I posted this up before but then I decided to redo it because I didn’t like the feel of it. I am nit-picky about the flow of things and have been know to trash several pages of a story just because I didn’t like the way it sounded. It has been awhile since I have posted anything and this is my attempt to get back into the swing of things. Please leave constructive criticism. I don’t mind being told about what I have to fix and what you don’t like; just state why. Thank you.

On the night of my twelfth birthday; I had a stroke and lost most of the memories of who I was, what I was, and the many events that had taken place through my twelve years of living. Most things that I could remember consisted of my brother Coreax leaving, something horrible take place that he caused, and me being unable to control an element unlike the rest of my family. I have not dreamed since that day, yet I get sleepy rather easily, even if my nights are calm and empty. I live in a world separated from the norm, where gender ordained elements exist. My family is high born and laced with talented people dealing with the arts. Most people will find their elements by age 10, the latest age 12. But I am 14 years old and I have not yet found my element

Cross shuffled uncomfortably in the cold and looked up at the tall gates. Dark gates with faces of long dead people twisted into them. What sane person would come up with such a design? And, what sane person would incorporate such a design into their welcoming gates? She sighed and pushed open the gates with a gloved hand and made her way across the cracked stones that made up the pathway. She could smell the wet earth and burning metal, evidence that there were working Elementals. The school’s population had gotten so big that eventually after a 200 year establishment on the mainland; it had been moved to its own personal island. The Universal Institute of Elemental Arts had established its own society, building up housing complexes and stores run by the locals. The main building was in the shape of a U and on each side the boy’s dorm in the shape on an L and the girl’s in the shape a backwards L. The school’s history was rich with accomplishments and legends. It had produced many infamous Elementals such as her own parents and brother. She stopped in front of the doors; why was she here? How did a girl void of any elemental talents end up on the steps of a prestigious school? “You’ll do fine.” Her brother had said to her cheerfully before he had shoved her out of the car and sped away. “Asshole.” She cursed at him. She repositioned her bag on her shoulder and entered the school. The hallways were empty and the lights dim. She figured that the reason the place looked so creepy was due to the lack of people. The atmosphere was already causing her to become sleepy and she angrily shook herself awake. She was already one week late for school, now was not the time to doze off. As she made her way pass noisy classrooms she cursed her lethargy, her lack of element, her brother for being so damn charming and convincing their parents to send her there, and countless other wrong things in her life. What else was that manipulative, silver haired, pretty boy that called himself her brother capable of?

She got lost twice looking for the headmaster’s study before she found the double wooden doors. Her sense of direction wasn’t very good. Staring at the door she wondered how the hell she could miss such a thing. The tall doors had menacing gargoyles cut into them and she frowned back at them. Did this school purposely make itself unappealing to the eyes? The doors swung open before she could open them and she snapped her hand back in surprise. “Enter my dear.” Came a pleasant old woman’s voice. Cross hesitated before she stepped into the neatly decorated room. The woman behind the desk motioned to a chair which she was to take, “You must be Cross Ravein. Yes, the silver hair, the pretty eyes,” the woman said with a smile, “the one void of an element I take it.” She said. Did everyone know her as that? “The headmaster would see you but he was called away on urgent business.” She opened a drawer as she spoke and pulled out a board made of dark wood. It was covered with runes of the Old Language and the woman placed it between them. “Shall we start by locating that ever so elusive element of yours?” the woman asked brightly. “You can do that?” Cross demanded in surprise. She arched an eyebrow at her and Cross blushed in embarrassment. “Well of course,” the woman said with dignity, “I am Erin Sharton and I am a Revealer.” She looked at Cross with calculating eyes, “Surely you know about the Sharton Revealers.” She said. Cross nodded slowly; yes, of course. No element was capable of hiding from talented Revealers, and a Sharton Revealer, the family line that was thick with talented people. But then Cross’ own element had hidden from such people, how many people had gone away shaking their heads in disappointment? Too many. She stared at the floor and started to withdraw from the room.

“Well now, place your hands down on the board.” Erin said with a smile. Cross looked up in confusion, “What?” she asked. Erin smiled knowingly, “I see, you’ve never been tested like this before. My family uses the Old Language. I heard you are capable of reading the complicated speech.” She said. “Yes, I studied it in school.” She answered. “The Old Language is powerful, and my family has adopted it into our Revealing processes. Trust me my dear, yours cannot hide from me.” She said with confidence. Cross looked at the board, “I lay my hands down?” she asked. “Yes, palms down.” She answered. Cross held her hands above the board and hesitated, “Go ahead.” Erin encouraged. She nodded and placed both hands down. Silence followed for a few minutes and Erin glared at the board. Then, Cross started to feel the pulse of power beneath her hands. Colorful dots splashed into her vision and something tugged at her heart. She coughed and tried to move away but her hands were stuck to the board. Something shook within her; like an animal shaking off sleep. She felt it stretch and then seek to spread throughout her body. That’s when the board sparked and she was able to pull her hands free. But a force picked her up and threw her into the wall. “Oh, my … oh dear, what tragic,” she vaguely heard Erin mutter. Cross shook her head and stared down at her hands; electricity sparked from them! She then looked up into Erin’s pale and concerned face, “Ms. Sharton?” Cross asked. “My dear, this is … this is rather interesting, and tragic at the same time.” She straightened up and fixed her ruffled hair. “It is not unusual for a male to sway into the more feminine elements due to the presence of a Y chromosome. But for a female …” she trailed off. “Lightning.” Cross muttered staring down at her hands. “Sit down my dear, we have much to discuss.” Erin commanded. Cross stood and shook herself. It felt like she had come out of sleep and had now only begun to move. She walked a few circles before she sat to return the feelings in her legs. “This hasn’t happened in over 700 years,” Erin explained, “You do realize the situation this places you in? No of course you wouldn’t,” she said not giving Cross time to answer, “Let me explain.”

“You my dear are in possession of a male ordained element. This is most unfortunate because from this day on you loose your status as a female. In other words, you are looked on as a man trapped in a woman’s body. Someone screwed up your creation.” Cross winced, what a lovely way to put it. “What is unusual is that you are lightning, yet you lack the characteristics that are common amongst those that possess the same element. Leaving me to believe that …” Erin suddenly coughed, “Never mind about what I believe. You condition is as followed; you will live in the male dorms, eat at their table, take classes with them, use their shower rooms,” Cross looked up sharply and Erin gave her a sad smile, “Yes, you heard me correctly. I would advise you to protect yourself. The woman who possessed a male ordained element was raped several times.” Cross blinked; what comforting news. Maybe she would have done better without knowing that. “You will also be taught to be aggressive with your element. You are not a Supporter because you are not a female. You are the Aggressor.” Cross nodded and then looked up. Erin felt her heart melt at the determination she saw in the girl’s eyes, “I would like a map of the school, and my papers please.” She said. Erin sighed and nodded, “Wait here while I collect a folder for you.” She said standing up and walking into the opposite room. Cross sighed and rested her face into her hands. She wasn’t a girl anymore. Maybe something had gone terribly wrong when she was younger. Did her parents do anything out of the norm while she was being created? Cross shook her head, feeling her face go red. It was not the time to think about such things. She straightened up when Erin walked back into the room, “I’ll need another name from you.” She said. “Another name?” Cross asked. “Well, you see. As ridiculous as it sounds, the school likes to run by codenames, it’s a thing the students like.” She said nervously, “A name, like … a name dealing with who I am?” she asked. “Yes, for instance the school’s vice president is called Whisper. She’s a charming young lady and an Elemental of Wind.” She said helpfully. “Um … oook.” Cross said, looking at the floor to think, “Static.” She said. “Static?” Erin asked. “Yes, Static.” She said. “Very well.” She wrote that down into the folder and then handed it to her. “Good luck.” She said. “Thank you.” Cross whispered. She could feel Erin’s sad look on her back as the doors shut behind her.

With the help of a map, Cross only got lost once, before she figured out that the boy’s dorm was on the opposite side of the school and she had to walk back. She finally reached the dorm and leaned against the outside wall to take a breath. It did feel like she had moved faster. The lightning must be kicking in, one thing her type was known for: speed. She stood up and opened the doors into a large sitting room lit by a warm fireplace. She sighed in relief at the sight and walked over and sat in a chair, warming herself up. She leaned back into the chair and looked up at the ceiling, studying the frescoes. Colorful pictures of male Elementals performing their art. She stared at the lightning on; bleached yellow hair with bright green eyes. She tugged at her silver hair and grimaced. She needed a shower, badly. She stood up to go find her room. Number 12. She repeated over to herself so she wouldn’t forget. She walked up several winding stairs, why the hell was number 12 so high up? She grumbled and leaned against the door once she had found it. Her lack of energy was beginning to irritate her. She stood up and kicked the door open and stumbled in, and onto her bed. I cannot believe the situation I have gotten myself into. I should have stayed up, and slept. Or run faster when Jyak told me where I was going. How does he run so fast? She felt like sleeping and never getting up. Maybe she’d be able to do so. With her feeling like all her energy was constantly being sucked out of her, maybe one day she’d feel like not moving at all and die in her sleep.

She sat up with a start and slapped herself. The pain stung her cheek and she felt wide awake. What a horrible thing to think about. She was very much alive, and she smelled therefore she needed a shower. Someone had moved her suitcases into the room and she moved one over to her to look for some clothes and shower necessities. The sound of opening and closing doors caused her to look up in surprise. “Shit, hell and damnation,” she cursed quickly standing up and opening the door. She peeked outside and saw that the hallway was empty. She breathed a sigh of relief and then slowly started to creep her way towards the end of the hall where she could hear chattering male voices. She stopped outside to collect her breath. Maybe she should come back later. But, what would she do till then, hide in her room? She had to come out eventually. But, enter a shower with god knew how many naked boys? She gulped and slowly stepped into the room, sneaking her way passed most of the benches by hiding behind the lockers. That’s when someone roughly dropped an arm around her shoulder. “Hey! Check it out!” a voice called. She froze as many pairs of colorful eyes looked at her. “Is that the one?” someone asked curiously. “Yah, hey man, you must be that girl who controls lightning.” Don’t look, don’t look … she thought frantically. “Haha! She’s embarrassed.” Someone called. “Of course she is.” someone snapped. “Hey you, open your eyes. You should get used to the sight.” She heard another voice called at her. If it weren’t for the guy that was hanging onto her she would have fled the room. She opened one eye and refrained from blushing. “Yo, I’m Rory,” she looked up at the boy, “I use lightning too.” He said. “Ni … Nice to meet you.” She muttered, trying to ignore the fact that he only had a towel around his waist. “Don’t worry ‘bout them, most of them are virgins and have never seen a naked girl.” Protests were shouted at him and someone from behind him snapped a wet towel against his butt. He jumped away and glared at the boy that appeared next to Cross. “Heard about what’s up with ya.” The new arrival said, “Must suck to be a man trapped in a woman’s body.” She looked up and smiled meekly at him, not sure how to react. How was she supposed to?! Naked boys and barely dressed boys! She had to get away quickly, to the back. Anywhere.

The talking continued and they all seemed to ignore her. She slowly snuck away towards the back, happy that many of them weren’t too concerned about her gender. “Hey, once you get your clothes off let us see!” someone called after her. She whirled around and glared angrily at him, causing laughter to erupt around her. “Fuck … you.” She growled underneath her breath before she vanished into the back. How indecent! She pulled her clothes off in anger as she dumped them on the bench. She nearly tripped as she got her knee high socks off and stumbled before she braced herself against the wall. Maybe the reason she ended up with a male ordained element was because she lacked the necessary characteristics that most girls are born with; like grace. She turned on the water and stepped into it. She had to block out the laughter and the provocative conversations that were occurring over the walls. Why did guys discuss such things? Did it matter how many girls you performed sexual intercourse with? And did they have to describe it so … detailed like?

She grumbled as she splashed water into her face. That’s when a sound reached her ears. She looked up in surprise to try to identify it. It sounded like, water being poured over hot metal. She heard footsteps behind her and the area suddenly got very steamy. “Oi!” she heard a boy complain, “Can’t you guys enter from the back? You’re evaporating all the damn water.” She felt the hostility behind her and slowly turned her head to narrow her eyes at the person approaching her; the naked person who was glaring at her with fierce red eyes. Steam rose off his skin signaling a vast amount of fire energy raging within him. She gulped, but didn’t move. Why did she feel as if she had just invaded someone else’s personal space? Damn it …