Chapter 17: Serapuall

­­Practice with Luthien went for hours and was very different from the practices Ellya had had with Vanden. But she understood the difference. Vanden’s practices dealt with her human half and her human capabilities. Luthien’s dealt with her demon half and her ability to wield dark energy.

But her lessons with him consisted no more than deflecting his power and improving her agility, combining physical strength and magic.

Early the next morning, nearly before sunrise, a girl of about ten came into Ellya’s room and woke her. Elviro was waiting for her at his cabin.

Her body had received rest, but her mind was clouded with dark energy. All she could think about was what she had practiced the night before, and she wasn’t sure if she’d be able to focus today.

But the very first thing Elviro said to her as she entered his two-room cabin was, “Sit.”

She did as he requested. After loosening and tightening a dozen glass jars on his shelf, he finally turned to her, a peculiar plant in his hands. Its thick green stem produced blood red leaves that were pointed and sharp. The leaves bore pale yellow lines that appeared to glow and pulse like veins. When the mage held it near her face, she could smell its powerful dizzying aroma.

“This is mage’s key,” he said, “a plant that mages and majayis use to help find the source of their power.” Seeing that Ellya’s eyes were beginning to close, he moved his hand and the plant away. “This will put you into a deep meditation, but you will be half asleep. Your mind will search for the door to your energy, while your body prepares to use it.

“What you performed yesterday was only the awakening of your power, the discovery that you can use your energy as a physical force,” Elviro said. “The magic yesterday was a random summoning of your energy. Now I want you to delve deep into that energy and find the door that controls its flow, so that in the future, you may know how to perform magic with the proper amount of energy.”

Ellya nodded, but her eyes were focused hard on the mage’s key.

“Are you ready?” he asked.

She nodded absent-mindedly, already lost to the plant’s spicy aroma. The mage placed the plant under her nose. And in minutes, her mind separated from her body.

The minutes turned to hourse. Elviro, reluctant to disturb her, opened a book from his shelf and began to read. After half an hour of reading, he glanced down at her sitting in the center of his floor.

“What are you thinking about, Ellya?” he asked quietly. But the question was not intended for her, for he knew she was no longer in the same world.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

“Isn’t it a strange thing, Ellya, the way people crave for power they were never destined to have?”

Ellya was sitting on the wide branch of a dead tree, staring out into a valley of barren land and desert. The night sky was a dark sapphire, forever changing its hue like blue fire. The Night God’s moon hung over the starved land like a beacon of light, lending hope but making no promises.

A sleek, black panther lay beside Ellya on the branch, laughing silently at the world.

“But it is a strange thing to be gifted with power one does not know how to use, Goddess,” Ellya answered softly.

The panther laughed again, a sound of pure womanly charm. “But one gifted with power is destined to learn how to use it, especially those who are destined for greatness.”

The tree suddenly seemed to fall away, the valley along with it. Ellya heard the panther’s laughter ringing in her ears as she fell through a hole of darkness. Her head was filled with concerns, but her heart gave way to the feeling of freedom and bliss.

She then found herself lying on the floor of a burning house. She began to panic, but wondered at the same time why she hadn’t caught on fire. It was hot, extremely hot, but she was alive and untouched.

Then the red, heated flames burst into a roaring blue inferno. Two figures seemed to step out from the fire, stretching their arms towards Ellya. She stared, dumbfounded, before she realized they were Muran and Aristene, smiles of melancholy gracing their white faces.

To her absolute horror, two tall, thin shadows appeared behind them, fiery blades drawn. Their swords caressed the throats of her parents, and she watched helplessly as the blades cut deep.

She heard herself cry out in anguish. Memories rapidly blinded her as they escaped the prison she had created for them. Her mind ran rampant with rage and regret; terrible pain gripped her heart and refused to let go. The blue flames were fading away now. And the shadows coming closer were beginning to lick her skin greedily, wanting something they couldn’t have before.

She screamed with all the air she had, with anger and misery, forcing the shadows to hesitate and retreat. She stood, still screaming and chasing her parents as their bodies were dragged farther and farther away from her. The house vanished. The blue fire faded. She was now lost, crying and yelling in a forest veiled by a blood red fog.

“It’s not your fault. . .”

Her screams had died away in her throat when the voice came echoing to her.

“It’s not your fault.” The voice seemed to belong to the underworld goddess. “Those terrible demons . . . They deserve to be punished.”

Ellya’s fists clenched of their own accord, but she paid no attention.

“Destroy them, my sweet. Destroy all those who dare to defy us . . .”

“Destroy them,” Ellya echoed. “Destroy them all.”

“Break them. If they do not submit, kill them. You have the power, and I can give you more . . .”

Hyatrece’s voice came soothingly, replacing the hurt in her heart with a thirst for revenge. She wanted justice. She wanted to kill.

She was no longer alone in the red forest. Shadows took vague forms, their yellow and red eyes piercing her. They were hungry for human flesh and lusted for the power that radiated throughout her entire body. She was a treasure in their eyes, and they would not let her get away.

“Destroy them,” Hyatrece whispered, her voice hissing as the shadows twisted closer. “Destroy them all.”

Ellya heard her heart quicken its beat. There was no fear, no panic. Only hatred and her energy boiling to the surface.

“That’s it, my sweet . . . Use your power to kill them. They deserve it after all the pain they have wrought upon your innocent heart . . .”

She felt it, and it was nearly overwhelming. But she didn’t know which she wouldn’t be able to control, her magic or her wrath.

The shadows grew closer, and her fingers quivered impatiently with power. She wanted to kill them. She wanted the satisfaction of destroying their very souls.

Her entire body began to shake. Her energy took physical form as blue lightning bolts, dancing and flickering between her fingers, around her body. It zapped violently at any demon that was near her, punished them cruelly for venturing any closer.

She was exerting a powerful presence, eyes shimmering eerily and body sparking with blue light. The demons came no closer, realizing too late their mistake.

Hyatrece’s voice sang to her gently. “Let it go, my sweet. It’s time they died.”

Ellya allowed a small smile on her lips. She knew they were frightened. She knew she couldn’t be stopped.

And then she let go.

The skies created her music with deafening thunder. The realm turned blue, the color, she now understood, of her power. Lightning threatened, and she opened her arms and turned her face upward, welcoming it. The first bolt sprinted down to the ground, striking her and filtering her energy to the sky.

And then it rained lightning.

She watched hungrily as rapid blue bolts stole the soul of each demon in less than a second, channeling their strength into her. Lightning struck down again and again, never faltering, always brutal. She absorbed it all, embraced it all. It was her power now, and she was unstoppable.

When the last demon screamed its demise, the thunder and lightning stopped, and silence pursued. It all ended in the blink of an eye, the blink of a human’s eye. The battle between demons was over, but it really had just begun.

Ellya was at the climax of her power, and she was still roiling with the excess of energy stored in her body. And there was the door, in the sky, to subdue her energy or arouse it. Once hidden behind clouds of anger now revealed and awaiting her orders.

The dark ecstasy she was experiencing was exhilarating. She looked to the sky and laughed, dark and powerful.

Her voice wasn’t alone.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Nestael had heard Ellya was in Elviro’s cabin and that she had been there since early morning. She and the mage had missed lunch an hour ago, and he had volunteered to bring them food. He knew his cousin was there to see Ellya’s progress and figured he wouldn’t want to miss it.

But the moment he stepped through the curtain to the head mage’s cabin, he was thrown back out by a force he’d never experienced before. It felt so dark it was haunting. He landed ten feet from the cabin, bewildered and head spinning. He looked at the trees around him. Even the branches and leaves had given way to that force. It was as if someone had conjured a powerful wind and blown it across the realm.

But Elviro was wise not to play with his magic.

Nestael attempted again to enter the cabin, only to encounter a very frightening scene. It was if the room had given birth to a hurricane and a lightning storm.

“Stay back!” Elviro cried.

Nestael saw that he and Lyoniv were pitted against a corner in the room, a slightly visible force shield around them. The shield, Nestael realized, was protecting them from Ellya. She sat with legs crossed in the center of the room. Her hair blew violently in the air, and her eyes were wide open. They were completely dark blue, even the parts normally white. She stared at nothing in particular, but somehow, all of Elviro’s furniture, books and glass bottles were spinning in the air.

But most terrifying were the blue bolts of light her body gave off. She was like a storm cloud, sending lightning in every which direction, striking whatever was in the way.

Quickly, Elviro cast a shield around Nestael just as one of the stray bolts struck his hand. Nestael flinched, frowning as the spot on his hand began to turn red, then blister.

Everything was chaotic in the cabin.

“Ellya, stop!” Elviro yelled, but Nestael could hardly hear him above all the thunderous crashes of furniture and lightning.

“Ellya, you must wake up! You’ve discovered the door, now close it!”

She did not hear. She was still oblivious to the physical world.

This time, Nestael tried. “Ellya!” he shouted. “Ellya, stop before you kill someone!”

And then gradually, the bolts of energy ceased. The furniture and everything else loose collided with the walls and the floor. The room finally settled in a wild mess, and the windows and walls of the cabin stopped rattling.

Ellya began to respond.

Her hair was no longer floating, her eyes no longer that eerie, enchanting blue. She blinked several times to steady herself, but her head began to tilt sideways. She fell on her side and did not wake again.

There was a minute of awkward silence as if at any moment she would wake and wreck more havoc on Elviro’s cabin. When Elviro was sure that she was completely unconscious, he lowered the shields.

“What did you two do to get her this mad?” Nestael asked, squatting beside her still body.

“Absolutely nothing,” Lyoniv answered, frowning. They both glanced at Elviro, who appeared quite disturbed.

“What is it, Elviro?” Lyoniv asked. “Have you discovered something?”

“Yes. Oh, yes, I have discovered something,” the old mage replied. He knelt beside Ellya’s head. “I fear her energy is too destructive.”

“Will that prevent her from participating in the competition?”

“No, but . . .”

“But?” Nestael prompted.

“Her magic will be dangerous.”

“How dangerous?” Lyoniv inquired.

Elviro placed a hand on Ellya’s brow, was silent for a moment, then sighed. “Mages and majayis vary in power according to the elements. These elements come at birth or the time one was given the skill to wield magic. There are many influential elements. The most common are fire, wind, water, and earth. Water is my element, and it allows me certain abilities that other elements lack, for example the ability to heal. Earth and ice also have that ability, but it is not as strong as water.”

“So which element is the strongest?” Nestael asked.

“There isn’t any element that is stronger than the rest, for each has its own advantages and disadvantages,” Elviro said. “Although . . .”

“What?”

“One element has been recognized as the most chaotic, and it often overpowers the rest. But this element is often found in dark mages.” Elviro’s face was grim. “It is the element of lightning. It takes the user’s energy and transforms it mostly into offensive magic. It is usually not used to defend, but to destroy.

“The energy of a lightning mage has the potential of causing great destruction,” Elviro explained. “If Ellya loses control of her magic during the competition, there may be unnecessary injuries.”

“I see,” Lyoniv murmured, watching as Nestael brushed a lock of her black hair from her face.

“But what luck, my lord,” Elviro said, a smile lighting up his mood. “She is the strongest sort of majayis you will ever meet.”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Ellya woke just when dinner had ended. Elviro brought in her food, asked if she was feeling any better.

“What happened?” Her voice was drier then she had thought.

“You nearly knocked down my cabin, that’s what happened.” He poured milk for her to drink. “It took me three hours to clean up your mess.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it,” he said. “What’s important is that you found the door to your energy. Do you remember anything?”

“Not really. It’s quite difficult to think right now.”

“Well, then I shall leave you to rest.”

Ellya finally realized that she was not in her cabin, but Elviro’s, judging by the glass bottles and book-packed shelves in the bedroom.

She ate a portion of her dinner, then submitted to sleep.

When Luthien called for her, she knew that he suspected what had happened. He could tell her no more than that he had sensed the pulse of power she had directed outward earlier that day. She now was able to control her magic, and what was more, she could summon lightning bolts. She could even summon a lightning storm, but at the large expense of energy.

She spent the entire night creating blue balls of light in her hands and firing them at Luthien. It was successful, and she could not be any happier.

In the morning, Elviro told her what she had done the day before and the events that had led him to the conclusion that she was a lightning majayis. She couldn’t argue with him; after what had happened in her dream, she knew her energy was chaotic.

He explained to her the possibility that her energy would cause destruction during the competition should she forget to be careful. She was forced to listen to his lecture about self-control. Though, he failed to mention the fact that she had given Nestael a blister. She learned that when she met another Dark Vision mage.

The guild apparently had two, Elviro and a second who participated in the competition. It was a girl of fifteen, around Ellya’s height with brown hair that curled at her neck and green eyes that glanced upon others with healthy speculation. She smiled politely at Ellya as she shook her hand.

“On the field, I’m Diamond,” she said. “But here, I’m Loraine.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Loraine.”

“Ah, the pleasure is all mine,” Loraine chuckled. She then watched Ellya from the corner of her eye. “Elviro tells me you’re a majayis.”

The news that the newest member was a majayis had begun to spread last night at dinner. They said that that was the reason Lyoniv had accepted her into the guild. Everyone knew now what she was, but she wasn’t sure if they were grateful or even more suspicious.

“That was you, wasn’t it?” Loraine questioned. “Giving us a scare yesterday afternoon when you shot a field of energy throughout the guild. Tsk, tsk. Interrupted my meditation.”

Ellya grinned at her. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t awake when that happened.”

Loraine shrugged her shoulders. “I’ve done it before, no worries. You left Elviro pretty roused up, though.”

“Did I?”

“Yeah,” she said. “Do you know you’re a lightning majayis?”

“Yes, Elviro told me this morning.”

“Good, wouldn’t want you going around accidentally zapping people with your energy,” she chuckled. “I heard you zapped Nestael.”

That caught Ellya by surprise. “What?”

“Yeah, it’s true. You haven’t seen him walking around with his hand bandaged?”

He had never confronted her about it. Though, somehow, it made her feel much better about her destructive energy.

“Well, never mind,” Loraine said. “He’ll be talking to you soon. He’ll be giving you your guild name, and I wonder what it’ll be.”

She winked and walked away. Later that day, Ellya spotted her with an arm hooked around an older boy. So from that, she concluded Loraine wasn’t one of the Nestaelians.

After lunch, Ellya was sitting on a bench near the edge of the weapons platform. She had her spear with her, but wasn’t sure if she should ask someone to practice with her. She was about to go see what Elviro could teach her, something simple, when someone plopped down next to her on the bench.

“I’ve been looking all over for you.”

She smiled. It was Arol, the boy she and Luthien and run into in Mausulan. She hadn't seen him in a while since then.

“See, I knew you would make it,” he said, grinning widely. “Where’s your friend?”

“He couldn’t make.”

“Oh, ‘cause he would have made it, too. I think he would be a very good Gold Mask.”

“Yes, I’m sure he would.”

“So is it true? Are you really a majayis?”

Ellya looked at him. Even those who weren’t members knew. “Yes.”

His face lit up. “That’s wonderful! ‘Cause now I’m sure Dark Vision will win the competition!”

Ellya chuckled. “What makes you believe that?”

“Only a few guilds have a majayis, and we’re lucky we have you. You can fight and use magic!”

“Yes, that is very fortunate.” Her eyes landed on the warriors who were dueling with their swords. “Very fortunate, indeed.”

“Hey, you!”

They both turned to see another boy and a group of men walking towards them. Ellya recognized him, too. It was Nestael’s little brother, Ralone, the boy who had tried to defy her back in Mausulan. There was a smart little smirk on his face, and already it annoyed her.

“Ugh, what does he want?” Arol mumbled.

“Hey, you,” Ralone repeated. “Yeah, you.” He pointed at Ellya, his muddy finger just inches from her face. “I want you to meet my friend, Serapuall.”

Ellya glanced up, and up, as an enormous Gold Mask stepped forward from the group of men behind Ralone. She cocked an eyebrow.

“He wants to fight you,” Ralone said, arms crossed and head high.

“He can’t speak for himself?” Ellya mocked.

“I challenge you,” the tall man responded. “My spear against yours.”

“Don’t do it, Ellya,” Arol said. “They’re just looking for trouble.”

“You’ll be in trouble if you don’t stay out of my way!” Ralone scorned.

“I’m telling Nestael!”

“Nestael won’t listen to you!”

Ellya glared at Ralone, then Serapuall. “I accept.”

“Don’t, Ellya!” Obviously, the boy was the thinking this seven-foot tall man was going to smother her. But it was an interesting challenge she had to accept.

She followed Serapuall to the center of the weapons platform, spear held tightly in her grip. His red spear, she saw, was slightly longer, but she was sure it wasn’t as impenetrable as hers.

Soon, a crowd had gathered to watch them. Ellya watched the tall man before her. What if she had made a terrible decision? What if she wasn’t as strong as she had hoped?

“No cheating with magic,” Ralone called from the side. “If you really are a majayis.”

She scowled at him. “Very well.”

There was tension in the air. They waited a few more seconds for the decision to be final, and then he made his first move.

He lounged forward, and she slid his spear aside with her shaft. She followed by swinging down at him, which he knocked away cleanly. She continued to fight offensively, determining whether or not that was the way to defeat him. This fight, she realized, was going to take a while.

Before too long, the crowd had grown so large that there was a border of people around them. Serapuall continuously drove her towards them, attempting to corner her. But she managed at every time to escape successfully. It was his might against her agility, and if she didn’t continue moving fast, he would overpower her. She was no match against his strength without the aid of her magic.

When he swung his spear at her neck, his shaft slid off her block and swept just an inch over her head. Though, as she was going to draw back, his spear blade caught the binding around her spear. In just seconds, he tore it off from around the shaft, and its crisp audible sound brought silence.

Silence hovered in the air as she stepped away. It lasted an awkward minute when faces turned and gaped. The tattered cloth slipped to the floor, revealing the precious sapphires and exquisite gold it had kept hidden.

Serapuall was too stunned to notice Ellya’s glare. Taking the momentary advantage, she launched towards him and attacked. He just barely missed her blade, jerking back with his body. But his movement was too quick for his mind to follow, and so he began to lose his balance, wobbling backwards. She dipped and swung a leg round, catching his feet and sending him crashing to the floor.

His body created a loud thud. As he was about to lift himself up, she pressed the butt of her spear against his chest and pushed him back down. And then he lay there, a helpless man wearing a furious glare.

“I claim my victory,” she muttered curtly before removing her spear. She inhibited a smirk and turned away. The little duel is over, she presumed. The guild members continued to stare, mouths either gaping or grinning with surprise. She looked at them, and finally couldn’t stop that smirk from appearing.

She picked up the cloth Serapuall had ripped from her spear. She decided there wasn’t any point to covering it again. Frowning at it, she left Serapuall lying defeated on the platform. She had won, and everyone had seen it.

Oddly, as she walked away, a small portentous shiver sprinted down her spine. Her body froze. Her mind emptied of all thoughts except the defeated Serapuall.

“Ellya!” Arol’s scream signaled her body to move. She spun around.

A rack of swords was flying at her.

With no time to think and her spear gripped firmly in one hand, she flung her other hand outward. She sought the door inside her, opened it and let the energy erupt in her veins. In a mere second, her energy pulsed in her hand, impatient to be let free. Then she pushed it out in full force.

She felt her own power enclose the flying object, felt her control over it grow stronger. It quickly came to a halt just three feet from her body. It floated harmlessly in the air, a tool once used as a weapon against her but now at her disposal.

She was unaware of the small smile on her face but saw the awe and disbelief on others.

Slowly, she pushed the sword rack back in Serapuall’s direction. It floated towards him ominously. When she saw that he didn’t retreat, she removed the swords from the rack one by one until eventually, they were all pointing at him and drifting ever closer.

Finally, he stepped back and clumsily tripped over his own feet, falling onto his back. The swords slowly descended upon him, threatening to impale him. He watched with wary eyes, but Ellya could see on his face that he had at last admitted defeat.

But she did not release her hold on the swords and their rack. She continued to hold them there hovering above him, until a firm voice called from the crowd.

“Enough, Ellya.”

She averted her eyes to the guild lord as he stepped out from the rest. He held his hand out, silently ordering her to stop. Behind him were Nestael and Elviro, each looking at her with an unreadable expression. She waited a few more seconds, watching the tall man on the floor carefully, before she returned the swords to the rack.

When the rack was safe and still on the platform, several men separated from the crowd to help Serapuall to his feet. But the tall man shook them off, looking cross as ever. He sent a violent glare at Ellya, but she only brushed it off.

No one said anything more. Figuring there was nothing else to do, she turned and walked away. The crowd cautiously stepped aside, creating a broad path for her off the platform.

A/N: Two chapters in one update! I know I say I'll update as soon as I can and I never really get it in soon, but I eventually get it up. ^^" Writers often get that feeling of quiting in the middle of their story, but not me! I have to finish this because I love it so much!

Please review and leave your thoughts! I'll keep going!