The Elementalists

Hi everyone! This is my last Creative Writing story. I know that maybe the description is a bit much, so feel free to skip over it. Thank you so much for reading this and my book! I hope you enjoy, and please comment! Thanks!

A girl, eighteen years of age, sat cross-legged in the middle of a perfectly white room, her posture completely straight. The floor was composed of pale wood, the walls cream. The girl herself wore a baggy, long-sleeved white t-shirt, over white pants. Her feet were bare. Her hair was black, and streamed down her back in loose curls, with a few strands that were bright gold, her eyes were golden like honey, and her skin was a light brown. Her name was Kiana. She was the Watcher, the Waiter, the Warrior. She was the Sorceress. The Elementalist. And first and foremost, she was the Illusionist.

Disturbing the silence of the room, the door opened softly. Five girls came in. Their ages ranged from fifteen to eleven. They waited in silence for Kiana to acknowledge their prescence. Kiana smiled to herself. Good. They had learned. Perhaps now, they were truly ready. To take on their roles, and protect the world.

Hours passed, but the girls did not move. They knew that Kiana would rise when she was ready. Finally, Kiana rose to her feet in a single, fluid moment. She turned, a graceful, elegant movement, and looked upon the five girls.

She walked on bare feet, soundless, to the first girl.

“Aedre,” she murmured. The girl of age fifteen. She had very, very dark hair, a true black, that fell perfectly straight around her shoulders, and bright, deep blue eyes, a blue so true it seemed to defy the meaning of the word itself. She wore all blue - dark blue jeans and a dark blue blouse. She curtsied. Aedre was the only one with a bag, a brown leather satchel rather like a messenger bag.

“Lady Kiana.”

“Are you ready to accept this burden?”

“I have been since the day I was born, Lady.” Kiana nodded at her answer. She took the girls hands for a moment, and squeezed them tightly, then moved to the next girl.

“Gaia,” she said softly, a mere wisp of the word. The fourteen year old girl with long, straight hair the color of caramel that swept to her waist and eyes green as grass looked up to meet her eyes. She had a smattering of freckles splashed across the bridge of her nose, and wore white jeans and a dark brown blouse. She too curtsied.

“Mistress.”

“Are you ready to take on this?”

“Always, Mistress,” she said. Kiana leaned forward, and kissed her once, quickly on each cheek.

“Aira,” she said, her voice the merest trace of sound in the air. The girl, aged thirteen years, looked up. Her hair was a very pale blonde, and fell straight three and a half inches exactly below her shoulders before curving inwards. Her eyes were icy blue, and her skin was very pale. She wore a white top and faded, sky blue jeans. She followed what her predecessors had done, and curtsied.

“My Lady,” she said.

“You are prepared?”

“Of course.” Aira possessed an easy confidence, that annoyed Gaia, who needed to make sure every plan was laid out in minute detail. Kiana smiled to herself. They would work well together. She took Aira’s shoulders, and squeezed them slightly, a gentle, comforting pressure.

“Aithne,” she said, her voice a whisper. Aithne’s twelve year old eyes locked on her own. She had long hair so rich a red that it looked dyed, and bright green eyes, too bright. A splash of freckles lay across her nose, slightly lopsided so there were more on the left side of her face than the right. She wore black jeans, and a sequined, one strap red top. Aithne always stood out, clashing with Aedre, who preferred to wear simple clothing and pass under the eyes of all who beheld her. She curtsied.

“Teacher.”

“You know the risks?”

“I am ready.” Kiana squeezed the girl’s hands, and kissed her on the brow. Finally, she moved on the the last girl.

“Maia,” she said softly, just the merest suggestion of the word. Maia had glossy black hair that tumbled around her small shoulders, and large, dark, brown eyes like melted chocolate, looking up from her eleven year old face. She wore white jeans an oversized white t-shirt with a shimmering gold locket around her neck. The white emphasized her light brown skin and finely chiseled features. She looked like Kiana. Just like her.

Just as Aedre looked like Clara, and Gaia looked just like Illadri, and Aira looked like Sky, and Aithne looked like Jessa. Clara, Illadri, Sky, and Jessa. Along with Kiana, they were the previous generation of the elementalists. Now, the next elementalists were here. They were also the last.

Aedre. Water.

Gaia. Earth.

Aira. Air.

Aithne. Fire.

And Maia. Illusion.

Just like Kiana.

Every five hundred years, the old Elementalists died away, until only one was left to train the new generation. But Aedre, Gaia, Aira, Aithne, and Maia would be the last. They would have to be the saviors of the human race, or they were doomed. Their very names were the proof. Aedre meant stream, Gaia meant earth, Aira meant air, Aithne meant fire, and Maia meant illusion.

Maia curtsied.

"Illusionist."

"You know what you must do?"

"I am ready." Kiana cupped the girl's face in her hands for the briefest second.

"Then we shall begin," Kiana murmured. She turned to Aedre.

"Aedre. Water, rivers, streams, ponds, lakes, puddles, and even the mighty oceans. All are under your control. Show me you have the power." Aedre moved her hands apart, slim fingers dancing on the air. Aedre's aura blazed around her, a shimmering iridescent blue. It shifted through shades of blue, a not blinking, steady, a tracery of veins lacing their way through it in the shades of blue. A bubble of pure water formed, and stretched with her hands. She pushed her hands together, and straight out, cleaving the water, and two seperated bubbles formed. She snapped her fingers. One bubble formed itself into ice, the other was superheated into gas. She moved one index finger, and the bubbles reformed. The water formed itself into letters in the oldest language, a language humans no longer remembered, spelling out a single word. Water.

"You are ready," Kiana whispered. "Arraida liaethana." Aedre shivered at hearing the words of true power. A streak of her hair, black as polished river stones, turned a beautiful blue. And, fast as a blink of an eye, she ... changed. She wore a shining silver mail coat that gleamed blue somehow and reached to her knees, links flexible as a rubber band, but stronger than steel. At her waist, hung a sword set with a gorgeous blue jewel, and a quiver and arrows were slung across her back. The angles and planes of her face had ... changed, somehow, becoming longer, more angled, her distinctive eyes becoming larger and slanted in her face.

Kiana moved to Gaia.

"Gaia. The entire earth belongs to you. It is your domain. You are the queen of it. Prove to me you are worthy of this."

Gaia raised her hands. The pale wood cracked under her feet, and a shoot pushed it's way up through the floor. She held out her hand flat and pulled it upwards, and the shoot began to grow, into a young tree, with a slender trunk, covered in perfect brown wood, leaves glossy green, hung with peaches, full, juicy, and heavy. She had created years of growth in mere minutes.

"You are ready," Kiana whispered. "Lienaya kairthalya." Gaia trembled at these words of power, the words of creation. And then, in the merest fraction of a second, she changed. Her clothing changed, her shirt becoming shimmering bronze links of chain mail. Her caramel colored hair was braided over her shoulder, but now there were a few thin streaks of blonde and darker brown. It was tied with a golden ribbon. Her face had changed, like Aedre's, and her green eyes now had speckles of gold and brown within them. At her hip was a golden sword set with an emerald green jewel, and she carried a double bladed axe slung across her back.

Kiana took a step, and stood before Aira.

"Aira ... the air is yours. You have the power to control it, shape it, create it. Show me that this is who you are.

Aira pointed her foot, and tapped a toe on the ground. Where she had tapped, a swirling miniature hurricane formed, and swirled around their feet, destroying the mats where it went. She curled her fingers, moving her hands as if she were running them around the outside of a sphere. Then, she plucked a strand of hair from her head, and allowed it to fall within the imaginary ball. She had bunched the molecules in her see-through ball so tightly that the air remained their. She curled a hand, and wind emmitted from her feet, pushing her up so that she was precariously balancing on jets of air.

"You are ready," Kiana murmured. "Aduaeni sirnaiecai." Aira shook as well, at hearing the words of true power, and began to change. She now wore a knee-length coat of ice white chain mail. Her icy blue eyes had the merest speckles of silver. A streak of icy blue traveled along her pale hair, a dye that could never be washed out or faded. Her face had changed, planes and angles shifting. At her waist, hung a sword made of a metal so pale a silver it was nearly white, set with a perfectly clear jewel. Across her back, a staff of white was slung, the head of it carved into the likeness of a lion.

Kiana stepped again to the side.

"Aithne. Fire is yours to command to make the flames dance, to control it, to make them destroy, and make them hope. Show me you are deserving of this power."

Aithne flicked her pinkie finger, and the nail glowed a dull orange for a second before popping alight with a thin, wavering strand of flame. She flicked her hand, and the fire spread. She stamped her foot, and the fire traveled up her arm and down her body leaving only her head and neck unburning. She tossed back her dark red hair, and the flames completely encased her, yet none spread onto the wooden floors of the room. Then, with a single flick of her pinkie, the fire was back there, then only her nail glowed, a pale yellow now, then the fire was out completely.

"You are ready," Kiana said softly. "Hixeandra Coliarneida." Aithne shivered, to hear these words of pure existence, then she too changed abruptly. She wore now chain mail that was blood red and fell to her knees. Her long hair was braided starting over her left ear, falling across the back of her head, and down her shoulder. Her green eyes had glimmering speckles of red now. At her waist hung a leaf-bladed sword set with a ruby red jewel. Across her back, a war hammer was slung. Her face too had changed, it was more angular, less childlike.

Kiana stepped to the last girl.

“Maia. You have the power of illusion, to make people see what you want them to see, to make them feel what you wish them to feel. Show me you have the power."

Maia stamped her foot. Immediately, hissing serpents boiled and bubbled up from the floors and slithered over the tiles. One bit Kiana, and searing pain enveloped her ankle. She raised her hnds high over her head, and the snakes vanished, strong sunlight beaming through the room, seemingly from no where, filling Kiana with warmth and hope and happiness. She pushed her hands apart, and the entire room was walled and painted in black.

"You are ready," whispered Kiana, happy, but also dreading what was to come. "Illaikyara aeinivaisa." Maia shivered at hearing the words of pure existence. She changed, too quickly to see. She now wore a gleaming coat of black chain mail that reached her knees. Her black hair was touched with gleaming gold threads, fanning out gently around her though there was no breeze. She had a sword set with a gleaming black jewel rimmed with gold, and a slender spear was slung across her back. Her irises had turned a bright gold, like honey. The planes and angles of her face had changed.

Kiana collapsed to her knees.

Her dark, lustrous hair, once with a few thin gold strands, was turning to a pure black, the gold fading. The beautiful gold of her eyes had changed to the rich, coffee brown of her youth, like melted chocolate. The girls were shouting. Kiana beckoned them to kneel by her.

"You are now ... the Elementalists," she gasped raggedly. She drew five vials of liquid from her belt. One glowed rich red, the next a transluscent blue, the third an icy white, the fourth rich brown, the fifth, black swirled with gold.

"This is the last thing you need to harness your powers fully. Wear them around your necks," she gasped.

"Mistress, what is happening to you!" Gaia cried.

"I have not told you that once I trained you, and made you this, I die," she choked out.

"You did not tell us this, Lady Kiana!" said Aedre fearfully.

"You would not have done it if I had," she gasped. "Listen to me, all of you." Her brown eyes burned with the same fire as always.

"You are the last, do you understand? The last of the elementalists. This is your world. You must cleanse it ... or we are all doomed. Do you -" Kiana inhaled painfully, trembles wracking her body. "Do you understand?"

"Yes Lady," murmured Aira, tears sliding down her cheeks. Kiana clenched Maia's hand.

"Promise me," she said quietly. "Promise me you - you will save this world. This is your world. You are the queens. You will end this. Promise me," she insisted.

"Yes, Mistress," said Gaia quietly.

"Yes, Teacher," said Aithne.

"We promise," said Aedre.

"We promise, Queen of Illusion," they said quietly together. "We promise ... Mother."

Kiana took a deep breath. She had been alive five centuries. Now, the unnatural youth that kept her alive, the strange blood that flowed through her veins, were turning against her, becoming a poison to her shuddering body.

"Go," she whispered. "I know you can do it. Take the vials. Save our world."

"Don't leave us," pleaded Maia. "We need you!"

"No," said Kiana. A ghost of a smile played across her features. "You are ready."

A strange look came into her eyes. "I will see my sisters again. The other elementalists."

She looked at them. "Don't be sad. Don't grieve. It was meant to be."

Then, with a last, shuddering breath, Kiana took her last breath. Her body slumped. It was the same features - but the spirit, the fire that had been Kiana, was gone. Her body shimmered and rippled. For a blink of a moment, she was wearing what Maia wore, the garb of the Illusionists. And then, she was gone.

Gaia took a rattling breath, her long caramel colored hair playing against her back.

"She's gone."

Aedre, oldest of them all, put a hand against her back, and curled another hand around Maia's small one.

"It'll be all right," she murmured. A single tear trickled down her cheek. They sat their together, huddled there for much time until the tears stopped. Slowly, the got to their feet. They linked hands, Aedre, then Gaia, then Aira, then Aithne, and last, Maia. Together, they walked out into the breaking dawn.

The soft, once gray sky was stained with pinks, pale blues, yellows, and purples. The five of them faced the rising sun, and lifted their linked hands up into the air.

It would be a long, hard, terrible journey, perhaps. But they would always have each other. They would stay strong, for Kiana.

It was meant to be.

Standing there, each girl swore a silent oath. To not let her down. To save the human race.

We'll make you proud.

And together, hands linked, the girls walked out of the shelter the small room had provided them, and stepped into the light.

- S. P. Kumar