users. They wore colours matching that of their class, red for fire, blue for water, a dirty brown and gold for earth, and a light green for wind Users.  Garret wore the deep purple of a spirit User. It shimmered as he beckoned Vera and Luna over.

“Please, come through. You are prompt as usual.” His voice rang through the round room. It was very powerful, especially when directed at a person, and Vera tentatively walked forward, and closed the door behind her. Every person had their own type of graduation, and privacy was needed for the process. The moment the door closed, the five Users waved their hands, and the door began to rattle. Around the edges, the floor and walls enclosed the gaps, and a vortex of fire began spinning around the centre of the door. The air around the door began to get heavy and the water began to condensate, forming a cloud that soon got pushed into the spinning flames. Soon the door was hidden by a thick mist that Vera could only imagine was scorching steam.

As Vera turned back to the Users, she realised that Luna had now stilled, her eyes staring blankly into the space before her. Confusion took over excitement as she looked up to Garret.

“Now, to start the ceremony.” He slowly raised his hands, and Vera felt her body being drawn forward.

“A bonding,” he continued,” is not a simple thing. There is a challenge to overcome, to see if the souls can be made into one.” Vera could not speak, but she nodded her head to show understanding. Spirit Users where the one’s to bind Users to their companions. She knew it wouldn’t be simple.

“Prepare yourself.” As commanded, she took a deep breath, and slipped into darkness that took over her entire mind. Falling deep into nothingness, she felt nothing but fear.