Taming the Elements: Elwin Escari Chronicles: Volume 1 (10 page)

Pushing through the crowd, Elwin didn’t turn to see if Feffer followed.

The first time Elwin remembered seeing Asalla, the old man’s appearance had scared him. The skin around his face was tightened and his long grey hair consisted of a multitude of thin strands. Half a foot shorter than Elwin, Asalla was the shortest man Elwin knew. He had an almost purple tint to his grey eyes. There was something about the way Asalla looked at people. Elwin knew if he ever told a lie, Asalla would know right away. Though, he never would. Not to Asalla anyway.

The old man sat on the steps that came out of the back of his wagon. Elwin noticed Feffer wasn’t beside him. He shrugged, guessing Feffer must have gotten lost in the crowd.

“Greetings, Elwin,” Asalla said.

“Hail, Asalla. What great books do you have this year?”

His smile was just a thin tightening of the lips. “This year I have a very special book that I have saved especially for you.”

“Just for me? What is it?”

Asalla reached behind him and pulled out an old leather-bound tome. It was a thick volume of papyrus, yellowed by age.

Elwin could feel his eyes widen involuntarily. “What is it?”

“This book tells a story of an ancient past. It tells how the world once was and may yet be again. You see, Elwin. The path of each man is like a leaf on the wind. Though the elemental powers of the natural world guide the leaf to the ground, there are an abundance of paths the leaf may follow to his final destination. There are those paths that shall destroy the leaf, then there are those that will give it a place of regrowth. ”

“I see,” Elwin said. “Maybe I don’t see? Is this a book about elementalists?”

Asalla smiled. “It is my curious friend. In a way. Bound within is an ancient language that has been lost for generations. Elementalists of old used to speak this language with the utmost reverence.”

“How much?”

“There is no charge for this one.”

“Really?”

Asalla nodded. “Just be sure that you apply its wisdom and learn from the failures of those that came before you.”

“Thanks, Asalla. I will.”

“There you are,” Elwin turned to see Feffer coming out of the crowd. “I didn’t think I would ever find you. They opened the door to the inn. There is about to be an announcement.”

Elwin turned to thank Asalla again, but the back of his wagon was closed up and the old man was nowhere to be seen.

Feffer pulled him in the opposite direction from the inn. “I know where we can get a better view.”

Elwin followed. “Where are we going?”

Feffer didn’t answer. He ran away from the crowd behind Jadron’s Furrier shop and to the back of Madrowl’s Wares. When he saw the new bamboo ladder, Feffer’s intentions became clear.

“I don’t know about this, Feffer.”

“I do it all the time. Besides, how else are we going to see over the crowd?”

Feffer went up without so much as a backward glance.

Elwin was slow to follow with his book under his arm, but he made it to the top without looking down. He slid the book over the lip of the building, then climbed up. Feffer was already at the front of the building. Elwin grabbed his book and ran to where Feffer sat.

The crowd below amassed toward the front of the inn. All the commerce had paused. A giant-sized man with a giant-sized sword on his metal back stood at the front steps of the inn. Next to him stood a girl with auburn hair and golden, brown eyes, sparkling in the sun’s light. Standing on the other side of the man was a woman, an image of the younger girl.

He had never even read of anyone more beautiful. Feffer was right, this was a great view. The large man with peppered hair raised his hand. As he did, the roar of the crowd quieted until the only sound was the wind chime that hung on the sign to the Scented Rose.

The man’s gruff voice carried. “Citizens of Benedict, I regret to inform you that war has been declared against our peace loving nation—”

A light murmur from the crowd.

“—War has not yet come to our shores, but it will. For years now, we have lent aid to the Alcoan nation against the tyrant known as Bain Solsec—”

The name tickled a memory for Elwin, but he ignored it.

“—who has declared himself king in the Alcoan lands. It appears he has now set his sights on our shores as well. For the first time in our nation’s history, we must actively recruit volunteers. Any healthy man aged fourteen and higher will be trained in service of the kingdom. We have counted a total of twenty-seven from this village that are of age.

“By the decree of King Justice, I hereby announce that those eligible, whose list of names include: Wilton Madrowl, Brinsett Matire, …”

Feffer grabbed Elwin’s shoulder, “Did you hear that? Wilton is going to get to fight in the war.”

Feffer jumped up and ran back toward the ladder.

“… Barth Gensong …”

Elwin stood up and followed him, carrying his book.

Feffer reached the ground by the time Elwin made it to the ladder. The world below spun when he looked over the edge. He had forgotten how high up he was.

Elwin sat on the roof and edged toward the ladder, feeling for the first step with his boot. Once firmly touching the ladder, he eased his weight onto the top rung. Then, he took another step. He made it down two more steps with his back facing the ladder, when the wind made the bamboo wobble. His heart began pumping faster and his breaths got shorter. The ground spun beneath him. He took several steadying breaths and tried to force his heartbeat to be calm. He could feel the wind hit his face, but it felt odd to him. Different.

It was just a breeze, but somehow it felt like something more. He was aware of the wind around him. Not just the invisible touch on his skin. He could feel the wind bouncing on the roof. It didn’t make sense, but he could touch the wind, somehow from within. It began to push against him, and he didn’t know how to stop it. But it made him feel, alive.

The crisp summer air touched his tongue. It was like the sweet of honey, and the scent held the fragrance of a thousand roses. He could see light shimmering off of every shiny surface. Not sure how, he let it fill him. It rushed into him like a storm, and his body began to ache. Elwin turned his touch into a grasp. He was holding it. He was holding the wind. How was this even possible?

He pushed it out of his grasp, and he felt his foot leave the ladder. He began falling … upward? The book dropped from his hand to the grass below. His heart pounded as if he had run for half a day. The ache within him grew, forcing him to push more of the wind away from him. And he fell faster but still upward. Below, he saw Feffer round the edge of the warehouse toward the street, looking the other way. Elwin called out to Feffer, but he didn’t see him.

“The Lifebringer help me!”

The warehouse began to grow smaller. Arms flailing, he tried to stop falling into the sky.

Elwin stopped pushing the wind. When he held it all in, his body began to fall in the right direction. The wind rushed past him, and the ground was getting closer and closer.

“THE LIFEBRINGER HELP ME!”

As the ground grew nearer, he pushed more of the wind and began flying back upward. Slower this time. He released it slower. Several paces from the ground, he stopped pushing it out, but slower than before. His body eased to the ground with a thud.

Every muscle throbbed. He wasn’t sure if it was from the impact or his grasp on the wind. He saw two of the warehouse, and the ground spun.

“I still have some of it! What do I do with it? What in the abyss is happening to me?”

He stood up, grasping his head. He ran around the building toward the town square, swaying as he ran. The man that had spoken and the woman that was with him stood next to Faron’s table of swords.

Elwin looked around for anyone to help him. A thought occurred to him.

Asalla might know what to do.

But Elwin couldn’t see the wagon. Sweat began to stream down his face, and holding the wind became painful. His body ached all over, and he felt weary to the point of bursting. He ran toward Faron on shaky legs but fell when he got there. Faron’s table of weapons stopped his fall. His stomach was sick, and the ground still spun.

“Elwin, what is wrong with your eyes?”

“Faron … there is …
something
wrong with me!”

Elwin couldn’t hold it in any longer. Sweat stung his eyes. It hurt too much. He couldn’t hold on to it anymore.

Elwin grasped the table, attempting to keep the ground from spinning. Just as he felt he would lose consciousness, he
pushed
the wind from his grasp. Everything happened as if in a dream, like one where everything moved too slowly to be real.

Elwin felt the energy form a burst of wind in front of him. Faron’s table flew into the air, sending weapon’s flying toward a group of the White Hand. Most of the weapons hit at odd angles, producing pained grunts from the men they struck.

Panic.

The crowd scattered for cover, moving as if the promised war had already found its way to their village.

Elwin was out of breath, and he still felt shaky. Working in the fields had never made him this tired. His legs gave out, and he sat down cross-legged, watching everyone run away.

Faron helped him to his feet. “Are you alright, Elwin?”

“Do not touch him,” the woman commanded.

“But there is something wrong with him.”

She placed a grip on Elwin’s arm and eased him back to the ground. “I know exactly what is wrong with him, and there is nothing the king’s newest blacksmith can do about it.”

Faron stepped back.

“Elwin is what he called you?”

Elwin nodded. “What is happening to me?”

“You are not in trouble. But I have a very important question for you, Elwin. It is important that you answer me truthfully. Do you understand?”

Elwin nodded again.

“Have you had any strange dreams lately? Within the last couple of days?”

“Last night. How? How did you know that?”

The metal-clad man came back and placed a hand on the woman’s shoulder. Elwin hadn’t realized he had left until then. His gruff voice was monotone. “Biron is dead. One of the swords struck a killing blow. Everyone else is unharmed.”

“Someone is dead?” Elwin’s voice broke. “I … I killed someone?”

The woman closed her eyes and took a long deep breath. When she opened them, they were fixed on Elwin. “I am Jasmine Lifesong. Do you know what it means when someone is an elementalist?”

Tears made her face blur. He nodded to her.

“Listen to me. None of this is your fault. Many in your situation have been less fortunate than you. I have heard tale of an entire village destroyed by a child coming into her powers of fire. You could have killed many more people or even yourself. You cannot blame yourself for this. Alright?”

Elwin gave her a slight nod.
I killed someone? I can’t believe I killed him.

She put her finger under his chin and made him look her in the eyes with a gentle prod. “You know you cannot stay here with your family. You must come with me to the capital city of Justice, so we may register you with the Guardians of Life. I will bear witness on your behalf that this was a grievous accident. That should be enough to appease the Inquisition.”

He wiped his tears. “The Inquisition? But I would never serve the Seeker. Why would they—”

“Do not worry.” Her voice was stern but not loud. “There are proper protocols to follow. You are very rare. Each generation has less of us than the previous generation. We cannot be so hasty as to destroy innocent children. My testimony should be enough to clear you. So do not worry.”

She looked at him, as if expecting an answer. Not sure how to respond, he nodded to her. Then something she had said occurred to him. “Do I really have to leave my family?”

“You have more power in you than I have seen in a long time. Unless there is someone here with enough power to train you, such as a parent or a close relative, you are a danger to those around you. Even now they fear you. People always fear what they do not understand.”

She gestured behind him.

Elwin looked around. The square was empty except for the three of them. People looked at him from windows and alleyways. He could see them whispering and staring, all avoiding his gaze.

Even Faron had backed a healthy distance away and stood by the alley next to the inn, though his eyes looked more concerned than afraid. Mr. Madrowl stood with Elwin’s parents and grandparents in front of the inn. His mother looked as if she would run to him, if not for Drenen and Willem holding her back.

Then he saw Feffer standing next to Wilton, his mouth opened in a wide grin. He looked to Elwin like a boy who had discovered his favorite toy had just grown a new tail or sprouted wings.

He looked away.

“Come, Elwin.”

She offered him her hand. He took it, and she helped him to his feet.

“On the morrow,” she said, “we will round up the new recruits for training and depart for Justice. But before you sleep tonight, we must have your first lesson. In the meantime, stay within my sight.”