The Elemental Academy

MITCHELL

Mitchell looked around the cafeteria of Larourie Academy. The tables were in rows across the room and students mingled among them. Around the outskirts of the room were the faculty tables. Teachers and other adults ate, talked, and kept a vigilant eye on the rest of the room from this ring. At the head of the room the four Headmasters of the school sat at a table of their own. At first glance, the room looked little different from any other academy in the provinces.

He knew it was different, though. Every student and adult in the building was an elemental, like him. The four Headmasters represented the four elements and the four areas of study. It was easy to recognize which was which, even if you didn’t know them personally. Every master of an element bares physical signs of the achievement and of their element. The Headmaster of Water, Jacques, had aquamarine colored eyes and teal hair. Hasseth, the Headmaster of Air, had snow-white hair and white eyes. The only color to her eyes was the black iris. Barone was the Headmaster of Earth. His hair and eyes were a dark green. Finally, the Headmaster of Fire was Therese. Her hair and eyes were a bright red. She was the Headmaster he answered to, because he's a fire elemental himself. None of these colors were ever found in non-elementals.

As he scanned the room, he noticed that most of the students had not yet acquired their colors. He was a little surprised by that; the ones he dealt with on a daily basis had at least some color. Some students, however, would never achieve them. To help differentiate between these, part of the dress code was a band of blue, white, green, or red. Many of the teachers, and a few of the students, had partially reached master status. Their hair and eyes were partially colored in their element’s hue. The closer they were to master, the more of that color they had.

Everyone in the school was broken into groups of four. Each group had one of each element in them. The primary group in the faculty was of course the Headmasters. The primary group of students was made up of the strongest student in each element. He was the fire elementalist for the student primary group. However, his group was missing one member, the air elementalist. This was because they were already halfway to achieving master status and none of the air students could match their power.

But maybe things were about to change.

The Air Headmaster had been missing from her seat at the front of the room for close to a month, and had just come back that morning. The halls were buzzing with the rumors about a new air student, one that could fill the missing space in the primary group. One said that she had a pet falcon, which wasn’t really that unusual. Many students had pets that related to their element. Another said that she was Master Kale’s long lost daughter. Master Kale was the only Headmaster to step down from his post instead of fall from it dead. He was ancient. The most recent, and most interesting, rumor said that she had killed two elementalists. If that were true, she should be dead herself. To use your power to kill resulted in the death penalty. Naturally, his group was excited and nervous as they ate their lunch. Mitchell slowly tuned back into the conversation his partners were having.

“Do you think it’s true?”

“I don’t know, Tania. You’re the water witch; can’t you see them in your pool?”

“I already told you, Justin, it’s all cloudy when I try. I think Jacques is blocking me.” Tania, their water elementalist, poked at her food. Mitchell knew she had tried 6 times already and every time seemed worse than the last.

Justin was the earth elementalist. He just stared at her. “Why would he do that?”

“They obviously don’t want us to know anything about this mysterious air student yet. They’ll probably introduce them to the whole school at once.” Tania and Justin turned to Mitchell in surprise, almost as if they had forgotten he was there. They considered his guess and looked at each other with shrugs.

“That sounds possible.”

“Very possible, but if they want to do it all at once wouldn’t they do it now, while everyone is here for lunch?” The words had barely left Justin’s mouth when the Headmasters stood up. Silence descended over the room as everyone turned their attention to the front. Hasseth surveyed the room and then spoke.

“As I’m sure all of you have realized by now, I have returned after an extended absence. To confirm the rumors most of you have heard, I have brought an air student back with me.” The room momentarily broke into whispers as every student processed this. Mitchell felt a thrill of anticipation. After silence once again took over, The Headmaster of Air continued. “I am sure all of you will treat her with respect and courtesy.” Her gaze rested on the three in the primary group. Mitchell returned it with difficulty. It was hard to meet those white eyes. “Another confirmation, she will be filling the empty spot in our Student Primary group. Make her welcome. Students,” she swept her arm to the double doors at the back, “may I introduce Ms. Lorraine Salkidia.” The doors swung open and every eye in the room fixed on the figure beyond them.