Stars Of Memory

Chapter 38

Her mother leads her to the air courtyard after breakfast, realizing that Jīvitaya doesn't know where it is. When they reach the courtyard, Jīvitaya looks around in confusion. The courtyard looks like a flat space, with a low wall around the edges, and it is at the highest point of the palace. There are cushions stacked neatly against the wall by the entrance.

"Confused?"

Jīvitaya whirls, trying to figure out where Azan's voice is coming from. She doesn't see him, so she looks up. He is floating several feet above her and as she watches, he floats down until his feet rest on the stones of the courtyard.

"How did you do that?"

He laughs. "You'll learn with time, but we are starting small. Hold out your hand and close your eyes."

Jīvitaya does so, and he continues speaking. "I want you to think of holding a ball of wind. Think of how it moves and control those movements until the wind is wrapping around itself, forming a ball. The wind is wild, it will be hard to control. But bend it to your will, and it will listen."

Jīvitaya tries, grasping at the wind as it whizzes past. It curls in her palm for a moment before escaping. She tries again, but can only hold it for a moment longer. She tries a third time and manages to hold it for a minute, continuously struggling to get it to stay in her hand. Finally, she relinquishes her hold, gasping. She opens her eyes, disappointed.

"Those were some good attempts. I want you to try again, with your eyes open this time."

As a wisp of wind streaks by, Jīvitaya grabs it and pins one end of it to the center of her palm and forces the other to twist around it. It resists, and her eyes narrow. The wind has to form a ball, it has to! She will make it do so. Slowly, it wraps itself into a loose and shaky ball before ripping itself free. She folds her legs beneath her and sits, shaking and exhausted.

He crouches beside her. "You did wonderfully well. I must admit, I started you with something a bit hard. Controlling the wind is something many of us cannot do, but since she seemed to master water so easily, I thought we could try it. Let us turn away from the wind for now, and I want you to create a cushion of air. Imagine the air hardening beside you and step onto it."

Jīvitaya frowns, thinking hard. Slowly, she raises a foot and steps up and into the air. Her other foot follows. In the air, her feet wobble and she narrows her eyes at them until their invisible step stabilizes. She concentrates and makes another, stepping up onto it. She grins, and creates more of them, stepping up to a walkway. Then a gust of wind hits her and she trips, falling toward the stones. A gust of wind catches her before she hits the ground and then drops her the last inch to the floor.

"Lilaria, are you all right?"

Jīvitaya nods. "Thank you for catching me."

Azan shakes his head. "I didn't catch you, you did it instinctually. Now, I think we've done enough work with air for today, let's move on. Would you like to work on fire, spirit, or some more on water?"

Jīvitaya looks up hopefully. "Water?"

"Very well."

They walk to the water courtyard, to see another pair of people. One an older woman and the other a little boy. The boy is controlling a long rope of water and is whirling it around himself and into dizzying patterns that Jīvitaya can barely keep track of.

"You want to try and do that, don't you, Lilaria?"

Jīvitaya nods. "It looks fascinating."

"Well, based on what I saw of your progress yesterday, I don't see why you can't try it. Try to form the rope however you like."

Jīvitaya walks over to stand in front of the fountain and holds her hand outstretched. A large ball of water emerges from it and hovers before her. One end of it stretches toward her hand and wraps around it, as the other end of it stretches out to form a long ribbon.

"Well done! I'm going to create a target, and I want you to hit it with the end of the rope."

Jīvitaya nods, and the first target forms, a swirling disk of air. Jīvitaya frowns, having thought it would be made from water. She hits it with the rope and senses the wind escape as the target shatters upon impact. Another one forms behind her, and she whirls. A third one forms and she laughs, dancing from one target to the next, spinning and leaping and bending to reach each one. It reminds her of doing ballet, figure skating, and gymnastics when she was on Earth. She searches for the next target and fails to find it, stopping and letting the rope of water droop at her side. She hears the sounds of clapping and turns to see Azan, the boy, and the boy's Drial clapping, their eyes shining with awe and delight.

The boy's Drial steps forward. "That was wonderful Laia."

Azan corrects her. "This is the Lilaria."

The Drial's face whitens in alarm at her mistake. "My apologies, Lilaria!"

Jīvitaya smiles warmly. "There was no harm done. And thank you."

The Drial smiles and exits the courtyard, the boy following behind her.

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No author questions today. Tell me down below if you have your own questions.

~Goddess of Fate, signing out.