Element

✷ Prologue

There is a world unknown. It is a world much like our own and all the inhabitants are people, as one might expect.

In it exists a powerful kingdom called Dimicel. And, while the people of Dimicel resemble human beings, there is one thing that sets them apart. Any person in Dimicel holds power over an element, whether it be Water, Air, Earth, Animal, or Fire. These people, forged by spirits revered by each respective element, lived together in a tranquil, uncentralized kingdom in small, scattered towns maintained by clan leaders. They prospered in solitude for six-hundred years, until the peace was finally broken.

The result of a malicious clash between good and evil spirits, Wuma arose to power, born not with control over an element, but control over a marginalized people, known only to be the embodiment of evil and darkness: Shadows. Wuma declared war on the greatly disjointed kingdom of Dimicel, hoping, that with her conquest, she might erase all traces of the Elemental people, and with it, the injustices her own people faced.

The people of Dimicel, unwilling abdicate their rights to self-government and preservation, formed an army of their own. They willingly cast aside all hopes for peace, for submission before such a despotic tyrant was unthinkable.

And so, a war ensued— a long and bloody war – a war the Elemental people fought against Wuma with her Darkness and Shadows. After 50 years of endless fighting and death and despair, a band of five, one person boasting the qualities of each element, came together and launched a final battle that would end the war.

The battle, described at epic length as tactical mastery, destroyed the Shadow Army and brought the end to Wuma. Their leader gone, the Shadows were fast to retreat to the Farlands, or else risk imprisonment and execution. Peace was restored to the massive kingdom, but the elemental people were wary.

The war leaders were unwilling to risk inaction in the face of another threat. A vote between these leaders gave way to a closely ruling government, charged with organizing the masses and mobilizing the population during war. With this government, the people of Dimicel hoped they would never see their society on the brink of collapse. In the face of a second war, the people of Dimicel would be ready and strong, behind their ruler, who assumed the title of "Queen."

The severity and extension of the war left countless homes and villages lost to scorched battle fields, prompting many to flock to the urbanized areas. The new government seized this destitution as an opportunity for societal reorganization. An analysis of the war prompted the conclusion that, apart from the final battle, most recorded victories for the Elemental Army were the result of single-Element militias. With this in mind, the Queen set forth a measure to reduce the vast borders of the kingdom and establish sectors for each element to reside in. At the center of this vast kingdom existed the cohesive Central City, which was a tenth the size of a sector in itself. In addition to the established sectors, children would attend mandatory schools within their sectors from the age of five to eleven, after which they would attend school in Central City for eight years and return home during the summer holidays.

Society did indeed prosper under these new modifications, and everyone seemed to be content.

---

Hello, and welcome to the new prologue of Element! If this is your first time reading, I have the misfortune of telling you that this book is currently under a severe editing process that will take a long, long time. If you choose to read, I promise the last thirty or so chapters are well-written and interesting. It still means the world to me that we get support from our readers, even after the story has been idle for so long!

Honestly, nobody reads these author's notes unless they're short, which this one isn't. I took on the process of editing (by myself) in order to make the story something I can truly be proud of. Thank you for everyone who is still a fan, and to those who might peek back into this book when they see this update. You guys are the reason I do this!

-Wien