Rudimentary Fall

Chapter III

Strangers waiting
Up and down the boulevard
Their shadows searching
In the night
Streetlights, people
Livin' just to find emotion
Hidin' somewhere in the night

Working hard to get my fill
Everybody wants a thrill
Payin' anything to roll the dice
Just one more time
Some will win, some will lose
Some were born to sing the blues
Oh, the movie never ends
It goes on and on, and on, and on - Don't Stop Believing by Journey

The Militiam opened the envelope with a sort of dramatic slowness. “For the first task, all participants will be required to show how well they can manipulate their element to their advantage. Participants are required to walk through a maze, with no obstacles in their path, except their own will power. They will have to find their way out of the maze.” the Militiam addressed the participants.

That should be pretty simple! Thought Yvette to herself, even as the Militiam continued to address the gathering. But that’s the problem, never in a million years, should you try to even tempt fate. “But, that is not all. Each elemental group will have to sense the presence of an elemental gem. Each contestant has to try to sense their own elemental gem and activate it using their control over their element. And believe me, only the best will be able to activate the gem.” 

“Only 5 contestants from each element will pass onto the next round of the tournament, so five of each elemental gem has been hidden within the depths of the maze for the Vento, Auster and Adva.”

Wait a second, what about me, and what about Fia? Have they forgotten about me? “But, ladies and gentlemen, contestants, we haven’t forgotten our very fiery little competitor from the Fia. We never thought that we would see one of you in these grounds, yet, here you are. To move onto the next round, you have to prove your skills more than the others, for you have no competition among your non-existent elemental competitors. There is a single Fia gem placed in the maze, and if you are worthy enough to move onto the next round, you must find it and bring it to the end of the maze, along with the others who have their gems, and at the door, place it in its rightful place. Once all the gems are placed, the door will open, letting the victors out of the maze, and into the DGrounds. All the best to all the contestants. Let the tournament commence!”

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 It was as though the gasp that filled the grounds that everyone made in perfect sync had been practiced multiple times, before curtain at opening night.  

I don’t know how anyone could have missed the huge maze in the middle of the DGrounds, Aurem thought, gazing at the maze with his mouth hanging open. He could understand now why the crowd gasped- the thing was huge! It stretched the entire length of the DGrounds, leaving just the little ground space that all of the participants were standing upon. They couldn’t even see how far the maze went on, because it reached just below the heights of the audience’s seats, which were about 25 feet above the grounds, which gave them the perfect view of the contestants inside the maze.  

Aurem saw four doors leading into the maze, each marked with the name of a different element. He made his way, along with the other Ventos, toward their marked entrance. Their trainer stood at the door. “Give your all today, my students. You have been picked to compete because we believe that you all have the potential to bring pride to Vento. But remember, you should live and breathe your element, and truly show your power over it to sense your gem. Even if you find it without sensing it, it cannot be activated unless you truly possess the ability to unlock the power of your gem. Good luck.”  

Aurem felt nervous. How am I supposed to sense a gem? He thought incredulously. He looked around to see Anais and Asher deep in conversation. His eyes roamed over the grounds, and he knew even before his eyes landed, where he was going to look. He stared at the Fia door, and saw Yvette standing all alone, no trainer to advise her, like the other elements, no one to give her encouragement before the first task. It was as though she could sense his gaze, for she looked right at him. He didn’t know what compelled him to do it, but he held up his right fist, thumb raised, and mouthed the phrase All the best. She nodded in acknowledgement, and turned back to her door, with not so much as a shadow of a smile. Rude, Aurem thought, as the buzzer rang, signaling their entry into the maze, and he rushed into the maze behind the others.