The Five Elements

by Scott Marlowe

  "Hold it steady," Erlek said as he drew close enough that his presence lifted the hairs on the back of Shanna's neck. "You have a head start in its mastery. I see that already. Your attunement is much greater than I had hoped or imagined. It is no wonder Elsanar…" The last seemed no more than a silent muse given voice as the man's speech tapered to a whisper and then silence, leaving the thought unfinished.

  Shanna hardly noticed, for only one word of his had piqued Shanna's interest. "Attunement?"

  "Yes," Erlek said from over her shoulder. "Attunement is about balance and harmony. It is, at its most fundamental level, a synchronicity between an individual and one's self. Sorcery and those who claim mastery of the psyche spring from this idiom. But there is more. We each possess a quantifiable amount of energy within us. This energy can be tapped into, drawn forth, manipulated, even made material. But it is finite. How could it be anything else? We are but mortals. Therein lies the greatest limitation of sorcery and its ilk. Oh, they practice Joinings, make their staves, and do such and such with repositories of energy, but always there exists limitations to such things. The energy of Uhl, however, the power of the earth, is without limit. If one could attune themselves to such power… . Of all those who have tried, only the druids ever succeeded. The founders of their Hierocracy recognized right away the inherent dangers of possessing power without boundaries and so they instilled their own. Thus was born the Druidic Oath, a sacred trust and, even more, a promise to serve the earth and never to abuse it. No mere pledge, they wrapped their energies and each individual's attunement into the Oath, so that anyone who took and then broke it would find their attunement altered, changed so that they were rendered powerless."

  "Is that what happened to the elementalists?" Shanna asked.

  "The elementalists sacrificed their attunement with the earth for something greater: attunement with the Four Elements."

  "But—" Shanna thought for a moment. "How can I be attuned to anything? I'm not—I mean, I was never—"

  "The bond of attunement is a complex one. It exists on a mental, physical, even a metaphysical level. You, as I have said before, are a child of the elementalists. Something of what they were exists within you. To delve any further into this would require more time than we have. Now, you are to begin your training."

  Guessing at what Erlek desired of her, Shanna pulled the Element of Earth closer, so the rim of it just touched her chest. "How do I… invoke it?" she asked, hoping she used the right terminology.

  Erlek chuckled as he moved away. "I cannot yet allow you to do such a thing, for doing so would draw our enemies to us like a moth to a flame."

  Shanna turned on him. "Then how am I supposed to—"

  "Make no mistake, we are hunted. For now, flying so high and at such speed, we remain elusive and undetected. But, invoke the Element, and you broadcast to the world our locale. That is something we do not want. Not yet. As for how you are to learn to control the Element… For now, put it down, and come here to the desk."

  Shanna did not obey right away. She remained where she was, the Element of Earth held close. She did not want to put it down. This did not go unnoticed by Erlek.

  "Part of our arrangement," he said, "involves you doing as you are told, does it not?"

  The man's tone allowed no rebuke, and so Shanna returned the bowl to the table. But she did so slowly. Even when it was no longer in her grasp, still her fingers lingered along its rim, absorbing the strange tingling sensation as if it were a drug. Finally, she broke away from it and went to the desk as instructed.

  "Sit," Erlek said as he hovered over the opposite side shuffling papers.

  Shanna sat.

  "I have a lesson planned for you."

  She immediately stood up. "You have a what?"

  "Sit!"

  Shanna did.

  "Your thought process—your way of thinking—must be honed. We have little time with which to work. You already possess the physical capacity to invoke the Element. You would have felt nothing from it if you did not. But your mental and spiritual faculties are matters we need address. Here I have written a number of problems." Erlek thumbed through a small stack of papers. "I do not expect you to solve every one of them, but each should help shape your thought process." He selected one of the sheets, then put it down in front of Shanna along with a charcoal pencil. "Examine what I have written carefully. Write your answer beneath each problem. You may begin." Erlek started to walk away, but then he stopped and turned to her with a narrowed gaze. "You can read, can't you? And write?"

  Shanna almost said 'no' to both. She wondered if she did if Erlek would then proceed to give her a lesson in those more rudimentary subjects. She glanced at the paper in front of her. There were short sections of text with space between each. The bottommost lesson, which took up the bottom third of the page, was made up of labeled diagrams with lines and circles and several blocks of text Erlek had headed with the word 'posits'. Better to lie, she thought, to tell him she'd never been taught either skill. Better that than have to work on Erlek's lessons. If not for her pride, she would have. "Of course I know how to read and write."

  "And mathematics? You know the subjects of algebra, numerical analysis, and probability?"

  "Of course I do," Shanna said, lying this time. "I was top of my class… before you destroyed the classroom."

  Erlek accepted her response with a nod. "Then begin."

  Shanna read through the problem: 'A farmer has thirty chickens and cows'. Shanna looked up from the paper in confusion. "What do chickens and cows have to do with anything?"

  Erlek had moved to sit upon the divan a short distance away where he'd just begun thumbing through a book. He did not look up as he spoke. "The chickens and cows are simply part of the logic problem."

  It seemed all the explanation she was to get. Shanna started reading the problem again. 'A farmer has thirty chickens and cows. Together, they have seventy-six legs'. She didn't read the rest, for at that moment her mind was filled with the image of a great monster, part-cow and part-chicken, with a farmer's head and seventy-six legs. She almost giggled. If not for Erlek's presence she would have. Of course, she realized, if not for Erlek's presence she wouldn't be sitting here reading about chickens and cows. She looked over the other sheets Erlek had left on the desk. The problems written there were all of a similar nature, though some had diagrams with lines and circles and small numbers written here and there. She didn't see how any of this was going to help her use the Element. It was a waste of time and stupid, too. If Aaron were here, she'd slip him her papers and he'd have them solved in no time. Aaron reveled in such things. He'd run circles around Erlek, solving the old man's stupid logic problems and probably coming up with a few of his own that'd leave Erlek scratching his bald head in confusion. Shanna smiled at the thought of it.

  She started doodling to at least make it appear as if she were working. What she was really doing was thinking of Aaron and of home. She missed Aaron’s companionship. And home—she tried to think of why she missed home. She gave it a full minute before she gave up, unable to come up with a single reason. There were some things: the rollicking through the alleyways, the games of crutchit, the respect and awe she inspired because of her daring, defiance, and simple ability to thumb her nose at the rules time and time again. But things had been changing of late. She hadn't wanted to admit it, but she knew they were. She was getting older, with new responsibilities, and it seemed those days of finishing her chores and having the rest of the day to herself were fast waning. It had started with her apprenticeship under Nora. How she'd detested that woman and her work ethic. Up before dawn, working in that hot, cramped chamber in the Underkeep with its vats of boiling oil and scented herbs that Shanna had to clean and chop and grind until her arms felt like they might fall off. Her blood boiled just thinking of it all. But that life was over. Her home was gone. Nora was dead. Shanna had a new life ahead of her now, a new purpose, and—

  "You are not making
very good progress."

  So lost in her thoughts, Shanna had not noticed Erlek rise from the divan nor had she noticed his approach as he now stood hovering over her shoulder.

  "Because I don't know what to do." She almost told him right there what she thought of his 'logic problems', but she bit her tongue and kept it to herself. She didn't want to provoke the man unnecessarily. She still needed to learn from him.

  "It is a basic mathematical problem. See here, you need two equations to solve this particular—"

  He went on and on, nothing of what he said having any meaning to Shanna. As he delved deeper, he quizzed her periodically. He was halfway through an explanation of the second when, after she'd failed to answer a single question of his correctly, he stopped.

  Erlek sighed. "What did Elsanar teach you then? Let us start there."

  "He didn't teach me anything. I already told you, I didn't have anything to do with Elsanar."

  "Yes, but surely he must have instructed you, perhaps in subtle fashion through a tutor or—"

  "No."

  "He must have recognized your potential and would have readied you—"

  "No, again."

  Erlek let out a second sigh. "It seems we must start at a more fundamental level then." He swept away the papers in front of her, then he went to a bookshelf that had been empty during her last visit but which was now lined with leather bound books. The spines on many of them were identical and marked with only a number whose value rose sequentially from left to right. Aaron used a similar numbering system on his journals, though he had far fewer on his bookshelf. Erlek passed over all of those as he selected one at a lower shelf. Returning with it already open to a particular page, he placed the book before her.

  "I think we shall take a different approach. This is not mathematics. It is a dissertation on metaphysical connections and theories concerning attunement written by a man named Jeddar Fruke, a scholar of Seacea who died some two hundred years ago. It is one man's view of things, but I have found many of his theorems to be quite accurate. It is as good a place as any for you to begin."

  Shanna looked over the page with a sour look on her face. The type was small. Line after line of text made the reading very unattractive.

  "Now," Erlek said, "I have business with the captain, and shan't return for an hour or more. Do not leave the room. If you need anything, see that Mirna fetches it for you. I expect to have seen significant progress upon my return."

  He'd almost left when Shanna remembered she had commitments of her own. "Wait! I want to see the people from Norwynne, to make sure they're alright."

  "You have reason to think they are otherwise?" Erlek asked.

  "No, but I'd still like to see them, to talk to them."

  Erlek thought for a moment. "Very well. But only after I've returned. For now, see to your reading."

  With that, he left the room and closed the door behind him.

  Shanna immediately pushed her chair away and, leaving the book on the desk, plopped herself down on the cushioned divan. She stretched, making no effort to remain quiet about it. Then she just lay there for a few precious moments, not caring if Erlek returned right then and there. She had an hour. An hour she did not intend to waste reading some crusty old book written by some crusty old scholar. She'd made a promise to Jadjin and the others that she intended to keep. She'd not wait another minute—let alone an hour—to see it fulfilled. Suddenly charged with purpose, Shanna jumped up. The first order of business was where to find them. She could wander the airship and possibly get in trouble for poking her nose where it didn't belong, or she could find Tom and have him show her. As tempting as it sounded to explore the ship on her own, she chose the latter approach. Better if she didn't attract attention to herself, something she was sure to do if she were seen wandering around by herself with no earthly idea where she was going. Besides, she only had an hour. She'd best make the most of it.

  She crept across the room to the door, cautiously sticking her head out. The coast was clear. Gently shutting the door behind her, she tiptoed down the hall and abruptly stopped when she realized she'd no idea where Tom might be. She thought a moment. She might not know where he was, but she knew exactly where to start looking.

  She found the berthing, a large space thick with swinging hammocks, further belowdeck about mid-ship. Many of the airmen slept, for they'd been occupied with the storm and were understandably weary from their efforts. Not all, though, for a few huddled at the room's center. Shanna silently approached them. A quick peek over a shoulder revealed a familiar sight. Crutchit dice. Much to Shanna's relief, Tom was amongst the players. He spotted her, too. With a smile on his face, he ushered her from the berthing so they could speak without having to whisper.

  "Hello, Shanna!" Tom said with genuine enthusiasm. "Come to try your hand?" He tossed a thumb in the direction of the game.

  Ordinarily, she'd already have elbowed her way in. But she'd not come here to play games. "No," she said. "I came to ask a favor."

  "Oh?"

  "I need you to show me where they're holding the prisoners. The ones who came onboard the same time I did."

  Tom thought a moment. "I'm not so sure—"

  "Please, Tom. I don't want to get you in trouble, but I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important."

  "Oh, there'll be no trouble over it. It's just that… well, that's where the savant sets up his lab. It’s not a pleasant thing to see all laid out. I chanced upon it once. Thought it best not to do so again."

  Tom was right. Shanna had seen the lab with her own eyes. She knew what went on there. Still, none of that was supposed to be happening now. Erlek had promised.

  "Tom, I have to get down there to make sure they're alright. If Erlek's done anything to them…" She'd kill him, sooner than planned. No matter how since she could not command the Element presently, but she'd find a way.

  Tom, responding to the urgency in her voice, agreed to show her the way.

  The laboratory was setup much like before, though this time with just a single table laden with glass containers, tubules, and instruments all secured in place against the movement of the airship. There was also the examination table which, the last time Shanna had seen it, had held Corrin. At one corner of the room was a cage. Inside were her folk. As they approached with only Tom's small lantern for light, Shanna saw something that had not been present in the previous laboratory. Whatever it was, it was as big as a wagon and covered in canvas so that Shanna saw only bits and pieces of metal shining from the faint light. Curious, she lifted a corner of the covering. She saw gears and pistons and what she guessed to be strange looking vats. Copper tubes ran everywhere. Shanna let the canvas fall into place, then she returned her attention to those in the cage. They greeted her with squinted, tired gazes. Only Jadjin greeted her arrival with anything close to a smile.

  The place stank. Shanna spotted a chamber pot inside the cage. It was obvious it had not been emptied of late. Worse, last night's storm had spilled some of its contents across the floor. That, and the unwashed prisoners' bodies still smelling heavily of the floodwaters almost made Shanna turn around in search of fresh air.

  Jadjin offered no verbal greeting this time. Nala and the man Shanna still had no name for huddled close together. Rail, who'd taken a corner of the cell for himself, peered at Shanna with something akin to a blank stare, except that Shanna saw a certain recognition—and a certain disappointment—in it. The army man, Sergeant Tippin, whose mustache was now a greasy smudge across his unshaven face, stood as well as he could in the shortened cell and, gripping the bars with each hand, asked, "Have you come with the keys?"

  As one, the others' faces lit up in expectation of her answer. They were already convinced she carried them, for why else would she be here?

  Why else, indeed, Shanna thought. It was with regret and a fair amount of shame she told them that no, she hadn't come to free them. Not yet. "I'm here to make sure you're alright. I know what happened to the others, b
ut it isn't going to happen to any of you. I made a deal with the savant. As long as I do what he says, he won't hurt you."

  "A deal?" Tippin again. "Does this deal involve getting us out of this cell?"

  "Well, no. The savant didn't say anything about freeing you. Not yet, at least. Though there really isn't anywhere to go. We're on an airship and—oh, but you saw that when they brought you onboard, didn't you? We're…" Shanna looked to Tom, thinking to ask their elevation, when instead she realized she hadn't introduced him. "This is Tom."

  Sergeant Tippin was not interested in exchanging pleasantries. His face betrayed his growing annoyance.

  "This has gone on long enough, girl. You were supposed to have been working on getting us freed, not gallivanting about with some ship's boy or making deals with the man who laid waste to our home."

  "I have not been gallivanting about. Tom showed me the way down here. If he hadn't, I might not even be here right now. As far as the deal—it's the only thing keeping you alive right now. You think you'd be a bit more appreciative."

  "I'll be plenty appreciative when you get us out of this cell, get a sword into my hand, and we take control of this ship."