The Elementum

“Alright, well listen, I don’t know what you’ve been smoking, but you should seriously lay off it,” mocked Sean as he stood up and stretched. “It’s getting late, we should pro-”

“You said six warriors” interrupted Jane. Sean turned to look at her with a shocked look.

“Jane, you believe him? Seriously?” Sean asked with a worried expression on his face. Jane looked up at him, and then back to Legatus.

“There are only five us,” Jane stated ignoring Sean’s question. Sean was about to say something else, but Shana pulled him down by his shorts, forcing him to sit down again.

“Yes, the sixth member of The Elementum has already been recruited. We put extra effort into finding her since her power can be so easily corrupted. Don’t worry, you’ll meet her soon enough,” Legatus explained.

“So, you really believe we’re the Elementum?” asked Shana quietly. Legatus nodded, and then took out a small glass sphere from a pocket in his tunic.

“This object here is called the Truth Orb. For years this was used to unlock the power of The Elementum from within the host’s body. Once you touch this there’ll be no turning back,” Legatus looked at each of them waiting for another interruption. Tristen glanced sideways at Jane, who looked at Legatus then at the orb, and finally at the fire. “Are you ready?” Legatus asked after the short pause.

“I’m still not even sure if I believe you,” Sean blurted. Shana looked at him and then at Legatus.

“All we have to do is touch it?” asked Shana.

“Yes,” stated Legatus simply.

“Ok,” Justin suddenly said as he extended his hand out towards Legatus. Jason’s face was serious, but his tone was tainted with a curiosity only his close friends could recognize. Legatus looked intently at Jason’s face before smiling, and putting the small orb in his hand. As soon as the orb made contact with Jason’s palm a bright, yet warm light shone out from within it. It wasn’t like the light they had experienced when the beast had disappeared. This one was softer, and somehow more magical than the other. Jason covered his eyes in response to it, and gripped the orb tighter in his hand. Slowly, the light began to disappear, and in its place a dark ominous light appeared within the orb. It looked like a swirling black fog. Jason felt as though his whole body went rigid, and he was suddenly overcome by a feeling of power and strength. All he could do was stare intently at the orb.

“Jason!” he heard Jane yell his name as though she were miles away. Suddenly, he felt two strong hands shake his shoulders. Jason snapped out of the trance, and saw Tristen’s worried face next to him.

“What happened?” Jason asked as he looked at each of them.

“You went into some kind of trance,” Shana explained as she looked at him trying to decide whether or not he was ok.

“Your powers have been unlocked, and judging by the color of the orb,” Legatus pointed to the black mist inside the orb “it seems that you’ve been given power over time and space. It is one of the most powerful forces; you have to make sure to use it wisely,” Legatus explained calmly as though he saw this type of thing every day.

“What?” asked Jason, confused as to whether or not he had heard him correctly.

“Your ability to control time and space will allow you to do many amazing things such as stopping time, teleporting, levitating things, but of course your powers are still new, so you’ll have to learn to control them before being able to do those things. Why don’t you try focusing on that rock over there; see if you can bend the space around it to make it move,” said Legatus, and pointed to a small rock sitting beside Jason. Jason looked at him like he was mad. Legatus cocked his head in the direction of the rock. Jason looked down at the rock and frowned. He wasn’t sure why he believed everything Legatus was saying, but there was just something about the old man that made him feel as though they’d know each other for ages.

Jason sighed, and decided to give the rock thing a try. His friends sat by silently as they watched him concentrate on the rock. It seemed like such a silly thing to do, but Jason gave it his best effort anyway. He stared deeply at the rock for what seemed like ages. Suddenly, he felt a strange sensation on the tip of his fingers as if something were pressing up against them. He lifted his right hand, and placed it above the rock. It was strange, but somehow he could feel a small gust of wind emanating from the space around the rock. He then shifted his focus from the rock to the space that surrounded it, and as he did so he felt a power coming from within him that left him breathless. Before Jason could become accustomed to this new feeling, he saw the rock float above the ground for a second. The shock of seeing the rock levitate made Jason snap his hand back, and the rock fell back to the floor. His face was pale when he turned to face Tristen whose expression mirrored his.

“Oh my god,” breathed Shana as she let the entirety of what she had just witnessed seep into her brain. Jane turned to look at Legatus who had a wide grin on his face.

“It’s all true,” whispered Jane. Legatus’s expression saddened a little at the sound of those words.

“Yes, Jane, it’s all true; every last word of it,” Legatus said softly. He turned his attention towards Tristen and smiled once again. “Are you ready?”

“Yes,” Tristen’s face became solemn as he reached out to procure the orb from Jason’s hand. Once again, a bright light exploded from within it, except this time when the white light dispersed, it was replaced by a soft brown mist. Every inch of his body felt strong and heavy. His eyes were staring directly at the brown mist inside the orb when he was overcome by a feeling of extreme security and confidence. He felt a hand land lightly on his shoulder, and he slowly shifted his gaze from the orb to the hand, and finally to the worried face of its master.

“Are you okay?” Jane asked with a small frown on her face.

“I think so,” Tristen replied. He shook his head in an attempt to come back into full consciousness.

“Interesting…It seems you are the master of the earth element, Tristen,” Legatus said as he pointed towards the brown mist inside the orb. “The Earth element demands strength and confidence from its master. I’m sure you’ll be perfect for the task. Try to see if you can create a crack on that boulder.” Legatus pointed to a boulder sitting behind Sean. Tristen got up without hesitation and stood directly in front of the boulder. His friends got up, and stood next to him to see what would happen. Tristen breathed deeply before beginning what seemed like a staring contest between him and the big rock. After a short moment he began to feel a tingling sensation that spread from the tips of his toes to the top of his head. Tristen touched the boulder, and underneath his hand a crack began to appear. Tristen drew back his hand, and turned to see his companions. They were all dumbfounded by what they had witnessed. No one said a word as they walked back to their seats. Jane tugged down her shirt nervously for she knew who was next. She stared at the ground unwilling to face Legatus.

“Jane?” Legatus asked warmly. Jane bit the bottom of her lip and then slowly lifted her gaze to meet Legatus’s kind one. “Don’t be afraid; we won’t let anything happen to you.” Shana placed her hand on Jane’s and squeezed it reassuringly. Jane sighed and nodded her head.

“I’m ready.” She turned to face Tristen and laid out her hand. Tristen placed the orb lightly in her hand. Again, a light burst out of the orb, but this time was replaced by a red colored mist. Jane felt her small body become overwhelmed by a deep warmth. She felt every part of herself become consumed by a feeling of strength and intensity. Her breathing became heavier and deeper as she looked at the mist. She felt an odd sense of security, as though she were being sheltered by a giant shield. A tear escaped her eye, and she felt a hand softly brush it off her cheek. She smiled thinking it had been Shana, but as she reached out to touch the hand she was greeted by one thicker and stronger than the one she had anticipated. She quickly turned her head and saw Tristen sitting close to her with a worried expression looming over his face. Jane blushed, and quickly let go of his hand.

“Red: the color of fire. Jane you have been gifted with the most difficult element to control. Fire is free and merciless, so you will need great discipline and determination to be able to control this element,” Legatus said. He looked at the fire before him as though remembering something from long ago. “It took Emily years to master it….” He looked back at Jane and smiled, “Don’t worry; I’m sure if anyone can do it it’s you. Try giving life to this dying fire” he said with a smile.

Jane looked at the almost dead fire that sat in the center of them. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. Once she felt she was ready she opened them again, and looked directly at the fire. She blocked out everyone else’s presence; it was as if she and the fire where the only ones left in the cave. Slowly she felt a deep warmth pour out of her body, and become mixed with that of the fire’s. It was an almost overwhelming feeling; she felt herself become one with the fire before her. Jane’s breathing suddenly quickened and her heart started racing. She saw the fire in front of her start to grow; its red lights brought life back to the cave. She was amazed by what she was seeing, but this awe quickly turned into panic as she saw the fire continue to grow nonstop. She wanted to stop it, but it was as if the fire had a life of its own.

STOP! She screamed but no sound came out of her mouth. She couldn’t sense the others around her. Fear seized her body as she saw the destructive power grow before her.

“JANE STOP!” she heard Legatus yell inches away from her face. This was enough to snap her back into full consciousness, and as she did so the fire quickly shrank back to normal size. Jane put her hand on her chest and began gasping for air.

“I couldn’t… It was too powerful,” Jane tried to explain, but was soon overcome with guilt and shame “I’m sorry,” she said with a sad look on her face.

“No, there’s no need to be sorry. I told you, the fire element is a very hard element to control. You’ll have to start with baby steps, but don’t worry you’ll get the hang of it,” Legatus said in a comforting tone. He gave her shoulder a light squeeze before returning to his seat. Jane looked down at the floor still recovering from what had happened. “Shana? Are you ready?” Legatus asked.

“Uh yeah, I um think I am,” said Shana, unsure of whether or not she truly was ready. Jane handed Shana the orb, and the process was repeated. This time the light was replaced by a mist that was thin and white. Shana felt her body become extremely light, and was consumed by a feeling of extreme freedom and a carefree attitude. On her face a wide smile was spread almost from ear to ear. She turned to face Legatus eagerly awaiting the name of her element.

“I have to say, Shana, I’m really not surprised that you were gifted with the power to control air” confessed Legatus with a smile. “Try to control the air around you to create a small gust,” he ordered gently.

“Alrighty,” Shana said, delighted that she had the power to control something as amazing as air. She stood up and spread her arms out to her sides, and soon a small gust of wind began blowing around her. Shana let out a giggle, and put her hands down causing the air to stop. “Awesome,” she stated with a grin on her face.

“Looks like you’re off to a good start, Shana,” observed Legatus.

“Cool! Ohhhh and now it’s your turn dear brother,” Shana said in a slightly malicious tone. Sean had been seated looking terrified throughout the whole thing.

“Alright fine, give me that thing.” Sean put his hand out in front of him and Shana placed the orb on his palm. Yet again, a bright light exploded from within it, except this time when the white light dispersed, it was replaced by a soft light blue mist. Unlike Jane, Sean felt a soothing coolness come over him, and every inch of him felt relaxed yet strangely heavy. His eyes were staring directly at the blue mist inside the orb when he was overcome by a liberating feeling of strength and stamina.

Sean gasped, and turned his head towards Legatus. “Well?” Sean asked excitedly.

“It seems you are the master of the water element, my dear Sean,” Legatus said playfully. “The water element is a tricky one to control; it requires strength and determination but also grace and a strong spirit. Try to see if you can create a ripple in that puddle of water.” Legatus pointed at a puddle of water that had been created by the water dripping from the cave’s ceiling. Sean got up without hesitation and kneeled down in front of the puddle. Everyone got up to see him show off his power.

Sean let out a worried sigh, and kneeled before the puddle. He began to feel a strange power run through him; he furrowed his brow, and almost immediately a ripple formed at the center of the puddle and spread to the edges. The surprising part was that no other ripple followed it.

“Oh, man,” expressed Sean as he slowly stood back up.

“Okay, what now?” Tristen said turning towards Legatus. All five of them stood there trying to absorb everything in.

“Now you save the world,” Legatus responded.