"What are Elements?"
The question floated about the room yet silence remained its answer. Finally, the Instructor, a playful smile on her lips, pointed towards someone. "You there. Answer."
Jace watched as the student rose, sandy hair visible in the dark light. He spoke calmly and with a certain tone, as if he found the very question beneath him. "Elements are creations by nature–grass, wind, air."
The student paused for a second, as he stretched out his hand. Fine particles–Dust or perhaps something else, gathered in his palm, forming a small crudely shaped tower. Jace frowned at the display, noting that the fine particles felt more like sand than dust.
The Instructor, Bailey, shook her head. "Wrong. Please sit,"
The sand-haired boy frowned, but he obliged. The Instructor sighed heavily as she retrieved from her breast pocket, a scrunchie. She tilted forward, allowing her hair to fall over her chest as she twisted it.
She fitted the hair into the scrunchie, making it into a bun. Finally, she rose, smiling as she declared "Elements are natural. They are anything and everything that occur naturally,"
"But they are not just aspects of nature. Light is an element, darkness is an element. Shadows are elements," The Instructor paused "...Everything that occurs naturally without human intervention are elements."
Jace looked about noting that a few students had turned on their cyberlinks and had begun to record the lecture. Some had their hands stretched out, focused on manifesting their elements. And finally, some just ignored the lecture.
Sighing, Jace turned on his cyberlink just as Bailey continued, "In this course we will be looking at elements. But we will also be looking at the three principles of using Elemental Abilities: Control, Manipulation and Manifestation."
A large clump of rock rose from the stage. It floated towards the crowd, its weight rising above the students. "Control is, in easy terms, movement. The ability to push or pull your element. That is control."
Jace watched as the clump began to move. It advanced, twirling in a circular motion, spinning over the crowd.
"Control is the simplest yet most difficult to attain. The simple truth is, most never gain the ability to control their element. At most, they learn to nudge them."
Instructor Bailey's voice went low as the rock began to decelerate, "Remember, control, while a useful skill to learn, isn't everything. There are still stories of soldiers…" She paused, "...Heroes, who gained incredible merit despite their lack of control. What is truly dangerous is attempting control without understanding your element."
The crowd grew somber as the stone stopped spinning, the clump of rock still hovering over the crowd. "The next principle is Manipulation."
As Bailey spoke, the clump of rock slowly shifted, twisting from its irregular shape to a crudely made blade.
"Manipulation is the act of reforming your element into something else."
Instructor Bailey's foot clacked against the stage floor as she strode grandly across it. "Think of molding. You are given something and you try and work and finally, you create something else. The base remains the same, the item itself differs."
A hand rose as Bailey nodded to take the question. A young man–deep brown hair that seemed almost blonde over a stern face–asked, "Won't some manipulations be easier than others. Manipulating the darkness to form a blade seems easier than trying to break down a rock and fix it again."
Bailey nodded, motioning to the figure behind her. Jace's gaze drifted beyond Bailey to Kem–the young teaching assistant–who marched forward, dignity in her steps. She held her arms up as if summoning an ancient deity, just as a rushing sound tickled Jace's ears.
Water manifested above her. A bubble of continually increasing size floated slowly, moving from above to the stage to above the students. Some stirred, shifting away to a location the water wasn't above–an impossible feat, others simply gazed up unbothered and some began to take pictures of the unique sight. Jace found himself staring up at the bubble, almost waiting for when it would descend.
Bailey continued amidst the crowd's varied reaction "Each process or technique of manipulation is different. While water might be easier to shape, you also have to consider the fact that the caster needs to consistently maintain the structure of the weapon."
As Bailey spoke, the large bubble began to form a spear. Soon, it had transformed into a sleek shape, its blade pointed and sharp enough for all to see. Bailey clicked her tongue as the rock-knife moved to the stage, dropping into the palm of her hand. Waving the knife, Bailey ended, "Unlike mine where the shape needs no maintenance."
The brown haired student sat after a nod from Bailey. Jace, meanwhile, kept his gaze upward. He wasn't sure when exactly the water would descend, but it would. Eventually.
"And the last principle is Manifestation. Or rather, True Manifestation."
The rocky shape crumbled. A stream of dirt fell to the stage as Bailey glanced briefly at the fallen pieces, before shifting her gaze to the crowd. "Elements were stated to be naturally occurring. And so, how can they be naturally occurring when you wield the power to create them."
As Bailey spoke, the clumps of dirt lying on the stage began to rise. The tiny particles drifted to one another, each fitting like a piece in a puzzle to form the rocky dagger from just minutes ago.
"A young Elementalist had a theory. He got funding, experimented and finally, wrote a book about it. You see, even our abilities abide by simple laws. And elemental abilities abide by the Law of Conservation of Mass."
Bailey stretched her hand, the dagger falling and resting perfectly on her palm. "When you manifest your abilities, you do not create them. You simply…" she paused, "...use your environment."
The Instructor motioned to the bubble hovering above the crowd. "Take that as an example,"
She strode forward, hovering just at the edge of the stage, "When Kem began to manifest the water, did you feel it?"
Jace frowned as Bailey chuckled, "Don't worry. Pay attention this time."
As the Elemental Instructor spoke, the bubble grew and grew and grew. Soon, Jace felt sick. His skin tingled, his legs itched and his mind felt heavy. A haze clogged his thoughts as a warm melodic voice pierced through "That is False Manifestation. It is a manifestation based on the environment."
Jace raised his head just to see Bailey nod. He frowned. A thought, a theory knocked on the door of his mind. Why was Bailey nodding? Who was she nodding to?
And then–
Cold.
Water poured over Jace's head, banishing the hazy mist and shaking his mind up. Jace felt the cool liquid drip down to his chest, weighing his shoes down.
"The water from above was not created. It was drained from the environment. Your sweats, the tiny drops resting on the ground, all formed the sigh minutes ago. True Manifestation, as theorized, is when environment becomes meaningless. When that happens, your ability will not be bound by mortal laws,"
Instructor Bailey winked. "Or at least that's the theory. Now scamper along,"
The lesson was over. Jace shook his head, struggling to get water from it. As he did, he spied Jax doing something.
He turned fully, gazing at Jax. The young student had his head down, intently focused on the flame dancing over his palm. The flame moved as he commanded, barely leaving his palm.
Jace inched closer to see as Jax whirred, the two almost bumping into each other. "Uhm…Hey,"
"...Hey," Jax answered, his flame dissipating. The two looked at one another before averting their gazes. Jace glanced forward, his gaze resting on a young man with dark hair. The water dripped down from his body froze. The liquid turned into ice in a second, breaking apart and falling onto the ground.
He shook, the last fragments of ice falling away. Jace watched as the young man roasted his neck, before pausing and looking right at Jace. Jace met the gaze head-on as the student sighed before turning away. From beside, Jace heard Jax whisper, "I see you noticed the first ranked,"
Jace shot Jax a glance, before focusing back on his table. He stretched forth his hand and summoned his ability. He felt the energy stir in him, the warm familiar heat rise up into the palm of his hand. And then, nothing.
No fog erupted from his skin. The class didn't drown in mist. The warmth in his palm simply retreated, no evidence of their power making known in the physical.
Jace grunted, turning over to Jax who had summoned a new ball of flames, this time struggling to turn his ball into anything else.
"You okay?" Jace asked. Jax grunted in response. Jace watched as Jax tried and failed to change his flame from the ball into something, anything else. Finally, Jace asked, "How do you summon your ability?"
The flame puttered out as Jax turned to Jace, confusion etched. "What do you mean? You just….do it."
Jace pointed out, "Not exactly helpful information you're giving me,"
Jax's confusion grew as he explained. "Think of it like a switch, you simply turn it on. Or like a limb, you just move and control it. Or…"
A sigh escaped Jace's lips as he understood why Jax was speaking gibberish, or something close to that. Abilities awakened early, most before the age of 10. For all ability users, they had lived with their abilities for years, grown with it.
To them, their abilities were akin to a fifth limb–Mysterious and weird, but always within reach. Jace was 18, barely a week older than 17 if one wished to get technical. Jace did not have the privilege or time to slowly learn and uncover his ability. He needed to find a shortcut to master them.
Shortcut!
Jace's lips curled into a smile as he opened up his system screen. He vaguely remembered the low alert during his battle with Drax. Searching through the status screen, Jace failed to find anything that could help him.
Until he caught sight of Skills. The first time Jace had searched it, there had been none. Now, two skills lay underneath the button. The first was his 'Dusk Eyes', yet the second was new. 'Fog spread'.
Jace's smile turned to a chuckle as he activated his newest skill. Like the battle, a thick mist rose from his skin. The fog wafted about, catching the attention of many: Kem with her wide blue eyes, the first ranked with his calm almost unperturbed expression, and Bailey with her worried smile.
Jace could even see 'Flame guy', his hair still a dark annoying blue. He threw frequent glances at Jace, keeping on a thoughtful look. Another, the student with deep sandy hair wore nothing, his expression blank. He watched the performance with a great deal of focus, sparing a few glances at the source of the fog.
Soon, more people began to watch Jace's little show. And it was there he began to grow worried. In the battle against Drax, his fog had stopped at a certain level. Jace's fog had grown long past that level, yet the fog continued.
Soon, the fog had wrapped all the students in the class, yet it still spread, dispersing as it moved closer to the stage. Simultaneously, Jace could feel his palms sweat, his mind grow faint. He wanted air. He needed air!
Jace began to cough, once, then a few times, then incessantly. Jace felt a palm on his back, a warm voice reaching his hazy mind. "Are you okay?"
Jace couldn't respond. He clutched his throat as he slid off the chair and unto the ground. He wanted to faint, he needed rest. He needed to close his eyes. Just for a few seconds. Just a few–
The lights were spinning, his eyes were heavy. Air. A blue wave of light appeared before vanishing into a flash as Jace felt his lungs relax. Air.
Blue hair came into view as Jace noticed Kem peering over his face. "Are you okay? It seemed like you lost control of your ability. It was gathering up all the oxygen and …"
She paused for a second, stopping to think. Finally, she spoke. "You did…okay. Get some rest."
And Jace did.
* *
Jace hefted his bag over his shoulder as he walked through the crowd. His muscles burned in pain and his mind still seemed trapped in fog, yet he was alright. Good enough. But good enough would not cut it.
The crowd slowly thinned, splitting into streams in different directions. A sigh escaped his lips as Jace pondered escaping the fearsome meeting. It was too soon, too soon to look into the eyes of his killer.
Jace didn't hate Drax, didn't dislike him. Did Jace fear him? Drax had cut him open and not even blinked. The veteran had watched with impassive eyes as Jace bled to his death. Then the answer was yes. Jace feared him.
Another sigh, his last one yet he assured, escaped his lips as his cyberlink pinged. The screen of the sleek watch brightened up to reveal a message from Drax. 'Heard about your incident. Don't come to class. Take some time off.'
Jace reread the message to make sure he wasn't dreaming before skipping past the weapons class, hopping into the courtyard. He thought of where to go, who to call before realizing with a start that there was no one to call. Jax and Silas had other classes, Elena was working on a shift and frankly, Jace didn't want to meet her. Not now. With the three of them indisposed, Jace was alone.
He debated the thought, choosing between going to the weapons class and being on his own. The choice was simple. Jace tightened his grip on his back and strode through the courtyard, into the library.
The receptionist grumbled as Jace showed off his ID card and the text from drax, permitting entry. Jace walked through the gaping slides, the bright light shining his eyes.
He stood and squinted, allowing his eyes to adjust. Jace took a grief glance at his right, computers hovering above desks, holograms waving to whoever passed by. His gaze held before he turned right, towards the maze of books.
He walked in, trailing the book-bounds shelves as his eyes caught a sharp flash–Light lingering upon silver. He traced the light, coming across a young student, her silver hair dangling just below her neck. Her back was facing Jace yet he thought he recognized. It took minutes for him to link her to the student he had asked about the fantasy section long ago.
"Hey," Jace started, the student in front of him not even turning. Instead, she motioned with her fingers to follow and began walking away. Jace trailed, his stride growing as her pace increased. Before long, a wide space formed between them no matter how fast jace walked.
The white-haired girl–Hazel, if Jace could recall–was just too quick, too elusive. Like a ghost. Jace grimaced. He didn't believe in ghosts, but if they existed, Jace knew one that would haunt him.
His train of thoughts collapsed as Hazel led him to a clearing within the maze. Two sofas faced each other, a table between them. By the side of the table, backed into a shelf, was a long couch.
Hazel walked over and sat on one of the sofas, motioning him to the other. Jace frowned, sitting as Hazel bowed her head, her silvery hair falling over her face. Then she spoke, "I'm sorry."
Jace's frown deepened. "Sorry? What do you mean sorry? Why are you–"
"I'm a legacy."
Hazel cut Jace off letting him blubber around with his words. Jace felt his ideas scatter, his mind almost refusing to comprehend what was in front of him. A legacy. A living legacy.
Jace had heard of them, heard of the vast difference between them. And so that was why no matter how much he thought, he couldn't comprehend her words. Forcing himself to focus, Jace probed. "What do you mean sorry?"
Her head rose. She was beautiful. As she swept her silvery hair away she looked at Jace with an expression that spoke uncaring. And then she swept that away too. Her expression morphed to sadness, maybe hints of despair.
"About Bill. About what he did. About what he had to do. I'm sorry."
She bowed again, this time an apology.
"It's fine," Jace said, suddenly exhausted. "It's all fine. It's no problem."
"Yes it is," She started, her voice cold despite her expression. "We're supposed to be better, to be different. Instead we played and laughed, unaware of the danger. We pushed the responsibility amongst ourselves until it was too late. WE are as much murderer–"
"Fine." Jace demanded, rising as he cut her sentence off with an intensity he didn't know he had. His hand banged against the table, laying motionless. He sighed softly as he fell back onto the chair, whispering, "It's fine."
"No, it's not." Jace felt heat against his hand as Hazel rose to her feat, circling the table. She bent her head gently to meet Jace's eyes, her hand sweeping strands that fell across her face. "It's not fine."
Jace's breath caught as she stretched forth her hand, almost reaching Jace's cheek. Then she stopped. She straightened up as she declared, "Come to me, to my faction. That's my gift to you and the only way I can make this right. Come."
Jace attempted to speak, then stopped, dropping his rising hand and letting it fall to the table. Hazel nodded almost knowingly, "You'll want to think about it, I'm sure. Just give me an answer soon."
She turned to go before pausing. She turned back to Jace, leaned ever so slightly, her lips inches from his cheek despite Jace's backward lean. Then she stopped. Straightened up and then walked into the maze, not glancing back.
Jace watched her go, leaning against the backrest as soon as she had left. Then he recalled Hazel's last actions and he felt his mind hurt. Because even with all her actions, even with those final words, her sadness had been replaced and her expression cold. So cold Jace had thought her face might be carved from stone.
Feeling his mind wander, Jace sank into the chair. He was exhausted.