Chapter 1
Something was soothing about sending the rasp over the rough wood, smoothing the surface, gradually peeling away rough layers to reveal something hidden within. Tolan Ethar pressed the rasp forward, sliding along the surface of the wood in the practiced movements Master Daniels had taught. He took his time, feeling no pressure to hurry. Sometimes, a more rapid pace was needed, but most of the time, real beauty and craftsmanship took time and effort to reveal.
The door to the shop opened and Tolan glanced up from his work, setting his rasp down. “Master Salman. Is there anything I can help you with?” Master Salman was the local blacksmith, a large, muscular man. His face seemed perpetually ruddy and his skin dry, almost leathery, likely the effect of his constant fire bond shaping.
“Where is Daniels?”
Tolan motioned to the back of the shop. “He’s sorting through the newest shipment. We had a new supply of—”
Salman shouldered past Tolan, making his way through the shop and ignoring Tolan’s attempts to slow him. It wouldn’t matter, anyway. Master Daniels would likely have taken Tolan to task for attempting to slow Master Salman. They weren’t necessarily friends, but as both men were element bond shapers, they had a certain level of prestige within the city of Ephra.
Ephra had only so many bond shapers within the city, people able to harness the elemental magic, delving into the element bond—that magical connection that bound the elemental to their element—and use that power. Master Daniels was one, able to use the earth bond along with some ability to use water. Others within the city could reach the other element bonds, such as Salman with fire.
Like most within the city, Tolan had some ability to detect the element bonds, what had once been called sensing, but so far, he had shown no spark at reaching into the bonds themselves. While such an ability had once been common, it had waned over time. At almost eighteen, Tolan wasn’t too old to learn, but he was getting beyond the age where he would show signs of ability.
He picked his rasp back up and resumed working it over the surface of the wood. As he worked, Master Salman’s voice could be heard through the door leading to the back of the woodsmith shop.
“We can’t wait. Have your apprentice deal with your shipment, Daniels.”
“You and I both know it’s unlikely to have been an elemental, and certainly not in the forest. I would have known,” Master Daniels could be heard saying. He had a deep, bassy voice, and it rumbled through the door.
“Be that as it may, this is our responsibility. If the Academy ever learns we shirked it…”
The door to the back of the shop opened and Tolan looked down, not wanting to be seen listening. Salman swept back into the room and reached the door leading out of the shop, pausing to give Master Daniels a hard-eyed glare.
Master Daniels glanced down through a thick beard covering his weathered features. Walnut-colored eyes looked at his work, seemingly appraising it before he sighed. “Why don’t you take a break, Tolan. It seems I need to go with Master Salman for a little while and I’ll need you to sort through the new stock. Separate it by species and I’ll check over your work when I return.”
Tolan wanted to groan, but it would do no good. Master Daniels had the ability to reach the earth bond, which made sorting the wood easy for him. Tolan would take three or four times as long to do the same, and even then, he wouldn’t likely do it nearly as well as Master Daniels.
“There’s an elemental?” he asked, knowing he shouldn’t show such interest in the elementals. With his family’s history, it was risky to show it.
To his credit, Master Daniels had always overlooked it, and he did so now. “Probably not. As I told him, I would have known if there was a rogue elemental wandering through the forest.” He flashed a reassuring smile at Tolan before nodding to him. “But Master Salman is correct in that we need to investigate.”
He left Tolan in charge of the shop, so Tolan set the rasp aside and wandered to the back of the shop, pausing at a piece of polished glass. In the time since his parents had disappeared, he wondered if they would even recognize him anymore. He’d filled out, grown more muscular—now more like his father—and time moving lumber with Master Daniels had only augmented that. His deep blue eyes were like his mother’s, though he wondered where he’d gotten his wavy brown hair, as neither of them had it. He sighed, tearing his gaze away and looking over at the stack of wood.
His heart sank. Going through this much would take hours. He didn’t have the earth-enhanced strength of Master Daniels, and he didn’t have the innate connection to the bond to assist him.
As he started to work, moving slowly but taking his time so he would not upset Master Daniels, he tried to put thoughts of the possibility of an elemental out of his mind. Elementals were rare, and dangerous when they escaped from their respective element bonds. Rogue elementals could be deadly; that was the reason they had been placed within the bond over a thousand years ago. Most of the time, they only caused great destruction, though Tolan couldn’t remember the last time there’d been an elemental escape within the city.
Those with the ability to reach the bonds themselves were tasked with ensuring that any elementals that sprang free from the bond were forced back within it. It was why Daniels and Salman had to go to investigate.
He heard commotion from the front of the shop and set down the board he’d been carrying, poking his head through the door.
“There you are.”
Tanner Venan was two years younger and reed thin. He’d already begun to show some tendency toward reaching the wind bond, which meant he would eventually have a chance at succeeding during a Selection, the time when Selectors from the Academy came to Ephra to search for new students. Tolan had long ago given up on the idea he might someday be selected. His future was in Ephra, and while he might never have the same skill as someone connected to the earth bond like Master Daniels, he at least had a future where he wouldn’t struggle. Too many in Ephra without any ability to reach the bonds, were forced to work the distant mines, searching for iron and silver and copper that could be sold throughout the nation of Terndahl.
“Of course, I’m here,” Tolan said. “Now that Master Daniels has gone off with Master Salman, I’ve got several hours of work ahead of me.”
Tanner glanced at the door before turning his attention to Tolan. “That’s why I’m here.”
Tolan shook his head. “No. I’m not going with you to chase—”
“Who said anything about chasing?” Tanner smiled slyly, his mouth seeming enormous on his narrow face. “I just thought we could go and take a look.”
“I have too much work to do.”
Tanner waved his hand. “Oh, Daniels didn’t expect you to get everything done, anyway. How could he when you aren’t connected to any bonds?”
“Hey!”
“I don’t mean anything by that. Besides, if I had any connection to the earth bond, I’d help you, but seeing as how I don’t—and neither do you—I doubt Daniels expected you to finish before he returned.”
Tolan chuckled. “He does often seem to think I take twice as long as I do with my assignments.” It was not that Tolan had no connection to earth, only that it was faint.
“See? I’m sure he didn’t even expect you to finish before he returned.”
Tolan should know better than to be even thinking about going with him, but he was intrigued. How could he not, considering how deeply connected he was to elementals?
“You realize if anyone sees me—”
“Even if they see you, they’re not going to blame you for freeing an elemental. No one would be that stupid.”
Tolan wasn’t sure. Plenty in the city still remembered what had happened with his parents, and enough of them wondered whether he might have the same leanings as they did, though Tolan still wasn’t convinced they’d gone with the Draasin Lord willingly.
“I’m not sure…”
“Which means you’re going to come with me. I can’t go alone.”
“And why not?” Tolan asked, laughing. “With your connection to the wind bond, you would have an easier time of going after them anyway. Besides, they’d probably welcome your involvement.”
Tanner shook his head. “Not without any training at the Academy, they wouldn’t. I wouldn’t be of much use to them, either. Pushing an elemental back into the bond? That takes the kind of training I don’t have.”
“Yet.”
Tanner shrugged. “There’s no guarantee I’ll be selected to go to the Academy.”
There were other ways of learning how to connect to the element bonds but attending Terenhall Academy of Shaping was considered the most prestigious within Terndahl—and the most likely to lead to reaching more than one of the element bonds. Master Daniels could reach more than one of the element bonds, though earth had been first and he still favored it, and Master Salman could reach fire and water, an unusual pairing. Few of the other bond shapers within the city had such potential. Most had trained within Ephra, attending the local shaping school, one that didn’t have nearly the level of prestige or expertise as Terenhall.
“Come on. The longer we delay, the more likely we won’t be able to see if there even is an elemental. Don’t you want to know what they’re like? We get enough of them out here, but I’ve never seen one.”
“Not really. I’ve heard enough stories about rogue elementals to have my fill of them. Besides, if there is a rogue elemental, my presence will only create more stories.”
“Now you’re apprenticed with Daniels, you don’t have to worry about those stories. No one’s going to believe you could somehow escape and free an elemental, especially as you’ve shown no capacity to do so yet. Your inability to reach one of the bonds is enough to protect you.”
“Thanks.”
“I’m only telling you the truth.”
He grabbed Tolan’s arm and dragged him, pulling him out of the woodsmith shop. Tolan paused to lock the door behind him, knowing better than to resist when Tanner had it in his mind to do something. And it would be interesting to go. They might see nothing at all, but it had been a while since he’d seen any of the master shapers using their abilities. Most of the time when Master Daniels used an earth shaping, it was subtle, and since Tolan barely had the ability to detect shaping on his own, it wasn’t as if he was able to know what Master Daniels was doing.
“You said they were in the forest?”
Tolan nodded. “That’s what Master Salman said. The elemental was reported in the forest.”
“Interesting that it’s in the forest, isn’t it?”
“I’m not sure I would call it interesting.”
They made their way quickly along the street outside the woodsmith’s shop. Master Daniels was in one of the more well-off parts of Ephra, a place of honor in consideration of his connection to the earth bond. Most bond shapers were the same and had a place along the nicer parts of the city where the wealthier people were able to access their services. The buildings along the street were well maintained, brightly painted wood and stone shaped into intricate gleaming sculptures.
It wasn’t long before the street changed. Outside the center of the city where shapers resided, buildings were more dilapidated. Stone that once had been shaped into place had crumbled, leaving a rundown appearance. Some people had erected wooden buildings, but even those didn’t have the same upkeep as those in wealthier parts of the city.
Tanner glanced over, smiling widely. “You have to get over your fear of rogue elementals. If there is an elemental, it’s exciting. We haven’t had a rogue elemental free in the city for as long as I can remember. Most of them pop up outside of the borders. Why do you think that is?”
“I’m not entirely sure.” There weren’t that many rogue elementals to begin with, something Tolan appreciated. If they did appear more often, he’d have to deal with the rumors of his influence over them.
“It’s not like there’s some shaper out there pulling them out of the bond. But then, they shouldn’t be able to separate from the bond on their own.”
“When you get selected to the Academy, you can come back and tell me.”
“Oh, no. When I get selected to the Academy, I don’t intend to return to Ephra,” Tanner laughed.
Ephra was an old city, one of the oldest in Terndahl, and while it had once been profitable and a place of prestige, that city was centuries in the past. Now Ephra was run down, situated at the edge of Terndahl, and the memory of a time long gone.
Most people with any potential felt the same way as Tanner, wanting to get out of the city, and many never returned. It still amazed Tolan that there were some like Master Daniels and Master Salman who chose to stay. It was possible their time at the Academy compelled them to return, but Tolan didn’t know anything about that.
They reached the outskirts of the city, racing through farms. Even the farms were run down; fences that should have been maintained had fallen into disrepair. The livestock that were kept were prevented from roaming through earth shapings, so the fences were mostly unnecessary, but it did require that the farmers pay earth shapers to maintain their shapings.
When they neared the edge of the forest, they began to slow. “Do you detect anything?” he asked Tanner.
Energy built from him. It started as a pressure, almost the feeling of Tolan’s ears needing to pop, and wind swirled around Tanner, first gently tugging at his clothing and then swirling with more intensity. He pushed the shaping out, sweeping it toward the forest, bending the blades of grass as the shaping streaked toward the distant trees.
Tanner cocked his head to the side, his narrow jaw locked in a tight frown, and then he shook his head. “I don’t. Why don’t you try?”
“Because I won’t be able to detect anything either.”
Tanner grinned at him. “You won’t if you don’t even try. You have some ability at detecting the bonds. At least use that.”
“Everyone has some ability of detecting bonds.”
Tanner shrugged. “So maybe you’ll pick up on something I won’t.”
Tolan didn’t know what he would even look for. He’d never encountered an elemental, and though he suspected they would feel something like the bonds, he wasn’t certain whether that was true or not. It was possible the elementals would be something entirely different.
Tanner watched him and Tolan shook his head. “Fine. I’ll try.”
He looked out, searching—no, feeling—for movement. Reaching for the element bonds was difficult for him. The bonds swirled around everything, a part of all life. Within some things, the bonds were more prominent. The breeze carried with it a much tighter connection to the wind bond, though those exquisitely attuned to the wind bond could pick it up from all living things and could sense breath moving in and out of lungs. Tolan’s ability was minimal. He could detect the wind, but more often than not, he wondered whether he only felt the wind on his skin rather than feeling it against the bond.
Other elements were the same, though if anything, he had more of a connection to earth. It was the reason Master Daniels had agreed to work with him. Tolan focused on the earth beneath his feet, pressing his attention into the bond that way. He couldn’t use the power of the bond like those who could shape its energy, twisting it in ways that allowed them a great power, but he could use it to help him understand the sense of the earth. Connecting in this way was the only way that he knew of connecting to the bond, and as he did, he had a flash of awareness.
Footsteps thundered behind him and Tolan turned to see the one person he least wanted to see approaching with two of his friends. Velthan was tall and broad shouldered, and with wavy black hair, cut a striking figure. His square jaw made most of the young women in Ephra swoon, something Tolan most decidedly did not.
“It looks like we have company,” Tolan said.
Tanner groaned as he turned to face Velthan. “Why couldn’t they have just stayed in the city?”
“I’m sure they’ll have the same question of us.”
Flanking Velthan on either side were his two usual companions. Barton and Percy were both smaller than Velthan, dwarfed by the much larger man, despite the fact they were related, however distantly.
Velthan glared at Tolan for a moment before turning his attention toward the forest edge again. “Did you come here to ensure the elemental got freed?” he asked Tolan.
Tolan ignored the barb. It was not uncommon to suffer an insult like that, especially since most believed his parents had left him in Ephra to run off to serve the Draasin Lord. The Draasin Lord was a powerful shaper, a master of each of the element bonds, and longed to unleash the dangerous elementals upon the world, wanting to free them from the bonds so he could control them. He’d been exiled from Terndahl nearly twenty years ago, but some people still went off, seduced by his promise of power.
“We’re here for the same reason as you,” Tanner snapped. He took a step forward and wind swirled around him.
Had it only been Tolan, Velthan probably wouldn’t have been quite so confrontational. He had a natural ability to reach the elemental bonds, and Tolan counted down the days until a Selection came and dragged Velthan away to the Academy to train, though Tanner probably didn’t. While it might give Tolan a measure of freedom from harassment, it wouldn’t save Tanner from ongoing trouble at the Academy. With Velthan gone, Tolan thought he could handle Barton and Percy.
“Is that right? And do you think a wind shaper like yourself would be able to handle an elemental?”
“Just because you can work water and earth doesn’t mean—”
The ground rumbled as Velthan stepped forward. “Are you sure, Venan?”
Wind whipped around Velthan, pushing him back. Knowing Tanner, it was probably the extent of his shaping ability, at least without honing it at the Academy, but he didn’t back down from any fight, sometimes pushing more aggressively than he should.
“Listen. We’re here for the same reason as you. Master Daniels heard the rumor about a rogue elemental and came to investigate with Master Salman.”
Velthan shot Tolan a pointed look, a sneer twisting on his face. “That doesn’t explain why you came. Maybe you’re the reason the elemental escaped.” He turned his attention, shifting so he could step toward the forest. As he did, Tolan felt the buildup of energy around Velthan, so similar to what he detected when Tanner shaped.
“Do you sense anything?” Percy asked. His voice was raspy and had been ever since he’d been burned as a child by a rogue fire elemental. He had been saved by Tolan’s father, something Percy seemed to conveniently forget all these years later.
“I don’t detect anything. Maybe it’s nothing more than rumors,” Velthan said.
“Maybe you don’t detect anything because you aren’t very skilled,” Tanner said.
“Or maybe there’s no rogue elemental,” Tolan suggested, trying to prevent a confrontation between Velthan and Tanner. Tanner was considerably smaller—and though he didn’t want to admit it, he was the weaker shaper.
“I’m sure you’d like us to believe that to be the case, wouldn’t you? Especially as you probably freed the elemental.”
“How do you expect him to free an elemental? Tolan struggles to sense each of the element bonds,” Tanner said, giving Tolan an apologetic look.
Velthan glared at them once more before starting toward the forest with Barton and Percy on his heels. They followed a step behind, careful not to approach too closely, almost as if instructed exactly how to follow him. They reached the forest edge, disappearing within.
“We need to go after them,” Tanner said.
“No. We should go back. What point is there in chasing after them?”
“What point? If they get to the elemental before we do—”
“If they get there before we do, then they would likely end up in danger. The same as us. Let the master shapers take care of it. That’s what they’re trained and equipped to do.”
“Don’t you want to see if it is an elemental?”
Tolan was conflicted. A part of him did want to see if there was an elemental, but even if there was, there wouldn’t be anything he could do other than end up injured. Over the years, enough people had died trying to confront rogue elementals, and most of them were far better trained than Tolan.
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