Element. Flame of Elisar. Marie K. JETH

like no one was going to claim a spot on it. There were no fools dreaming of living next door to the witch, especially after last fall’s incident when the roof on this very house was demolished – Elcha had mistaken an elixir. Nargara loved experiments, and we tried to never lag too much behind.

      In general, we had more than enough sorts of incidents while mastering the witch craft. Once, Elcha and I even occasionally turned all the local white sheep soft purple. The two of us really liked it, but we could never see why all the people around didn’t. Later, however, a rumor reached us that the purple wool sold twice as expensive in the capital town’s markets, but we still caught hell from Nargara for that sort of performance.

      I ran in when the Sun was already dim and twilight descended into the valley.

      In the living room, as usual, some people were sitting and waiting patiently for their turn. The door to the witch’s room was closed, which meant some work was underway, and there was no way to disturb her. A little further, there was a staircase leading to the second floor, which I took to rush into my sister’s room.

      Elcha was on the floor, reading something. When I swung open the door, she jumped up and shoved her reading under the bed, pushing it with her foot even further, just in case.

      “Phew! You scared me to death! Ever heard about knocking first?” she grumbled. “I thought it was Mammy.”

      “Reading again something you aren’t supposed to! You’ll be for it one day, Elcha! And me, too, for covering you.”

      “C’mon! Cut the whining!” she waved me off. “Better see what I got!”

      She got under the bed to produce a little book all covered in Runes. Right in the center you could see the Water symbol.

      “Experimenting again? This is water magic! What’s your use of it?”

      “And here’s the use!” she said as if instructing me. “This is a guidebook to water magic for kids. It shows how to make up and use the most common spells. And here’s what I think, why not try and use this scheme to build fire streams? I’m gonna try it with the symbols I found in our books … Just imagine I succeeded! I’ve already learnt how to have fire on my hands, and the last time I even could light a torch…”

      “Better keep that fire away from home,” my look was full of reprimand.

      “Ricka, I’ll be the soul of prudence. Just let me try, half effect…” she was begging now.

      “I told you!” I pointed. “And don’t forget to have a bucket of water at hand when running your experiments. I know your crazy ways… Get your room burnt down – I will never let you set your foot in mine!”

      Yes, we both were firesses, which means with due training we could make good fire sorcerers, both endowed with the capacity at least.

      But what training could a Tars get in the World of Water? Next to none! Just because there was nobody to teach you properly. Especially in this middle-of-nowhere. The only magic you could get here was the Water magic. Moreover, Nargara never talked much about our abilities saying that people were the same everywhere, and they wouldn’t be particularly happy to do business with someone belonging to an opposite magic type, nor would they ever trust them that much.

      In cities like Ozeron or Targeld, everyone was used to those belonging to different other elements, while in province prejudice was still strong. And Nargara believed it might pose a serious risk to work. My speed was perceived by all as a manifestation of the Water magic; watermen happened to have some control over the time pace. And Elcha, too, knew a couple of tricks, so generally everyone was pretty happy.

      At times, though, Nargara seemed to be going too far with all this secrecy and was too much meticulous with the entire issue. I was especially curious why she would always use lots of herbs to dye our natural fiery-red hair attaching to it some gold-copper shade, which was more typical of the Highlands. I couldn’t get how it might ever affect customers’ satisfaction yet I did not dare to argue with Mammy.

      “Here. Truvle got this for you,” and I pulled the birch box out of my bag.

      In a split second Elcha was next to me, bobbing up and down in anticipation. She snatched the gift from my hands and it took her only one flash-like movement to drop all the contents onto her bed.

      The gift turned out to be a finely made bird with a long tail, studded with gems and decorated with patterns. The only point was that the bird’s head was missing. Elcha and I stared at each other, both puzzled.

      I took the box from my sister’s hands, and feeling that there was something behind it all, tapped the bottom. The missing part dropped on the bed. The bird’s head transformed smoothly into a small dagger, thin and sharp, made of the same star ore casting its bright highlights.

      “What is it?” Elcha gasped.

      I picked both parts and found the groove joining them together. The dagger entered the

      sheath… Click! The two parts became one.

      “Hairpin,” I said, still examining the thing. “That’s what you call the Master Truvle style. Typical!”

      An outside man would never get to the secret in this little thing.

      Elcha took the hairpin and looked closely at it. She then pressed softly the bird’s eye, a green piece, and pulled it. Click! The blade yielded and came back smoothly.

      “Wow!” she exclaimed, and just next moment her hair was already gathered in a bundle fixed with the gift.

      She circled in front of the mirror in admiration. But then she froze settling her enthusiastic gaze on my face.

      “And you? What did he give to you?”

      I could not help smiling as I held the cloak open. Elcha screamed as she swept her eyes over the daggers. “Show them to me! Show! Any secret, too?”

      “Yes, here,” I exposed the blades and let the chains out trying to be as cautious as I could. That made my sister’s eyes pop even more, and even more questions showered on me.

      I told her about Truvle’s making an ass of me, and how I witnessed a Vernor being made. Elcha was listening, all absorbed in the story and looking at the daggers with her eyes full of dreams.

      But then her face grew dark and she added, in a quite serious voice, “Nargara must have been really scared then, so even I have to get a gift with a sting now.”

      Despite her young age and talkative nature, Elcha had an amazing capacity to notice, at certain points, the very essence of things.

      “Yes, really scared…” I confirmed thoughtfully. “And now I have to learn from Yoos how to manage these claws. But you know, this is all the better… Much better than feeling helpless… Right now I can do nothing but run away, and this, as it turned out, does not always help.”

      Elcha’s face got totally grim.

      “Let’s drop this! I do hope I’ll never again meet such terrible creatures!” I shivered at the memories that proved so unexpectedly sharp and fresh, then hugged my sister and pulled her closer.

      “The best part is that you are alive and it’s all over,” she said quietly, as she was stroking my hair. For a moment it felt like I was her baby sister, and not the other way round.

      The Training

      Next morning, Nargara got us up at dawn, so two red arrows started dashing around the house and the area, busy with the instructions we got. Elcha went to the meadows to collect herbs.

      Me, having filled a bag, rushed around the customers to deliver elixirs, drugs and ice-messages – efils.

      Efils are small round bubbles with water frozen inside. In ancient times, the Watermen, experts in this element, discovered a very peculiar feature about the liquid – it can perceive, accumulate and store the information transmitted to it.

      However, this feature is not so easy to use. The fact is that water records everything, and it is nearly impossible