Legend of the Elementals, Book 2: Release

Legend of the Elementals

Book 2: Release

by

Kyle Timmermeyer

--

Copyright Kyle Timmermeyer 2012

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Table of Contents

Introduction

Part 1

Now is a Moment

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Part 2

The First Honest Man

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Whisper and Whirlwind

To Be Continued

Discover your talents. Embrace your destiny. Take charge.

In Book 1: Reintroduction, the Elementals—Ryan, Erin, Kris, and Jason—left the old world and its rules behind, embracing a dubious new reality where they exhibit supernatural control over the elements wind, fire, water and stone. Now the 4 teenagers join a motley crew of rebels in pursuit of the Wind Diamond, an Elemental gem that promises to boost Ryan’s wind talent to the next level, in hopes of taking the fight directly to Devidis, the evil emperor who cast the world into its post-apocalyptic state. As leader of the inexperienced team, haunted by his inability to make sense of his powers, can Ryan keep his friends from being captured, or worse, by the black-clad, gun-toting Devidisians as the Elementals navigate cities, frontiers, and high seas brimming with cutthroats and thieves? Legend of the Elementals continues...

Part 1

Now is a Moment

Now is a moment, here in time,

Cradled between before and later.

Now is nothing special,

And it is all we have.

It is a priceless gift,

Fulfilled and renewed

Every moment.

Before is a memory.

Later is a promise.

Now holds the memories.

Now makes the promises.

As contentment helps the sunset,

And trust helps the sunrise...

As the universe turns,

Now grows greater:

It holds more memories.

It makes more promises.

Toward the end of time...

Now becomes forever.

Chapter 1

Ryan:

It was our first night sleeping on the ground. Of all the things we practiced during our training at the Sun Tower, sleeping on the ground was not one of them. Packing, first aid, running, tracking, climbing, fighting, applying our talents… so much in so little time, only a few short months, it seemed.

My shift at the watch had just ended, too quickly. Nothing had been moving in the darkness, so my mind instead filled it with every sort of horrible creature we had heard of in this strange new world: giant mantises with razor claws, massive worms that swarmed in the ground and struck like piranha, tiny flesh-eating rats that hunted in enormous packs. I could have stayed up for a full second watch, I was so nervous, but that wouldn’t do anyone any good. And so I laid myself down, struggling to find a position on the unforgiving ground that didn’t dig a rock or a root into my shoulder or my back. I debated the merits of upgrading to a bulkier, heavier pack at the next opportunity if it meant something nicer to sleep on.

Jason let out a pig snort. Maybe tomorrow night that Stone Elemental could give me some tips on finding the best place to sleep… or at least level the ground out for us. I rolled to my left side and caught Kris looking at me. She had a pitying smile on her face.

When I have trouble sleeping, I focus on my breathing, she said quietly. Slow, deep, regular breaths. But who am I to talk about breathing to Whisper, the Wind Elemental?

She got up to stretch her legs a little, scanned the horizon in all four directions, and ended up kneeling near Erin. It might have been better to be standing on the watch, but towering over the sparse landscape didn’t seem like the best idea. All about us, the ground was (relatively) flat, and the grass was short, bent and burnt by the summer sun. It was just the four of us, with only a few bushes for company. Lonely, but peaceful, much more peaceful than I had expected.

I took Kris’s advice, closed my eyes and found a slow rhythm for my breathing.

A few minutes later, I was telling myself it would never work.

Then, a hand on my shoulder. Startled, I opened my eyes. As always, I had missed myself falling asleep. The sun was over the horizon. I took in the shifting array of colors, purple giving way to orange and pink.

All the little things we missed, Kris said.

Erin turned toward her with a smile on her face. The prison walls really did go down. I thought I might wake up and... She shook her head, the smile fading into seriousness. Anyway, we’re free. Whatever lies ahead, however much I’ll miss Sensei and the teachers, I hope we don’t have reason to go back to that canyon anytime soon.

In the calm of the dawn, under a sky coming into bloom, there was no disagreeing with the Fire Elemental, even though breakfast was jerky and hardtack.

Pirates had to live on this? No wonder they were such... jerks. Jason said between swigs from the canteen.

It was tough going, trying to wash down the bread that might have been made from rocks. I was tempted to ask the Stone Elemental if he had a hand in the baking of the hardtack, but kept my mouth shut. It was far too early for real conversation. Soon enough, we shouldered our packs for the long walk ahead of us.

Erin had made her commitment clear, but it was harder for me not to miss the safety of Sensei’s Sun Tower. While my stiff joints groaned in protest against last night’s sleep on sticks and stones, it took a dedicated act of will to think about the road ahead and not miss all we had left behind, in light of the fact that we were essentially criminals escaping from an elaborate prison into an unknown, dangerous land.

I did my best to be objective about our situation. The destruction of the gravity field about the edges of the canyon prison would bring plenty of unwanted attention toward our adopted home, and it was hard to say, really, who was in the worse position: Sensei and the elders for idling near the center of attention, or the four of us, off on our own in the vulnerable distance. At the very least, there were no more answers behind us. We had our mission. It was best to press forward.

And so we did: eyes forward, ears open. Putting one foot in front of the other, our trek remained peaceful. I knew it wouldn’t last. A little after noon, we found the twin ruts in the earth that marked the road. Farms began to appear on the horizon.

To the right, I called. We stepped out of the way as a horse-drawn cart bobbled in from behind us. It was a sturdy wooden construction, spilling over with a family of five and a load of vegetables. The family’s clothes looked at least as rough as our own, if not rougher. That was good, I told myself. We were in no hurry to stand out. My eye was drawn, then, toward the handle of what I assumed to be an ax, sticking up from near the driver’s perch, within easy reach of the family’s burly father.

Hello, the wife called. What news?

I could see Jason, in the lead, struggling for an appropriate response. The four of us looked at each other, and no one said anything.

The cart went past us just slow enough for me to catch the suspicious expression that passed over the wife’s face. I cringed. The number of farms around us was only increasing as we continued forward, meaning more and more people as we went on. It was one thing to be quiet. It was another to be rude, and, if a lack of courtesy was going to get us unwanted attention like that...

We’re going to have to get our act together, I said, once I was sure that the cart had gained some distance on us.

We’re going to have to get used to looks like that, Erin countered.

Jason, in the lead, had started us walking again. I think our act is fine, basically. It’s healthy, natural to be suspicious of strangers wandering around, he said. We mind our own business, and expect everyone else to mind theirs. Drifters get by, as long as they don’t hang around too long. That’s what we heard, right?

We find out where the other travelers are hanging about in the town… and keep our ears open, I said, lamely repeating the plan. It seemed painfully bare-bones. How would we actually get this to work?

It wouldn’t hurt to be a little more polite, Kris said.

I took a deep breath. I was grateful for the support, but...

Oh? ‘What news?’ Erin repeated the question from the woman in the cart, adding a pinch of sarcasm. What information do we have, other than news about our prison escape?

The weather’s fine. The road is clear. Kris chose her words carefully. We’re happy to say that’s the only news. And maybe they’ll give us a friendly, even useful response, instead of just a suspicious look.

No one said anything for a moment. What do you think, fearless leader? Erin asked.

I cleared my throat. I hadn’t expected my observation to be so divisive. Well, I hadn’t thought it through that far. Let’s just try not get dragged into any drawn out conversations. A ‘Nothing, thanks,’ might be a good way to cut it short.

And it seemed I was right. That Nothing, thanks, was the end of that little conversation, anyway. Moving on, a few more carts passed us from behind; none greeted us. One coming toward us, though, provided a good opportunity to test Kris’s idea.

Afternoon, the driver tipped his wide-brimmed hat in our direction. What news?

The weather’s fine, and the road’s clear… we’re happy to say that’s the only news. What news from the city? I asked.

Nothing special, but the patrols are walking around with itches in their britches, a little more than usual. Strangers had best be careful, the friendly driver answered.

My own reply was a nod. My friends and I traded glances, and, from my position in the rear, I made a nervous, low gesture to continue on.

Thank you, Kris called to the driver.

The man tipped his hat, and kept his eyes forward.

As the cart moved beyond hearing distance, Erin said, Well, not bad...

The city walls loomed in the distance, growing higher with each step. Some might have taken confidence from the friendly farmer, or from the good information he had offered, but my doubts had only piled up with each step forward: I was sorely tempted to suggest that we try a different approach, but this was Sensei’s plan. If it meant my ideas against his, there was no contest: nothing to do but continue ahead.

And I still hadn’t told my friends of the old master’s... theory. The good news was that I felt I had settled on a very practical approach. Even if the whole world was indeed an illusion—and had been since we got here—the everyday rules of life had not altogether changed. Well, there were a few exceptions: our elemental talents... and ogres, goblins, fish people...

I shook my head. It was too complicated for now. But the thought wouldn’t go away. Maybe we were illusions ourselves, thoughts in the mind of the evil emperor Devidis? Silly. What sense did that make?

While I pondered it over, my legs kept moving. The ruts in the ground became a dusty road, and then pavement stones started to appear underfoot as we approached the city gates, a pair of imposing iron-bound doors