The Magi

Elijah sat on his bed, staring at the wall. It had been a long time since he last thought about the night his parents were murdered. So much had happened since then, and things were finally starting to piece together. He knew who killed his parents—the Maliphist rider with yellow eyes. Seeing the small burn marks on the side of the barracks, he now knew how they died. By fire—or in their case fire in the form of lightning. The only thing he didn’t know was why they were killed.

He wanted to ask Olivia more about everything, but he didn’t end up seeing her for many weeks. The storm that started Sunday turned into one of the longest storms Savenridge had experienced in a long time. Heavy winds and snow pelted the city for weeks until close to March, so most of the mentors cancelled training sessions until it subsided. During the tempest, only students in the advanced Novice levels were allowed to take the opportunity to go outside during the massive storm to practice controlling the fierce winds. It wasn’t often they had winds of this nature to practice with.

Since they had extra time due to cancelled training, Elijah had more time to spend in the library. He enjoyed reading uninterrupted in the cozy chairs by the fire. Not wanting to make the same mistake with his friends as he did with Samuel, he used this time to talk with them, getting to know them better. He learned Paul’s dad, Victor, was something like a postman in Savenridge, before he deserted his family to join the Maliphists in Malpetra. Victor used to deliver produce and other goods to people in the rural areas of Savenridge. Isaac’s grandparents were retired, but his grandfather, Monty, used to work at the stables, caring for the horses used by the local marshals. Isaac apparently spent lots of time at the stables when he was younger, and after retirement, whenever his grandfather missed his four-legged friends, he and Isaac would return to the stables, caring for them at no cost. All the current stable hands knew Monty and Isaac. Adam’s adopted parents were both bankers at the Savenridge Treasury. At the mention of money, Elijah asked about the Magi currency.

“We use gold coins for everything,” Adam explained. “Gold never changes, so it’s easy to exchange with the other Magi communities.” Elijah never paid attention to the money when he went to the market with Master Roddick, so when Adam showed him a few gold coins to satisfy his curiosity, Elijah was astonished by the fine detail on each coin. Each one had a symbol, just like the symbols on the stone tower in the center of town, of a particular element. Even though they were worth the same, Elijah learned, each individual Magi preferred to collect coins with their own chosen element.

On one of the days they were kept inside, Elijah tried talking with Becca. He was on his way to the library and noticed her sitting by the oval fire reading a book. He felt sorry for her sitting alone as everyone else ignored her, so he decided to sit next to her. Other than seeing her snap at a few of his friends, he had no reason to dislike her, but she did give Elijah the feeling he should keep his distance. He figured before he wrote her off as being a horrible person, he should at least try to talk with her. As soon as he sat down, she lowered her book, glared at him, then quickly raised it up again.

“Can I help you?” she asked coldly behind her book.

“I just wanted to say hi,” Elijah said weakly, his voice shaking. Becca didn’t answer him. She continued to read her book. He was tempted to leave, but he gathered his courage to speak again. “Do you mind if I read here too?” Becca lowered her book again, this time with squinted eyes, trying to figure out Elijah’s motives. She studied him intensely with her big brown eyes, making Elijah extremely uncomfortable. Then, when he continued to stay, her face went back to normal, (normal for her) and she relaxed some.

“Go ahead,” she answered dryly. “It’s not my chair, so I guess you’re free to use it.” Elijah picked up a book out of his bag and pretended to read. For some reason, at that particular moment, he found the courage to be direct with Becca.

“Can I ask you why you’re so mean to everyone?” He was sure she was going to throw her book at him. To his relief, she simply closed it and put it down.

“I can’t help that other people think I’m being mean,” she said bitterly. But something in her voice told him she did care. “I think some people just need to take things less personally. After all, life isn’t always nice.”

Elijah figured nothing was going to change her mind, so he decided to leave it be. He stayed for a while and read before he excused himself and thanked her for letting him sit there. As he left, he stole a glance at her. Her face was still buried in her book, but he thought he detected her usual smirk soften into just the slightest smile.

He was unclear when exactly he noticed it, but during the weeks of the storm, Elijah observed a slight change in his body. He still felt too skinny, but he was sure he detected some growth in his muscles, especially around the chest and arms. He also noticed a change in his focus. Elijah had always liked to read for pleasure, but he was easily distracted by any little sound or movement around him. It used to take him a long time to read because he kept losing his place. Now, because of his mental training, he was able to shut everything else out. Reading, doing homework, listening to someone talk—he found he was able to concentrate on these things much easier now.

After what seemed like years, the storm finally passed, and Elijah resumed elemental training. The moment he went outside, he was taken by the beautiful blue sky overhead. There were patches of clouds here and there, but none of them threatened snow. They were white and billowy. The wind still blew, although not as forceful as before, and the cold still stung slightly, but Elijah took in the sunshine and freshness of the day.

Olivia led him to the same meadow where he learned about fire. Once again, she instructed him to learn by observing, but this time he was instructed to observe two elements at once: earth and wind.

“How am I supposed to observe the wind?” Elijah asked, feeling the same helplessness he always felt when Olivia left him. “You can’t see it.”

“Rubbish!” Olivia responded. “Stop trying to see everything. You’re being trained to quit relying on only one sense. You can’t look for what it is; you have to see what it does.” Elijah looked at the ground.

“So what about earth then?” he asked. “It doesn’t really do anything.”

“You’ll have to learn what it does. That’s the point of this. You thought water didn’t do anything either, but the more you observed, the more you learned otherwise.” Elijah nodded and made a kind of snort indicating he understood, but was not convinced. Olivia picked up her bag and walked away.

Elijah decided to start observing earth first because it was easier to notice than wind, but the more he looked around, the more overwhelmed he became. There was too much to notice! How much of the land was considered earth? He decided it was safe to say the dirt was part of the earth element. He brushed away some snow to expose a little area of dirt underneath so he could touch and manipulate it. Elijah laughed to himself as he thought about teachers at his old schools yelling at children for playing in the dirt, and now he was encouraged to do it.

He thought about the dirt as he gathered it up in handfuls, letting it fall back down on itself. Elijah knew dirt was part of the earth, but what else was? Earth was different than fire because it actually created life instead of destroying it. But what all did it produce? He remembered learning in science class that the earth was rich in nutrients and minerals. It created and cared for life. It gave the plants a home to grow their roots.

Elijah looked at all the plant life around him. Even during the winter, the earth was protecting the life desperately clinging to it. The tallest trees began with something small, under the ground, where it was cared for by the earth until becoming the massive, beautiful forests he saw now. And those same trees now depend on the earth for life. He suddenly had a sense of wonder and appreciation for the earth. Not many things could create life, but the earth did. It took time and patience and continuous work to grow the world around him.

After he felt he had sufficient things to say about the earth, Elijah began to focus on wind. He found a rock sticking out from the snow and sat down to study more comfortably. By far, Elijah had more trouble finding characteristics of wind than any of the other three elements. He decided in order to observe the wind, he would have to rely on senses other than his sight, like Olivia suggested.

He definitely could feel the wind. That much was for sure. It was currently blowing at his back in uneven gusts. There was no pattern to it. For a few seconds at a time the wind would be strong, and then, for no reason at all, it would stop. Then, the wind would strengthen yet again, but it never was the same. It was unpredictable. Unexpectedly, Elijah felt the wind from a different direction, hitting his side, and then it fixed itself and returned to blowing at his back. It definitely kept Elijah on his toes.

Oddly, when he looked up at the trees, he saw the wind blowing from what looked like a completely different direction. The tops of the trees seemed to be blowing north while Elijah felt it at his back, which meant it was blowing east. During his observation, it occurred to Elijah the wind was actually manipulating other elements. He saw the trees being swayed to and fro by the wind, and he knew after the snow melted and the ground was exposed again it too would be blown around by the wind. He thought of the ripples of the lake and even the waves of the ocean controlled by wind. He thought of the fire that spread because of the wind. Could wind be the one element superior to all the others?

When Olivia returned, much later this time than the others, Elijah felt a lot less prepared to discuss his learning than he had with fire and water.

“Don’t get up,” Olivia said as Elijah, who leaned against a rock, had started to rise and dust off his rear. He sat back down and Olivia walked over to the rock to sit down too. “So, what did you learn this time?”

Elijah gulped. “I’m not sure I did as well with this lesson.”

“Oh, come now,” said Olivia. “Talk yourself through it.”

“Well, I think the earth element is huge.”

“How so?”

“It’s not just dirt, but it’s everything that lives inside the dirt.”

“Not just in the dirt,” Olivia said. “It lives because of the dirt. If there is no earth, there is no life. Keep going. What characteristics does dirt have?”

“It takes care of life.”

“Good. What else?”

“It protects life. It holds it. Like how the plants cling to it for support.”

“Does that sound familiar to you?” Olivia asked.

Elijah furrowed his brow. “What do you mean?”

“You said life clings to earth for support and protection. Can you think of anything else that clings on to something for those same things?” For some reason, Elijah’s mind drew a blank. Olivia smiled. “Think about it and get back to me. Okay, what about the wind? What did you learn?” Elijah was still deep in thought, trying to answer her question about the earth.

“Um, I felt the wind was unpredictable,” he answered.

“Yes. What else?”

“I actually have a question about wind,” Elijah said, interrupting their conversation. “Is it more powerful than the other elements?”

Olivia chuckled. “What makes you ask that?”

“I was thinking about all of the things the wind manipulates. It makes the water move; it makes the fire spread; it makes the earth move too. It’s the only element that does that.”

“Are you sure?” asked Olivia. “Does water impact the earth?” Elijah pictured how the waves of the ocean would erode away the cliffs over time, and how rivers carve their way through the lands to make canyons.

“I guess so.”

“And does water impact fire?”

“It can put it out.”

“And can a mountain shelter you from wind?”

“Yes.”

“You see, Elijah,” Olivia said getting to her point, “each element is unique, but equal. They all have their own personalities; they all have their own strengths; they all have their own weaknesses. But one is not greater than the other, nor is one weaker than the other. They all are able to be great both by themselves, but they are especially great with each other.” Olivia stood up and began hiking slowly through the snow-covered meadow while Elijah followed her. “Do you know why I had you spend so much time learning about the elements without letting you try to move them?”

Elijah had wondered this for a long time, but he remembered Roddick telling him to trust Olivia’s methods, so he never said anything.

“No, I don’t.”

“The power we have to control and move the elements happens when three things unite in your mind: emotion, focus, and knowledge. I have been giving you the opportunity during our lessons to develop your knowledge of the elements. Knowing the elements will make the rest of the training much easier for you. If you truly understand them, you will separate yourself from those who just know how to move the elements. The more you know about them, the more powerful you will be with them. It’s the difference between mediocrity and greatness. Do you feel like you know the world a little more than you did when you started?”

“Yes,” Elijah admitted, “but I feel like I just noticed things I hadn’t noticed before.”

“Isn’t that learning?” Olivia asked with a grin.

“I guess so. I’m just not sure how any of this works with helping me control them,” he said.

“You will,” Olivia promised. “But for now, I only want you to spend time focusing on what you have learned already. Next week, I will meet you at my home. We’ll have a cup of hot cider and talk about the keys to our power. I think you’re ready!”

The following week’s trainings marched on like always. Elijah continued to struggle with strength exercises and triumph in mental focus exercises. His discussion classes progressed normally, and the teacher informed them they were going to spend the next few weeks discussing geometry. The students were instructed to embark on a project that would take the entirety of the next class. They were given a roll of measuring tape and told to find the surface areas of twenty-four shapes they found at the barracks.

“They can be the same shape, but they have to be different sizes. Thus, different surface areas,” explained Mrs. White.

Seeing as they were given no guidelines how they could go about finding their objects, Elijah, Paul, Isaac, and Adam decided to work together. Shortly after they got to work, Hannah met up with them and asked if she could join too.

“Great!” Paul said to Hannah. “Now all we need is one more person and we can all just do four and copy each other.” They all smiled at his joke (at least what they thought was a joke) and went looking for their objects. They decided to split into two groups, measure a few objects, bring the measurements back to the entire group, and work on calculating the area together. Elijah, Paul, and Hannah were in one group—Isaac and Adam were in the other. Hannah was the first to make a suggestion in Elijah’s group.

“What about the square footage of our bedroom floors?” she asked. “That’s a square right? That should be easy.”

“Sure,” said Paul. “Do you want to wait in the neutral area while we measure our floor, or do you want us to wait in the neutral area while you measure your floor?”

Hannah shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. Why don’t I do it this time. Then you measure something later that I can’t reach.” Elijah and Paul waited in the neutral area while Hannah pranced off to her room.

“Hey, do you know her?” Paul asked Elijah as they waited.

“Yeah, we did our discussion project together a few weeks ago, remember?”

“Oh, yeah,” Paul said nodding. “Is she okay?”

“I think she is,” Elijah said, although he wasn’t quite sure what Paul meant by ‘okay’. “She’s real nice and easy to talk to.” Just as he realized what he said, Elijah blushed and looked at Paul who raised his eyebrows.

“Oooooh, I see,” Paul said dreamily, and then he patted Elijah on the back. “It’s alright, your secret’s safe with me.” Elijah could have died right there, but before long, Hannah came jogging back with some numbers.

“It’s not a square, it’s a rectangle. Sixteen by fourteen,” she said. Paul still grinned ear to ear and glanced back at Elijah. Elijah wanted to slug him! Hannah looked at Paul then Elijah. “What?” Realizing Hannah was catching on to their looks, Paul spoke swiftly.

“Oh, nothing. Elijah had already guessed it was a rectangle and not a square. He’s a clever guy, Hannah,” he said with a playful hint that mortified Elijah even more. Elijah kept his head down fearing Hannah would be able to see his face turn as red as a radish, but she didn’t catch on.

“Okay, what’s next?” she asked.

The trio worked until lunchtime, gathering data and making measurements. They were eventually able to find a square to measure using one of the tiles from the washroom, and they also measured a couple of the circular stained-glass windows in the library. Finally, all five—Isaac and Adam included—met up at the dining area to eat lunch and compare findings.

“Man, this didn’t seem that hard when she assigned it,” Isaac said as he sat down with a plate full of salmon and rice. “How many things did you guys measure?”

“Nine,” said Hannah studying their paper full of sketches and numbers. “What about you?” she asked Isaac and Adam.

“Only five,” Adam answered. “But we got a few rare shapes.”

“Yeah,” Isaac said with a giggle. “One of the platforms for physical training is a perfect hexagon. Adam spotted it, and since we didn’t have a hexagon yet, we decided to measure it. Trouble is, it was being used at the time.” The others exchanged amused glances. “Yeah, Zempke had a bunch of second-level Novices using it for physical training. They were standing on it to dodge those big cylinder pounders. You have no idea how hard it was to get that thing measured. I had to jump on, get a measurement, then jump off before a pounder—or a student—clobbered me. Then jump back on, get another measurement, and then back off again. It took forever. They were so mad!” No one at the table could stop laughing. Elijah kept picturing goofy Isaac bouncing on and off the hexagon platform before the next student got on.

Paul leaned in and whispered to Elijah. “Should we tell him all the sides of a perfect hexagon are the same size, and he only had to measure it once?” Elijah almost spit out his drink.

“You’d have thought he would have caught on after three or four measurements,” Elijah whispered back.

Isaac was still telling them his heroic stories of finding their difficult shapes when they heard a noise at the other end of the dining area. Everyone turned around to see Becca straining to reach her papers from the hand of a taller boy—a first-level Novice. About three or four older boys were also crowded around shouting taunts and insults at Becca as she looked like she was about to burst into tears. One of the other boys had a hold of her measuring tape, unraveled it, and was mock-measuring Becca’s head.

“Lookey here, Shawn,” said the boy with the measuring tape, “it’s true what they say. Their heads are smaller than normal.” The other boys laughed and continued making fun. Elijah looked around for an adult nearby, but for the first time since the break-in, he saw none. Not even a soldier was present. Becca stood tall and proud, holding her head up, willing herself not to cry. She had given up trying to get her papers and looked like she just wanted to get away.

“Will you please hand me my papers?” she asked in an unwavering voice, avoiding eye contact. Shawn, still holding her papers in one hand, stuck his other hand under her chin and raised it so she was forced to face him. She scowled, refusing to look him in the eye.

Paul turned back around in his seat, away from the scene, and started aggressively picking at his food with his fork. His breathing became deeper and heavier than normal as he tore his salmon into little shreds on his plate, not eating a single piece.

Elijah watched Shawn as he walked toward Becca, backing her into the wall. He grabbed the measuring tape from his friend.

“I think this would look better around your neck, don’t you?” Shawn said in a soft voice, looking maliciously into Becca’s eyes. His friends were starting to look a little more uneasy at how far Shawn took the bullying. Becca’s lips were pressed together and her chin began to quiver as he slowly wrapped the tape around her neck. He dropped her papers, where she had her collected geometry data, and got real close to her face so their noses were practically touching. Elijah wanted to do something to help her, but he didn’t know what.

At that exact moment, a shocking thing happened. Paul, who had been practically tearing holes in his plate, threw down his fork, wheeled himself around, and charged Shawn. Becca must have made a face because Shawn turned to look just as Paul caught him under the chin with his forearm, and slammed him against the wall, forcing a choking sound out of Shawn. Even though he was younger, Paul was bigger and taller. None of Shawn’s friends dared do anything as Paul looked like a wild animal, cornered in a cage. He continued glaring at Shawn with those ferocious eyes, and Shawn dropped the measuring tape on the ground, probably not even realizing it.

“You okay?” Paul asked Becca in a low voice through clenched teeth, still glowering at Shawn. Becca’s chin trembled even more and she nodded, but didn’t speak. “Get your stuff.” Becca grabbed her papers and her measuring tape and ran out of the dining area. The entire room was at a complete standstill, eyeing the scene that took just seconds to unfold. When Paul eventually released Shawn, he gave him a final shove, just for good measure. Shawn fixed his shirt and yelled at Paul as he walked away.

“TRAITOR! MALIPHIST LOVER!!”

Paul ignored the comment and sat back down with the rest of his friends. They all ate in silence for the remainder of lunch.

On the way down to the library to finish their work, Elijah asked Hannah in a whispered voice why Shawn and the other boys treated Becca that way. Elijah felt sick about the scene he witnessed and wondered how those boys could call themselves Magi if they behaved exactly like he imagined Maliphists would behave.

“I’m not sure,” Hannah said. “It’s sad, but there are some families in the community that think they have a right to treat Maliphists like that, even though they’re taught to find the good in the world.”

“And it just goes on like that? No one does anything about it?” Elijah asked, disgusted.

“Maybe if they were adults, they would have been disciplined,” she answered.

Elijah shook his head. “It just doesn’t seem right. Plus, she’s not even a Maliphist!” Hannah didn’t have an answer for Elijah, but no answer would have made him feel better anyway.

When Saturday morning arrived, Elijah woke up with mixed feelings. He was excited about his training with Olivia, but he was also apprehensive about the lesson. What if he didn’t understand as much as he was supposed to? She told him the previous week she thought he was ready. What if he wasn’t?

Two soldiers escorted Elijah to Olivia’s house. Since the Maliphist break-in, the presence of soldiers had become a normal part of life for students. Elijah had met or at least recognized most of the soldiers. He even recognized the soldier walking behind him because he kept watch outside Elijah’s window at night. When they arrived, Olivia, wearing her usual dark green cloak, invited Elijah inside.

“Sit down.” She offered Elijah a large, steaming cup of hot citrus cider. “As promised,” she said, handing it to Elijah. He held it in his hands, warming them up and giving the cup a chance to cool. “Well, are you ready?” Olivia asked.

“I think so,” Elijah responded.

“Let’s start with the basics. When you learned about our history, you learned the Magi started out looking for the good in the world, remember?”

“Yes, I remember,” Elijah said thinking back to his conversation with Arthur.

“I put you through that same trial when I left you alone to learn about the elements. You did exactly what our ancestors did when they searched to understand the world, although they had less direction than you have now.” Elijah nodded slowly as he followed along. “Now listen carefully as I speak because this will be difficult to follow.” Olivia began talking very slowly.

“The world we live in, as you know, is divided into parts that appear very different from each other. I’m not just talking about the elements. I mean every living thing—you and I included. These living things may seem different, but when anything is created, the creator always leaves behind fingerprints. Each creation, therefore, has something in common. We have been touched by the same fingerprints. As such, we are connected with everything else touched by these fingerprints. And that’s the key! It is through this connection that we can access the elements. Do you remember our first lesson when you wanted to know how it’s possible to move the elements?”

Elijah nodded.

“It’s only possible,” Olivia continued, “by accessing something the Magi call the Soul. The Soul is the fingerprint of the creator. Once a Soul connects to another Soul, they unite and become one. So if your Soul is able to access the Soul of an element, you can control that element the same way you would control your own body.” Elijah listened acutely as Olivia paused to give Elijah a chance to process.

“I’m still not sure I understand what you mean by the fingerprints,” Elijah said.

Olivia sat back and sighed. “Okay, let me explain it another way. Think of a baby being born. At the point of their creation, something is left with them, connecting them to their parents. The blood that runs in the veins of the baby is the same blood that runs in veins of the parents, right? You can even see similar facial features, mannerisms, personalities, and so on. The baby is a different being from their parents, but they have been touched with something that unites them. It’s the same when a sibling is born. The sibling may be quite different from the first child, but the same touch of unity connects them to each other and to their parents. They are made from the same mold, so to speak—the same Soul. Have you ever heard of twins being able to practically read each others’ minds?”

Elijah nodded his head. He used to know a set of twins that claimed they could sometimes know what the other was thinking.

“Do you think that’s by coincidence, or by something that connects them?”

“I guess it makes sense since they came from the same parents,” Elijah admitted.

“It certainly does. This ‘mind-reading’ happens when their Souls are connected as one,” Olivia explained.

“So how do you do that?” Elijah asked. “How do you connect your Soul with the Soul of an element?”

“Ah,” Olivia said, raising a finger. “That is done through emotion, the first step. You have to have a similar, strong emotion to connect two Souls. Do you remember the three things I told you must unite to control an element? Emotion, focus, and knowledge. All three need to happen simultaneously in your mind, but binding them together at the same time is an unbelievably difficult process, especially at first.”

“Emotion, focus, and knowledge. What do I do with them?” Elijah asked.

“First, you must access the Soul of the element. Think of a machine. In order to work the machine, you first have to turn the power on somehow—maybe flipping a switch or pulling a lever. That’s what emotion does. It accesses the element you want to control. Make sense?”

“Sort of,” Elijah said. “But what do you mean by emotion? Am I supposed to just feel emotion and think of the element I want to move?”

“Do you remember telling me what you felt when you sat alone learning about the different elements?” Elijah nodded. “The elements have different personalities! You discovered and explained each to me at the end of every lesson. Let’s review. Do you remember what you felt when you spent time with water?”

“I felt calm. Like I was at peace the more I observed,” Elijah said.

“Exactly,” said Olivia. “Water’s personality—its essence—is peacefulness and serenity. You felt it because you have a connection to it. Deep down somewhere, there is peace in your life you can access. Therefore, in order to access the element of water—or, turn on the machine—you need to have an emotional moment where you become peaceful and calm.” Elijah remembered the first time he saw Roddick use water when he saved Samuel from the pale-faced man. Roddick had closed his eyes and looked extremely focused while still at peace, even during a violent situation. “What about fire?” she asked, moving on. “What personality do you remember fire having?”

“Angry. Violent. Destructive,” Elijah answered.

“The element of fire is accessed through those same emotions. When you are angry, you are more likely to access fire. In order to do so, you must find anger somewhere inside you,” she said.

“That sounds the easiest to do,” Elijah kidded.

“Actually, it is,” Olivia answered. “It’s also the most dangerous because it can be accessed so easily. What about earth?”

“It takes care of life,” answered Elijah.

“Yes. Earth requires care. It requires a sense of responsibility to grow and cultivate.”

“How do you feel that?” Elijah asked. “I care for people I know, and I know how to take care of things, but how does someone just access care?”

Olivia smiled. “Different people are more prone to certain emotions because it is natural to their personality. You probably know people calmer than others. You know people more aggressive than others. You probably even know people more caring than others. Who is the most caring person you’ve ever known?”

“My mom,” Elijah said, immediately thinking of her patient and kind spirit.

Olivia smiled big. “Remember when I asked you to think about something that needs support and life? The answer is a child. Children cling to their mothers for life. Why then would mothers be more likely to access earth?”

“Because they care for their children,” Elijah said, the light now dawning on him.

“Precisely! They have a tendency to access earth because a huge part of their life revolves around the care of their children. It becomes easy for Magi mothers to access the earth element because earth’s Soul—or personality—is care. Do you think it’s just a coincidence we call it Mother Earth?”

“What about before they become mothers?” Elijah asked.

“Ah,” Olivia said. “Many Magi change the primary element they use during their lifetime. It’s very common for a woman to change her elemental tendency when she becomes a mother. Her whole life changes then. So do her emotions. Therefore, the ability to access the element will change as well. Understand?”

“Yes, I think so,” said Elijah.

“Okay, let’s move on. What about wind?”

“The wind was wild. It was unpredictable,” he answered.

“So from what you’ve learned so far today,” Olivia prompted, “tell me how you would access wind.”

“Um, I would need to first access or connect to a wild and unpredictable emotion,” Elijah said a little unsure of his answer.

“Good. Now let’s review. Tell me the first step. How do you access an element? Do you remember?”

“You need to connect to an emotion similar to the personality of the element you’re trying to access.”

“Right. Now, the second step is focus. This also relies on what you learned when you were observing the elements. Once you have successfully accessed the element, meaning you’ve connected your Souls, you need to control it. You have to move it from where it is to where you want it to go. This takes an incredible amount of focus.”

“So, do I just summon the emotion and then think hard about what I want to do with the element?” Elijah asked.

“Yes, and no. You are already farther along with this than you might think,” Olivia explained. “Remember what you told me about the tendencies of the elements? What did you say water wants to do?”

“It wants to collect,” Elijah answered.

“Yes. So if you’re trying to move it out somewhere, and you don’t know it naturally wants to collect, you could have a real mess on your hands. This is where the third part, knowledge, comes in. You need to understand what it wants to do, and then focus on what you want it to do. That takes knowledge of the elements and focus working together to move it how you want it.” Elijah looked confused.

“So, how exactly would all of that work?” he asked. “I mean, say I wanted to freeze water.”

Olivia laughed. “Well, that’s pretty advanced stuff you haven’t learned yet, but yes, the idea is the same. You need to know what makes water freeze, and then you have to focus to make it happen.” Olivia refilled both their cups of cider which were drained during their conversation. “How are you feeling about all of this?” she asked upon returning.

“It’s a lot to take in at once,” Elijah said. “I think I have most of it, except it just seems a little—complicated to do.”

“Here,” Olivia said heading for the door. She took Elijah’s cup and set it on the table as she ushered him to the door. “Come outside and you can have a go at it.” Elijah’s heart felt like it was going to jump right out of his throat. “I’ll have you work on something easy so you can see what I mean.” Elijah and Olivia walked out the front door, and a soldier followed them once they passed. She stopped them over an area with lots of snow. “You seem fairly relaxed now, so it’ll be easier for you to access your peaceful emotions. Do you remember what to do?”

“I need to experience a calm emotion. Then I need to focus on what I know about water to make it change from what it wants to do to what I want it to do,” Elijah said, and as he said it out loud, something clicked. Suddenly, what Olivia taught him during the conversation made more sense.

“Right. Now, do it.” Elijah suddenly was very self-conscious and worried about what he looked like.

“What do I do?” he asked. “I mean, what do you want me to do?”

“Just move a flake of snow away from the rest,” Olivia instructed. She held out her hand and Elijah witnessed a small chunk of snow rise up from the ground and delicately come to rest on Olivia’s palm. “Like this.”

“How should I move? Do I hold out my hand like you did?” he asked.

“It usually helps,” said Olivia. “Make the motion you want the element to make. It’s not really necessary to move at all because your mind is doing everything. But most Magi move at least a little because it helps us concentrate on the motion we want the element to make.”

Elijah held out his hand like Olivia had done and took a deep breath to clear his mind. He closed his eyes and tried to remember the steps. He needed to access the water’s Soul by creating a calm emotion in his own Soul. Elijah concentrated on being calm. Then, he focused on what he wanted it to do. Move up, he thought. Lastly, he thought about what water wanted to do. He knew it wanted to collect and stay together, so moving it up would be unnatural. Elijah tried to mix the emotion and focus and knowledge of the snow like he was supposed to, but nothing happened. He opened his eyes signaling to Olivia he had given up. He had failed.

“What did I do wrong?” he asked.

“That, I can’t answer,” she said. “It’s probably a combination of things. How were you making yourself calm?”

“I’m not sure. I just tried to relax,” Elijah said.

“That could have been the problem,” Olivia said. “Telling yourself to relax and actually relaxing are two different things. If you have to tell yourself to relax, you’re diluting your emotion. Try thinking about a specific time you remember being calm and at peace, and then try to relive or replay that to feel the emotion stronger.”

Elijah tried again. He closed his eyes again and raised his hand. He thought about being outside on a hot summer day in the backyard, resting under a tree. He thought again about changing the location of the snow all the while blending together his knowledge of the element and his emotion. Olivia was right. It was difficult to completely focus on all the steps at the same time. After a few seconds of not feeling any snow, Elijah opened his eyes again in defeat, but as soon as he lowered his hand, he heard a faint sound below him. He looked up at Olivia who smiled proudly.

“Did it—Did I?”

Olivia nodded. “You gave up too soon.” Elijah was ecstatic! He looked down and saw just the slightest change in the snow under him.

“How fast was it moving?” he asked.

“It was slow; but that’s how it goes at first. To be honest, I’m a little shocked! I’ve never seen anyone do this so quickly, especially at your level,” she replied.

Elijah was ready to have another go at it. He and Olivia stood outside for a while longer and practiced moving the snow from the ground into his hand. Each attempt he was able to move it a little faster. He even began to move more snow at a time, but as the day wore on, Olivia finally ended the lesson and dismissed him back to the barracks. He found it slightly odd when only one soldier escorted him.

That night, Elijah didn’t talk to any of his friends. He was concerned being the only one able to control an element would just make everyone feel bad. He decided to go up to the boys’ hall, take a shower, and read a book in his room for the rest of the night, which he took great pleasure in doing until he fell asleep.

Elijah slept peacefully until his eyes popped open in a panic as his entire body burned. It was the same sudden feeling he had the night his parents were murdered seven months ago. This time, however, he knew what was after him! The Maliphists were coming to get him, as they promised, but not knowing where they were made things difficult. He considered running, but he didn’t want to make any noise. He stood still, sitting upright in his bed, carefully calculating the situation.

All of a sudden, he knew he needed to leave—right then! He raced out of his door, running as fast as he could toward the washroom. He froze behind the doorway of the washroom, looking at his own door when he heard a shattering sound of broken glass. He tightly gripped the sides of the doorway, a cold sweat trickling down the side of his face. The broken glass had awakened a few boys on the hall, and one boy—a small, scared-looking red head, opened his door to investigate. As soon as he did, Elijah’s instincts told him to get into that room immediately. He turned right out of the washroom hall, charged the room where the boy opened the door and dove inside, closing the door behind him.

“What are you doing?” the boy asked nervously.

“Sssshhhh!” said Elijah. “Maliphists!” The boy gave a look of horror, and Elijah instantly knew he had made a mistake telling him.

“MALIPHISTS!!!” the boy screamed out as loud as he could, his eyes wide with panic. “MR. BUTTON!!! MALIPHISTS!!!”

The entire floor erupted. Doors swung open and shut. Students ran down the hall, some yelling at each other to hurry. Elijah was stuck. He knew if he left the room, they could find him, but if he stayed, he was an easy target. After weighing his options, he knew what he needed to do. This was the time to make his sacrifice. He needed to give himself up. He took a deep breath and walked out of the room.

There were no signs of the Maliphists anywhere as Elijah stared down at the chaos of the hall. He walked slowly toward his room and when he got there, he looked in expecting to see the Maliphists waiting for him. Instead, he only saw a shattered window. They had gotten in through Elijah’s window. He ran in and looked down. The soldier that usually stood guard under his window was gone! He was nowhere in sight!

As Elijah continued looking down, he heard horrified screams from the girls’ wing. He opened his window wider, suddenly seeing a light from inside the barracks appear in the snow under his window. Running away from the building were three Maliphists aggressively dragging a helpless body behind them. He thought about yelling at them so they would take him instead, but something told him not to. Elijah felt disgusted with himself for letting it happen again. They were taking someone else because they hadn’t found Elijah!

Looking closer at the scene below, his stomach gave a violent turn. As she turned her face around in terror, Eljiah saw the helpless victim was Hannah Maybury, who desperately searched for help, but didn’t see any.

Elijah reacted swiftly. He reached into his wooden chest, pulled out his gear and began putting it on. As he was getting ready, Paul, Isaac, and Adam rushed into Elijah’s room, panting. Isaac was crying.

“They’re gone,” Paul said worriedly. “But they took Hannah.”

“I know,” said Elijah stiffly.

Paul looked at Elijah, puzzled. “What are you doing?” he asked.

“Getting ready.”

“For what?”

“I’m following them,” said Elijah. “Either help or get out of the way!”