Karta Stryker

Chapter 18: The Wind Elemental

Day after day, we drove. We rarely stopped for a rest, and kept pushing to the east coast. It was nice to have a break though, away from the madness. We were fighting someone new every second day, but after Erebus, we were left alone. One stop was by a lake, which Arcadia chose to stay for an hour or two. She kneeled in front of the lake atop the boulders of a reef and began meditation. The water began to ripple softly, and hummed quietly to her. In a sense, she was speaking to the calm of the lake's waters. The water made calm shapes and dances in response to Arcadia, but she remained silent the entire time. Marcus stared, as a flame the shape of a candlelight floated eye-level to his face. Embers floated and kissed his skin, the fire lightly humming. Jade was simply skipping rocks, joyfully throwing them into the lake. They skipped a whole 50 times before sinking to the bottom. Jade was entertained, and never grew bored of the activity. 

"We still need to find the remaining Elemental." I muttered to myself quietly.

Since Jade wasn't focusing on her element, and seemed to know the most out of everyone, I decided to walk up to her.

"Having fun skipping rocks?" I asked.

"There's something about it, seeing the earth coexist with the water. How the water carries the rock across the tide, guiding it and pushing it to go further." She vaguely glanced at Arcadia as she spoke.

"There is no tide with no wind." I said.

"Actually, tide is guided by both the earth and the wind. All elements come into play to preserve the planet." Jade rebutted.

I stand corrected.

"Which means we still need wind on our side if we're going to stand a chance against Galgamere." Jade said.

I nodded bleakly in response.

"You have already mastered it in a way. Your wings." Jade said.

"No one can move like you can without some other force. Flying purely on aerodynamics is complicated, where as the wind takes you to where you desire. Movement in any direction is possible, thanks to your manipulation over it. You don't even have to think about it twice." Jade swung her arm up, lightly gesturing to me.

"It's something the Stryders have always been able to do."

"Maybe a Stryder in the modern day would stand as a Wind Elemental." Jade smiled, turning away to continue skipping rocks.

Taking her advice, I decided to experiment. My wings burst outward, and carried me upwards to the skies. Once I had reached a mile above ground, I was above the clouds. The sun danced on the canopy, gleaming brightly as no clouds blocked it. Wanting to give fire a go, I simply practiced making quick bursts of wind. I began shadowboxing, sending gusts outward with my fists. When I did a swing kick, flames lightly emanated from my foot, but not nearly enough to do damage. 

"My physical strength is enough to control the wind..." 

I picked up the pace, faster and faster as I went. It wasn't long before my hands and feet were enveloped in flames, sending violent twirls outward. The fire was different to Marcus', as his was more focused, casted into a hot red temperature as soon as it left his body. My movement was simply cutting through the air hard enough to create light streaks of fire. I smiled in awe, thinking of the next thing I could do. 

I looked at the clouds, and thought about sweeping them away. I flicked my fingers, but not surprisingly, nothing happened. I tried swinging my whole arm, again, with no results. I tried to swing with my wing instead, and the whole sky grew clear of any clouds. The wind danced in spirals among the blue sky. I flew down just above the waters, my feet carrying me atop the surface, as if I was walking on water.