NOTE: Some of this will be out of order. Sometimes I think of part T when I really need to do part C, so sorry about any confusion. With the next update I'll be putting a number next to each title so you can read the story in chronological order (those numbers will probably be edited with more posts, but I'll avoid that as best as I can - thanks for reading).
It was nearing daybreak. The sky was finally clearing up from the sudden storm and showed the sun tinged in its slumbering shades of amber and orange. The roads were slick with water and sprawled in new potholes, and there was the moist texture of the rain that still clung over the skyscrapers of Chicago.
News stations had spared no time in raiding Union Station for a story on the attack. The first reports that came in claimed terrorists, and they weren’t far off the mark. Many had been injured and too many killed, giving reporters a field day in startling officials and politicians.
Detective Raymond Daems read these very “concrete” facts in the paper his people had assembled. He smiled after reading the last sentence. It was good, enough to satisfy and warrant a natural curiosity. Straight to the point too, perfect for the mundane and ready to ship to outlets across the country in a few hours. And like everything before it, it would be stale news and forgotten in a month or so. Raymond nodded to himself, flipping to the next page. He had taken residence at one of the many benches that ran the floor of the station, sitting beneath the atrium where the last rays of the sun permeated.
It had been stuffy outside after the rain and he had felt the pressure of Aether in the air like dense fog. That muddled sense grew tri-fold once he arrived at the train station. Still avoiding its inducing headache, he filed away its strength for mentioning later in his report. Or maybe he could pass that off to the rookie he'd be partnering with in a few hours. Up until now, there had only been small time crimes from pitiful exiles and students alike. But after today and the incident in Massachusetts the day before, now that reality seemed to be folding back to something more sinister.
“Detective Daems.” Raymond looked up from the paper into the eyes of a short man with round spectacles, a fully established goatee, and projecting an ironed sternness. “Your free to start.” Raymond nodded, folding the paper down and leaving it on the bench.
“I’ll take your lead.” The man grunted, turning on his heel and heading at a smooth gait towards the terminal. Raymond took to his own words, gliding his long legs across the broken marble floor. He noticed the man was dressed the part of a debriefer: long sleeved patterned shirt, semi-formal black pants, and a matching tie tucked in properly. His bowl-cut of hair bobbed on the sides as he walked. It seemed a comical but insensitive match next to the strewn bodies, blown open walls and chips of floor splattered like dropped china. People in white uniforms and black gloves went about the wrecked corridors, moving the dead, checking identifications and guiding plain, metal batons through the air.
Raymond checked his watch, surprised that some of the Prime Sweeps were still cleaning up. He looked up in time to avoid bumping into his guide. The man spun on his heel again and held a hand towards the corridor.
“Here you are detective,” he said. Raymond took his time with the scene, scanning the holes and upturned architecture. First Response teams would wave the batons over any deceased, make notes, and then move them on stretchers or body bags. All except the one that had been tacked by one of several small, yellow markers.
“It’s a mess,” Raymond commented casually.
“That would be an understatement detective,” the man said.
"Any guesses on the time of the attack?"
“The Prime Sweeps are definite it happened at midday. Whoever was involved wasn't subtle.
"How many students?"
"Traced? At the least two thus far, maybe three. Most where bystanders from what we've measured.”
"Two with this much damage huh?" Raymond noted the mostly demolished raw-earthen walls and beams puncturing the expanse of hallway.
"You were hoping for Faction-heads?"
"Well, it'd let me avoid a slow going." Raymond said, pulling on his own pair of gloves. The debriefer gave a quizzical frown, his hair bobbing slightly with the expression.
"Your starting now?" Raymond answered with an exaggerated snap of a glove over his hand.
"Just take the time to sit and look pretty for a bit old fellow.” The debriefer seemed to inflate with sternness, and released it in a smile that played along.
"At your leisure detective."
Raymond went over to the marker numbered 1, kneeling down towards several pairs of scorch marks that marched down the hallway and disappeared down an adjacent corridor. They were spread out, but patterned, and occasionally an odd breaking in the floor would mark after them. He held his fingers lightly over the scorches, pursing his lips. He noticed blood stained on the floor, most of it leading towards the solely marked body. Just past it, smatterings of red drops followed the scorches down the hall.
Though far from losing curiosity, Raymond went to the body first. The man lay on his side, his face disturbing with his mouth agape and his eyes wide. His glasses were cracked. His arms looked reddened from blistering. A pool of blood had dried around him and left a sinister impression. His limbs looked contorted, and the bit of bone punching through his brown skin confirmed that.
Raymond shifted the body over so he lay face upward. The wounds pierced viscously through his singed clothes. Some flesh was torn outside the body. He noted the fatal wound and the pattern of the holes. Digging in the man’s clothing, he found his wallet. His ID read: Mannie A. Morris.
"And married, eh Mannie. What else friend - Manifesto," he whispered to the card and soon in the small white space on the card, a small picture of a tree with a red bar through it was revealed. Raymond smirked, slipping the card and wallet back into the man's pocket.
"What a shame. I’ll take a guess at the Earth House." He directed the last to the debriefer who lent him another no-nonsense look before answering.
"Yes, but were not to sure on his killer. He was dead on site, and there was too much distortion from the Aether."
"Noted on the latter. Looked like someone took a blade to him."
"Likely, but they're not clean cuts. Someone from the House of Fire tried to do him in the smart way.”
"But ended up going medieval. Takes some kind of prejudice to do that."
"The Faction kind?"
"We don't know the context of the fight," Raymond answered, shrugging shamelessly at the suggestion. “Anything could have prompted such a bizarre assault.” Then a change came over his face, a sincere crack in his persona. "More so, its those scorch marks that are holding back this case. And the lack of clean cuts now that you say it."
“Perhaps it’s a symbol, a mark for a new faction,” the debriefer suggested. “The sadistic and 'roaches make up a fair portion of them after all.” Although he didn't seem so sure with the statement seeing Raymond's face change.
"That would be welcome. But," he looked down the hall where the scorches continued. "They were almost like footprints.” He sighed. “Between this and that attack in Massachusetts yesterday ...”
“Don’t try to connect them detective.” Raymond, still wondering about the evidence, was startled by the debriefer. “Wise words to remind you from the top.”
“Falgost still thinking I’m still green?”
“It may have to do with your tendency to blow things beyond their scope,” the debriefer explained with slightly less disdain. Raymond suppressed a rise of anger that nearly flare in his eyes. Instead, he yielded a eerie smirk and turned back to the hall.
"Well old fellow, still lots more to see isn't there? Where are they housing the survivors?"
"Jefferson Hospital."
"Good. I’ll interview them personally. It'll be our only chance to close this quickly."
"By personally, you mean with Jim Sivins?" Raymond sighed again, with flaring annoyance.
"Yeah ..."
Thursday, February 5, 2015
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
Random Stories Excerpt 1
Sorry, not enough time today to write another part of House of the Elementals, so please enjoy some other writing from a yet-to-be-completed story. Hope you enjoy it.
PROLOGUE — The Horn
They came from the mountains, a company of three shrouded in the grey folds of morning mist. Mighty peaks rose tall and close about, shutting them on the narrow ridges carved off the cliff faces. That was their passage, long and winding and steep against the soaring stone walls. Their footfalls echoed brief and faint within the confines of the pass.
One of the taimnor (ta-um-nor) walked with them down the banks of weathered stone. A creature that resembled a deer but held the physique of a horse; who tread nimbly on muscular, taloned forelegs and hind-legs that split from the joints into hoof-like feet; staring with keen, piercing eyes above a large, rending beak; and under a pair of great antlers, was crowned a true heir of the mountainside.
A light colored cloak fluttered about the creature’s feathered body, adorned by the young girl that rode him. Underneath her cloak were brightly colored shirt and shorts. She held a plain staff made of white wood. The last of their company was several months past manhood. He wore a waist length robe and leggings. A broad, straw conical hat rested atop his head. Two swords were tucked beneath his sash. He clutched the higher one’s hilt, turning his head about the length of the pass.
Morning’s light pierced the shifting mist, catching the figures in its blooming rays. Its lone, pale shine had peaked slowly out of the horizon in the East. As it had risen, a golden brilliance had grown and sent out color and shape to wash away the dim and grey. The mountains had become mottled again under ice-tipped peaks. Trees and shrubbery had been unveiled, conglomerating in sparse climbs upon the mountainsides before melding with the forestland at the mountain range’s feet.
Cast in the shine of the dawn, the boy tipped his hat up, sea green eyes gazing towards the slopes of the lower mountains and the bold greens past them. With the light he became wary of movement between the walls and cliff faces. His ears lay prone past the echoes of their own walk, the growing whir of the wind, listening for distinct sounds across the rocky slopes. Sounds not native or welcomed to the mountains. And it was such a sound that shattered the silence with a blaring call.
It filled the air long and loud in a deep, resonating voice. The boy clicked in his cheek once. The taimnor halted, twitching its ears, hackles rising reflexively. The girl sighed inwardly and shifted in her seat. She laid the staff across her lap, waiting as the echoes faded around them. An unnatural quiet filled the broken air. Then it called again, bellowing proudly into the dawn. Twice more it sounded, its echoes overlapping each other with maddening keenness. The boy pulled his hat back down slowly, an unseen weight seeming to gain on him. He spoke to the girl in their tongue, mounting the taimnor as she moved back to give him room.
They stood there, swells of mist rolling over them as its thinning vapors made shifting patterns with the light. The sound had ceased and the mountains and mist seemed filled with an unsettling intensity. The boy closed his eyes, straining for the subtlest tear in the silence. He felt the rising beat of his heart, the twitches of his mount’s limbs, the streaming wind threatening to howl, his companion’s fingers testing the wood of her staff. And something else. A faint presence. A gentle stir among the patched shards of quiet. He let go of his closest distractions, peering out beyond the stone walls into the deepest places in the mountains. It was difficult. The boy leaned in his seat as the disturbance moved slowly from his left ear and towards his right. An ascension on the slopes. Clopping. Hooves perhaps. An undercurrent of tinkling. Loose metals. He imagined plated armor and helmets. Steel both hidden in sheaths and exposed by long shafts hailing the sky.
The rumbling become a crescendo. Bits of rock fell into unknown and unseen chasms. The boy could hear a flowing pattern of sharp, metallic hissing. Their number seemed too large. The girl said something to the boy, stopping as the new sound died away. For a moment nothing, then the pure tone of a whistle climbed into the air. A single, known note. High and long. The hammer of the boy’s heart felt so loud.
He sat back, his gaze open upon the remainder of the pass. He felt the young girl hold her arm taut around his waist. With a deep breath the boy leaned against the neck of his mount tightly. Two clicks in his cheek and the taimnor came to pace, taking long, controlled strides down the ridge.
Their opening came quickly, the ridge expanding into a vast rocky slope. Bare and overrun by snaking clouds of mist. A different rumbling had become louder along the unknown slopes, growing more distant as they rushed towards the forestland. The vagueness of a shout pricked the air. Then the multitude of blasts shook the remnants of silence in thunderous anger. A concussive barrage erupting in smoke and powder. Mangled shapes flailed in the heart of the mountains, lost amid tumbling stone. Yelling and screaming textured the tumult. The young boy tightened the grip on his sword as he rode.
The clash of metal and fiery blasts rang far, unaware of the small company riding past. They were sure-footed, quick, and without hesitation. The boy threatened to look back, but trained his eyes before him. Now, he knew better. Now he was a young man, and he did not look back as they passed beyond the mountain’s walls.
PROLOGUE — The Horn
They came from the mountains, a company of three shrouded in the grey folds of morning mist. Mighty peaks rose tall and close about, shutting them on the narrow ridges carved off the cliff faces. That was their passage, long and winding and steep against the soaring stone walls. Their footfalls echoed brief and faint within the confines of the pass.
One of the taimnor (ta-um-nor) walked with them down the banks of weathered stone. A creature that resembled a deer but held the physique of a horse; who tread nimbly on muscular, taloned forelegs and hind-legs that split from the joints into hoof-like feet; staring with keen, piercing eyes above a large, rending beak; and under a pair of great antlers, was crowned a true heir of the mountainside.
A light colored cloak fluttered about the creature’s feathered body, adorned by the young girl that rode him. Underneath her cloak were brightly colored shirt and shorts. She held a plain staff made of white wood. The last of their company was several months past manhood. He wore a waist length robe and leggings. A broad, straw conical hat rested atop his head. Two swords were tucked beneath his sash. He clutched the higher one’s hilt, turning his head about the length of the pass.
Morning’s light pierced the shifting mist, catching the figures in its blooming rays. Its lone, pale shine had peaked slowly out of the horizon in the East. As it had risen, a golden brilliance had grown and sent out color and shape to wash away the dim and grey. The mountains had become mottled again under ice-tipped peaks. Trees and shrubbery had been unveiled, conglomerating in sparse climbs upon the mountainsides before melding with the forestland at the mountain range’s feet.
Cast in the shine of the dawn, the boy tipped his hat up, sea green eyes gazing towards the slopes of the lower mountains and the bold greens past them. With the light he became wary of movement between the walls and cliff faces. His ears lay prone past the echoes of their own walk, the growing whir of the wind, listening for distinct sounds across the rocky slopes. Sounds not native or welcomed to the mountains. And it was such a sound that shattered the silence with a blaring call.
It filled the air long and loud in a deep, resonating voice. The boy clicked in his cheek once. The taimnor halted, twitching its ears, hackles rising reflexively. The girl sighed inwardly and shifted in her seat. She laid the staff across her lap, waiting as the echoes faded around them. An unnatural quiet filled the broken air. Then it called again, bellowing proudly into the dawn. Twice more it sounded, its echoes overlapping each other with maddening keenness. The boy pulled his hat back down slowly, an unseen weight seeming to gain on him. He spoke to the girl in their tongue, mounting the taimnor as she moved back to give him room.
They stood there, swells of mist rolling over them as its thinning vapors made shifting patterns with the light. The sound had ceased and the mountains and mist seemed filled with an unsettling intensity. The boy closed his eyes, straining for the subtlest tear in the silence. He felt the rising beat of his heart, the twitches of his mount’s limbs, the streaming wind threatening to howl, his companion’s fingers testing the wood of her staff. And something else. A faint presence. A gentle stir among the patched shards of quiet. He let go of his closest distractions, peering out beyond the stone walls into the deepest places in the mountains. It was difficult. The boy leaned in his seat as the disturbance moved slowly from his left ear and towards his right. An ascension on the slopes. Clopping. Hooves perhaps. An undercurrent of tinkling. Loose metals. He imagined plated armor and helmets. Steel both hidden in sheaths and exposed by long shafts hailing the sky.
The rumbling become a crescendo. Bits of rock fell into unknown and unseen chasms. The boy could hear a flowing pattern of sharp, metallic hissing. Their number seemed too large. The girl said something to the boy, stopping as the new sound died away. For a moment nothing, then the pure tone of a whistle climbed into the air. A single, known note. High and long. The hammer of the boy’s heart felt so loud.
He sat back, his gaze open upon the remainder of the pass. He felt the young girl hold her arm taut around his waist. With a deep breath the boy leaned against the neck of his mount tightly. Two clicks in his cheek and the taimnor came to pace, taking long, controlled strides down the ridge.
Their opening came quickly, the ridge expanding into a vast rocky slope. Bare and overrun by snaking clouds of mist. A different rumbling had become louder along the unknown slopes, growing more distant as they rushed towards the forestland. The vagueness of a shout pricked the air. Then the multitude of blasts shook the remnants of silence in thunderous anger. A concussive barrage erupting in smoke and powder. Mangled shapes flailed in the heart of the mountains, lost amid tumbling stone. Yelling and screaming textured the tumult. The young boy tightened the grip on his sword as he rode.
The clash of metal and fiery blasts rang far, unaware of the small company riding past. They were sure-footed, quick, and without hesitation. The boy threatened to look back, but trained his eyes before him. Now, he knew better. Now he was a young man, and he did not look back as they passed beyond the mountain’s walls.
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
House of the Elementals - The Time Before and After (1)
Anna still felt like it was all happening to someone else. She an out of body observer looking through the eyes of someone exhausted and terrified. A glass table sat between her and an older woman. It reflecting the waning light of the sun through an adjacent window and its revelation of dust and water stains etched into the glass kept Anna's attention for the few minutes she had been hurried inside.
"Sis, she's talking to you." Anna shook her head slightly at the voice.
"Anna ... ?" the woman said. She saw the concern swimming in the older woman's face and felt a pang of guilt. It had been hard enough to imagine her and her brother being torn apart in a moment's time. Their mother's letter had made that point clear. But for the woman across from her, it would be even worse. Even though they had really just met moments ago, her aunt reminder her of her mother.
"I'm sorry Lani," Anna said. "I'm just. I don't know ..."
"Do you need anything? It's not a problem."
"No ... no I'm okay," she finished, relapsing into a bleak stare at the table. Lani lowered her eyes and pursed her lips. Her frame was still poised to dash over to her niece. She had been that way the minute Anna had nearly been killed by the grapevines in her backyard. A lesser of the two ordeals that had left red rings over her wrists.
"How's Isaac?"
"Hungry!" This time, Anna snapped immediately out of her daze and Lani came to attention.
"What?! You can't can you?"
"Yeah well, that's not me growling."
"What's wrong?" Lani said.
"It's Isaac. He says he's hungry." Lani's face went hard clenched her fist and swore. The glass seemed to rattle on its on as she did so and Anna was quick to grab her brother off the table, holding him close. Lani noticed, and soon regret concealed her anger.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean too startle you. I just didn't know the extent this curse was."
"No. It's alright. It was just ... you reminded me of my mother the moment that man came. I didn't know she could be that fierce. Or what she could do." There was silence between them for a moment. The quality of the light had changed. The sun was squeezing the last strength of its rays and bleeding orange-red that cut across the glass.
"Is it alright if I take a look at Isaac?" Lani said. Anna nodded, holding out the small form in her hands to her aunt. Lani cradled the statuette gently between her fingers, rubbing at the intricate details of her nephews face and clothing.
"An-n-n-a-a, ha .ha .. make her stop ... she's tick-tick-ha haha-ha-"
"He says your tickling him."
"Oh! Sorry dear," she said, placing him on the table. "Does he still have all of his senses?"
"YES! YES I DO!! And it's really starting to suck!" Anna covered her ears at his outburst.
"Ow, uh ... that I know of aside from taste, yeah. Geez, would you keep it down." Lani was looking at her oddly, before making a pointed look at Isaac.
"But he can only communicate with you?" She nodded.
"I don't know if ... can you doing anything? ..." Anna started.
"I can. Although Mannie is better with this than I am." Anna stood and looked outside, shading her eyes against the sunlight washed against the window as she made a quick search for her uncle. "It's alright," she continued. "He still has to finish securing the property." Lani held her hands in a steeple over Isaac, and began reciting Latin.
Anna sat back down, watching her aunt with both interest and concern. About five minutes passed before she finished her litany. Visibly nothing seemed different about Isaac, but throughout the process Anna had felt some vague sensation. Almost like some force of chill and warmth that felt filling despite any physical presence.
"What was all that?" Equally curious, Anna repeated the question to Lani.
"Aether. It's a bit complicated to explain, but it'll do the trick for feeding him for now. Felt strange going into him didn't it?" Anna nodded.
"I felt some of it too at the start. Although given what he eats, it's nothing too outlandish yet." Lani chuckled, lifting Isaac up and back over to Anna's side of the table.
"Sounds like someone else I know."
"Yeah. Dad has some weird food combos." Anna got the sense Isaac was too lethargic to retort but made the attempt at shrugging in some mental format.
"It was legitimate enough for me sis." Anna rolled her eyes, looking back to her aunt.
"Call them what they are: horror stories. I used to catalog all the messed up things he'd put together. Fish s'mores was one of his signatures." Anna shivered with disgust. "Oh yes ... but there were worse ..." Again, silence fell upon them like a rough blanket. Lani stared off, away from the window and even Anna for the first time until she broke the quiet.
"My brother never contacted you at all when you arrived?" Anna felt her heart stutter and went straight for her phone. It was barely above fifty percent, but there was nothing. No messages or calls. She even tried email and found it relatively unchanged.
"No. I tried reaching him, but I didn't get anything." Lani put her arms on the table, cracking an oddly cheerful smile.
"Well, between the two of them, I fear for anyone trying to stop them from getting to you both. Oshana especially." Anna looked down again, twisting the bluish-silver ring on her finger.
"Anna, what's up?"
"Do you think ... my mother ..."
"... If you're worried about them, don't be. David and Oshana are a lot stronger than you realize. There are few things that surpass them on training or skill.
"It's not that ... but did she ... ever kill anyone."
"Oshana? No. Why would." Lani's voice changed, growing somber. "Tt was back at the house, wasn't it?" Anna nodded.
"I didn't want to believe it, but she did when they attacked us." Lani looked troubled with both Anna and her words. "It was right after we had gotten out of the house. A dust cloud had formed over at that point, so we couldn't see much from the center of our yard. When she was getting us to the tree, one of them ran out of the cloud. I don't know how any of it happened, but I knew she threw her ring and that's when the waves appeared. Neither of us understood any of it of course but that one moment. One moment he was swirling in the flood. Then I saw her clap her hands and the waves do the same. It was the strangest thing to see despite all the other impossible things happening. Even with the all the blood, it still smelled like sea salt."
"Anna, listen to me. Your mother did what she had to. Just know that to be true." Anna looked up into her aunt's eyes, and remembered that very instant; her mother's voice, steeled but meaning to comfort just before reality fell apart.
"The people like us out there that have nothing but malice," Lani continued. "They don't yield to innocence or ignorance. They don't distinguish that even between friends and family. If there's danger out there, they want to be it, and for everyone else to know that that's what comes to anyone crossing them." Lani softened her eyes.
"It's not a pretty world like entertainment can make it out to be. And it gets crazier when you don't anticipate the worst. I won't say it's a healthy way of thinking, but here, it keeps you alive."
"Our mom made that clear to us."
"She and David left you things to prepare you." Anna nodded.
"Some things they didn't want me or Mannie to know about, right?" Anna seemed startled, stopped by Lani before she could answer. "It's alright. I understand why. It's what happens when you live in the generation that fights that one Mad-Man in history. And your ring was proof enough for me to take a guess. We wouldn't have found you both without it." The sound of an opened door entered the house, followed by the gruff voice of a man.
"Seems Mannie's finished." It was considerably darker now, and Lani got up from her seat and turned the chandelier on over the table.
"Aunt Lani?" She turned to Anna. "Can you give Isaac and I a few minutes. Before you and uncle Mannie talk with us." Lani seemed like she was going to say something but stopped short and nodded instead.
"Alright dear. Take as long as you need." She went off towards the opened door and the sounds of Mannie wiping his feet. Anna reached for the drawstring bag under her chair and lifted it onto the table.
"What did you do that for?"
"To give us a chance to read dad's letter. It might be the only chance we get if something else happens."
"Isn't that a little paranoid?"
"...Yes. But I can't afford anything to catch us unprepared again. Not like at home."
"Alright sis." Anna unfolded the letter from the envelope that simply read: Dad
Dear Anna and Isaac,
Do not trust anyone openly. Avoid telling anyone what is written in this letter. If that is not possible, be careful what you say. In an enemy’s physical hands the letter will destroy itself and return to your bag three times. Pay careful attention to what I say next.
In this world there exist the four elements: earth, wind, water, and fire and a separate "force" known as Aether. Each element is represented in spiritual forms known as Elementals. Gnomes represent earth, Undines (or what Western culture calls nymphs or naiads) represent water, Salamanders to fire, and Sylphs to wind. Aether for simplicity sake can be thought of as the force that exists within and between all things and extends beyond the elements and into the realms of the physical, psychological, emotional components of the world. Aether and the Elementals have existed for thousands of years, and while the former are charged to keep the Balance between these elements, rarely do they involve themselves in our affairs. Do not seek them first for help, for they are difficult to find and rarely will provide aid.
Our family is part of a lineage of people who were students to the Elementals. Your mother and I were also once a part of this world as students. She a student to the Undines and I, a student to the Gnomes. We chose to leave our teachings so that you both could live normal lives.
Traditionally, this would be the end of the matter, where a student would no longer seek the Elemental's teachings and the Elemental would end that student's teaching. But now the Houses exist, formed by people still loyal to the element but not the Elemental. Naturally, there are four main Houses corresponding to the four elements. They taught themselves and welcomed others into their fold, although to learn an element, one had to swear an oath before an Elemental to do so, and thus Houses became an unofficial part of Elemental teachings. As a result, internal strife formed within the Houses between who would lead it, what ideologies to follow and what laws to enforce, leading to dissension and defects from the Houses that then formed their own conglomerate societies known as The Factions. These conflicts continue today and are the major reason why your mother and I left the Elemental world.
The Balance I referred to previously is simply the preservation of the elements in their natural order. While the Elementals have never openly expressed a breach in the Balance, they are the very hurricanes, volcanoes, tsunamis and earthquakes we see everyday. It follows that many within the Houses and Factions feel either side has angered the Elementals and incurred their wrath in some fashion or at least threaten the stability of the Balance. I say this with severity: avoid contact with the members of Houses and Factions we do not consider allies at all cost.
Other threats beyond these feuding groups are the Abominations: beings that were once students or an animal or plant that became corrupted by misuse of the elements. You may know interpretations of them as urban legends, mythological beasts and cryptozoology.
It is for all of these reasons that we kept you out of the Elemental world. It is why we were unreasonably strict on you both at times. I hope you both can understand why we hid this truth.
Above all that I have said, stay most wary of all members of the House of Earth, especially friends and family. The Earth House is most likely the cause for you reading these letters. Do all that you can to seek help from the allies listed below.
I’m sorry to frighten you both like this, but know that your mother and I love you both more than anything. We won’t let this last long. You are strong together. Be mindful of everyone, even with the people we trust, and remember that you both have a greater power within yourselves.
With love and strength, Dad
And it was below that line that Anna found the list of names with their relationship to them and element affiliations. There were more than Anna had anticipated, and she shortly found Lani's and Mannie's names in the list and their shared element: Earth.
"This is crazy. Absolutely crazy"
"If it is, I spell crazy C-O-O-L." Anna couldn't help but crack a smile, no matter how much it wavered.
"Why are so worried anyway? It's not like we're on our own sis."
"How are you not? Especially after dad says to be careful around anyone from the House of Earth. Anyone meaning family too."
"You think we should get away from Lani and Mannie?"
" ... We might have too. And tf they don't give us the choice ... then ... I think we'll have to."
"Sis, she's talking to you." Anna shook her head slightly at the voice.
"Anna ... ?" the woman said. She saw the concern swimming in the older woman's face and felt a pang of guilt. It had been hard enough to imagine her and her brother being torn apart in a moment's time. Their mother's letter had made that point clear. But for the woman across from her, it would be even worse. Even though they had really just met moments ago, her aunt reminder her of her mother.
"I'm sorry Lani," Anna said. "I'm just. I don't know ..."
"Do you need anything? It's not a problem."
"No ... no I'm okay," she finished, relapsing into a bleak stare at the table. Lani lowered her eyes and pursed her lips. Her frame was still poised to dash over to her niece. She had been that way the minute Anna had nearly been killed by the grapevines in her backyard. A lesser of the two ordeals that had left red rings over her wrists.
"How's Isaac?"
"Hungry!" This time, Anna snapped immediately out of her daze and Lani came to attention.
"What?! You can't can you?"
"Yeah well, that's not me growling."
"What's wrong?" Lani said.
"It's Isaac. He says he's hungry." Lani's face went hard clenched her fist and swore. The glass seemed to rattle on its on as she did so and Anna was quick to grab her brother off the table, holding him close. Lani noticed, and soon regret concealed her anger.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean too startle you. I just didn't know the extent this curse was."
"No. It's alright. It was just ... you reminded me of my mother the moment that man came. I didn't know she could be that fierce. Or what she could do." There was silence between them for a moment. The quality of the light had changed. The sun was squeezing the last strength of its rays and bleeding orange-red that cut across the glass.
"Is it alright if I take a look at Isaac?" Lani said. Anna nodded, holding out the small form in her hands to her aunt. Lani cradled the statuette gently between her fingers, rubbing at the intricate details of her nephews face and clothing.
"An-n-n-a-a, ha .ha .. make her stop ... she's tick-tick-ha haha-ha-"
"He says your tickling him."
"Oh! Sorry dear," she said, placing him on the table. "Does he still have all of his senses?"
"YES! YES I DO!! And it's really starting to suck!" Anna covered her ears at his outburst.
"Ow, uh ... that I know of aside from taste, yeah. Geez, would you keep it down." Lani was looking at her oddly, before making a pointed look at Isaac.
"But he can only communicate with you?" She nodded.
"I don't know if ... can you doing anything? ..." Anna started.
"I can. Although Mannie is better with this than I am." Anna stood and looked outside, shading her eyes against the sunlight washed against the window as she made a quick search for her uncle. "It's alright," she continued. "He still has to finish securing the property." Lani held her hands in a steeple over Isaac, and began reciting Latin.
Anna sat back down, watching her aunt with both interest and concern. About five minutes passed before she finished her litany. Visibly nothing seemed different about Isaac, but throughout the process Anna had felt some vague sensation. Almost like some force of chill and warmth that felt filling despite any physical presence.
"What was all that?" Equally curious, Anna repeated the question to Lani.
"Aether. It's a bit complicated to explain, but it'll do the trick for feeding him for now. Felt strange going into him didn't it?" Anna nodded.
"I felt some of it too at the start. Although given what he eats, it's nothing too outlandish yet." Lani chuckled, lifting Isaac up and back over to Anna's side of the table.
"Sounds like someone else I know."
"Yeah. Dad has some weird food combos." Anna got the sense Isaac was too lethargic to retort but made the attempt at shrugging in some mental format.
"It was legitimate enough for me sis." Anna rolled her eyes, looking back to her aunt.
"Call them what they are: horror stories. I used to catalog all the messed up things he'd put together. Fish s'mores was one of his signatures." Anna shivered with disgust. "Oh yes ... but there were worse ..." Again, silence fell upon them like a rough blanket. Lani stared off, away from the window and even Anna for the first time until she broke the quiet.
"My brother never contacted you at all when you arrived?" Anna felt her heart stutter and went straight for her phone. It was barely above fifty percent, but there was nothing. No messages or calls. She even tried email and found it relatively unchanged.
"No. I tried reaching him, but I didn't get anything." Lani put her arms on the table, cracking an oddly cheerful smile.
"Well, between the two of them, I fear for anyone trying to stop them from getting to you both. Oshana especially." Anna looked down again, twisting the bluish-silver ring on her finger.
"Anna, what's up?"
"Do you think ... my mother ..."
"... If you're worried about them, don't be. David and Oshana are a lot stronger than you realize. There are few things that surpass them on training or skill.
"It's not that ... but did she ... ever kill anyone."
"Oshana? No. Why would." Lani's voice changed, growing somber. "Tt was back at the house, wasn't it?" Anna nodded.
"I didn't want to believe it, but she did when they attacked us." Lani looked troubled with both Anna and her words. "It was right after we had gotten out of the house. A dust cloud had formed over at that point, so we couldn't see much from the center of our yard. When she was getting us to the tree, one of them ran out of the cloud. I don't know how any of it happened, but I knew she threw her ring and that's when the waves appeared. Neither of us understood any of it of course but that one moment. One moment he was swirling in the flood. Then I saw her clap her hands and the waves do the same. It was the strangest thing to see despite all the other impossible things happening. Even with the all the blood, it still smelled like sea salt."
"Anna, listen to me. Your mother did what she had to. Just know that to be true." Anna looked up into her aunt's eyes, and remembered that very instant; her mother's voice, steeled but meaning to comfort just before reality fell apart.
"The people like us out there that have nothing but malice," Lani continued. "They don't yield to innocence or ignorance. They don't distinguish that even between friends and family. If there's danger out there, they want to be it, and for everyone else to know that that's what comes to anyone crossing them." Lani softened her eyes.
"It's not a pretty world like entertainment can make it out to be. And it gets crazier when you don't anticipate the worst. I won't say it's a healthy way of thinking, but here, it keeps you alive."
"Our mom made that clear to us."
"She and David left you things to prepare you." Anna nodded.
"Some things they didn't want me or Mannie to know about, right?" Anna seemed startled, stopped by Lani before she could answer. "It's alright. I understand why. It's what happens when you live in the generation that fights that one Mad-Man in history. And your ring was proof enough for me to take a guess. We wouldn't have found you both without it." The sound of an opened door entered the house, followed by the gruff voice of a man.
"Seems Mannie's finished." It was considerably darker now, and Lani got up from her seat and turned the chandelier on over the table.
"Aunt Lani?" She turned to Anna. "Can you give Isaac and I a few minutes. Before you and uncle Mannie talk with us." Lani seemed like she was going to say something but stopped short and nodded instead.
"Alright dear. Take as long as you need." She went off towards the opened door and the sounds of Mannie wiping his feet. Anna reached for the drawstring bag under her chair and lifted it onto the table.
"What did you do that for?"
"To give us a chance to read dad's letter. It might be the only chance we get if something else happens."
"Isn't that a little paranoid?"
"...Yes. But I can't afford anything to catch us unprepared again. Not like at home."
"Alright sis." Anna unfolded the letter from the envelope that simply read: Dad
Dear Anna and Isaac,
Do not trust anyone openly. Avoid telling anyone what is written in this letter. If that is not possible, be careful what you say. In an enemy’s physical hands the letter will destroy itself and return to your bag three times. Pay careful attention to what I say next.
In this world there exist the four elements: earth, wind, water, and fire and a separate "force" known as Aether. Each element is represented in spiritual forms known as Elementals. Gnomes represent earth, Undines (or what Western culture calls nymphs or naiads) represent water, Salamanders to fire, and Sylphs to wind. Aether for simplicity sake can be thought of as the force that exists within and between all things and extends beyond the elements and into the realms of the physical, psychological, emotional components of the world. Aether and the Elementals have existed for thousands of years, and while the former are charged to keep the Balance between these elements, rarely do they involve themselves in our affairs. Do not seek them first for help, for they are difficult to find and rarely will provide aid.
Our family is part of a lineage of people who were students to the Elementals. Your mother and I were also once a part of this world as students. She a student to the Undines and I, a student to the Gnomes. We chose to leave our teachings so that you both could live normal lives.
Traditionally, this would be the end of the matter, where a student would no longer seek the Elemental's teachings and the Elemental would end that student's teaching. But now the Houses exist, formed by people still loyal to the element but not the Elemental. Naturally, there are four main Houses corresponding to the four elements. They taught themselves and welcomed others into their fold, although to learn an element, one had to swear an oath before an Elemental to do so, and thus Houses became an unofficial part of Elemental teachings. As a result, internal strife formed within the Houses between who would lead it, what ideologies to follow and what laws to enforce, leading to dissension and defects from the Houses that then formed their own conglomerate societies known as The Factions. These conflicts continue today and are the major reason why your mother and I left the Elemental world.
The Balance I referred to previously is simply the preservation of the elements in their natural order. While the Elementals have never openly expressed a breach in the Balance, they are the very hurricanes, volcanoes, tsunamis and earthquakes we see everyday. It follows that many within the Houses and Factions feel either side has angered the Elementals and incurred their wrath in some fashion or at least threaten the stability of the Balance. I say this with severity: avoid contact with the members of Houses and Factions we do not consider allies at all cost.
Other threats beyond these feuding groups are the Abominations: beings that were once students or an animal or plant that became corrupted by misuse of the elements. You may know interpretations of them as urban legends, mythological beasts and cryptozoology.
It is for all of these reasons that we kept you out of the Elemental world. It is why we were unreasonably strict on you both at times. I hope you both can understand why we hid this truth.
Above all that I have said, stay most wary of all members of the House of Earth, especially friends and family. The Earth House is most likely the cause for you reading these letters. Do all that you can to seek help from the allies listed below.
I’m sorry to frighten you both like this, but know that your mother and I love you both more than anything. We won’t let this last long. You are strong together. Be mindful of everyone, even with the people we trust, and remember that you both have a greater power within yourselves.
With love and strength, Dad
And it was below that line that Anna found the list of names with their relationship to them and element affiliations. There were more than Anna had anticipated, and she shortly found Lani's and Mannie's names in the list and their shared element: Earth.
"This is crazy. Absolutely crazy"
"If it is, I spell crazy C-O-O-L." Anna couldn't help but crack a smile, no matter how much it wavered.
"Why are so worried anyway? It's not like we're on our own sis."
"How are you not? Especially after dad says to be careful around anyone from the House of Earth. Anyone meaning family too."
"You think we should get away from Lani and Mannie?"
" ... We might have too. And tf they don't give us the choice ... then ... I think we'll have to."
Monday, February 2, 2015
Interlude - Reflection
Before I continue with the House of the Elementals, a moment of reflection ...
Voice 1: Man, this is taking too long. I really need to leave.
Voice 2: Have patience. There is time and nothing to worry about.
Voice 1: But they're taking forever. I need to get back now and study. It's already past the time slot.
Voice 2: This is important.
Voice 1: My things are important! I still haven't eaten dinner, I've got another quiz at 8 am to finish studying for, and I need sleep! And not for only 6 hours or less again. I won't function without some good rest. You know that.
Voice 2: Are these truly that concerning?
Voice 1: Oh for goodness sake, they ... are ... still ... talking.
Voice 2: I ask again. Are these things truly that concerning?
Voice 1: What do you think?
Voice 2: I will go at length.
Voice 1: Oh, sure, join in.
Voice 2: You are concerned about food, sleep and studying?
Voice 1: Yes ...?
Voice 2: Do you remember something about each of these things?
Voice 1: What are you talking about?
Voice 2: You are blessed to be able to buy and have food at your leisure and share a meal with others. You are blessed to sleep within the comforts of a bed and sheets out of the cold and darkness of night. You are blessed to be able to go to a place where you can study and learn each and every day. You are even blessed to know these things and that what you have said tonight is deplorable and shamefully selfish.
Voice 1: ... I ... I know ... I knew ... That I was blessed.
Voice 2: Yet for one moment of time, not your own, did you think to believe the world should revolve about you and your doings and your desires. You did not think on another person's concerns and troubles but selfishly put yourself before them for something insignificant.
Voice 1: I ... I really am sinful, aren't I? But you ... does this mean ... it means I am blessed to have you, to know now what I have done was wrong, to recognize it to be true and that you are true as well?
Voice 2: ...
Voice 1: I'm sorry. I shouldn't have thought those things. I let it ... I let myself be consumed by my own wickedness. To those present, I am sorry. I still listened to you all and what you talked about, but at the end of it I put myself ahead of everyone and the time meant to be spent in the Word.
Voice 1: Man, this is taking too long. I really need to leave.
Voice 2: Have patience. There is time and nothing to worry about.
Voice 1: But they're taking forever. I need to get back now and study. It's already past the time slot.
Voice 2: This is important.
Voice 1: My things are important! I still haven't eaten dinner, I've got another quiz at 8 am to finish studying for, and I need sleep! And not for only 6 hours or less again. I won't function without some good rest. You know that.
Voice 2: Are these truly that concerning?
Voice 1: Oh for goodness sake, they ... are ... still ... talking.
Voice 2: I ask again. Are these things truly that concerning?
Voice 1: What do you think?
Voice 2: I will go at length.
Voice 1: Oh, sure, join in.
Voice 2: You are concerned about food, sleep and studying?
Voice 1: Yes ...?
Voice 2: Do you remember something about each of these things?
Voice 1: What are you talking about?
Voice 2: You are blessed to be able to buy and have food at your leisure and share a meal with others. You are blessed to sleep within the comforts of a bed and sheets out of the cold and darkness of night. You are blessed to be able to go to a place where you can study and learn each and every day. You are even blessed to know these things and that what you have said tonight is deplorable and shamefully selfish.
Voice 1: ... I ... I know ... I knew ... That I was blessed.
Voice 2: Yet for one moment of time, not your own, did you think to believe the world should revolve about you and your doings and your desires. You did not think on another person's concerns and troubles but selfishly put yourself before them for something insignificant.
Voice 1: I ... I really am sinful, aren't I? But you ... does this mean ... it means I am blessed to have you, to know now what I have done was wrong, to recognize it to be true and that you are true as well?
Voice 2: ...
Voice 1: I'm sorry. I shouldn't have thought those things. I let it ... I let myself be consumed by my own wickedness. To those present, I am sorry. I still listened to you all and what you talked about, but at the end of it I put myself ahead of everyone and the time meant to be spent in the Word.
Sunday, February 1, 2015
House of the Elementals - Introduction
We were innocent once. The world we knew was not easy, but it was held within reasonable bounds. But our lineage lay beyond the mundane, part of an inheritance ill-known and given to few. Before us, in the worst time of their history, these words were commonly said:
Never cross a stranger
Be wary of your friends
Do not always trust your family
Their times have since returned to peace. But our toils have only begun. To you who read our story, welcome to the House . . .
Never cross a stranger
Be wary of your friends
Do not always trust your family
Their times have since returned to peace. But our toils have only begun. To you who read our story, welcome to the House . . .
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