Taming the Elements: Elwin Escari Chronicles: Volume 1 (14 page)

Feffer sighed.

It was safe to say that being a soldier was nothing like the stories. But if they had talked about this part, he was pretty sure there would be much fewer soldiers.

Feffer sighed again.

“We are here.” Zarah’s voice broke Elwin’s concentration.

He had been attempting to feel for the movements of his essence in the shadow realm, so he could find Jasmine’s. From her perspective, he imagined himself to look like a halfwit bumbling around, his eyes closed and reaching for her with clumsy lunges. More accurately, he probably looked like a baby trying to open and close his hand, but he didn’t care much for that analogy.

He stared at Zarah for a moment before her words made sense in his mind.

“What? We are?” he said, yawning. It seemed like he had to be half asleep to even feel the slightest movements of his essence.

“See for yourself.” Despite the exhaustion in her movements, her voice bounced with excitement. She pulled aside the curtain and leaned back so he could see.

Dusk began to obscure the view, but enough light settled on the buildings that Elwin could still read the script marking shops on signs by the roadside. Several buildings hung close to the side of the cobblestones with closed shutters. Flames danced atop tall poles spaced every dozen paces.

Elwin jumped back to his seat when he felt a sudden surge of heat burst into life near him. It took him a moment to realize the heat had not touched his body. He had sensed the flames with his essence.

“What was that?”

“The firestarters,” Zarah said.

“I …,” Elwin licked his lips. “I felt it.”

On the bench across from him, Jasmine sat a little straighter and studied his face. “You felt the Fire being tamed?”

Elwin nodded. “It felt like heat.”

“Interesting,” Jasmine said. “Usually, it takes time and training to feel other Elements being tamed. Feeling it without trying could mean you have the ability to tame Fire as well.”

“That does not make sense,” Zarah said. “He should not be—”

“We will need to test you,” Jasmine said in a no-nonsense tone. Zarah narrowed her eyes in a look of chagrin but remained silent as her mother continued, which spoke to her level of exhaustion.

Ten days and nights of lectures from Jasmine had worn on Zarah as much as Elwin. She seemed to know as much about most of the topics they discussed as Jasmine. But most of the times Zarah tried to share her thoughts on the matter, Jasmine rebuked her.

Jasmine continued as if not seeing Zarah’s glare. “It is rare that a person who tames Air can also tame Fire. Usually, those who first manifest Air can tame Water and vice versa. Those who first find Fire can later tame Earth. Even more rare are those who can tame three Elements. There have been none since before the Shadow Wars of anyone taming all four.”

“How can I know?” Elwin asked.

“Before you sleep tonight,” Jasmine said, “I will have you tested. The test is simple, but I could not perform it without my artifact.”

Outside the wagon, he felt another burst of Fire. He peaked out the window on his own side to watch it being done. A man in dark clothes walked along the cobblestones not even slowing a step at each post. As he walked by each lamp, tiny embers glowing a soft red coalesced near the man and vanished. Now that he could see it, Elwin felt the heat grow to a fine point and burst, as the top of each pole came alive with flames.

“Wow,” Elwin breathed. “Do they do this every night?”

“We may not be Alcoa,” Zarah said, “but we still have a few elementalists with minor gifts who stay here. There are not enough firestarters to form a guild exactly, but we have enough.”

“Guilds?” Elwin said. “Like with the blacksmiths? Faron had belonged to a guild in Alcoa. I heard him complaining about their outrageous dues to my Poppe once.”

Zarah raised her eyebrows and looked at Jasmine as if expecting her mother to answer.

Jasmine gave Zarah the briefest of nods and said, “You may answer this one.” Though her tone said, “You may try to answer this one.”

Zarah raised her chin and said in a confident voice, “They share some similarities. Blacksmiths belong to trade guilds. Each trade guild has different notoriety based on several factors. A guild master is usually a grandmaster. To be considered a part of one, a member must prove himself worthy to be a part of the guild. After being accepted as a member, a blacksmith can trade his wares with the sigil of the guild. The higher the esteem of the guild, the more a blacksmith can inflate his prices. However …”

Elwin found her voice beginning to lull him. He tried to focus on her words, but he had listened to lectures and trained by day in the wagon and by night in the shadow realm. He felt like his mind had performed a thousand press-ups and had run a hundred miles.

Before he could stop himself, he blurted, “What does this have to do with the elementalists who stay?” He wanted to take his words back the instant they were out.

Zarah flinched, then glared as if he had slapped her.

Even though she had likely heard much, if not all of it before, she had sat through every lecture. The very moment she had permission to take part in the discussion, he had ruined it. He
was
a half-wit. What was he thinking?

Her mouth worked for a moment as if to reply, but Jasmine spoke first. Zarah’s glare seemed to deepen with Jasmine’s every word.

“For every imaginable trade, there is a guild in Alcoa. I do not speak simply of blacksmiths and stone masons. In Alcoa, there are professions based on Elemental talents. Being part of an Elemental guild is highly profitable. But this is not the only reason young elementalists journey to Alcoa. The Elemental guilds answer to the Sacred Order.

“This group of elementalists have been charged with protecting the lands from those who would use the Elements for ill. Since the King of Alcoa leads the order, many elementalists sojourn to the city in hopes of finding acclaim by joining the order.” Jasmine waved her hand in a gesture of annoyance. “Silly notion. After all, members of the Sacred Order are anonymous and do not need to be in Alcoa to be a member.”

“Wait,” Elwin said. “But don’t the Guardians of Life protect people? Why is there any need for a Sacred Order?”

For a moment, Jasmine made a face as if she had tasted a lemon, but her voice remained the instructional tone he had grown accustomed to over their journey. “The Guardians were founded in Alcoa to protect citizens from elementalists, while the Sacred Order is a group of elementalists who work together to guide elementalists in Alcoa to benefit all. The Guardians will employ healers, but they do not generally welcome any not bound to Life and without a focus in healing to join their ranks. After all, they need healers in their temples.”

Elwin’s voice came out as a tired sigh. “But you just said the Sacred Order protects people. What do the guilds have to do with that?”

“Every Elemental guild must swear fealty to the king and the Sacred Order to operate in Alcoa. They train elementalists much in the way I will train you. Entering into an apprenticeship with a specific guild will choose your focus. For example,” she said gesturing toward the light poles. “Firestarters in Alcoa belong to the Blazing Fist and are charged with lighting the fire poles, but this is not their only role. They are also trained in forms of combat to aid in defense of the city.”

Elwin tried to make sense of her words, then realized he couldn’t recall the original topic. Hadn’t he asked about the Guardians of Life? He took a deep breath to sigh, but it came out as a long yawn.

Zarah’s laugh didn’t seem to hold much mirth.

“What?” he demanded amidst his yawn.

“Your nose scrunches in the cutest of ways when you are confused.” Zarah’s tone had no inflection, so he couldn’t be sure if she mocked or complimented him.

His cheeks burned, and he found himself covering his nose. Zarah placed a hand on his arm and her soft laugh became a genuine giggle. Had she not been mocking him, he might have considered the sound of her laughing the most delightful sound to ever touch his ears. But no. She was mocking him. He was sure of it now.

“Zarah,” Jasmine said in a sharp voice. “Your behavior is not appropriate.”

Zarah placed her hands in her lap and made an obvious effort not to smile but failed to keep the mirth from her eyes. Elwin turned away from her and pulled back the curtain on his side of the carriage to avoid her gaze. Thoughts of Zarah fled from him and his breath caught as he really began to look at the city. How had he not seen it before?

Fire from the poles gave a clear view of stone buildings rising from the side of the cobblestone road. Small alleys separated most of the buildings, while some had been built one right atop the other. A few of the buildings had a small fence to bar passage to the doors of the buildings from the road. The shortest structure stretched taller than even his Poppe’s inn, and he couldn’t see the tallest without sticking his head out the window and craning his neck upward, which he almost did but stopped himself. Zarah already thought him a country bumpkin. He didn’t want to give her more evidence to support that theory. Even if it was true.

“It’s so big,” he said.

He could see Zarah’s smile in his periphery and closed his mouth. So much for not making a fool of himself, gaping like a simpleton.

“Maybe on the morrow I can show you around,” Zarah said in a casual, almost bored tone. “It would be a shame if you got lost and never found your way back to the castle.” Her look suggested that without her help, this would happen.

“No,” Jasmine said. “It will be some time before I will want him leaving the confines of the castle.”

“The castle?” Elwin said.

As if summoned, the coach made a turn and Elwin saw a castle come into his view. He felt his jaw loosen but did not attempt to hide his awe. The castles described in his books could never compare with the monument before him. Beyond a tall wall made of grey stone, round towers reached into the sky and disappeared into the growing darkness.

When the carriage rolled to a stop, Elwin found himself unable to move. The driver, a man named Javus, opened the door and offered Zarah his hand, then Jasmine. Javus only nodded to him as Elwin climbed out after them.

His legs stiffened as he took a few steps into the stone courtyard. The vast space seemed even larger by the emptiness. Two boys, both a handful of years younger than him, hurried to the horses and began to care for them. Deft hands worked at harnesses and bridles.

Then a thought occurred to him.

“Where did all the soldiers go?”

“Hmm?” Jasmine said. “Oh. They have gone to the barracks. It is near the docks district.”

“They don’t stay in the castle?”

“New recruits?” Zarah said laughing. “In the castle? Bhalindra’s vein would hemorrhage.”

“Bhalindra?” Elwin said scowling. It had been an honest question. Why wouldn’t soldiers stay in the castle? Every story he had ever read had soldiers in the castle.

“She is the mistress of maids,” Zarah said, still smiling. “She gets upset over the slightest mess. And you can always tell when she is angry because the vein in her temple bulges. And soldiers are messy with their marching in the mud and dirt and all.”

“Zarah,” Jasmine said. “That is quite enough. Escort Elwin to the lecture hall.”

“The lecture hall?” Zarah said. “But it is late. And we have been traveling for a tenday. I always get the evening off when we get back. I do not see why I need to be treated like a novice when Elwin is the one—”

“It
is
late,” Jasmine said in a terse voice, “so do not argue. I need to grab the tuning sextant to test Elwin. Now, off with you.”

Zarah’s lips pouted, but she didn’t argue further. “This way,” she said to Elwin as she stormed off.

Elwin had to run a few steps to catch her.

As they approached a side entrance to the castle, Elwin looked up. Light escaped from balconies and windows on almost every level as far as the eye could see. A guard opened the door for Zarah as she neared. She stopped to face the man.

“Hargin,” she said, raising her chin into the air, “even though he looks like a simple farmer, this is Elwin of house Escari. He is under the tutelage of my mother and is to be confined to the castle grounds until you are told otherwise.”