Underestimated Affinities

by Matthew Scarcella

  “Nope,” I respond. “I don’t need to worry about that at all. Thought about that before I asked the smithy to create them. There’s a small nodule of bone attached to each piece by melted impermeable leather. Look, I can close them manually to create a seal or just use the wind to move the piece closed.” I muster up a small gust of wind around me, moving it around my waist and each limb. All five accessories are sealed within a few seconds. Signaling to Aethyr to watch, I take off into the air and hover in front of him. I spin around upside down a few times and notice that none of the water has come out. “You see? And I can utilize it quickly. The water pressure itself can open the closures as I need to draw from the interior.”

  “Sounds good, but we should be heading out to Petalsong Forest about now. Let’s go.” He takes off into the air and flies toward the northwest guard tower.

  Just as he’s out of sight, a couple holding hands appears in the trees in front of me and start to walk toward the lake. They stop when they see me and start whispering to each other.

  “Something interesting?” I ask them.

  The two look me up and down and chuckle. “Yup,” the female responds. She turns to her companion and continues to whisper to him, but thanks to my wind affinity I can hear them. “Have you ever even seen him around with a girl?”

  “No,” her boyfriend says. “He’s weird. He’s probably gay too.” He looks at his girlfriend and they both stifle another laugh.

  “Ignorance,” I mumble to myself, taking off. They’re not worth my energy.

  ***

  “Hey.” I catch up to my brother. “What do you think about Aislynn and Talon?”

  “Hmm. I don’t really know. He seems like a nice enough guy and she looks like she’s happy, right? I mean, so long as she’s happy, then I’m happy —”

  “Yeah, I think I feel the same way —”

  “But… if he upsets her then I’ll have to beat him to a pulp. So, I’m sure he knows that.”

  I chuckle at the thought. “You know he’s a dual earth wielder, right? Also, almost all he does is train; he’s pretty strong.”

  Aethyr flexes his bicep at me as we land at the guard tower. “Hah, I’m not too worried about him, little brother. I can take care of myself.”

  We are greeted by two female guards. They only take a minute to review our request, as Aethyr filled out all the paperwork yesterday. Once the information has been processed into the system, the guards escort us to the other side of the tower and watch us take off.

  Back in the air, we head toward the forest. “Aethyr,” I say. “I’ve been wondering. Why did you want us to go to this forest?”

  “Well, I like it there,” he responds. “And I was due for a scouting mission. Anyway, if I remember correctly, you haven’t been there yet.” I shake my head at him, signifying he is correct. “It’s a really nice place,” he continues. “Aislynn loves it there too. I mean, the whole forest is literally her element, well, elements, but the place really resonates with me as well. It’s called Petalsong Forest because of the special trees and plants that flourish there. There’s a lot of metal in the earth in that forest. And each species of plant is different, but they all have one thing in common: they incorporate the metals in the earth into their growth process. As a result, they have metal fragments embedded in leaves and petals. And they make noise in the breeze. It’s oddly beautiful.”

  “Hmm.” I think about it for a moment. “It just sounds really strange to me. Doesn’t the noise from the trees get creepy?”

  “No,” he answers without hesitating. “It’s like they’re making their own music.” He looks back at me and grins enthusiastically. “Trust me, you’ll be able to appreciate it once you can experience it for yourself.”

  We continue heading northwest, passing over meadows and more than a few bodies of water. We’ve just flown across a barren field when I hear him up ahead say, “We’re almost there.”

  “Okay,” I respond. I feel a tug in my left wing, and I halt in midair. Aethyr must have stopped hearing the beating of my wings right behind him, as he doubles back toward me with a quizzical look on his face.

  “Selvyn, why did you stop?”

  “I don’t know. I think something’s wrong up ahead. I’m processing this disgusting smell.”

  “I can’t smell anything yet. What do you think it is?”

  “Hmm.” I wrinkle my nose as I try to think of a way to describe it to him. “I think it smells like burning metal or something rotting.”

  Aethyr’s face looks paralyzed. “Are you sure? The only thing nearby is the forest…” His wings stop fluttering and he drops for a second before he catches himself and brings himself back up to my height. He shakes his head in disbelief, his eyes straining to see something in the distance. “There’s smoke coming from Petalsong!”

  I stare for a few seconds before noticing it — there is indeed a dark plume of black smoke rising to the sky on the horizon. He speeds off in the direction of the forest before I can respond.

  He must already be over two kilometers ahead of me as I struggle to catch up to him. That’s when I see bright lights in front of me and hear him scream. The smell intensifies and then it dawns on me: Petalsong Forest is on fire.

  We land on a clump of semi-charred leaves. The look on his face is heartbreaking. He turns to the side to block me from seeing him cry. I’m not quite sure what to do, so I give him a moment to himself as I take in the sight before me.

  The trees all around this edge of the forest are entirely black. Rancid ash falls from the tops of them and is carried around me in the breeze. My nostrils are filled with the putrefying scent within seconds. I don’t want to breathe in any metal fragments, so I release the water from my right anklet and cover my nose and mouth with a thin film, allowing for a pocket of fresh air to be contained within.

  I walk over and give Aethyr a quick hug. He’s composed himself and turns around to face me once I release him. He nods as I release the water from my left anklet and give him a film too. He walks forward into the forest and I trail behind in his footsteps. The only sound coming from either of us is the squishing of leaves under our feet.

  The floor of the forest is covered in black ash, and we start seeing dead creatures as we get further in. We walk past an adult alidark, grunting in pain. Its last breath echoes in my ear as its twitching ceases. As I look into the trees, I can see a nest of baby trenga that didn’t make it, the pink of their chest standing out. The branch they were resting in crumbles and they all fall lifelessly to the ground.

  “They didn’t stand a chance, the poor animals,” I say to Aethyr. I touch one of the trees and it’s still warm to the touch. Aethyr stops abruptly and both sets of his wings start twitching before my eyes. “Aethyr?” I call out to him.

  He turns around, seething with rage. “They didn’t deserve this. Not the animals. Not the forest.” He drops to his knees and pounds on the ground with his fist, scattering even more ash into the wind. I direct the breeze away from us to avoid getting it in our eyes. “Someone did this,” he starts. “Who the hell would do this? And for what purpose? There’s absolutely no reason to set a forest on fire.” He looks as if he would be foaming at the mouth if he could.

  “Let’s keep going,” I say. We walk further into the depths of the forest, Aethyr cursing under his water film every few meters.

  After two kilometers, I start to feel a sudden increase in temperature I hadn’t felt at the perimeter of the forest. “Aethyr, do you feel that?”

  “Yeah.” His four wings twitch and he shakes off the sensation. He turns slightly right. “Look northeast. The trees here are showing less damage sustained. But… wait.” He faces east and starts running. “Come on! Those trees are still on fire. Someone’s been here recently!” We run up ahead and discover a small circular clearing. There’s a ring of fire in the middle of the clearing, and all the surrounding trees are ablaze. “I’m going to get a better view and see if I can find the culprit. You st
ay down here for a second.” The charred remains of leaves, wood, and metal flutter about the ground as he takes off into the sky.

  It’s quite depressing here. A forest is supposed to be a serene environment, filled with lush greens and bountiful plants, teeming with wildlife. Yet here I stand, not a tinge of green in sight. The only colors that I can see are black, grey, red, and orange.

  I stay on the ground and walk around the border of the clearing, seeing if I can tune out the smell and roar of the fire for any signs of an interloper. I can’t process anything aside from the fire, and I don’t think whoever did this would have stuck around. However, I do get a tingling sensation in both of my wings that directs me toward the ring of fire in the middle of the clearing. I make my way over to it, and just as I reach the edge, I hear Aethyr speak up again from above me.

  “Wait!” he yells from high up. “There’s someone in the middle of it. Dual ice wielder.”

  I glance up at him, bewildered. “Are you serious?”

  “Why would I say that there was if there wasn’t? Does it look like the time for jokes?”

  Particles of ash sting Aethyr’s eyes, eliciting tears. More and more of them gather around us, sticking to my skin and clothes.

  I take a few steps back and then propel myself into the air besides Aethyr to get a better look. There is, in fact, a dual ice wielder face-up on the burned forest floor — the light blue coloring of his four wings is a clear indicator. “Hmm. It looks like he was attacked. But by whom? I don’t sense anyone else nearby.” The grass surrounding him in the circle of fire has been completely scorched as well. A dense patch of black earth is all that remains. It looks like a burial site. I put my hand up to my mouth, resisting the urge to vomit.

  Aethyr’s voice pulls me back to the sensitive nature of time. “I wonder if it was more than one person that attacked him. Well, it was more than one element, for sure. There are burns around his ankles consistent with lava, not fire. Looks like he may have been dragged here…” he trails off as he notices what must be a shocked expression flicker across my face. “Do you think he’s still alive?”

  “Only one way to find out,” I think aloud. I collapse my wings against my back and drop into the circle, next to the ice wielder. During the descent, I hear the sound of the trees for the first time since we arrived in the forest; the burning metal blowing in the wind disturbed by my wings is not pleasant at all. The eerie sound of metal grating against metal is extremely unsettling, sort of like a haunting melody is playing on a continuous loop.

  Upon landing, I’m overwhelmed by the heat emanating from the fire around myself and this ice wielder.

  “Um?!” Aethyr starts screaming at me from above. “Are you beyond stupid?” He drops down beside me and punches me in the ribs. “At least let me take care of the fire before you do something idiotic like that next time. Is the guy still breathing?”

  I kneel on the ground to check for a pulse while Aethyr spins around and begins manipulating the circle of fire into wisps and segments he can then easily extinguish into dark clouds of smoke. While he whittles away at the fire, I take in the appearance of the ice wielder before us.

  He looks to be taller than me, by approximately seven or eight centimeters, if I had to guess. He has striking jet black hair pushed back to one side, although some of the strands appear burnt in places. His eyes are shut and his chiseled jaw is set firmly in place as if he has experienced a lot of pain. His well-sculpted torso is exposed under his torn and singed shirt, and there are bright red burn marks all over his pectoral and abdominal muscles, and down the length of his arms. His legs are in better shape. His shorts are intact and his shins appear to be lacking in any sort of damage, although there are the severe lava burns Aethyr mentioned all the way around his ankles. I reach out to touch the mark on his left ankle and I’m hit by an overwhelmingly strong cold sensation as my fingertips almost make contact with his burnt skin. My wings twitch frantically and I draw my hand back. “He’s freezing,” I mutter to myself.

  I’ve all but forgotten about Aethyr even being here until I receive a hard slap on the back of my head. “Hello? Is he alive?”

  I turn on my haunches and see that nothing remains of the fire that moments ago was circling menacingly about us. “I can’t tell yet.”

  Aethyr mumbles under his breath, cursing at me for taking so long to ever get anything done. “Well,” he spits at me, “What the hell are you waiting for?”

  “I know, I know. He’s freezing though; it’s going to take a minute for me —”

  “How is he freezing? He’s been in the middle of a fire for who knows how long.”

  “I don’t know, Aethyr,” I spout. “I got here the same time as you did. Give me a moment…” I turn back around and ignore his mutterings, yet again. I reassess the man laid before me. He’s a dual ice wielder… so if he’s still ice-cold, it could be some sort of defense mechanism. I place my second and third fingers against his ice-cold wrist and check for a pulse. Nothing. I move my hand to check his neck but I still can’t feel anything but cold.

  Exasperated, I act on a hunch and attempt to spread his eyelids apart with either hand. They’re frozen together, so I take a few drops of water from the mask I’m still wearing and apply them to his eyes and try again. Ever so slowly, I manipulate the droplets of water to a slightly warmer temperature. Since I don’t have the benefit of fire or ice affinities, a few degrees in either direction is all I can muster, but it’s enough for this purpose.

  The small icicles formed on his eyelashes begin to melt and I hear two almost inaudible cracking noises, and I’m able to separate his eyelids. I’m greeted by the most stunning set of violet eyes I’ve ever seen — staring directly into mine.

  “A-Aethyr,” I stutter before regaining my composure, not taking my eyes off the stunning specimen beneath me. “He’s still alive.”

  “Can you do anything to help him?”

  “I’m trying and I’m thinking,” I respond. “Don’t rush me.” I move my hands lower, and as I do, I watch as the man’s eyes move slowly downward, trying to follow my hands. Once I reach his neck, I check for a pulse again. Still nothing but ice-cold, and slippery solid. Wait — solid? Why does his neck feel solid, like an ice cube? “It’s okay,” I whisper to him so that Aethyr can’t hear, “I’m not going to hurt you.” He gazes into my eyes, but I can’t tell what he’s thinking, or if he’s even currently capable of thinking at all. I apply slight pressure around his neck to see if I can feel any blood flowing beneath his skin, but I can’t, so I slowly apply more pressure until it feels as if I’m trying to choke him. But still, nothing. His skin seems impenetrable. I compress my hands on his chest, one on top of the other, and push down hard in rapid succession. I maintain the rhythmic pumping of my hands, but his chest cavity doesn’t even budge. I try once more and my hands slide off of his body.

  Aethyr kneels beside me and pokes his head over the ice wielder’s face. He pulls back and looks at me, “Anything?”

  I turn to face him and shake my head. “Not yet. He’s frozen solid. It’s probably a defense mechanism like I first suspected. His chest cavity is completely frozen as well, so that means his lungs are too… I don’t know how much oxygen he has.” That got me thinking. Maybe I am as stupid as Aethyr suggested. “Although, technically I can take care of that.”

  “Nah.” Aethyr cracks his knuckles and puts his hands over the ice wielder’s chest. “I can take care of it, Selv.” His wings twitch slightly and I look back at the man’s face — his eyes fixated on Aethyr’s wings. His eyes move again and make contact with mine and I see something akin to terror in his brilliant violet eyes. I feel the heat emanating from Aethyr’s hands. I quickly push him aside and he rolls onto his back. “Selvyn, what the hell, bro?”

  “I’m sorry, Aethyr, but don’t touch him… he was looking at your wings. He’s scared of you. I think he’s trying to plead with me.”

  “I’m not going to hurt him,” Aethyr snaps. “I
’m trying to help. I can just heat him up a little bit and melt the ice around his lungs.”

  “I know, I know,” I say. “He’s just… been through a lot. I mean, look at him. He was just burned for we don’t know how long by fire and lava, and you have the ability to wield both of those elements,” I try to reason with him. “Do you think it’s wrong for him to be wary of you?”

  Aethyr stays silent for a moment as he processes what I’m trying to get across. I take a quick look around at what the forest is becoming. It’s sheer chaos.

  The trees encircling us are falling apart, continuing to create inharmonious chiming noises. One falls to the ground in front of me and it catches a few others freshly aflame. The blaze is spreading even farther than I anticipated it could.

  As I look back over at Aethyr, he has a determined expression on his face, and tears in his eyes. He saw me surveying the area and realizes what this means right now for his favorite place on Cinderfal.

  “Ok,” he speaks up. “You take care of him. Do what you can.” His head swivels around and he looks at where I had noticed the fallen tree. “I’m… I’m going to stop the blaze. At least I can take care of that. Be careful. Whoever did this may come back.”

  I nod briskly at him. “I’ll be fine.” Aethyr, on the other hand, I’m not so sure about. I modify a few of the molecules inside his water mask into isotopes so that I can keep track of him. “Keep the mask on. You don’t want to breathe in any of this metal.” The masks are so small that I barely need to pay attention to them. It’s already second nature to be able to maintain the water films and allow a clean flow of oxygen into each of our bodies. He shrugs back in my direction and then runs off to dissipate the flames.

  I turn my attention back to the ice wielder. He hasn’t taken his gaze off me. “Trust me,” I try to calm him down. “I’m a healer. I can take care of you.”

  I expel the water from the pouch in my oscilar belt and separate it into two parts. I use half of it to coat my left hand, and the other half I direct through his nostrils after the ice there has melted. With my left hand firmly on his sternum, I allow the water on my hand to interact with the ice particles coating his skin.