When he was done, then—and only then—could he come back.
Hurrying out of the Academy, he found himself once more under the darkened sky. And he knew where he needed to go.
Tolan shaped himself up to the Shapers Path, taking a deep breath, and then raced upon it, running through the darkness, making his way toward Ephra—and to danger.
25
The waste crept up on Tolan faster than he would’ve expected. He reached it by morning and was tired enough that he wanted to do nothing more than to have a moment of reprieve. If he could take time to rest and recuperate, he thought he might have the necessary strength to complete what he saw as his assignment.
Tolan didn’t know if he dared take that time. Now he was here, he could see the waste had shifted, moving from where it had been even the day before. There was no way that was coincidental, and it meant whatever was taking place was accelerating.
Surprisingly, the Shapers Path took him very nearly to the edge of the waste. That had never been the case before. When he had come here before with the Academy, there had been a significant walk to reach the edge of the waste, but now it was practically up to the Path.
More than ever, Tolan felt certain he needed to do something.
A part of him thought this wasn’t his responsibility and he could alert the Grand Master or others at the Academy, convince them this needed to be repaired, but he doubted they would understand what was needed for the repair. How could they believe the elementals needed to be freed in order to restore these lands?
Even if they believed, it was unlikely they would be willing to do anything.
Tolan approached slowly. He focused on what he could detect around him, but there wasn’t much, certainly not as much as he needed, and yet, the time at the Convergence had told him this was where he needed to be. This was where elementals were trapped, and in other places like it.
He thought them Keystones, but there was nothing like what he had seen in the clearing outside of Amitan. If there was a Keystone, it was different.
The connection to the Convergence had helped him know where the Keystones were, but now he was here, finding them proved more difficult than he would have expected. How was he going to uncover those Keystones?
Tolan focused on the elements. If nothing else, his time connecting as often as he now had to the various elements had given him a greater understanding of the connectivity that existed. It was the only thing he had he thought he could use. He swept out away from him, using a sensing drawing upon power from earth. He felt nothing more than the emptiness of the waste.
That wasn’t the key.
There had to be something else, but would any of the elements work for him like that?
As he continued to probe, he continued to run into the emptiness.
What if he attempted it with all elements?
Pushing outward, reaching with earth and wind and water and fire, he swept that sense away from him. As he did, he added a hint of spirit.
Spirit changed everything.
Power surged from him, stretching away, and Tolan focused on what he could find within it. It came to him slowly, but there was the sense of the land around him. There was a sense of wind whispering. The heat from the sun. The water within him and even within the air. All of it combined, and Tolan continued to push out, focusing on it. It was there, near him, and all he had to do was reach for it. He pushed outward, using his sensing ability, focusing on what he could pick up on. As it swept away, he detected the strange barrier appearing from the waste.
He could feel it creeping backward, the power around him. It was as if the waste itself was drawing forward, creeping ever more.
Tolan stretched outward, looking for where he could detect that sense, and yet, what he detected was emptiness.
He needed to find something more than that. He continued to send out his connection to each of the elements, wrapping spirit around him, and as he did, he probed, looking for the missing elementals. That was the key. Where would they be bound together, trapped within the bond? If he could find them, free them, then—and only then—could he halt the progression of the waste.
The knowledge was within him. He knew it was. He had detected it from within the Convergence. He had to access those memories and recall what the Convergence had shown him, and if he could do that, then he might be able to uncover the secrets.
More power pushed out from him.
He reached the end of his own strength. Without bondars, there would be nothing more he could do.
If only he had the power of the runes at the Academy to draw upon.
Could he recreate them?
Tolan made markings on the ground in front of him, dragging his foot through the earth. The shapes filled his mind, and as he had used that power before, he knew he could draw upon it again. They were there within him, familiar from the shapes of the runes within him, and he made them in the same pattern as they appeared on the Academy building. He even added spirit, though didn’t know if that made any difference.
As he did, Tolan pushed power out, sending it into the runes. At first, he thought he might not have enough strength, but then his power surged, flowing through him.
With the augmented power of these runes, Tolan pressed outward, searching for the disruption he had detected while near the Convergence. It had to be there, didn’t it?
He continued to pull on that power.
And then he felt it.
It was near, and he made his way along the ground, heading carefully, looking for anything similar to the Keystone. When he came across it, it wasn’t anything like what he would’ve expected.
It was runes.
They were similar to what he’d made, and yet, these were a bit different, and the power they pulled was forced downward. Something about it felt off. It was wrong, though Tolan didn’t quite know how else to describe it.
Focusing on that pattern, he sent his own shaping into it.
The shaping pushed against him, as if attempting to refuse him and his ability to disrupt it. There was considerable power behind it. As he continued to push, he felt the ongoing resistance.
Tolan pushed again and again.
He drew upon the runes he’d made. With them, he thought he had enough.
Power exploded from him. The runes snapped.
And he was thrown back.
It took a moment for his mind to clear and for him to realize what had happened. The sudden change had come from his freeing of the elementals. They were no longer bound as they had been, and he continued to pour power out, pushing it away, and in doing so, he could feel a strange sense of relief.
That couldn’t be the elementals, could it?
And yet, as he detected it, he realized that was exactly what it was. They were relieved he’d released this hold.
Strangely, he realized he’d been wrong. This wasn’t the Keystone, at least not like what he had detected in Amitan. This was something else, but no less powerful. The Keystone had held onto the power and trapped the elementals within it. This did something similar, but not quite the same. It still pulled the free elementals away, stripping them from this land, but it did something more.
What was the purpose of it?
He should have taken more time to study the runes. If he had, he could have better understood their purpose. Now he’d disrupted them, there was nothing about them he could make out anymore. The runes were gone, and any opportunity he might have at understanding what had been taking place here was also gone.
Could he find another?
Tolan continued to focus on his runes, the power he’d placed. As he did, he pushed outward again. Now he knew what he was looking for, it was easier to find it again.
There was another, not too far from where he had been.
Tolan paused in front of it. This one had a strange shape, and it was nothing like the elements and the runes he’d placed. This was something else.
He stared at it, trying to focus on
it, wanting to remember what it was he had detected. It would make it easier to find it again. After staring for a while, Tolan thought he knew how to copy these runes. There was danger in it, and he worried if he were to copy them, he would end up somehow drawing a strange power, but he wanted to be able to research them as well.
As before, Tolan pushed power out, sending that into the runes. As he did, it took a little bit more strength to destroy them.
Depending on how many more there were, it might be almost more than he could manage. Tolan focused, drawing power through the runes he’d created, and searched for evidence of others. He suspected there were others, and as he focused, he found them… And felt a growing shaping.
Tolan released his connection and looked around.
Someone shaping nearby might be involved in creating these runes, but they could also have come for another reason. He continued to hold onto his connection to the marks he’d made on the ground and used that, along with a hint of spirit, to push out, thinking if nothing else, he might be able to discover what was out there.
Another surge of shaping came.
This time there was a distinct signature to it.
Inquisitors.
Tolan wasn’t sure he would have enough strength or access to shaping to deal with the Inquisitors. This close to the edge of the waste, he feared what might happen.
He glanced up, looking at the Shapers Path, and decided to shape himself up to it. At least from there, he had the opportunity to escape if it came down to a need to run.
He used a mixture of wind and fire, as he often did, and streaked up toward the Shapers Path, landing on it. Looking down at the ground, it seemed as if the advancing border of the waste had changed, perhaps no longer moving quite as aggressively as it had before.
What if that was only his imagination?
He didn’t think so. It didn’t seem to him that it was anything but the waste no longer pushing as it had.
Another shaping exploded near him, and then another.
Tolan shivered.
He couldn’t stay here. He was exhausted from a lack of sleep and even more from all the shaping he had been doing.
He started to make his way along the Shapers Path when a barrier surrounded him, preventing him from going anywhere.
He hadn’t even felt it. There was a surge of power, the kind of power he’d not expected. It trapped him, holding him in place.
Another shaping exploded near him, and then another. With each one, Tolan knew there would be no escaping.
Worse, he knew he had made a mistake. He should have told someone—anyone—where he was going and what he was going to do. Even if he had told Master Minden, that would be better than what was now happening. Now he was at the mercy of whoever caught him.
Another shaping, and a figure shimmered into existence near him.
Aela.
“I am surprised you continue to pose challenges,” she said, smiling at him.
“What are you doing?”
“I am the Inquisitor while you are nothing but a student.”
“You attacked me.”
“Do you think that should concern me? As I said, you are nothing more than a student.”
“You’re responsible for these markings,” he said. “You’re responsible for destroying Terndahl.”
“What markings?”
Another shaping struck, and as it did, Tolan could feel the power within it. How many more would he have to endure? He didn’t know if he’d be able to withstand too many more shapings—or shapers.
Surprisingly, he could see none of them. That had to be related to what they were doing and the kind of shaping they were using, but whatever the shaping was, it was not something he recognized. Perhaps that didn’t matter. All that mattered was they had the numbers.
“What are you going to do with me?” he asked.
“Seeing as how you have continued to press? I think it’s time to remove you as a threat.”
“I’m not any sort of threat.”
“Ah, Shaper Ethar, you have proven you are more of a threat than you should be, especially as a student.”
A shaping began to build from her, and he recognized the power within it.
Spirit.
Other shapings started, one after another, all of them surrounding him. Within each of them came the sense of spirit, and it continued to build.
Tolan focused his shaping, using each of the elements and turning it inward, trying to protect himself, but at this point, and against so many shapers, it might not even matter. The numbers were all that mattered, as was the fact he was exhausted, having used far more of his power than he ever had before, and now it put him into a situation where he was going to end up overwhelmed by their spirit shaping.
All he could do was attempt to hold on.
He had the bondar of spirit, and he tried to use that, wrapping it around him, but even with that, he wasn’t sure he had enough strength to make a difference. Tolan continued to wrap himself with it, and when the first shaping struck, it was deflected. So were the next and the next. One after another they came, each of them hitting him, reaching him, and as they did, Tolan continued to struggle, knowing there might not be much he could do. He resisted as much as he could, holding back, fighting the attempt of the shaping to strike him.
Aela watched him, a hint of a smile on her face.
He reached for the power of the runes he’d made, but even those weren’t going to be enough. Already Tolan could feel Aela’s power was going to overwhelm him. There was too much, and he struggled against it, straining to refuse the shaping, but could he hold out?
He wasn’t sure what choice he had. He would try. That was about all he could do—try.
Anything more would be chance.
Tolan felt the effects of the spirit shaping continuing to slip toward him. They were far more than he could withstand.
And then one started to reach him.
He didn’t need to see Aela to know it was her shaping. He could feel it was her. She was slipping into his mind, trying to change him. As she did, he fought, but he failed.
“I wonder if you can’t be useful.”
“No!”
She merely smiled. “As I said, you will be useful.”
As the shaping continued to press upon him, and as Tolan continued to fight, he feared losing himself. What would she make him do? He’d seen the way spirit shaping could work, having dealt with it firsthand against his friends, and he didn’t like the idea it would be used against him in a similar way. He’d thought he was protected from spirit shaping, and thought he wouldn’t be subjected to that power, and yet, here he was, forced down by it.
Would they make him harm people he cared about?
Would it even matter if they forced him to act against the elementals? He cared about his friends, but he also cared about the elementals, cared about what he detected from the bonds, and the way he felt the pain within the elementals. They suffered, and that was not something he could support.
Eventually, it would be something he cared nothing about.
By shaping his spirit, she would be taking it. She would be changing him. There would be nothing left of Tolan, merely a husk, everything he was changed, compromised, and he would be gone.
He thought of all the elementals he’d encountered ever since reaching the Academy. Even the elementals he’d encountered before coming to the Academy. While the draasin was impressive, it was hyza that had been there the most. The elemental of fire and earth had followed him, had been with him, and…
He still was.
Distantly, Tolan could feel the elemental. It was almost as if he were there with him, within his mind, trying to work with him, to give him additional strength.
Could Tolan borrow from it?
He had wanted the power of the element bonds, but he had also wanted the power of the bondars. Could he use hyza something like a bondar?
With the idea, power began to flow through him
. It was the power of earth and fire, and Tolan solidified his connection. He formed a seal around his mind, forcing Aela out. As he did, her eyes widened.
He would fight, and do everything in his power to withstand her if he could. It might not matter, but he’d try.
He continued to force outward, using his connection to hyza.
Awareness of the elemental filled his mind. He could feel the elemental, and sense the willingness of the elemental to help him.
Tolan cried out, but this time, he felt as if there was a possibility of success.
Yet, regardless of how much power hyza might grant him, it still wouldn’t be enough to overpower so many shapers. Tolan didn’t even have an idea of how many were here.
“You have far more skill than I would’ve expected for a student. Perhaps the rumors about you are true and you really do serve the Draasin Lord,” Aela said.
“I serve the true Draasin Lord,” Tolan cried out. This time, he did so with a desire to connect to hyza, to use the strange awareness the elemental granted. It was considerable power, and it connected him to the elemental, granting him an awareness of the way the elemental was thinking and feeling. There was fear within the elemental, but this time, the fear was for Tolan.
He drew upon the elemental’s power. It solidified the barrier around his mind and he pushed outward, forcing the shapers back.
It still wasn’t enough.
Then, he felt something else.
A shaping.
Something in the shaping resonated with him. It was familiar, and he realized it came from one of the disciples of the Draasin Lord.
Tolan felt another surge of emotion. This time, it was hope.
All he had to do was hold on, and then another shaping came. Then another.
As they did, the pressure upon him began to fade. One after another. It was as if the disciples had figured out a way of attacking those he couldn’t even see.
Within a few moments, Aela seemed to realize what was taking place, and she turned her attention, but Tolan used that moment to attack, sending out a blast of fire, focusing on hyza. He drew that power outward and Aela fell from the Shapers Path.
Tolan didn’t give her a chance to recover. He jumped, wrapping his arms around her as he fell. Wind whistled around him. When it did, he felt a cushioning, and he crashed to the ground far more slowly than he would’ve expected.
The Wind Rages (Elemental Academy Book 4) Page 27
