Sky Riders: The Rising Sun
Wind, Water, Earth, and Fire

The four spheres spun in front of Eliana's face, which wasflushed and beading with sweat. She could feel her energy flagging, despite herefforts to draw more from the earth. With a concentrated effort, she sent thespheres flying back at Mara one by one, in quick succession—wind, water, earth,fire. Mara stopped them in front of her briefly, then, with a flick of herwrists, sent them soaring back to Eliana once again. For the hundredth timethat day, Eliana brought them to a stop before her, her hands shaking as sheheld them in the air.

"Now, keep them there," Mara instructed.

Eliana obeyed, keeping the four spheres spinning in front ofher, side by side.

"Keep all of them under control, but move the watersphere. Weave it around the others."

She pressed her lips together and focused with great effortas she caused the swirling ball of Water to weave up and down, between theother three spheres. Mara instructed her through several paces, making herweave the balls through one another, causing them to orbit one another likeplanets, juggling them through the air. Eliana began to feel like atrick-performing monkey in a street circus.

Finally, Mara said, "Bring them back in line."

Eliana did so, with a sense of relief.

"Hold them all, but cause the wind sphere togrow."

Eliana focused on the ball of whistling wind. It grew untilit was twice the size of the others.

"Now, shrink it as small as you can without letting itdisappear."

She obeyed until the wind sphere was a tiny knot of ahurricane.

"Now, dissipate it, but don't let the wind disrupt theother spheres."

Eliana closed her left hand, and the sphere at the left endof the line vanished with barely a rustling of air.

"Now, repeat that with the water sphere."

She did so, causing the liquid ball to grow, shrink, and thenvanish. The air around her became unnaturally humid for a brief moment as themoisture seeped back into the air.

"And earth."

Eliana now focused on the ball of soil in front of her.Particles of dirt from the ground flew up to it, making it grow. Then, theyfell away again, and the sphere shrank. She clinched her fist briefly, and theearth sphere fell to the ground in a small pile of dirt. This left only the firesphere before her.

For some reason, this was Eliana's favorite element. Marahad told her it would be a challenge to control, but it didn't seem so to her.The fire sphere hung in the air in front of her right hand, casting its lighton the flame-shaped mark on her palm.

Eliana smiled to herself as she made the ball of flames growto a greater size than any of the others had been, relishing the feeling ofmagic that radiated from its burning form—her magic. She let it shrinkbut, unwilling to part from the beautiful flames just yet, she made it growagain.

"Extinguish it now," Mara instructed her.

Reluctantly, Eliana closed her right hand and the firesphere disappeared with a hiss and thin tail of smoke. With a sigh, she leanedback on her hands and stretched her legs out in front of her. Despite herexhaustion, Eliana felt pleased with herself. Over the past several weeks, shehad mastered the four basic elements. Though she knew there was much more forher to learn, for now, this was enough.

"I know you're tired, Eliana," Mara said,"but we should continue your training. You still need to learn to combinethe elements, attack with it, defend yourself with it..." She let thesentence trail off, giving Eliana a sense of how much more there was to learn.

"I know," Eliana sighed, lying down on the warmearth. "Just give me a moment."

"Try to draw your magic from the animals nearby thistime," she told her.

Eliana grimaced inwardly; she was always wary whenrejuvenating herself this way. But she obediently reached out with her mind andfound the trees around them filled with creatures. Mara had also spent timeinstructing her on sensing the presences of the things around her. She couldmore quickly sense a presence nearby now, and had learned to identify whatthose presences were. She had even practiced speaking to several animals' mindsand, just like the horses in Vegrandis, they had obeyed her.

She let her mind reach farther outwards until she sensed asmall cluster of animals deeper in the forest. She recognized them as a pack ofwolves. They would do. She relaxed, and drew the magic from the wolves towardsher, feeling it strengthening her weary body. She sensed the pack becomingdrowsy and weak, and she stopped, leaving them to fall asleep in the forest.

She sat up, feeling revived by the wolves' energy. Marasmiled at her. "Kill anything?" she teased.

Eliana made a face, knowing full well what Mara wasreferring to. When she'd first attempted to draw life from an animal a weekago, she had taken too much and had killed the rabbit she was drawing energyfrom. It was an unsettling feeling, being connected to the creature when itslife disappeared. It had reminded her of feeling Oriens' mother slip away.

"No," she answered bitterly.

"Good. It means you're getting better at controllingyourself. Now, let's try combining the elements. You've seen the light orbsthat light the paths of Iterum at night."

Eliana nodded.

"Those are a combination of fire, wind, and earth."

The girl frowned in confusion, trying to imagine how thoseelements could combine to make a floating, glowing light.

Mara demonstrated as she spoke. "First, you create a firesphere. This provides the light itself, obviously. Earth provides the color.Just pick a color, focus on it, and it will change for you. The earth canprovide you with any color you can imagine. Wind encloses the sphere,protecting the light from anything that might extinguish it." Thearchivist now held a glowing orb of gold in her hands.

"How do you keep it glowing when you're not focusing onit?" Eliana asked.

"You don't have to," Mara answered with a shrug."It's like lighting a fire and walking away. It can burn for hours withoutyou having to attend to it. The Wind protects it and the Fire continues to burnwithout you having to focus on it."

"Huh," she grunted. She did not fully understand.As far as she knew, a spell required your constant focus to keep it going.

"Just give it a try," Mara said, releasing thegolden orb and letting it rest beside her on the grass.

Eliana sighed and held out her hands before her, forming a firesphere between them. Then, she focused on changing the color. The flame changedto a vibrant blue. The wailing animal inside her, which had been mostly cagedover the past two months, clawed at her chest again. She dropped her hands,feeling short of breath, fighting back tears. The orb vanished in a smallexplosion of blue flames.

"What happened?" Mara asked, watching the Riderwith some concern.

Eliana didn’t seem to hear her. She pressed a hand to herchest, staring at the grass in front of her and listening to Oriens’ quiet,gentle voice in her mind.

“It’s okay, Eliana,”he said, giving a deep rumble of understanding in his throat. “Just keep training, and he will come home.”

She swallowed hard and nodded, looking up at Mara. “I’msorry, I… I just lost control.”

The archivist tilted her head, surveying her disbelievingly.“Can you try again?” she asked uncertainly.

Eliana nodded and raised her hands again. She rekindled theflame, then tried to force her mind to think of another color, but the orbchanged back to the same, vibrant blue—the same brilliant color of Caelum’seyes. She pressed her lips together and focused on putting a shield of windaround the orb. After a few attempts, the wind held, and she clasped the orbbetween her hands, staring into it.

The creature in her chest was howling furiously, rippingopen the raw edges of the same old wound. Henever even said goodbye… The feeling of loneliness burrowed its way deeperinto her heart as she stared into the blue flame, remembering the way thatcolor had looked when he had smiled, laughed, the soft look they had given herthe night of Oriens’ hatching…

“Try setting it down.” Mara’s voice was quiet, still tingedwith some concern at her pupil’s suddenly odd behavior.

Eliana forced herself to look away from the blue orb and setit on the grass in front of her. She slowly removed her hands, expecting theball to disappear as soon as she stopped focusing on it, but it remained. Itcontinued staring back at her until she pulled her knees into her chest,hugging them tightly, trying to cage the snarling, howling animal inside ofher.

Oriens rested his nose on her shoulder, and she reached upwith one hand to stroke his cheek. “Bebrave, little one,” he said gently in her mind. “Just hold on a little longer.”

“Thank you, Oriens… Idon’t know what I would do without you.”

“And you never willknow. I will always be here.”

She looked up at her teacher. “I don’t think I can doanymore today, Mara,” she said quietly. “I’m… I’m very tired.”

She nodded slowly, not entirely understanding, but notpressing her. “Very well. You should take tomorrow off. There are some things Ineed to get done in the archives.”

The two women and the dragon stood and headed back towardsIterum, leaving the two light orbs glowing, blue and gold, beside each other inthe middle of the empty meadow. Oriens and Mara walked on either side of Elianain companionable silence, the dragon shaking some of the trees as he tried towind between them.

Her little hatchling was now unable to fit inside ofEliana’s room at all. Queen Ivi had instructed two of the elven guards toconjure a large stone building, just inside the courtyard wall, below Eliana’squarters. Sometimes, she would slip out of her bed and into Oriens’ cave tosleep beside him, comforted by his warm companionship. Somehow, she knew thiswould be one of those nights.

Iterum was bustling with activity as they entered the city.Elves flitted in and out of their trees, running up and down the streets.Something seemed to have excited them. When they saw the dragon and Rider, thecommotion stopped. All eyes nearby turned towards them, and every head dippedlow, their lips murmuring in unison, “Veholum.”

“What’s going on?” Eliana asked the group that was nowfacing her. “Is something wrong?”

The elves looked at one another, as if deciding who shouldaddress the dragon Rider. She rarely spoke to any of them, because theirreactions to her made her uncomfortable, and it seemed that no one wanted to bethe one to speak to her.

Then she spotted a familiar face moving among the silentcrowd, his violet eyes looking distressed. When he saw the dragon standing inthe middle of the road, he looked surprised, then relieved.

“Eliana! Oriens!” Denio called, emerging through the crowd,which parted for him. “I didn’t think I would replace you. I thought you wouldstill be training.”

“We ended early today,” Eliana replied. “Denio, what’s goingon?”

The young prince looked at the crowd around them, then backat her. “We should discuss this elsewhere.”

Eliana said a brief farewell to Mara, then followed Deniodown the crowded streets towards the palace. He led her through the buildingand past Domus while Oriens flew around and over the wall. He was waiting onthe other side when they exited the palace into the courtyard.

She turned to Denio and repeated, “What’s happening? Why iseveryone so excited?”

His face was grim and anxious, and a sense of dread grippedher stomach, momentarily suppressing the emptiness in her chest.

“There’s been an attack on Amiscan.”

Her breath caught in her throat, trapped by panic. “Caelum,”she breathed, her voice tight. “Is he—?”

“Caelum is fine,” Denio answered before she finished thequestion, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “It was just a smallattack from a group of travelers. It appears they spotted Amiscan and wanted totake it for their own to settle there. I doubt they realized what they weregoing to be up against. But they were quickly overcome and none of our troopswere seriously harmed.”

Eliana’s panic scattered as she sighed with relief. “Thenwhat is everyone so excited about?” she asked.

Denio frowned and shook his head. “It just makes everyoneuncomfortable—a group just chancing upon Amiscan. No humans have come near theoutpost for decades. The fact that many of our troops, including Caelum, wereout on a scouting expedition at the time disquiets them even more; they fearthat Amiscan was being observed, that the humans were waiting until some of thetroops had left.

“They want to bring the soldiers back to Iterum forprotection, in case something similar should happen here. If someone were tohappen upon the city and reveal its location…” He trailed off, running a handover his face, then went on. “All of the citizens, mothers and children, ourarchives, the palace… my mother… they could all be destroyed.”

She looked at the young elf’s lined, anxious face. “I can’t believe everything that falls onhim,” she said to Oriens. “He is myown age, and yet he has so much responsibility. How does he handle it all?”

“He’s been bred andraised for these responsibilities,” the dragon answered. “He knows what is expected of him and whathe should do. The responsibilities we will face will be much greater.”

“Thank you for thatreassurance,” she grumbled in his mind.

Aloud, she said to Denio, “So what’s going to happen? Isyour mother going to bring them home?” Inwardly, she was thrilled by the idea.Caelum might be coming home.

The prince’s youthful face looked decades older as he pulledat his hair in frustration, the same way his brother did. “She wants me to decide,” he cried in exasperation.

Eliana raised her eyebrows slightly, surprised that thequeen would relinquish control of such a vital decision. She tried not to letthe surprise show as she gave Denio a smile. “I’m sure you will do what is bestfor Iterum, Denio,” she said reassuringly. “You will be a good king.”

He smiled a little, his face looking young again. “Thankyou, Eliana.”

“If there is anything we can do to help,” she said,gesturing to herself and Oriens, “please let me know.”

“Actually…” He rubbed awkwardly at the back of his neck. “I was hoping you could help me.”

“How?” she asked warily.

“By… advising meon what I should do.”

Eliana gave a short startled laugh. “Advising you?” sherepeated. “Denio, I really don’t think I have the right to have an opinion onthis matter. I’m not even from Iterumand—.”

“Eliana,” he interrupted, “you’re a Rider! All of ourrecords from the time of Riders say that the leaders of both the human andelven nations sought the guidance of the Riders in any great decision.”

“But Denio, I—.”

He cut her off again, looking down at her with pleadingeyes. “Please, Eliana… I’m not… I’m not ready to make this kind of decisionalone.”

She sighed and pressed her fingertips to her temples, whichwere beginning to throb. He was giving her the chance to advise him on whetheror not to bring Caelum home. Though he didn’t realize it, he was asking for avery biased opinion on a very important matter.

“You cannot use himfor your personal gain,” Oriens said in her mind.

“I know,” sheanswered irritably. “But how can I advisehim when what I want may not be what is best?”

“You must do what youcan. Denio already knows the wisest decision. But he looks to you because ofyour position as my Rider. He wants your permission to lead. Let him talk itthrough. He will know what Iterum needs.”

She dropped her hands and looked at him seriously. “Fine.I’ll help. But I won’t make the decision for you. That is your responsibility.”

He smiled brightly, reminding her so painfully of Caelum.“Thank you, Eliana,” he said, relief evident in his voice.

Eliana drew a breath and pressed forward. “So if you did decide to bring the troops home,what could be the consequences?” she asked.

The prince frowned a little, thinking. “Well, I supposeIterum would be safe if there was anattack on the city. But it would also put us at greater risk of beingdiscovered. The only reason Iterum has remained hidden for so long is becausehalf of our population is in Amiscan most of the time.”

“And if you didn’tbring them back?”

“Iterum would be virtually defenseless if someone chancedupon us and revealed our location. Most of the elves here are not trained tofight. But the chances of that happening are rather slim, I believe. We’veremained hidden for centuries, after all, and I don’t see why that wouldsuddenly change.”

Eliana pursed her lips for a moment, resisting the urge totry to persuade Denio away from what he had so obviously already decided.“Well,” she said slowly, “it sounds as if your options are to either riskrevealing Iterum for the sake of defending it, or try to defend it by keepingit secret. If you truly believe the risks of the city being found are slim,then… it doesn’t seem to make sense to reveal ourselves and make battleinevitable.”

He nodded slowly, then sighed and shook his head. “I don’tknow how the elves will receive it if I tell them I am leaving themdefenseless.”

“Sadly,” Eliana said with a shrug, “their understanding isnot your concern. Their safety is. It is your duty to protect them, whetherthey understand the way you are doing it or not.”

Denio smiled again and, to her surprise, pulled her into atight hug. He smelled of the same rainy forest as Caelum. “Thank you, Eliana,”he said. “You have been very helpful.”

He released her and trotted back into the palace, probablyto tell his mother that he had made his decision. Eliana wrapped her armsaround her chest, suppressing a moan of agony. No matter how hard she tried tostop it, one word repeated itself in her mind. Caelum… Caelum… Caelum…

Oriens bent his neck and pressed his scaly forehead to hers.She wrapped her arms around his snout, hugging him tightly. “Why does it hurt so much, Oriens?”

The dragon gave a deep sigh. “I do not know, Eliana. Your reactions to that elf have been a mysteryto me from the day I hatched.”

The dragon lifted his head, and she held on tightly,allowing herself to be lifted from the ground. He craned his neck around and liftedher onto his back. The muscles of his shoulders formed a hollow space at thebase of his neck, and he placed her there gently. She had never sat on his backbefore, and was surprised by how well she settled into the groove on his back,between the spikes of his neck and spine.

She leaned forward and pressed her cheek against his warm neck,allowing her tears to finally fall and trickle down the golden scales. Oriensturned and silently carried her into his cave, where he settled down onto thegrass, curling so that his nose touched his tail. Eliana remained where shewas, hugging her dragon’s neck, until she fell asleep.

Almost immediately, nightmares began to plague her sleep.She was alone in the middle of an abandoned village, which she somehow knew tobe Amiscan. It was dark, and a terrible fog hung about the empty houses. Sheopened her mouth to cry out to somebody, anybody, but no sound would come.Where was Oriens? Where was Caelum? She spun around in a circle, searching fora companion, but she was completely abandoned.

A figure stepped out of the fog to her left. She turned to facehim. More figures filed in on either side of him, all with black cloaks, hoodsover their heads. Dark shadows continued to appear, all standing shoulder toshoulder until she was completely surrounded. Terror built in her throat, but shestill could not scream. The first figure, which she was still facing, threwback his hood and she stared at Caedis' hateful brown eyes.

"Mongrel," he hissed, his voice dripping withvenomous hatred.

The figures all around the circle raised bows and arrows,all of them aiming straight at her chest. She glanced around frantically andspotted a beautifully familiar figure standing on the roof of a nearby house.Her voice seemed to replace her again at the sight of him.

"Caelum!" she cried.

He smiled, but it was not the smile she knew. There wassomething terrifying about it, and a shiver ran down her spine.

"Trust me," he hissed. He raised a bow of his own,an arrow on the string, pointing it at her

The dark figures around her all drew back the strings oftheir bows.

"Eliana." Itwas Oriens, his voice interrupting her nightmare, drawing her away from it. "Come dream with me, Eliana."

A wonderfully welcome calm washed over her in her sleep, andthe darkness of the false Amiscan disappeared. Suddenly, she was up in the air,flying. Oriens' golden wings beat on either side of her. There was a warm bodyagainst her back, and two gentle arms around her waist. There was a laugh inher ear, and she recognized it as Caelum’s—her Caelum,not the one from her nightmares. She smiled as the green forest raced by farbelow, then fell into a deep sleep.