by R. W. Weston
"Very well, let's get started. As you were tested and hopefully learned yesterday to control water, today you will do so with fire. Be warned it is a little harder, as people tend to shy away from this. But if you embrace it, it will be your friend. Now please take a seat," he said pointing to a high back chair.
"The most important step in controlling fire is to extinguish it. Anybody can create it, but alas few can put it out. What we do is absorb it into itself, essentially burning itself out. Please find you center and I will join you, from there I will show you what to do."
After he was in his center he saw Ylien, who had already connected himself to the fire element. He walked over to him and extended his hand out for him to join with him. Roland slowly joined himself and felt a little bit of the heat from the cord.
"Concentrate, on me not on the cord," demanded Ylien. "Fire is probably the most dangerous of all elements; it can kill the one it is attached to along with anyone around them. This is the hardest of elements to control; at times it is as if it has a will of its own. Tell me do you feel the heat from this?"
"Yes, it seems to be getting hotter, the more I think about it."
"Then concentrate on me, that heat is what will consume the body. Now I want you to extinguish the flame. With water you create, with flame it destroys. We will start small; on the mantle is a candle." As he was looking at it the wick started to burn with nothing around it. He did not even see how Ylien had done it. "I'm going to leave you with the control. Now concentrate on that candle and focus on making the flame smaller, until it is nonexistent."
He did as he was instructed; he could see the flame shrink. His only mistake was he got excited too quickly causing the flame to jump higher then he thought was possible making the candle melt away instantly. He was frustrated with himself for that and cursed himself in his mind.
"You were showing great control, what do you think happened?" asked Ylien.
"I'm not sure, it was almost out, but then, well you saw what happened."
"You must learn to control your own emotions before you can ever hope to control an element. Losing your concentration at the end is what caused that to happen. Now we will try it again, but this time you will do it by yourself."
Roland took a few moments to calm down. He was so angry with himself that he was afraid to be connected to fire, for fear of burning himself up. After calming down, he concentrated on his center and found a focus point. Ylien had replaced the candle on the mantle with at new one and started the flame going. He slowly took hold of the fire cord and concentrated on making the flame smaller.
He experienced something new this time; he had been concentrating so hard on the flame that he thought he could see to the center of it. There he saw the smallest of particles joining and separating, causing the candle to burn. He watched to see what was happening and found the combination that the particles were using. Slowly he began to separate the particles that would join, and joined those that would separate. In his mind he could see the flame getting smaller and smaller until the last particle was disassembled.
When he came out of his trance, he looked at the candle. It had burned down more than halfway; he was surprised because he didn’t feel that much time had passed since he had started. Ylien sat watching him from his chair, until he turned to face him.
"Very well done, you may have my blessing in training. I'm sure if you pass your other two tests I will see you again," he said smiling, "you do remind me of your mother, she was as determined as you are now. You may now return to your room until tomorrow," he said, standing up and starting to walk out of the office.
"Wizard Ylien, you knew my mother?"
"Yes son, I did, many of us here did. I do miss her, I'm sorry to hear about her death."
As Ylien walked out the door a servant came to take him back to his room. This lesson had gone a lot quicker then yesterday which allowed him some time to look around. Going back to his room he met Maglin in the hallway.
"Roland I hear the testing is going well," he said in passing.
"Wizard Maglin, do you think Ty and I can look around a little, there is nothing to do in the room?" he asked.
"I'll send someone to show you around the grounds in a little while; right now I have a meeting that I must go to. Please just go back to your room and wait."
They continued back to the living quarters. Now that it was light outside he got a chance to see everything in the building. They came to one of the largest rooms that he had seen in the castle. Like most of the other large rooms it was circular, with a high domed ceiling. The ceiling was painted, half to look like night and the other half as day.
The floor also depicted the same pattern but of flowers in bloom and grass growing in the light and snow and ice during the night. Along the walls were four separate arched doorways, leading to separate wings of the building, above each was a stone carved from one of the four elements.
Walking out of the fire wing, directly in front of him was the water wing, the earth was to his right, and wind to his left. He didn’t see the door to go outside until the servant opened it. One thing that bothered him was not being able to find his own way out. Back home in the woods he could find his way around at any time, but now he was in a strange place and not allowed to move around freely. He kept wondering what these people were afraid of to keep him and Ty locked in their rooms.
They crossed a small courtyard and entered into the wing with the living quarters. He was shown directly to his room where he was happy to find lunch had arrived. After eating he found a book to read "The Rising of the Star."
* * *
Ty was not happy with the situation he was in, for three day's now he had been stuck in his room. He was growing extremely impatient, especially being able to see the nice weather outside and the people working out there and not being able to talk to any of them. “That servant girl must have forgotten to ask them to let me out,” he thought.
He had tried a few times to leave but there were guards posted at his door, "What am I a prisoner, a common criminal?" he shouted.
"No son, but you should learn to control your temper, it could get you into trouble some day," said Maglin, walking into the room. "I have arranged for you and Roland to get out and see the grounds today. I do sincerely apologize for the inconvenience you have felt, but we must protect ourselves with the strictest of measures. I do hope you understand."
With that he calmed down a little, they went to Roland's room and found him in front of the fireplace reading. Ty crept up on him slowly and surprised him. Roland jumped out of the seat as Ty started laughing, which was truly the effect he wanted to see.
"What on earth are you doing here?"
"Well it's nice to see you too, Maglin has arranged for us to go outside and have a look around, you coming?"
"Of course, I have been testing like crazy the last two days, and I need a break."
"Boy's this is Morlela," he said bringing in a servant. "She will be showing you around the grounds, please stay with her so you will stay out of trouble." With that he turned and left.
The two boys' were excited to get out; they acted like little children on the first day of spring. Morlela had volunteered for this job, more just to see Ty again. By doing so she knew she would be up late to finish her regular duties, but at the moment she didn't care. The three of them started outside. The day was perfect; the sun was up with the wind blowing just enough to keep everything cool. Ty imagined it was like this every day; after all, the place was controlled by magic.
The servants were tending to the grounds around the castle. Off to one side of the island they saw a small farm where there were cows, pigs, chickens, and a few horses. They took a walk through the labyrinth formed from shrubs. In the center was a large fountain, the figure was a wizard holding what appeared to be the world in his hands. The three of them had a nice conversation. Ty and Morlela really hit it off; they talked about where she was from and why she was there.
The day was soon over and they headed back into their rooms for the night. Dinner had been brought in along with a bathtub, there were a few large pots sitting next to the fire keeping them warm. Roland ate and took his bath, after a long few days he slept like a log.
Ty was too happy to sleep for a while. He had finally gotten out of the room, he enjoyed the walk outside. Now he could not stop thinking of Morlela. While they were at the fountain she had taken the hood down on her robe. She was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen. Her hair was raven black and the sun shined off it like a beacon in the night. Her eyes were an emerald; her skin was a light tan, probably from working outside.
It took him a while to relax enough to get to sleep, all night his dreams were with Morlela. Roland had dreams that night as well, but none as pleasant as Ty’s. His were dreams of a war torn country. People dying by the thousands and he was not able to do anything about it. He remembered it was a great contrast to his other dreams, where he was victorious in war, or when Ty was missing.
The next morning Roland was taken to meet with Brekon Lon Crol, earth master. He was a middle-aged man, with brown hair, tall and slim with the appearance of a scholar. His office was small and filled with a large amount of books.
"Please sit young man," said Brekon, "today we shall see if you can control the earth element. You must understand this is the oldest of all elements as the earth was created before any of the other elements. It takes patience to understand and to control. I imagine it will take a good part of the day.
"You know what to do, I am already there."
Roland took a seat and found his center, there he saw Brekon waiting with the earth element. Instead of surrounding his hand, he noticed that it was wrapped around his foot and leg. He noticed that each time he was in his void, the real world and his new world would slowly combine. He could now tell how the wizards would be able to control the elements and function in the real world.
"Take my hand and I will guide you into the power. Like I told you it is the oldest and it takes understanding to control. When you are first joined you will feel a great peace and have a sensation as if something is moving through your body. That is the power itself learning you and your body, it alone will know if you will have the strength to control it."
He gave him his hand and he was slowly joined with the power. Brekon was right; the element seemed to explore him a little at a time. With each search he would feel a little closer to the earth. He was finally connected and to his surprise Brekon had already released it.
"Now with earth you can control and accomplish many things, one of these is to create stone. That’s what I am going to see if you can accomplish. To do so, use this dirt that I have prepared. I want you to concentrate on creating a brick that can be used in building a house."
It took him a while to figure out how to manipulate the dirt to do what he wanted it to do. He tried to think of it as a brick, like he filled the pitcher with water. When that didn’t work he tried seeing the particles as he did with the fire. He was quickly learning that every element behaved in its own way, the key was to find how or what earth responded to.
He remembered that Brekon had told him that he needed patience to control the earth, so he relaxed a little. The sense of learning came over him, as it did when he first made contact with the element. Rather than trying to master the element, he was letting it teach him. He gained the understanding that the earth changes itself, it can't be forced. With this new understanding he sat calmly and waited with the thought of a brick in his mind and a desire for it to be formed.
It was amazing to see, the particles of dirt that had been piled in front of him most of the day, were now beginning to move. Slowly they would join, starting at the base and slowly layering themselves. It took several more hours of sitting in patience, focused on what the end result would be. While he was so focused he could see the slightest imperfections in the brick, and slowly altering what he saw the end result was a perfect brick.
Roland returned the brick to Brekon who examined it. He could tell that he had joined with the earth to see the very essence of the brick, to test for strength and imperfections. He was pleased when Brekon congratulated him and was told to return to his room. He quickly left and found his bed to be inviting. Although he had been sitting most of the day he was mentally exhausted from the test and sleep quickly took him.
Morlela had received permission from the head mistress to visit with Ty. She knew the girl felt an attraction for him, and not knowing how long he would be allowed to stay in the guest quarters because he was the friend of the new boy here to be tested. Word had spread quickly throughout the house. Everybody knew that the council was weary of the power of this boy, and if he failed his testing they would be sent away quickly and without word, at least that’s what they would be told.
Ty was surprised to hear someone knocking at his door so late at night. He was almost ready for bed and found it bothersome until he found out who it was. He was quite surprised to see her there at that hour, knowing of how early she would have to wake up too begin her daily chores.
"Is it alright if I come in for a while," she asked, nervous of his answer.
"Yes, please come in, here take a seat, would you like some tea or anything?"
"I'll have some tea, thank you."
They sat in front of the fire for a while talking and enjoying each other’s company. Both had missed just being able to talk to someone their own age someone who understood how the other was feeling. By the end of the night they were sitting closer together holding each other in their arms. Not saying much of anything, just enjoying the quiet and the crackle of the fire.
Morning found the two of them still holding each other on a small sofa in front of the hearth. The fire had long since died down and all that remained of the night were a few glowing embers. Morlela woke first, a little disoriented as to where she was, a soft smile crossed her lips when she realized that she was still in his arms.
"It wasn't a dream then," she thought to herself as she carefully slid out from under his arm and watched him sleep a moment longer before he began to wake up.
"Good morning sleepy head," she said softly.
Her voice surprised him a little. He was finally awake enough to see her standing in front of him, for him that was a great morning. Before she left he had asked if she would be able to come back that night after all her chores were done. He wanted to see her again and talk some more, or better yet just be able to hold her again. She agreed to ask permission and walked out.
Roland knew that today would be his last day of testing, so far he thought he had done pretty well. Even if he was not allowed into the training program he knew his life would never be the same. That morning he was wondering how Ty was doing, having been stuck in his room the last three days. He quickly ate the breakfast that was brought into him and prepared for the last test.
A servant came to take him to Terinal lon Jek, wind master. He was surprised to find such a young man teaching and testing new wizards. From his appearance he could not have been more than ten cycles his senior. Reflecting his age was his attitude, very friendly and open, this was a change from the others he had already met.
"Ello'," he said, as he walked in to meet Roland. "Oim Wizard Terinal, but eu can coll me Terinal, oi find it much mo pleasant."
He had to listen carefully because of his strong accent, one he had never heard before.
"Now let's see, what ave we ta do today?" he said looking around the room. "Okay den, you know ow ta connect tew da powr. Oi'll shew you when we meet," with that he saw him enter the realm of power, he was still there physically but mentally he was different.
"Very good, yew came quickly, oi see dat yu's is learnin quickly. Tew be able ta pass dis test yu need ta carry a small object wit da wind. Watch en learn."
Terinal quickly manipulated the wind and a book came floating towards him slowly. When he placed his hand on it the pattern returned to norm
al. "There is a litle more tew know on dis un; yew need tew cast a spell tew bring it to ya. Da word is Begnin.”
Roland took the power from him and began to concentrate on a different book, when he felt confident enough he whispered begnin. The power began to change. Because he was concentrating on the book it went right to it. Slowly the cord of power surrounded the book much like a vine surrounds a pole. He was surprised at how easily it worked, the book floated through the air softly and when he touched it the power returned to its normal pattern. He quickly left the realm of power excited at what he had accomplished.
"Very good," said Terinal a large smile on his face. "I knew yu could do it, now go back tew your room. Da council will be meeting dis afternoon ta see how well ya tested."
The rest of the day Roland sat in his room reading the book he had started. It appeared to be a collection of prophesies about the bringer of light, it told of the power that this person will yield to destroy all known evil in the world. They would also have the power to banish the Dark Lord for another century. But to him it was more of a fantasy book to bring out his imagination, besides who would believe that one person could hold so much power.
The council met later that day to discuss the fate of Roland and his friend. They could not dispute that he had passed all the tests to be admitted. Now knowing how to connect with the power he could be more dangerous than before.
"Call Maglin in, he was with the boy the longest and maybe he will be able to help with what is to be decided," said Petron.
Maglin was called to the council room where he was able to discuss all that he had learned on the trip there. They determined that Roland was no immediate danger to anyone. Having grown up isolated in the mountains; his only care was for the welfare of his father. He didn’t believe that Roland would or even could be a danger to anyone, as long as he was trained and taught about the Legion. He could not mistake the attack the night he arrived at his house.
"It’s time to take a vote. All in favor of allowing him to stay and be trained raise your hands," the count came in favor of him staying four to one. The only one that was still skeptical was Petron himself, not having spent any time with the boy. "Very well then on the morrow we shall summon the boy and make him an apprentice. If he learns too much too quick we will meet again, we don't want to be wrong about this boy. We do need to be careful." With that done everybody got up and left.
