Elemental Awakening

Chapter Two

Diary entry: day seven.

Dear journal,

I don’t exactly know how to explain this. Luckily, the cactus paw people who have been so kind, have paper. I don’t know where I am or exactly how I got here. All I know is that the cactus paw people think that I have special powers. They say that I am the water elemental, and that I will save them one day.

The tracking stones were created by the first elementals that woke in the abysmal plain. They were made of stone provided and shaped by the first earth elemental, the symbols of the elements glowed with an inner fire etched onto the stones by the first fire elemental, they could only be summoned in water a trait given by the first water elemental. And the powers of the stones only activated when the holder blew a breath on the stone, to awaken the air energy, given by the first air elemental. The stones chose who their tracker would be and would glow and be seen by the chosen tracker. Otherwise the stone would look like any other chunk of rock.

Once the stones were summoned the trackers that each stone had chosen could see them and hold them. Any other person would feel sick if they had inadvertently picked up the special stone. The stones showed the way to the emerging spot of the elementals, the spot that the elementals would wake and enter the abysmal plane. There would be one stone not seen this cycle. No matter how Ashfoot tried the water stone escaped her. She believed that Wendy’s presence negated the water tracking stone from answering the call.

Summoning the stones could only be performed by the shaman of the cactus paw tribe. This was a person that had innate powers, and was connected to all aspects of the land. Ashfoot was the shaman to the cactus paw tribe for well over fifty turns; she was wise and well respected in the tribe. But she knew that her time was drawing near. As all shamans know and have a great understanding of the ways of life, Ashfoot was preparing for her death. She was training the next shaman of the cactus paw. Her granddaughter Dankiyet.

Dankiyet studied diligently and could feel the energies that all living things possessed. She was in tuned with the world around her even better than Ashfoot. Dankiyet’s mother’s grandmother was the last fire elemental and she retained a small portion of that power. She could light a candle or start a fire without aid of flint or tinder. Ashfoot was Dankiyet’s paternal grandmother, and had given Dankiyet much talent through her father. Dankiyet could sense when earth or spirit energies were being drawn or manipulated.

It came time for the ceremony Ashfoot and Dankiyet knew that the other elementals would be entering the world as well. They had no chance of stopping their emergence so would need to send out the tracking stones. The great hall became crowded once more with people so as to give the biggest chance for the stones to choose a tracker. As Ashfoot dropped into the summoning trance the room grew quiet. Dankiyet saw that everyone present wanted the honor to guide the elementals back to the tribe. Dankiyet looked around the room and noticed a tingle in the air as Ashfoot summoned the energies of the earth’s elements to come forth and chose its trackers.

Dankiyet looked at the large bowl of water and gasped as she saw the waters swirl and begin to glow. There were only two others in the room that could see the glow of the waters, and see it separate into three distinct stones that had the symbols for earth air or fire. As Dankiyet moved to reach into the bowl she only noticed one stone after all. It shone with the light of the sun, and she could read fire.

Dankiyet brought the stone to her mother. “I was chosen.”

Avensong replied. “So you were. You need to get ready now.”

“It is fire, I would like you to go with me.”

“Hmmm, yes I will let your father know. Lamasuli will have her hands full with the water elemental and her new position as house captain while we are gone.” Avensong collected her thoughts and left the meeting hall for Dankiyet to consult with her grandmother. “I’m going to go get ready.”

As Avensong left the room she thought about the reasons that both of her daughters would be chosen by the elementals to be guides and protectors. With the elementals being so weak and early this cycle the guides would be hard pressed to hold their safety. In the past cycles the elementals found their powers as soon as they entered the waking world. The guides were simply guides and generally became friends to the elementals, and advisors. The elementals were more than capable of protecting themselves. Why were both of her girls to be guides? What did her daughters inherit that would be crucial to the elementals.

Avensong walked down the tunnel to the trade district then followed a second tunnel to the village center; finally she reached the tunnel to the housing complex. The housing complex looked like a giant bee hive, and was fondly nicknamed the hive. Each of the houses are an octagon shape with walking space between each. As a rule no houses touched one another, this allowed the energies of the earth to flow through and around the village houses. This aided the forces of nature in protecting the dwellings of the cactus paw inhabitants, and provided lots of space for children to run and play, in case of emergencies it also provided a large amount of un blocked passageways for escape. In addition each of the houses lent strength to the cavern complex of the volcano. The walls of the hive house went right up to the cavern celling. Everything in the Cactus Paw complex was underground except for the farm.

As Avensong rounded her neighbor’s house to her own her husband came out. “That girl has to be the water elemental.”

“Yes she is. Your mother just announced it.” Avensong looked at her husband and appreciated his lines, even after two children and nearly twenty five years with him she still felt like a youth sneaking her first kiss when she was with him.

“She made it rain in the house.” Magrotin sounded exasperated.

“Hmmm, really?” Avensong was distracted with eying her husband, and teasing his shirt with her staff.

“Would you stop that? I said the girl made it rain in the house, I’ve been cleaning water off the kitchen floor for the past candle!” Magrotin was clearly irritated by his tone.

“Wait. She made it rain?” Avensong was surprised after the fact had finally seeped in. “She couldn’t do that on the journey home.”

“I’m not surprised, you said that you had to keep her sedated the entire way home. How is she supposed to reach her powers if she can’t feel them?” Magrotin gave his wife a look of annoyance then continued. “Besides it seemed to me that her shower may have been purely by accident.” He sighed and pulled her to him for an embrace.

“What do you mean by accident?”

“Well she was talking about her family that she had left behind in the dream, and she just broke down crying, and that was when the rain just began to pour, then the rain scared her so she started crying more, then it started raining harder.” With a big exhalation Magrotin continued “I finally got her calmed down and she realized that she was the one making it rain, I think she let it go, but when she tried to reach it again she couldn’t grab it.”

“Just like at the cliff.” Avensong shrugged and started to head into the house, looking over her shoulder she said. “She’ll find it.” With absolute surety.

Magrotin followed her back into the house and asked “how was the meeting? You let the council know why I wasn’t there, right?” he was worried about his appointment to the council as the farm magnate. A position he wasn’t sure he wanted.

“Yes love, they know, and understand.” Avensong was proud of her husband and the work that he put into the community. She knew he deserved the recognition.

As Magrotin noticed that Avensong was packing up two bags he asked “Um Where are you going?”

“Dankiyet was chosen by fire.” With that simple statement everything became complicated.

“Both of them?”

“Yes, it would seem so.” Avensong looked up from what she was doing to look her husband in the eye. “Both of our girls are to be of great importance.” she sounded unsure of the entire situation.

“Well looks like our house is going to be empty again.” Magrotin tried to joke. “But seriously we need to set up a wing in the warrior house for the elementals and their advisors. While you are gone I will remind Suli to have it prepared.”

They heard the front door close, and Dankiyet walked into their bedroom. “We need to go now, it, it’s making me itch.”

Avensong tossed the second bag to Dankiyet kissed Magrotin and said, “Take care my love, and we will be back soon.”

“Be safe, this house will be too large without you.”

“Suli, Dankiyet has a stone.” Avensong called in the house to find her eldest daughter. Lamasuli came into the main chamber of the house, like all hive houses it consisted of the kitchen, living, and dining rooms. “We’re leaving now.”

“What?” she pointed at her sister “You too? What am I going to do without mother here to help me? Can’t you just take grandmother?” Lamasuli feeling rather neglected by her mother and Bintain became furious.

“Oh I see I guess I just can’t handle anything then. Huh.” Magrotin stepped in to calm Lamasuli “Besides aren’t you some kind of House captain?” He still felt that this young woman was still his child.

Lamasuli’s face turned red with embarrassment at her childish outburst. “I’m sorry.” She went to hug her mother and sister as they left, wishing them a safe journey and quick return.

“You will do fine; you passed all of your tests and are supposed to be a leader now. You have everything that you need to be a great advisor. While I am gone you are in charge of the warrior house, but Parespine is the Bintain to the counsel, work together. I love you, and take care.” Avensong returned the embrace and turned to leave.

“Thank you, Mother. I will make sure the captains know.” Lamasuli turned to her sister and hugged her as well. “Be safe, come back soon.”

Dankiyet left the cave and village complex with her mother that night. And just as they left the protective wards placed by the shaman Dankiyet felt pain. It started deep in her belly like a part of her was being ripped away. Like her soul was being crushed by pure and freezing evil. She dropped to her knees with the weight of the pain, and began to shake with the freezing feeling of the malevolent force of evil. Dankiyet could hear the screams of life being extinguished with vicious hatred. She could feel as each innocent life was taken away.

“They are dying mother.” She gasped out gripping her abdomen. Her insides felt as though they were being ripped from her body and eaten before her.

“We need to go back.” Avensong reacted to Dankiyet’s condition as any mother would worried about her child. She knelt beside her with concern wondering if she needed to run back down the access tunnel and get help or just drag her.

“No we need to find the Fire elemental. I can handle it, just give me a breath.” Avensong against her better judgment let Dankiyet rest for a bit, so that she could collect herself and try to cut off the senses that were screaming at her. With a great push of will she managed to cut her mind off from the earth so that she could not feel the pain of so many lives ending. “They were so many, mother it had to have been an entire village.” With that statement they continued their journey in silence, it was already half way to dawn. And they didn’t know how far they would be traveling.

…

There is a village on the banks of the dead river. A village that used to thrive on the waters that ran deep underground, under the dead river bed. It was destroyed. Not with fire or blade, not with brute strength or disease. This village was eaten. Not even bone was left. The only way that you could tell that the people didn’t just pack up and leave was that the food on the table was still steaming that night. Clothing lay in heaps at the doorways to homes, and in the streets. As though the residents of the sleepy little town stripped down and left them haphazardly everywhere.

“Hey Fa, look at this!” a young woman in leather pants and not much else called to her companion. “It’s another house with the table set.”

“I just don’t understand it. The dragons heard the screaming. But it doesn’t look like anything. Why would the people just leave, and why would they leave screaming?” the young man looked around trying to determine why everything was in disarray. He was pushed solidly by the smooth muzzle of his dragon whom had been following the pair as the young woman’s dragon circled in the air.

“Hino doesn’t see any tracks or dropped belongings.”  She looked skyward then continued. This was troubling, they were dispatched shortly after the alarm was sounded, and would have made it to see what had happened if it was just a bandit raid. “The dragon pair that had been staged here didn’t report a move planned. It would have been normal for this time of year for this nomad town. And the dragon’s thoughts stopped about two candles ago. Either he is sleeping or dead. What does Meteor say?”

“Hmm, just that it smells bad. He said that the bugs are noisy today too. Star, are there any caves under the riverbed to the water source?” Fa scratched his dragons muzzle absently, as they walked down the empty streets, stepping over discarded clothing. “Bandit’s aren’t this thorough, and they would have taken something.”

“No water or caves, not for at least a thousand dragon lengths, and then nothing that could be used for this many people to hide in. there were over six hundred people living here.” Star looked up to see her dragon Hino back winging in for a landing. “How do that many people disappear without any one seeing any tracks? And why was the dragon screaming? Fa I think something is wrong.”

“Yes it is wrong. Meteor wants to leave immediately. It looks like Hino does as well.” Fa looked up to see Hino scoop up Star between her teeth and gently deposit her in her riding harness. “Meteor says that you must listen to your dragon Star.” Fa broke into deep chiming laughter, as Star gave him a pained expression.

“If I did everything that Hino wanted you and I would have seven children and these two would be trying for more draglets. You are lucky I like my dragon mate’s rider, let alone love him.”

“Star you are the first person I have ever met that can argue with her dragon! I don’t know why she lets you get by with so much.”

“You should be grateful, that means that Meteor has to let you get by with a lot in turn.” She scratched her dragon between the shoulder ridges in thanks. “Let’s rise. We need to let the Queens know what has happened.”

“Very well sweetness.”

“Hey! I told you about that!” star gave Fa another look of aggravation at the pet name this time.

“Do you want me to call you Mate instead? I tend to like the human pet names, like you said my dragon lets me get by with a lot.” Fa began to laugh all over again.

“Fine, let’s just go!” she replied between gritted teeth. Secretly she was loving the affection that he had started lavishing recently.

The two dragon rider teams launched into the air expertly, without disturbing much at all with their downdrafts. One pile of discarded clothing began to stir as a small cluster of bone weevil beetles emerged. The dragons heard the chattering of a swarm of insects that could shadow the village. They could not see the swarm, and did not understand what it could mean. How could a swarm that large not be seen? The dragons decided not to needlessly worry their riders. They would just tell the dragon queens when they got back to the perch. They would know what was going on, and would never let the people of her perch city be in danger. The dragons were confident that they would have all the answers.

The riders settled in for a long flight, it took them two candles to get out to the dead river village with a stiff tail wind, and would probably take them twice as long now that that wind was turned into their faces. The riders pulled goggles down over their eyes, and tucked in behind the shoulder ridges of their dragons. Some riders could sleep this way but the discoveries, or lack of discoveries at the village troubled them. The sun would be rising in about three candles and would give them more troubles as they would be flying into the rising glare.

…

The cactus paw caves were thrumming with energy as the news of the arrival of the water elemental was spreading from house to house. The residents and the trade’s men and the craft’s men were sensing the excited eagerness of the impending arrival of the other three elementals. The whispers rang in the halls and the tunnels of the complex village system, most of which was natural but enough of it was hewn to make the lines of the walkways and houses look clean and intentional. At this moment in the village one would hear many things coming from the lips of observers, and the rumors would repeat.

“Did you see her? She was so young.”

“She made it rain, in doors!”

 ”Are her fellows coming?” Most of the questions asked were harmless but not unimportant. Everyone in the village wanted to be involved. Such a humble name for the complex. The cactus paw village was more of an underground city. It housed over five thousand people this time of year with the influx of the nomads of the Cactus paw tribe, and everyone wanted to know what they could do to help. But most of all they wanted to know about the strange occurrence of the water elementals arrival.

“Why is she so early?”

“I bet she could make the weather turn like the one before.”

“My grandmother knew the last water elemental.” The rumors ran and they finally came to the inane, but showed no sign of slowing down. As the shaman walked through the village she could hear the concern of the people. And see the uncertainty in their faces. She was asked by one or more people more than one time. “When will she see visitors?” and in more than one way, “Is it true? The stones have chosen again?”

And each time she would simply reply. “The search has begun.” With her blessings the inquisitor would be on his way with little aggravation, and be on about their daily tasks. The shaman spent many years earning the trust and respect of the tribe, and it was not a job to be taken lightly.

Ashfoot nodded to one family as they left the caves a few nights after the stones had been called. Mazy had finally decided that her stone was ready to be used. Ashfoot knew that she had the itch, the need to be moving but in no particular direction. The stone would lead her to the waking point of her elemental. Mazy had been chosen by the earth elemental. Traditionally that was a long journey, but Mazy was special. Even before the day she was born everyone knew she was special.

And Talon, it would seem that Ashfoot’s soon to be extended family will be involved in the elementals too. It was extremely uncommon for so many people from one family to be chosen by the elementals. So uncommon that it had never happened before in the recorded tribe histories. Ashfoot tried to consult with the dragon clan to see if they remembered anything unusual in their histories. Unfortunately the dragon clan was in the middle of something complicated, and they don’t like to share tribe business with outsiders. At least until it has been resolved, or they have no choice.