Underestimated Affinities

by Matthew Scarcella

  I raise the temperature of both portions of water slightly, and work as fast as I can — once his lungs begin to thaw, I need to remove all the water I’m using plus all the water that’s melted from the ice or he’ll drown.

  The second portion of water is working its way down into his lungs, and with the help of the delicate movements of the fingers on my right hand, I weave the water in and out of the complicated labyrinth of bronchioles and alveoli that reside in the lungs. My other hand makes contact with his chest as the ice coating his skin dissolves. Just as I’m hoping that I’m not killing him, I feel more water in his lungs than I initially inserted.

  I turn my gaze toward his face once more and notice his eyes squeezed shut as if he’s in pain. “Hold on a bit longer,” I say more to myself than to him. I move my left hand over to where his heart is and work on thawing that as well. I splay the fingers on my right hand as I feel the rest of the melted ice from his lungs interact with my water, and I draw it back up through his respiratory system. Instead of causing him more pain by extracting it from his nostrils, I guide the water around his larynx and have it exit through his mouth.

  As I’m pulling it up his throat and toward his lips, he starts coughing and the water ends up being spit at my face. I deftly move my right hand in front of my face and use the water to coat it, which I then move to the top of his head. I increase the temperature of the water on my hands as high as I can, and working in tandem, I start thawing the ice around his heart and brain.

  I’ve never seen ice this powerful before. It’s remarkable.

  Mustering up the last amount of concentration that I can spare, I take the water from my left bracelet and make a mask for him as well. Tapping into my wind affinity, I direct a clean stream of oxygen into his lungs as his other major organs begin working again.

  After another minute, the ice around his heart and brain are completely gone. He opens his eyes.

  He starts coughing again, albeit faintly this time. “You’re going to be fine,” I tell him. The fingers on his left hand start twitching as I meet his gaze. I move my right hand from the top of his head and grasp his hand in mine. “It’s okay.” I grin stupidly at him.

  The ice around his hand melts upon contact with the water coating on my hand, and he grasps my hand in thanks. “Who…” he tries speaking in a gravelly voice. “Ugh… who are you?”

  “My name is Selvyn Falkov.”

  “Selvyn…” His violet eyes meet mine once more. “Your eyes are such an exquisite shade of blue.” I feel myself begin to blush. “Thank you, Selvyn. I’m Piero. Piero Intessa.”

  “Hello, Piero. Try not to talk anymore. I’m going to finish thawing you out, and then my brother’s going to help me bring you back to our city, Belarin. Just rest, alright?”

  He grips my hand firmly in understanding.

  I take my hand back and remove the coating from both hands and rejoin the water into one medium-sized ball hovering before me. I spread it out into a thin even surface across his body and let the warm temperature do its job. After a few moments of silence, I sense Aethyr nearby so I turn around to greet him. As I do, I realize I can’t see any fire nearby. “Hey.”

  “I took care of all the fire,” Aethyr responds. “But… Petalsong Forest is a disaster. I feel so bad that we didn’t get here earlier.” He kicks his foot into the ground and sprays a bunch of ash all over. “How’s the guy? Is he okay?”

  “I think he will be,” I answer. “He was up for a minute and said his name’s Piero. I didn’t get anything else from him, I just told him to rest.” Still facing away from Piero, I can tell that my part is done, so I draw all the water off of him and store it back in my accessories. “Kind of crazy though, it took forever to thaw all that protective ice.”

  “Hmph. Okay, good thing you were able to help, little brother.” Aethyr walks closer and peeks past me. “You know, I never really thought you would be capable of something like… holy shit.”

  I look up at him and his eyes are wider than I’ve ever seen them. “Aethyr? Why did you stop talking? You really need to stop underestimating my affinities. I’m not as weak and useless as you think.”

  Aethyr shakes his head but doesn’t move his eyes from Piero’s body. “That’s not what… I don’t think you’re weak.” He squints in my direction. “Or useless. Don’t ever think I feel that way about you.” He looks past me again. “It’s just… this guy. Piero, is it? He’s… the Ice Tune. And you saved him.”

  “What are you talking about? You saw him yourself before you left. He only has two sets of ice wings, not three.”

  “That’s the thing… I know what I saw earlier… but that’s not the case anymore.” Aethyr squats next to me and forcibly turns me around. I’m at a loss for words when I see it. Piero now indeed has a third set of ice wings. He… they must have grown in when I turned around to greet Aethyr. What the hell? “You didn’t see them grow in?” Aethyr asks.

  “No. They weren’t there a minute ago. I sensed you coming and when I turned around to greet you, they literally weren’t there. Well… alright then, he’s the Ice Tune. And I saved him. Okay. Well. That’s good, then. Right?” Aethyr nods absentmindedly. “But if he’s the Ice Tune, why was he attacked, and why didn’t he fend off his attackers? He is obviously capable of doing a lot of damage. I mean, look at Safeyya. She’s wrecked people in three-on-one combat in the past.”

  “Well,” Aethyr shrugs. “If he just gained his tertiary set of wings, clearly his attackers didn’t know he was the Ice Tune. Maybe they wouldn’t have cared either way. We’ll have to wait until he’s able to have a full conversation to figure that out. As to why he didn’t defend himself, maybe he tried? Even with a primary and secondary set of ice wings, he should be pretty powerful, especially considering he’s the Ice Tune. Safeyya was stronger than any dual lightning wielders even before she gained her tertiary set of wings. The same should go for him. Anyway, come on; let’s get him out of here.”

  I try to pick Piero up but he’s a lot heavier than I expected. “Uh… a little help, Aethyr? I’m not going to be able to carry him all the way to Belarin. You’re stronger than I am.”

  Aethyr sighs. “Alright, move over, pipsqueak.” Aethyr lifts Piero into a sitting position and then addresses me again. “Tuck in his wings so I can hold him more easily.” I do as directed and then help Aethyr cradle Piero in his arms. “Alright, little man. Let’s head out.”

  Aethyr beats his wings a few times and then jumps into the air, propelling himself above the trees, and I follow suit. We start flying back in the direction of home, when I notice just how much damage the blaze did to Petalsong Forest. “It really is a catastrophe…”

  “I know,” Aethyr whispers. “I feel miserable.”

  “Well, it wasn’t your fault, Aethyr.”

  “I know that also, but how do you think it makes me feel? You have wind and water affinities. You wouldn’t understand how I feel. You just can’t. I have fire and lava affinities, Selv. You don’t know what it’s like to be burdened with only destructive properties. This just as well may have been my fault.” I’ve never seen this side of Aethyr before. I let him go on without interrupting him.

  “It’s really upsetting, seeing nature destroyed like this so easily. It can be done on a whim, without a care in the world. Even in this instance, do you think that whoever did this is going to take responsibility for their actions? No. These affinities, they’re debilitating in a way. I mean, yes, they’re powerful and that means that I’m powerful, but what does all of that power mean in the long run? When we die, it means nothing… Don’t get me wrong, I love my elements, but sometimes I look at you and Aislynn and I see how the two of you can interact with nature and it makes me a bit jealous. You can use your talents to help people, also, you know?”

  I take that as a cue. “I think I understand what you mean, but we can’t change how we were born. I think that we each just have to make the most out of the life that is given to us. If you fee
l so strongly about it, maybe you can do something else about it. Have you thought about teaching? Maybe you can teach the younger fire and lava wielders to be a little better, so things like this won’t happen, at least not because of people from Belarin.”

  He grins at me. “Perhaps you’re right. You know, maybe you’re a little smarter than I thought after all. Anyway, we’re going to have a lot of explaining to do once we get back to the city. This… I’ll just be upfront with you. This is not going to be a cordial experience. So, why don’t you tell me how you ended up saving this dude’s life while we’re on the way home?”

  The sun has mostly set at this point and we’re flying home in near darkness. I know that he’s right. Dealing with the guards upon our arrival is going to be frustrating enough. But this is an extreme situation. The Council is going to be alerted, and they are not going to greet us cheerily. They’re going to want a detailed account of what happened, and they may even want to interrogate Piero.

  Just who is he anyway?

  CHAPTER VIII

  THE COUNCIL’S DECREE

  Once we got back to Belarin, Aethyr and I had to spend over an hour speaking with the guards stationed there. They made us explain, in grueling detail: the condition of the forest when we arrived, what we had believed transpired, and everything leading up to and including bringing Piero back with us. They had intended to question him as well, but he was still asleep when we arrived. Even this being the case, they followed standard protocols and bound his wings, arms, and legs in element-suppressing chains. Aethyr had initially attempted to talk them into letting him go home and find Safeyya, but they wouldn’t hear anything of it and made us wait for direct orders from the Council.

  We sat waiting in a room apart from the guards so that we couldn’t hear them talking. Aethyr paced impatiently for a few hours before even that must have become tedious, and he moved over to sit on the windowsill, and gaze out through the bars preventing anyone from exiting. However, I chose to just take it in stride and sit against a wall next to Piero, who was asleep on the floor. I’ve gotten a lot of flak from guards recently, so this isn’t a new occurrence for me. I think I was in more trouble when I came back from the Forbidden Lake. Though it’s also probable I lucked out by running into Melandria when that happened.

  Still, this is an extremely odd situation. This is the first sighting, by our city’s records, of the Ice Tune in over twenty years. I’m not too surprised the Council is taking so long to discuss it amongst themselves. Aethyr sighs and closes his eyes. It’s well into the early hours of the morning, and we are both drained and need to recuperate.

  I try to analyze the incident and the different angles from which consequences might occur. I understand that in the past, there has seemingly only been one Tune per element in a given generation. We as a species aren’t exactly sure if that is a fact set in stone, but it seems to be the case, at least over centuries of study. For instance, my sister Safeyya is this generation’s Lightning Tune and she is twenty-seven years old. From the data that we have, the previous Lightning Tune, Bill Fairchild, died approximately twenty-eight years ago. This leads us to believe that the next generation’s elemental Tunes are somehow decided during gestation or upon birth, during the year after the previous Tune’s death. We have no idea how it is decided, or who actually is the Tune, until they acquire their tertiary set of wings.

  Research is a difficult process because some cities do not share information with us here in Belarin, for a plethora of reasons. According to Belarin’s public records on this issue, which are kept to a bare minimum of past Tune death times, the last Ice Tune is still alive. So, based on the simple observation of seeing Piero before me, I can make out that the previous Ice Tune must have died at least twenty years ago, without Belarin being informed. Also, as Piero wasn’t born in Belarin, if we hadn’t stumbled upon him today, we would continue to believe that the previous generation’s Ice Tune was alive and well. It’s all rather confusing.

  So far, I’ve only been able to discern four of the current Tunes in my generation; Piero included. Three of them are residents of Belarin, which is the only reason why I’m aware of them. We have my sister, Safeyya, who is the Lightning Tune. Then there are the twins, Genesis and Gyllien Hazeldine, who are the Wind and Wood Tunes, respectively. They are twenty-five years old and both received their tertiary set of wings on the same day when they were eighteen. So, we have known about them for a while. The two of them enjoy staying outside of the city limits for long durations of time.

  And now here we have Piero, the Ice Tune, and I still don’t even know what city he hails from. So… there’s that. I think that Safeyya and the Council may be aware of a few of the others, but it’s not that crucial. It’s only curiosity that plagues my mind.

  However, Safeyya has told me that she is positive that as of last year, the previous generation’s Metal Tune is still alive and wreaking havoc across our world. Safeyya said that Tunes can sense each other within close proximity and that they are also able to detect each other’s elements. Evidently, my sister flew within the Metal Tune’s vicinity, but she escaped before Safeyya could track her further. Anyway, that makes five Tunes that are alive, meaning I have no idea who the Water, Earth, Fire, or Lava Tunes are, nor do I know their ages.

  Anyway, upon noticing Piero’s tertiary set of ice wings, it was obvious that the Council was going to have issues with us bringing him to Belarin. But what were we supposed to do? Not even Aethyr would have left a wounded Zicarnum stranded after being attacked, and he’s the most callous of our family.

  A few more hours later, Aethyr and I are finally walking along the city center toward the Council’s quarters, with a handful of guards cautiously carrying an agitated Piero behind us. When he woke up back at the tower, I reassured him all of this was just precautionary, and that he would be fine, but I’m sure he can’t be too thrilled at the moment. The man just realized he’s the Ice Tune, and he’s already under scrutiny before he can think for himself.

  It’s just before dawn, so the sun has only begun to rise, and almost all of our citizens are still fast asleep in their beds. As the shadows begin to withdraw over the homes and storefronts before us, the walk past the brightly colored houses is bleak and eerie without a sound or familiar face. We reach the Council’s headquarters and as the dark brown double doors open, I’m greeted by a disgruntled Safeyya, attempting to wipe the remnants of sleep from her eyes.

  “Why can’t you stay out of trouble?” she whispers under her breath, just loud enough for Aethyr and me to hear.

  “Yeesh.” Aethyr gives her a once over. “You look like shit. How long have you been awake?”

  She grins fiercely, wrapping him in a hug and then slaps him in the face and pushes him aside. “I’ve been awake since about five minutes after you two imbeciles landed at the guard tower.”

  “What were we supposed to do?” I question as I hug her in greeting, wiping her long, stray itchy hairs from my face. “I didn’t think we should leave Piero there. Especially after we found out he is the Ice Tune. He was attacked… would you have left someone there?”

  “Of course not,” she remarks as she pulls her hair back into a ponytail. “I’m just tired of always cleaning up your messes. And you,” she starts in on Aethyr, “Did you find the Zicarna that attacked him? You —”

  “Piero,” I interject.

  She looks at me quizzically. “Excuse me?”

  I grunt under my breath. “His name is Piero.”

  She cocks her head to the side and stares into my eyes before turning back to Aethyr. “Okay then. Did you find the ones that attacked Piero? You should have had plenty of time to look while Selvyn saved him.”

  Aethyr shakes his head. “No. I flew a quick path once around the forest at my fastest speed after I stopped the blaze from spreading, but there was no sign of anyone.”

  “Why didn’t you look for them before stopping the fire?”

  “It’s my favorite place.” H
e shrugs back at her. “I didn’t want it to get damaged any further.”

  “Ugh.” She begins to sigh at our brother but stops as a tear forms in his eye. “I know, it’s alright.” She pats his back and stops talking as the guards reach the entrance to the headquarters.

  “Good morning, Commander,” the guards greet Safeyya in a robust voice.

  “Good day, Lieutenant Felix.” She nods to one of the guards that questioned us at the tower last night. Felix Verbeek is a little plump, and his cheeks always have a moderate tinge of pink about them. His demeanor could be described as anything but pleasant.

  Piero does not appear to be amused at this point, but he goes along with the rules. He smirks as he walks past me and holds his hand out to my sister. “Hi, I’m Piero. I see you’re the Lightning Tune. Perhaps once the proceedings are over, we can talk about your experiences as a Tune. This is all sort of new to me, you know.” He continues addressing her, even as the guards usher him down the long, winding corridor to the inner chamber of the Council’s headquarters. “Do you think that would be okay with you?”

  “I’m Safeyya, Selvyn’s sister,” she addresses him curtly, waving halfheartedly in his direction. “We can have a chat later on.”

  Felix directs Piero down a path that cuts them off from my view, and the remaining guards stationed outside go back to their normal duties. Safeyya closes the large double doors behind us and ushers Aethyr and me to follow her.

  “You know,” she speaks up again, “Bayleigh and Fara were supposed to leave this morning for a discussion panel at Fjoring. I’m sure you are aware that tensions are still high between our cities since the battle when, well, when our parents died. They’re not going to be happy they have to delay their meeting. Also, now they’re going to have to reveal the nature of the delay, meaning that Fjoring is going to be aware of a new Tune in play. You know, just be forewarned.” Aethyr sighs at this.