Natalia stroked the soft grass beside her absently before readjusting her crossed legs and straightening her back. Her body responded to the anticipation building in her heart with restlessness. Across from her, The Master sat in silence with his eyes closed, just as he had since they first settled. His body could have been a statue.

Her eyes darted around the quiet courtyard. Despite its proximity to the house, Natalia had never noticed it before. There were not enough plants to call it a garden, but a small fountain trickled quietly in the middle of a small copse of short trees. Grass lined the ground without any barriers or paths. The entrance lay hidden behind the kitchen, perhaps the kitchen staff usually enjoyed it, but today, it was her testing ground.

Natalia inhaled deeply and tried to calm her mind again, but it wanted to return to her questions and worries. Today, The Master would gauge her strength and decide if she could train to be an Earth Master. The failed Earth priestess becoming an Earth Master, the thought pushed a smile to the edge of her lips. Paulo's voice drew her mind back from where it had wandered.

"This space has a barrier around it, similar to that around the Vale, and is heavily shielded. Jiyun is here to augment it with her shield while I am testing. You can relax and let me help you find your powers." He opened his blue-green eyes, and the usual spark of levity that followed him everywhere had disappeared. For the first time, Natalia felt the similarity between Paulo and the Academy Masters who had trained her in her youth. With a reassuring smile, he placed his hands on the Earth on each side of him. Natalia copied the movement and opened her mind to the Master and the Earth.

"Good. Stay open but do not grasp as the priestesses do. Allow the Mother to come to you." The ground rumbled around them, making everyday speech impossible. With a strength Natalia did not know the Master possessed, he entered her Mindspace without touching her. They had never spoken this way before, but it felt natural.

"Reach down. Feel the Earth. Explore her vastness," Paulo instructed. She sat alone in the emptiness of her Mindspace. The Master spoke but did not appear, and she did not fill the space with any of her memories. It was dark and quiet; the Master's voice was the only sound. As he had commanded, she concentrated on the Earth.

The surface layer overflowed with life.

Further down, thick layers of stone slowly moved against each other.

Then, the heat of the liquid core flowing around its solid center pushed a bead of sweat to her brow.

She came back towards the crust, her favorite layer of the Earth. This was where she escaped when she couldn't survive any other way; the Earth Superior's accidental gift to her. The chains of power coursed through every level. She obeyed The Master and didn't pull at them but touched several and marveled at their presence. How often had she heard the priestesses speak of these chains and wondered what they were? The Priestess Superior was the only one who could use them entirely, but most priestesses could touch them and draw some rejuvenation from them. Without the use of the chains of power, Natalia could only be a prisoner of the Temple, yet now she could see them so clearly and feel the energy pulsing through every link.

At peace, she waited. She felt the silent presence of the Master, his power flowing through the Earth with hers.

"You have returned to us," a voice remarked before the Mother appeared before her. "You come to us willingly this time." 

With her, the Mother brought life to her Mindspace. Trees, grass, flowers, and then all the young forest animals came to view. 

"We have missed you, sister. So few can hear us as you do, and we are happy to talk with you again. We felt you each time you came to us to hide in our bounty, but you were not ready to hear us. You had needs, but you asked nothing of us," The Mother explained as sat on a rock fashioned into a small stool next to a silent Natalia. "We would have given you whatever you asked. Even if we couldn't speak with you."

A flare of surprise tinged with fear flared from the Master. Before Natalia could fully grasp the emotions' meaning, Paulo quickly suppressed his thoughts before his presence fully faded into the background. Her eyes never left the Earth Elemental, who she felt compelled to call Mother, and reassured her. "You gave me peace and safety when I had none. That is all I could ask of you."

"No." The word rocked the space, and anger crescendoed in the powerful being. The Mother stood and pulled Natalia with her so she could look into the Elemental's deep eyes. "You could have asked for lava, earthquakes, great chasms in the earth under those who dared harm you." The Mother's eyes glowed with the red heat of the molten rock. And around her, Natalia saw impressions of the natural disasters that were the domain of Mother Earth. "We would have complied with joy. We would have destroyed them all."

"And thousands of innocents in the process. One life is not worth this." Natalia frowned in response. What would have happened if she had called on the Earth to right the wrongs that she suffered? How would things have been different? How would she have been different? Was this what the priests did, the mages too? But she sensed it was not what a Master would do.

"To us, only a chosen few matter. The rest are noise or worse. They use our bounty and give us nothing in return. Remember this, sister. You have returned to us. When you call, we will answer." The older woman stroked Natalia's short hair, her eyes now calmed to a soft brown, her face wrinkled and leathery as she smiled. "Our friends will show you how to restrain our response. And though we are not always pleased with the confines, it will protect your innocents." The Elemental looked towards a space and pointed as she spoke; the Master solidified into that space with a frown. The Mother laughed and looked back at Natalia.

"Do not fear your power, sister; it is natural to you. You were born our sister, and you have found our brother. You brought him to us with something more, something we have not felt in a long time." The Mother sat again and allowed the Master's form to fade. She sighed and admired the young forest teaming with the life and energy she had brought to the Mindspace. "You will meet our other siblings soon. Please remember the peace you feel in our body if they get you too frantic. Sister Water is as old as I am but can have a quick temper, and Brothers Air and Fire are young. They can be - excitable."

The Mother laughed. The warmth of the sound filled Natalia with happiness. She closed her eyes to savor the feeling. But she opened them when she felt the warm, solid embrace of the Mother.

"Come visit us often," the Elemental entreated as she released Natalia from her grandmotherly embrace. "And bring our brother when he is ready. You can visit us, even as you work with others. We are all siblings." The area around them darkened, and Mother raised her eyes.

"Friend, she is ready. Train her well." With those words, the Mother disappeared, but Natalia continued to feel her warmth.

When Natalia opened her eyes to the physical space, noticing the flowers of all colors that now surrounded them with joy. They were a gift from the Mother, and they comforted her. The Mother had frightened her with her zeal, but her embrace and warmth were welcome. Natalia didn't want to be alone again, nor did she want to rely on any person. She had Raja now, but who knew for how long. The Earth, however, would be with her forever, but Natalia was unsure if that was a good thing yet.

***

Never in his life had Paulo felt this much potential. If an Adept had found her first, what would she have become? But the priestesses had been fooled by the barrier the Masters built after her forced Earth bond. As much as she coveted power, the Superior had not realized what she could have possessed. When Natalia touched the chains of Earth's power, he felt her impulse to pull that power, as she had been taught by the priestesses, to fill herself as they did. But she had refrained. Her restraint pleased Paulo. But in the end, she did not need to take what the Elemental would freely give her.

Paulo remained quiet as the Mother spoke with Natalia. But when the Elemental admitted that Natalia could have controlled them without communing with them, the shock had seeded fear into his heart. This was the essence of mage power, the brand of magic that ruled the Kingdom. Pulling the Elementals' energy this way had tremendous rewards and could be almost limitless for the most powerful, which he suspected Natalia was. But that power could be corrupting as well.

A few of the Masters now on the Council had started in the mage schools. But once they began to speak with the Elementals, the Adepts had directed them to a Vale for training. The mages did not talk to Elementals. Though the Adepts could see them, requesting power instead of demanding it was anachronistic to them. Yet, the older style magic of the Masters, the careful relationship building with the Elementals, had much more reliable power. Once a Master knew how to speak with the Elementals, they could command them to do things that most mages could only dream of. Yet speaking to an Elemental humanized them. Once an Elemental called a Master friend, the nature of the relationship constrained their use of the Elemental's power. This is why the Councils still stood, but it is also how they had been defeated in the past.

The most powerful Master was far more powerful than any Adept. But the average Master was not. If a Master could not coax an Elemental effectively, any master class mage could defeat them. Luckily, it had been long since the mages and Masters had battled. Closer was the split of the priesthood from the mage schools. The zealots, who called the Elementals gods, tried to destroy the mage schools and would have succeeded without the Masters' intervention. But that was all in a history not witnessed by any alive. 

Paulo's eyes never left Natalia as his mind raced through his thoughts. Was she the key to the unification of the continent?

He felt the Mother's laugh and knew it was partially at him and his attempts to understand the Elemental's plan. Since ancient times Masters had been the Elements' friends. The most revered of their line had helped to create the relationship they now had with the Elementals. But they did not control these beings or quite understand them.

The Mother left, leaving echoes of her power all around them. When he opened his eyes and saw the change in the courtyard, Paulo was sure he could not train this woman alone. He would have to call on his brother.

***

"Amazing," the Master spoke aloud. His voice startled Natalia. But Paulo didn't appear to have noticed. He stroked his growing beard and looked beyond her. "I was right. We will need a different master to help you contain the Earth's - um - enthusiasm. I do not have the finesse to control this level of Earth power. I have sent my petition to him but await his response still." His face betrayed some regret. "Let's take a break."

He stood and walked to Jiyun, who sat in silence. She nodded, and with a flash, Natalia felt Raja's presence in her mind.

"Natalia, are you alright?" Raja's voice held a touch of panic.

"Be at peace, bondmate. I was with the Master. We were safe," Natalia reassured him as he appeared in her mind-space. His hands went to her shoulders and turned her to him.

"The earth shook," he stated. "I worried that you could have been hurt again." He gave her a gentle embrace.

Warmed by his concern and affection, Natalia replied with a reassuring smile, "I am not harmed. I have to be careful when talking with Mother. She responds unpredictably."

"Ah," Raja responded thoughtfully. Then he backed up and looked away. "I have to go; Diddero calls me back. Good luck."

Natalia stood and stretched and looked for the Master. She found him standing next to a small fountain. Jiyun's eyes closed in concentration.

"Though I would prefer a longer break. The Lady is anxious to meet you. This will not be an immersive test like the last one. I am already aware of what the Lady thinks of you. And you need more training before we tackle the lines of Water power," Paulo announced dryly.

Natalia frowned. Had he felt her desire to take power from the Earth's chains? Did it worry him?

The Master sat at the edge of the courtyard's fountain and dipped his hand in its Water. "Lady, she is ready." Natalia stilled as she watched the Water spin out of the basin and formed the features of a lovely woman, the Lady Water. As the Lady walked to Natalia, her form solidified. The Elemental looked familiar and foreign at the same time.

"Friend," the Water Elemental said with a smile as she emerged. "Thank you for bringing us to her. We know you are tired." Her soft voice held some affection, and her aquamarine eyes carried the same as she focused on Natalia. "We would love to show you everything today, let you explore all the wonders of our power. But you will have a lifetime to explore our depths, to listen to our songs."

"I remember hearing them in my quietest moments," Natalia responded finally, breaking the trance that fell over her when she met eyes with the Water Elemental.

"Yes, like sister Earth, we have been waiting for you. Our songs were all we could give you," the Lady answered, then shook her head. "No, that is not true. We did bring our friend to you when you needed rescue and our priest when you needed healing. But our songs were all that you could hear from us. You could not yet speak to us as our other friends could." The Elemental looked affectionately at the Master and towards the house where Destan rested in his room. Then the Lady turned to Natalia with more intensity underlying her affection.

"Sister Earth runs deep, but we are everywhere. We are under you, above you, and inside you. We are in all that surrounds you. Through us, you can heal and destroy." The Water looked lovingly at her. "Sister, we have often met and longed to speak with you. We were so jealous of our sister Earth. Our friend will show you how to speak to us so we can best understand you. His voice has been the clearest to us in all things except healing. For healing, you will need our priest. And you will learn it all, Sister. You will always be heard." An icy hand touched her chin, and the Lady smiled. "We are well met, Sister, but our friend must rest. We will meet again."

"But..." Natalia stopped. A question burned in her mind, but she did not know how to address the Elemental; Lady felt wrong, as did Friend. "What should I call you?"

"Sister," the Water Elemental responded to her unspoken question. "Or aunt if you prefer. You do call our sister Mother."

Natalia juggled both words in her mind and on her tongue. She felt a different closeness with the Water than with the Earth. Though she had never had a sister, she felt this was more right than an aunt.

"Sister Water," Natalia finally offered with a respectful bow. The Lady smiled affectionately in return. "Why did you not speak to me when you healed me?"

"We did not heal you, our priest did, and he can speak to us, but he cannot show you how." The Elemental frowned. "We cannot explain these things. Your constraints confuse us. But our friend will show you or find someone who can." The Lady began to melt back into her liquid form until Natalia could no longer see her beautiful features. "Until next time, sister." The Elemental's voice was audible as her substance merged again with the water in the fountain.

Natalia looked at the Master excitedly, hungry to know what this all meant. But his eyes were closed, and he leaned heavily on the fountain.

Jiyun stood and walked to her.

"He has spent much of his strength restraining the Elementals. He needs his rest," Jiyun explained in hushed tones as she pulled Natalia towards the house. She shook her head as Natalia started to speak. "The Elementals would have to wait for another day to meet Raja. This day's testing is complete."

WC2886

Last Edit 6/22/2023