The Water Ruptures

by D. K. Holmberg

  After leaving the fire-shaping class, several of his classmates had come up to him, asking him to demonstrate how to make an isaw shaping. That was the last thing he wanted. Even if he could demonstrate what he’d done, Tolan also doubted anyone else would have the same ability. What he did seemed to be unique to him.

  What he needed was to understand what was happening with him. If he could understand why he was able to shape in the way he did, and why that shaping seemed to depend upon the elementals, maybe he could come to terms with what he was.

  He didn’t want to talk to anyone about what sort of shaping he had managed to do, and had no interest in sharing any secrets, but he doubted he would be able to avoid questions for long. Too many people had seen the shaping, and all were interested in what he had done and wanted to see if they could do something similar.

  When he took a seat at the table in the library, he rested his head on his hands, staring down. He had the books on the elementals and he pulled them out, flipping through the pages of the book describing the fire elementals until he came across the section on isaw. He reread it, though he didn’t really need to. He had looked through the book many times over the months since Master Minden had lent it to him and had done so often enough that he had practically memorized everything within it. There was nothing here that would be a surprise to him.

  “Back to the elementals, I see.”

  Tolan glanced up at Master Minden. She had moved quietly enough that he hadn’t even been aware she was there. “We had our first lesson on suppressing the elementals.”

  “And what class was that in?”

  Tolan nodded to the book. “Fire.”

  Master Minden glanced over his shoulder, staring down for a moment. “Isaw? An interesting choice. Few realize there is an aspect of wind within isaw, though for the type of lesson they would teach, it’s unlikely to be necessary to know.”

  “I don’t think Master Sartan recognized wind was supposed to be a part of it.”

  “Is that right?”

  Tolan glanced down. “His was a little thicker than what isaw should be. There wasn’t the same rotation, either.”

  What was he doing sharing that with Master Minden? He didn’t need her to question him, and he certainly didn’t need her to know how interacted with the elementals—if that was indeed what he did. Of all of the master shapers at the Academy, for some reason, Master Minden made him the most uncomfortable. It was a combination of her knowledge and that she had a strange power others didn’t seem to have, including the Grand Master and the Grand Inquisitor.

  “Even among the master shapers, few take the time to try and understand the elementals well enough to know the necessary way to shape them.”

  “Why not?”

  “Most feel as if they understand the elementals well enough. Perhaps even more is that once they learn the way of suppressing the elementals, they have no need. The shaping is the same, regardless of which elemental. The only thing that changes is which element bond you are forcing the elemental into.”

  “He had me hold the shaping, so I didn’t get to see the shaping he used.”

  “A master shaper had a second-year student holding the elemental shaping?”

  “I was using a bondar,” he said.

  She nodded. “Of course.”

  “Even Master Sartan was using the bondar.”

  “That is not surprising. To summon an elemental is incredibly difficult. Even if the elemental is not real, it is difficult for most to create anything resembling an actual one. The power involved is enormous, but even more so is the level of control required to maintain it.”

  What she left unsaid was that allowing a student to demonstrate it was equally surprising, for exactly that same reason. If it was an enormous expenditure of energy, it would require a significant exertion on his part, and yet… Tolan had managed without really struggling.

  “I have the sense he intends for us to continue working on learning to suppress elementals.”

  “It is one of the more critical tasks expected of Academy shapers,” she said.

  “Why?”

  “You in particular should understand why it would be necessary for Academy shapers to be a part of the suppression,” she said.

  “Me in particular?”

  “You have experienced an elemental attack both in the Academy and in your homeland. Very few people have the same experience. That gives you a unique perspective. I would expect you would have wanted nothing more than to suppress the elementals.”

  Tolan turned his attention back down to the book, staring at the page. “Do you think it harms them?” He didn’t look up as he asked the question, not wanting Master Minden to give him a disapproving look. With everything taking place at the Academy these days, it was a dangerous question to even ask.

  Master Minden chuckled softly. “That’s interesting. I don’t know that anyone who has researched the elementals has ever questioned whether they suffer during the process of replacing them within the bond.”

  Tolan looked up. “If they are living creatures, don’t they deserve the same respect we would give to any living creature?”

  “Well, Shaper Ethar, they are living creatures, but they aren’t the same sort of creature as what you know. They are of a deep and powerful energy, a part of the world, but not in a way horses or wolves or the squirrels or birds would be. Many of the elementals are rumored to have indefinite life, and a creature like that would need to have some controls set upon it.”

  “It doesn’t mean they don’t—and can’t—suffer.”

  “You make a good point, but I doubt you will find many of the master shapers agreeing with any decision to treat the elementals with compassion. All master shapers want is to return an elemental to the bond if they manage to escape. None want to spend much time trying to understand how to do so compassionately.”

  “And from what I’ve seen, no one wants to understand why the elemental tries to escape the bond.”

  “Do you think we should?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “I suppose that’s as good an answer as any. That means you are willing to keep searching for your own understanding. That’s all we can ask of any of our shapers.” She glanced down at his book before looking up at him. “I take it you would like to hold onto these for a little while longer?”

  “If you don’t mind,” he said.

  “I suppose that I can make do without them for now. Are you interested in getting the other volumes today?”

  Tolan glanced toward the dais and nodded. “I think I should. There’s more I can learn from them.”

  “With works like those, some would say you could continue learning throughout your entire life.”

  She hobbled away, leaving Tolan watching her depart. He turned his attention back down to the book, flipping through pages as he stared and tried to understand elementals. There had to be something in these pages that would help him. He’d gone through these often enough over the months since he’d acquired them and still came up with nothing more than a basic understanding.

  Master Minden returned, handing the books over to him. “As you know, you must return these before leaving.”

  “I know.”

  When she was gone, Tolan slid the new books out of the way and returned to looking through the book on the elementals. He was flipping pages, reading one after another, when Ferrah took a seat across from him.

  “I’ve been looking for you,” she said.

  “Why?”

  “Maybe because you’ve been hiding from everyone since classroom today.”

  “I thought it was for the best.”

  “Because you helped with the lesson, or because you were afraid during your shaping?”

  Tolan sighed. Ferrah knew him far too well, and he couldn’t hide from her the fact he’d been uncomfortable. “You know how I shape,” he whispered.

  “I understand how you think you shape, but all that tells me is that you’re mo
re talented than what you let on. Look at what you were able to do today with Master Sartan.”

  “What I was able to do today was nearly releasing an elemental.”

  “I doubt that’s what you were doing.”

  “You might, but I don’t. The shaping I did was basically a release. I don’t know how else to explain it, and certainly don’t know whether anything would’ve happened had I lost control, especially as Master Sartan was there and holding onto his shaping, but that’s why my shaping, my connection to the elemental, was different than his demonstration.”

  Ferrah studied him for a moment before leaning back and pulling the stack of three books over to her. “I was wondering about that, but I figured it was only because you have a little different understanding of the elementals than most. Who else but you spent so much time reading through books like these to try and understand them?”

  “You?”

  She waved her hand. “I don’t spend any time doing that. I might spend some of my time in the library researching, but I haven’t devoted nearly as much time to the elementals as you.”

  He smiled to himself. “No. You research other things.”

  “So?”

  “I’m not saying it’s bad, I’m just saying you have other things you research.”

  “There are plenty of people who come through here who have other research interests,” Ferrah said.

  “I know that. I also know the things you spend your time researching have more to do with your homeland.” He thought about what she had told him of Par and remembered her describing depictions on some of the ruins of draasin flying. “Is that why you have been so disappointed with your ability with fire shaping?”

  She clenched her jaw and sighed. “I should be able to shape fire better than I can. It irritates me that others have continued to improve with their shaping, but I have been stagnant.”

  “It’s because you refuse to use a bondar.”

  “I shouldn’t need a bondar. I have enough of a fire shaping ability, I shouldn’t have to use anything like that. If I can master my shaping without using a crutch, I’ll be even more talented.”

  “It’s not a crutch to use something that allows you to reach for shaping you wouldn’t have otherwise.”

  “You’re starting to sound like some of the master instructors.”

  “Which master instructors?”

  “Master Sartan has been trying to convince me I need to use a bondar so I can understand a shaping. Once I understand the shaping, he’s convinced I won’t need the bondar any longer.”

  “And you think you know better than Master Sartan?” he asked, smiling.

  “It’s not that.”

  She leaned back, pulling on the books Tolan had set aside and leaning back. She held on to them and started to flip through the three restricted volumes, looking through the pages, and after a moment, she started flipping more slowly, taking her time to read through them. She glanced up at Tolan before turning her attention back to the book. A frown crossed her face and her mouth pressed into a tight line.

  “These are restricted.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Just the type of information that’s in them. How do you have restricted text?”

  “I asked for information about the Selection, and they gave me these. It’s better than asking about the traitor who may or may not be at the Academy.”

  “The Inquisitors will find out if there is someone here,” she said, continuing to flip through the pages of one book before going on to the next.

  He didn’t know how much of it she was reading and how much was more a matter of her just flipping pages and trying to get a sense of what was within the book. When she moved on to the third one, she was shaking her head. “Why these? What’s in here they thought would be valuable?”

  “Well, this one is apparently from the first Grand Master of the Academy,” he said, tapping at one book. “And this one is from the first Grand Inquisitor.”

  “What of the third one?”

  “That one apparently is from another founder of the Academy, and also happens to be related to Master Minden.”

  “Really?” She started flipping through that book, suddenly more intrigued than she had been before. “Why did Master Minden suggest you read this one?”

  “Master Minden didn’t. Master Jensen was the one who gave me these books.”

  “Master Jensen got books for you from the restricted section?” She looked up at him, her mouth twisted in a frown. “I would’ve expected that from Master Minden. She seems to have taken an interest in helping you that’s different than many of the other master shapers, but not from Master Jensen. He hasn’t even given me some of the books I wanted.”

  “I think it has more to do with the fact they brought students out on the Selection, so Master Jensen figured we were allowed to have access to some of those books.”

  She grunted. “That’s an interesting approach. I guess I wouldn’t have thought to even ask.”

  “It’s not as if I asked for restricted books. I just asked for anything that might help me understand the Selection process. These are what he gave me.”

  “Why am I not surprised he gave you books like this?”

  “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “It’s just you tend to have a way with the master librarians.”

  “Not all of them,” Tolan said.

  “Enough. I think it stems from Master Minden, but the others react differently to you. You’d better be careful or they might pull you in to become a master librarian.”

  “I thought that was what you wanted.”

  “It is.”

  Tolan closed the elemental book and stuffed it back into his pouch. He was thankful Master Minden hadn’t asked for it back. There would come a time when he would learn everything he could from the books, but he didn’t feel as if he had reached that point yet.

  “Have you ever asked for the book on spirit?” Ferrah asked, jolting him from his solitude.

  “The book on spirit?”

  “You have one on each of the other elementals. I just figure there has to be some book on spirit.”

  “They told us spirit is different.”

  “That’s what they told us, but they’ve also told us they know more about the elementals than they do. You’ve proven many of the master shapers don’t know quite as much about the elementals as they would like us to believe. I just wondered if perhaps you’d found anything on spirit.”

  He shook his head. “I could always ask, but I have a sneaking suspicion spirit is something they keep restricted.”

  “Restricted like these?” Ferrah asked.

  “I guess so.”

  “Then you should ask.”

  He frowned at her. “You only want me to ask because you’re curious.”

  “I’m not going to deny that. If there’s a book on spirit elementals, think about how much we might learn.”

  “I doubt it will help us reach spirit any faster, if we’re ever able to do so.”

  “I think we both know you’ll eventually reach spirit, Tolan. Whether or not I do is a very different matter. It might involve me combining a shaping of each of the element bonds, but since you’ve been immune to spirit shaping, I suspect you’ll reach spirit on your own. Wouldn’t you rather know all you can? It’s not like you want to learn everything from Master Aela.”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  “You might not, but I trust you will. Do you mind if I read these?” she asked.

  He shook his head. “They’ve made a point of telling me every time I’ve been here that they aren’t allowed to leave the library.”

  “Because they’re restricted.”

  “Because they’re restricted,” he said, smiling. He got up and made his way toward the dais.

  Master Minden was sitting there, and she looked up when he approached. “Is there something else I can help you with, Shaper Ethar?”

  “I’ve been
thinking about the elementals.”

  “Haven’t you spent quite a bit of time thinking about them already?”

  A warm flush worked into his cheeks. What did she think of his interest in the elementals? Would she accuse him of asking the wrong sort of questions? His curiousity was certainly enough that it could get him into trouble, but he had helped the Academy in his time here.

  “Well, I guess I’ve been thinking more about them, but I was wondering if there are similar books on spirit elementals.”

  “We’ve had this conversation before,” she said.

  “There has to be something.” Tolan looked around the inside of the library, marveling at the sheer number of books spread throughout. “With as much knowledge as is here, and as many years as people have studied these things, it seems as if there would have to be something.” A thought occurred to him, and he wondered why he hadn’t considered it before. “All of the elementals have escaped the bond before, but I’ve never heard of a spirit elemental escaping from the bond.”

  “Are you so certain?”

  “Are you saying spirit elementals have escaped but they’ve shaped it so we don’t remember?”

  “I’m not saying anything of the sort. It seems as if you are.”

  Tolan studied her, trying to decide if she was making a joke or not, and ultimately decided he couldn’t tell. “Are there spirit elementals who can escape from the bond?”

  Master Minden set her hands on the dais and straightened her back. “The element bonds aren’t meant to confine indefinitely. They are meant for shapers to reach the power stored within, but nothing more than that. It is not possible for the elementals to remain trapped within the bonds forever.”

  That wasn’t an answer, but maybe it was all she would give him. “Do you have anything that would help me understand the spirit elementals?”

  “I have something that might help you understand spirit, but typically we reserve that for those who first understand their connection to spirit. Are you making the claim you have a connection to spirit?”

  Tolan debated how to answer. On the one hand, if he told her he thought he had a connection to spirit, it sounded as if she might allow him to take the book and continue to learn, but on the other hand, he wasn’t sure how many people he wanted to know he might have that connection. At least, until he understood whether or not he did, and if he did, what that meant for him.