The Elementalists

Prologue

As the shower of arrows rained down on the battle field, Apollo ran faster than he had ever run, in search of his twin sister. He swerved around broken chariots, empty quivers, and fallen soldiers; both gods and minions of Evil, his eyes searching the battlefield, sweeping over the injured gods, screaming in rage, and demons, lying lifelessly on the field. His heartbeat quickened by the moment, as he saw numerous Non-Elemental gods chained in heavy golden chains, defeat etched on their faces. He saw members of his own Greek pantheon, eyes closed, their breath, the only evidence of their existence. He recognized Ares, the Greek god of War, being defeated in a war. The irony. All around him, gods slowed down in battle, knowing that they had been defeated. Some, who could not accept the loss in battle, continued charging the enemy, slaying monsters and demons. There were only a few she could slay, before Hel, the Norse goddess of Death, was thrown off her chariot by Kronos, king of the titans. Apollo knew this battle was pointless. Their three days of fighting had all meant nothing. The prophecy was coming true. Nonetheless, he frantically searched for his sister. Just then, he caught a gleam of silver hair. He ran in that direction and a wave of relief hit him, when he saw Artemis, on all fours, coughing out Ichor, the golden blood of the gods. "Sister!" he yelled, running up to her side. Just as he reached her, an arrow flew into his neck. He fell, in pain and surprise. He held his bleeding neck and counted to three, before pulling out the arrow. He tossed the arrow aside, trying his best to get back up, but couldn't. A chain was thrown around Artemis's chest, and in a few moments, she was bound. She tried to use the power of the Moon, but a sliver of Moon energy was all she could conjure, before she slumped in defeat. "The god of archery, knocked down by an arrow," Set, laughed, pulling Artemis to his chariot. "No," was all Apollo could whisper, before his vision got blurry. He saw all the Non-Elemental gods in chains, being thrown into chariots. Finally, all the chariots of Evil flew into the sky, the Elemental gods; the only hope for humanity, lying on the battle field, battered and defeated. Tears streamed down Apollo's cheeks, as he thought of his sister, being taken away, and what might happen to her. His last thought before passing out was, 'Krafos has started.'

Chapter 1 

 The armies charged at each other, soldiers on both sides yelling, their swords raised. Cottages and huts around the battlefield were in flames, the crying of villagers accompanying the war cries of the soldiers. The sky was an ugly shade of red, smoke from the flames, evidence of mankind's true nature. The battle was a representation of the war between the gods and the forces of Evil, the two armies, mere puppets of the former and latter. Just as the two armies were about to engulf each other in another wave of cruel bloodshed, a flash of lightning illuminated the red sky, and right in the middle of the battlefield, a man landed, a golden spear in hand. He stood straight up, his chest puffed, and stared at the army of Evil. Then, he raised his spear high into the air, and a bolt of lightning reached down from the sky to the tip of his spear. 

I awoke drenched in sweat, the cries of the soldiers ringing in my ears. The scent of burning wood filled my nostrils. My breathing started to calm down when I realized it was just a dream, like it had always been. The dream started on my twelfth birthday. In the beginning, it came on and off, but ever since my fourteenth birthday four months ago, it was more often. However, no matter how many times I dreamt the dream, I could never see the face of the guy that fell out of the sky. Weird things were happening this week. I had no idea what was going on. I kept seeing this guy in a red suit, just staring at me, when I looked out my room window, from three floors down. Or I would suddenly see him on the sidewalk, when my Mom stopped at a red light, staring at me intently. I had no idea who this guy was. In a blink of my eye, he would disappear. And last night, I heard my Mom talking to a guy in her room. I was walking past her closed door when I heard her crying, and a deep male voice speaking. I pressed my ear hard against the door and tried my best to make out what they were saying. "I lost Michael this way. I can't lose Douglas the same way too," she cried, "This is no place for Douglas, Sarah. He belongs elsewhere, and you know that too. You knew this day was coming. He will be in grave danger if he continues to stay here." The deep male voice said. Then the sound of a crackling fire filled the air and the voice disappeared, the sniffles of my Mom's cries the only sound in the silent apartment. I walked back to my room, trying to process what I had heard. Mom had always told me that my brother, Michael Flow, had died when I was five, in a car crash. He was seventeen when he died. I know, she had a kid and then decided to have another twelve years later. And my Dad? Well according to my Mom, he left when I was two, because he had other responsibilities. What a good excuse. Completely valid. But I wasn't allowed to hate him because according to my Mom, he was a very good man. Now back to the car crash that killed my brother. Was that a lie? Then how did he really die? Or was he even dead at all? Was something going to happen to me? Who did the voice belong to? All these questions swarmed my head again, and I fell back asleep.