Shades of Power

Chapter Four

I came to huddled in a corner, my cheek pressed into a small break in the stone floor. A faint odor of mildew tickled my nose and I sneezed. Where was I? The last thing I remembered was heading for my meeting with Master Shurra, then... I was here. I rolled over and the sour smell of vomit hit me. My stomach roiled and my throat ached. Was that mine? What happened?

I forced my eyes open and even the dim light hurt. I closed them and did a quick assessment. A sore throat, queasy stomach, aching hip, probably from laying on a cold stone floor. I rolled my feet and stretched my hands. Those worked.

I slowly sat up, careful to avoid the small puddle of puke a couple feet away. The dinner bell tolled and I jerked. The echoing rings faded but I didn't move. I'd lost hours.

"Miss Pior? Jaenela? Are you all right?" Master Shurra stepped easily over the vomit and to my side. "Come on, let's get you to the healers." He took my arm and gently pulled me to my feet.

I swayed as the blood rushed from my head. "What happened?"

He kept a steadying hand on my elbow and led me away. The farther we got from the stench of the vomit and the musty dankness of the neglected corridor, the better I felt.

"You didn't make it to the meeting, and I became concerned. It didn't seem like you to brush it off. Someone said they saw you head this way, or I would never have thought to search this area." We paused to let a particularly boisterous group of Air Aspirants cross in front of us. "You don't remember?"

I tried again to come up with a reason for why I was lying on the floor, almost in my own vomit. "No. The last thing I can recall is heading for the Masters' wing." I bit my lip. "Maybe I'm just coming down with something? Could that be what's affecting my powers?"

He made a non-committal noise. "Maybe. But we'll find out soon."

We made our way through the open doors of the Healers' and he spoke briefly with an Aspirant who led me to a cot and got me settled.

Master Forgan, the healer on watch and a Water Worker, checked me over. Other than not having eaten since breakfast, he couldn't see anything physically wrong. He sent an Aspirant to grab a tray from the Dining Hall and moved off to check on a patient a few beds down.

I shifted on the cot. The stringent scent of the Healers' Section always made me nervous. It was the smell of pain. "I really am sorry I didn't make the meeting. Is it something that can be rescheduled? Maybe I need to see a Mental or Emotional Healer?" I grimaced. I didn't like the idea of someone messing around in my head, but if that's what It took... "I need to figure out what's happened to my powers, and I—"

"Miss Pior," he cut in, "we will still be able to have the meeting, tonight even." The Aspirant returned with the food and Master Shurra took the tray from her, placing it on my lap. "Eat."

He rose and consulted with one of the Runners stationed with the healers. Every floor of every wing had several Runners, they were the best way to relay quick messages without wasting energy unnecessarily. For emergencies, there were also advanced students of the Spirit element who specialized in the mental aspect of their power. They could send out a mental "cry", though I didn't really know how it worked.

The Spirit-Workers were the rarest, but they also had the broadest range of abilities. Other elements were almost strictly confined to their physical definition. Sometimes an Aspirant had an affinity for an aspect that lent them to the healing profession, like Master Forgan, but most went into fields directly related to their element. A Fire Worker may become a goldsmith, or a Water Worker may gain a position on a ship.