CHAPTER 1
Clouds rolled in over the tree line, quickly filling the sky. They turned the landscape below from white to dark grey, then finally to black. A violent thunderstorm grew from the darkness, enveloping the landscape. Blazes of lightning strikes lit up the sky, and rain drenched everything below.
“Well done, Raya. Your control of air and rain is commendable.” Prof. Tibal turned towards the young girl holding her hands in front of her, manipulating the surrounding air.
“Thank you, Professor. You’ve been a brilliant teacher. I couldn’t have done any of this without you.”
“Nonsense, girl. The power has always been within you.”
“That may be true, but I had little control over any of it until I started working with you.”
Tibal smiled, then turned back toward the window. “Now, pull it back.” She watched as the rain disappeared and the clouds dissipated. The sky once again was clear, and the sun shone, beaming down on the trees below. She turned back to Raya again. “You always had control, Raya, if a little erratic. I merely taught you how to focus on it. You’ve been my best student. None before you have finished their studies so early.”
Raya smiled. She valued her teacher’s opinion above most others. It had been an honour to be chosen by her, especially as young as she was. Most Elementals took five years to go through the program; Raya had managed it in just four.
“Do you think I’m ready for the Trial?” Raya would have been lying if she had said she wasn’t a little apprehensive about the upcoming final test.
Tibal shrugged. “I have nothing else to teach you. I believe you are one of the greatest Elementals to complete this program, at least in my lifetime.” The Professor could not hide the pride she felt for the young girl in that moment.
Raya took a deep breath, then closed her eyes as she let it out. Opening them, she smiled at her teacher. I am ready. So why do I feel so nervous?
Tibal was a powerful Empath and could sense Raya’s emotions. She tried to reassure her. “You will be fine. I would not recommend you for the Trial if I didn’t feel you were ready.”
“But I will be the youngest to take the test. You said so yourself.”
“I believe you are physically, mentally, and emotionally ready. But only you can decide if you will do it now. Once you begin, you must see it through to the end. Be certain before you decide.”
Raya thought about it for a moment. She knew this was an enormous step for her. “I’m ready. You can put my name in.”
Tibal smiled and nodded. “Good. I’ll submit the recommendation right away. You will hear soon.”
As she turned to leave, Raya called after her, “How soon? I hate waiting.”
The older woman smiled. “Yes, you are so impatient. This could be your one downfall. It would not surprise me if you were to receive a response by tomorrow morning.” She left the training centre, leaving Raya alone with her thoughts.
Raya looked at her hands, clenching and unclenching her fists, thinking of the Trial. She knew her teacher was correct, and she would need to exercise patience. She could fail if she rushed the tests they gave her.
Running through the quad, Raya passed many of her friends but didn’t have the time to stop and talk with them. Racing towards the transport platform, she climbed the metal steps leading to the upper walkway and joined the line that had formed. A moment later, a voice came over the intercom, “The shuttle to Solara Central is arriving now.”
A silver shuttle came to a stop at the end of the ramp and the doors slid open with a whoosh of air. Once travellers were all off, Raya’s line began boarding. She sat next to a window and settled in for the two-hour ride that would take her to the shuttle station in the capital city where she lived.
As the shuttle left the station, Raya looked out at the landscape. The gleaming white buildings of the University soon gave way to green forests and endless pastures where animals grazed. Ten minutes later, they entered the high causeway engineers had built over one of Solara’s large oceans long ago. Raya looked down at the blue water far below.
The ocean was one of her favourite places. She had loved swimming in the waves and sunning herself on the sand. When she was younger, she visited the beach with her family. Relaxing in her seat, she allowed the gentle swaying of the shuttle on its monorail to lull her into a light sleep.
The shuttle exited the causeway twenty minutes later, slowing as it neared its first stop, Galway City. Raya opened her eyes as she felt the shuttle slow and looked out the large window. Many students from the University lived here in off-campus housing. Students whose families lived on the far side of Solara Prime stayed here during the school year. Raya was more fortunate as her family lived closer. Still, she often stayed at the on-campus housing during the week and returned to her family home in her off-study days. She watched the exchange of travellers, then the shuttle was back on its way.
More trees and pastures rolled past, and two more towns, before the shuttle finally reached Solara Central. Raya stood and exited the shuttle, searching the crowd for a familiar face. She was not disappointed. She spied a tall, handsome, youth grinning and waving at her. She nudged her way through the crowd, never taking her eyes off him. When they finally reached each other, they embraced, the young man landing a kiss on Raya’s cheek as she twisted to the side. He laughed at the near miss, as he knew she didn’t like public shows of affection.
Raya looked up at him. His sandy blond hair, amber eyes, and lopsided smile always made her heart skip. This was Dev, my Dev, as she thought of him. He could have anyone, but he chose me.
Dev took hold of Raya’s left hand in his. “So, how did it go?”
She walked toward the stairs leading down from the shuttle platform. “How did what go?” she coyly asked.
He gave her hand a little tug and laughed. “You know what I’m talking about. Tell me about your assessment.”
Raya laughed lightly. “It went well. Professor Tibal threw a few new things at me, but I had no problem getting through.”
“And…?”
“She’s recommending me for the Trial. I might hear tomorrow.”
Dev let out a low whistle. “This is amazing! No one this young-”
“Yes, I know,” Raya said, interrupting him. “No one as young as me has gone through the Trial. I know.” She stopped, suddenly feeling guilty for cutting Dev off.
“I’m sorry,” he told her. “You must be nervous. I’m just excited and proud of you.”
Raya didn’t feel like talking about it anymore. Changing the subject, she asked, “How was your presentation? Do you think it went well?”
“It went great! You should have been there. I dazzled them with my invention. Dr. Ryman said my new technology could revolutionize our long-range communication systems.”
“You’re smarter than anyone on the Technology Council. I know you’ll get the next position that comes up.”
When they arrived at Raya’s house, her mother and sister were in the garden, working on some weeds that had taken root. “Hi, Mom!” Raya said as she closed the gate behind her. “How goes the battle?”
“These weeds are coming through much faster than other years. They’re choking out all the vegetables.”
“It’s not that bad, Mom.” Raya’s sister Ke’ara dug out some long roots with a hand rake and tossed them into a nearby bucket. “I’m working on some new formulas at the Agricultural Centre. I’ll have a new plant food mixture and a weed killer ready to try next week.”
Dayvonne sat back and looked at Raya. “I don’t know what I’m going to do with this sister of yours. She thinks my garden is her experimental laboratory. It’s a wonder I still have anything left.”
“I haven’t killed anything in your garden yet,” Ke’ara said. “Your vegetables are the largest and most flavourful. They make everyone else jealous, and you know it.”
“And your flowers are the most colourful too,” Raya added.
“Well, fine then,” Dayvonne said. “But the day anything in my garden suffers because of your concoctions is when you will need to find somewhere else to live!” She shook the spade she held at Ke’ara, sending dirt flying in all directions.
Raya and Dev left them to their good-natured ribbing and went into the house. Passing through to the back garden, they settled into the gazebo. It was Raya’s favourite place in their home. She loved the scent of the flowers hanging from the support beams on the wooden structure. Settling back into the cushions, Raya snuggled in close to Dev. She loved his scent as it mingled with the flowers, a subtle musk that made her feel safe somehow.
Dev broke the silence between them. “Raya? When are we going to talk more about our future?”
He was referring to the conversation they had started a few nights ago. They had been discussing plans for what they would do when Raya completed her studies at the University. She would have many decisions ahead of her, and Dev hoped she would choose something to keep her close to him. Like her father, she could get a position on the other side of the planet working in one of the environmental control power plants, but he knew she would accept nothing so mundane. She had finished her degrees in Astral Sciences and Stellar Cartography and had long dreamed of going into space. He knew this was the project she was hoping to be offered, and he couldn’t bear the thought of not being near her.
“I don’t know. We don’t even know if I will pass the Trial.”
“I know you’ll do well. The Professor wouldn’t recommend you if she didn’t think you were ready. They trust her judgment.”
“I’m still not sure I should even think of making plans. If I pass, who knows where they’ll send me?”
“They can’t send you anywhere you don’t want to go. And besides, you’re the strongest Elemental to go through the program. That is why you got into it at such a young age.”
“That’s just it. Maybe I’m too young.” She sat up and looked at Dev. “They won’t give me any sort of important job, not at first. They’ll probably just put me in charge of controlling the weather somewhere. I will make rain and sunshine for crops, most likely.”
“Yes, most likely. We know it’s all you’re good for, right?”
Dev was annoyed. Raya didn’t need to be an empath like her mother to know. She sighed and sunk back into the cushions again. “I don’t want to talk about it right now. It just gets me even more worried about the Trial.”
“The Trial? Did you get in?”
Dev and Raya turned toward the voice and saw Dayvonne standing at the back door. Raya straightened up again. “Prof. Tibal is recommending me. I might get accepted to enter the Trial soon.”
“Oh, this is such exciting news! I can’t wait to tell your father when we talk to him tonight!” Dayvonne ran into the house.
“Great,” Raya said. “I’m sure she’s calling all her friends now to brag about me. Not like it puts any more pressure on me or anything.”
“She means well,” Dev told her. “She loves you, and she’s proud of you.”
“I know. I just hate it when there’s so much attention on me. Sometimes I hate being born with these stupid powers. Sometimes I wish I could just give them away.”
Dayvonne, Raya, and Ke’ara sat down in front of the viewing screen after dinner. It was time for their weekly check-in with their father. He was working in a power plant on the other side of the planet as part of a team regulating water and oxygen regeneration for their entire world. There were three teams, each taking turns spending six months at the plant, away from their loved ones.
Dayvonne typed in the code to connect them with their father’s viewing console and sat back to wait for the connection. After a few moments, the screen lit up, and their father’s face appeared. “Hi, Dad,” Raya and Ke’ara called out in unison.
“Oh, my beautiful girls.” Then he smiled at Dayvonne. “And my darling wife. I’ve missed you all so much. How are you?”
“Oh, Garvin,” Dayvonne gushed. “I miss you so much. I can’t wait until you get back home.” She regaled him with stories of their week and her battle with the garden. Ke’ara told him about her lab and their work to produce better food crops for the population of their world.
When Raya said nothing, he asked her, “And how about you, my little one? How is school?”
She took a breath. “All finished, Dad. I received the diplomas for both my degrees a few days ago. I wish you had been there.”
“I wish I could have been there to see it. You’re such a smart girl. I’m proud of how well you have progressed so quickly through your studies.”
“Yes, thank you,” she said. “I’ve been working hard.”
Dayvonne elbowed Raya. “Tell your father about your Elemental training.”
“Do you have news, Raya?”
“Well, yes…” Raya cleared her throat. “Professor Tibal said I’m finished. She has nothing else she can teach me. I’ve done all the training, plus a lot more she added for me. She said I’m ready to take the Trial.”
“That is wonderful news! I can’t believe you didn’t tell me right away. Are you nervous?”
Raya nodded. “Yes, very much.”
“You will do fine. Don’t overthink it. I wish I could be there to give you moral support. The Trial was nerve-racking for me. I thought I would pass out from anxiety before it even began!”
Raya tried to smile. She knew her father was trying to reassure her, but his words had the opposite effect. Her father saw the change in her expression. “I’m so sorry. It was my attempt at using humour to lighten the mood. You need to stop worrying. In fact, stop thinking about it at all. Find Dev. I’m sure he can get your mind off the Trial.” Garvin winked and smiled at her.
“Dad!” Raya felt her face flush with embarrassment.
“I will talk to you girls later. Right now, I need some alone time with my lovely Day,” he said, using his nickname for their mother. Raya and Ke’ara took the cue to leave.
“Bye, Dad,” they told him. “Love you!”
Ke’ara closed the door behind them to give their parents some privacy. “What do you suppose they talk about in there when they’re alone?” she asked.
“I don’t want to know,” Raya said as they walked down the hall to the living room.
Ke’ara laughed. “Oh, come on, Ray. I think it’s sweet they’re still so much in love. Don’t you?”
“I guess so.”
“Dad’s right.” Ke’ara leaned closer, like she was sharing a secret. “You should go find Dev.”
“Oh!” Raya said, embarrassed. She rushed off to get ready for bed.
CHAPTER 2
Raya woke in the early morning hours to the sun streaming in her window. She had forgotten to pull the shade down the night before. Despite her embarrassment when her father and sister suggested she seek out Dev, she had done just that. Well, not in person anyway. She called him on her tablet, and they talked until late into the night. Despite her protests that she was not tired, Dev insisted they end the call when he saw she was struggling to keep her eyes open. Raya finally had to admit she was exhausted and said goodnight.
She dressed quickly to prepare for a session in the nearby recreation centre and stepped out the door. At the gate, her mother called her back. “Raya! Come quickly! It’s the University calling!”
Raya paused, swallowed the lump forming in her throat, then turned to re-enter the house. She stepped in front of the communication screen and pressed the hold button. The face of a person she recognized as the head of the Cognitive Centre came up. “Dr. Vinta. Good day to you.”
“Hello, Raya. How are you today?”
“I’m well. I’m just heading out for a training session with a friend.”
“I’m calling you because I received the report from Prof. Tibal. She has high praises for you.”
Raya smiled. “She’s wonderful. I love working with her. I couldn’t have had a better mentor.”
“The Professor told me she’s never had a better student. She believes you are ready for the Trial. What do you think?”
Raya knew what she thought. Part of her wanted to scream in excitement, while another wanted to run and hide. She did neither but forced herself to stay calm. “I’ve been working hard with Prof. Tibal. I think I’m ready, sir.”
“That is good because we here at the Cognitive Centre also believe you are ready. We’d like you to come this afternoon for a preliminary evaluation. Pending the results, we’ll schedule the Trial within the next few days.”
“Yes, sir. I can come in today.”
“Good. I look forward to seeing you. I will expect you at 3:00.”
