It had been 2 days since Harry and his family had left the grand city of Mul for the fiery city of Onyx for the work contract his father had been awarded by Mistress Nuria, of the fire lands. He couldn’t wait to tell Damian all about this place when they got settled into their new home.

In Onyx, the city of fire and brimstone, and home to Mistress Nuria; ruler absolute, Harry and his family made their way through the city to their new home. The city was large and, Harry had to agree, was quite beautiful. It was neither as dank nor scary as people thought it to be, things were efficient and the place was clean and warm.

There was a dancing fire in every garden, which was the fire equivalent of a water feature Harry figured. With all this fire around he could practice his magic and become stronger. Damian would be proud of him. Still…he wasn’t beside him and he wouldn’t be for a while.

Harry had not had time to send any form of correspondence to Damian in 2 months, which he regretted every day, but he wanted to send him a long letter and parcel with photos and even some interesting objects he found while out exploring the lands of fire and brimstone.

Finally, after 3 months, he had a box prepared and wrote the letter. He wrapped it up in bright blue paper with a purple string, Damian’s favourite colours. Entering the living room, he found his parents sitting there looking solemn. 

“Harry! Come in here please darling, we have news, sit please…it’s, it’s not good I'm afraid….” His mother trailed off and his father turned to him.

“Harry…. Son, I’m sorry…but…Mul…it was attacked this morning, many are dead and the place has become a no-go zone, I’m afraid that’s all we know…” his father said sadly staring at the ground.

“What…?” Harry managed, his world collapsing in on itself, he couldn’t comprehend what was said.

“How, how do you know this?! We must go back! and get Damian and his family!” Harry was slowly becoming more and more distraught at the thought of having lost Damian, forever.

“Nuria’s head guard delivered this letter, it says we cannot go back. It’s not safe for us and that all communications have been cut, and to think, we were going to move back there since it’s a bit too different being here for us, especially you Harry, your father’s work on Nuria’s new project is going quicker than expected, we are in her debt, but, now we won’t be able to return, I'm sorry my darling….” Harry’s mother explained the situation, even proffering the letter to the boy, he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. 

“NO! I..I don’t believe this! Damian and his family are alive! I know they are! ….we...we have a connection! I’m sure of it! I was going to.. I was going to send him all this cool stuff...” Harry’s voice broke down as his tears began to fall, they were fiery tears; he ran outside into the garden with his parents going after him.

Throwing the box, Harry broke down there in the middle, “NOOOOOOOOO!!!! MY …MY Damian!!” his cries were the sound of a roaring fire, suddenly he burst into a ball of flames, the heat was searing and intense.

Panicked, his parents ran into the house to get a few blankets, which they threw over the boy who was now burning hotter than anything they had seen before. Luckily it worked and Hal began to reduce his fire.

With Harry put out, his mother ran over and comforted her son who was now sobbing heavily into her arms, his clothes were almost all burnt off him, and he passed out from the grief and expense of energy; scooping him up into his arms, his father carried him upstairs to his bedroom while his mother tidied up and went to make some tea.  

In his dreams he saw Damian’s beautiful and healing smile, he even tasted his delicate lips against his own. His fire-like tears fell while he slept, burning tiny holes in his pillows.

-_-_-_-_-

In the grand castle of Onyx, the head guard of Mistress Nuria, with a well-balanced, yet firm knock, entered her room.

“My lady, the deed is done.” He stated.

She looked up from her papers which she was pouring over. 

“Very good, I’m so glad they’ve had a change of heart. Just keep an eye on them… and that boy in particular, I feel something within him that could prove to be a big help or even a pain in my backside! Make sure, they do not EVER find out that Mul is as safe as it ever was!” she said with a straight face. 

“Yes, my lady. Good night.” The head guard said as he left her to her plans.

She sat back in her ornate chair, which was perfectly positioned for the best views of the land, and pondered what she had been told by ‘the librarian’ earlier: 

“My lady, this could mean that there have been elemental masters of old, reborn finally, as the seers have foretold, if the signs are to be read correctly that is, that also means there will be a fire elemental, a powerful one at that.”

 Nuria’s eyes glistened with the burning desire for all-consuming power, as a playfully deadly smile played across her intensely beautiful face.

-_-_-_-_-

In the depths of the world, the ancient being grumbled as it shifted its weight a little.

-_-_-_-_-

Meanwhile, somewhere in the East…

A large heavy-set blood-red oaken door creaked open slowly.

“Yes?! What is it?” an annoyed voice came from somewhere within the large chamber.

“My lady…the general says he has learned of some information that may be of interest to you…” the small hunched man said in a small but clear voice; his leader was a dark and powerful woman or a creature from the beyond. Whatever she was, she was not to be trifled with. 

Immediately, she appeared before the man. 

Her eyes were glowing an unearthly red-purple, contrasting with her white-grey coloured hair; anyone could immediately recognise her beauty, but however, within that perfect shell was a dark and dominating hungry soul. 

“Where is the general now? Take me to him” her voice was calm and clear, as usual.

The man bowed, turned and led the way through the various corridors to the mess hall where the general was eating and drinking happily seemingly unaware of the Empress’s sour mood.

-_-_-_-_-

3 years after Harry had left the lapis shores of Mul, Damian had still heard nothing from him. Damian found little solace in his friends from school and still constantly wondered, “Why!? Why haven’t I heard from him? I can’t contact him, and I don’t even know where he is in Onyx! Argh! This is so annoying!” Damian spoke out loud to the river he was sitting on the surface of, within the palace gardens. The water was rippling and bubbling along with his emotions.

Over time he tried his best to find out as much information as possible about Harry’s whereabouts, about what might have happened to him and why he hadn’t contacted him yet. But no information came; Damian had been forbidden by his parents to go to Onyx, at least until he was older, as the two cities had a long and bloody history.

Every day he tried to carry on living, attending school, special enrichment classes, seeing his friends and practising his water powers. 

Damian, without Harry beside him, had become a shell of his former self; he wasn’t as loud or friendly as he used to be, he wasn’t the happy-go-lucky, always dancing and singing Damian that everyone loved; he was colder, like the ice, more distant. His heart had been emptied and no one knew his pain. Slowly, however, he was beginning to thaw a little as each year passed, and the loneliness became that bit more bearable.

He lazily drew up some water in front of where he was sitting, and spun it with his index finger; it whirled and then, as he clicked his fingers, the water froze into a perfect and beautiful ice rose. It glistened in the mid-afternoon sun, daring the sun to melt it. He sat there and admired it deeply, lost in thought.

He heard a noise from nearby and blinked out of the trance. The rose melted back into the water, sadly, as he ran off the water towards the nearby set of bushes, but nothing and no one was to be seen.

“Hmmm…I better be more careful, never know who is watching.” He muttered to himself, as his stomach growled loudly, so he wandered off downtown to get some food. “I know, I’ll see if Li is free and if she’s working today!” he giggled to himself a little as he continued on his way, thinking about the pretty and jovial girl who worked in a big department store. 

Li had been friends with Harry and Damian before Harry left for Onyx, but she was always drawn to Damian’s shining personality, goofy smile and ability to giggle and laugh at everything. She knew after Harry left that she needed to step up, along with their other friend Kalendra, to support Damian. 

Unbeknownst to Damian, a girl emerged from some nearby bushes as he left and stared after him, as he went on his way, blissfully unaware he was being watched. It was Li. 

-_-_-_-_-

Moving swiftly about the temples’ courtyard, Will spun, twirled, jumped and danced perfectly, his swinging chains flew around as if they were as light as a feather;  the bladed tips pierced the very air about him, with a satisfying whoosh. All the other warrior monk students stared in awe and admiration, some even clapped and others murmured “he really is the best”.

“Will! Master Qi wishes to speak with you!” called out the head monk as he entered the courtyard. 

Without hesitation, Will stopped his routine training and glided gracefully up the stairs to the man, he took the time to bow and went rushing off as fast as he could towards the master’s quarters. 

Will reached the elegantly decorated screen doors of the master’s quarters and knocked: ‘donk donk’ 

“Enter.” Came a voice from beyond the door.

“Master, you requested to see me?” Will said as he bowed deeply and sat on the tatami bamboo mat.

Master Qi was the elderly leader of The Sanctum; a floating metropolis; it was always bustling with interesting things for sale at the markets or in the malls. It was, for all intents and purposes, a giant floating rock in the sky, they prided themselves on being a neutral place in a world of infinite politics and uneasy alliances. The floating nation was well known for promoting international relations in a safe space and peace throughout the world, this led to a huge rise of eager and friendly traders setting up in the city. Soon enough, world-famous markets began to form along with vendors of all kinds. The Sanctum was also home to the famous warrior monks of air. They generally stayed out of the affairs of the world on the ground…or water, such as with the kingdom of the Bards of the Waves. 

The island nation drifted gracefully around the world, and peacefully they traded with all who came to visit. They had a special airship that carried cargo and passengers to and fro from the land to the floating rock; they also had special mooring rights on any plot of land in any nation, this was an ancient and binding accord, signed into action thousands of years ago.

Will Southern was their best and brightest student, who had, from a very young age shown how proficient he was at acrobatics, dancing and using chain blades, staffs and various other weapons. His parents had been head of the temple housekeeping, his mother was head chef of the temple kitchen and his father was head of staff for the temple. They had a trip off the island one day and visited the dark lands of Oscuridad to gather some interesting supplies they needed for the temple that could only be found in those dark lands; upon their return, they both fell gravely ill and died shortly after. 

Orphaned Will, was taken in and adopted by Master Qi, whose own children were of a similar age to Will at the time and so he raised them together; his children, however, had no interest in becoming monks or priests and training and so as soon as they were old enough they moved out of the temple and into Sanctum City to forge their own paths. They stopped by occasionally. 

Many years had passed and by now, Will was one of the best students, if not the best, that had ever graced the airy halls of the temple. Recently turned 26, he was young and eager.

“Yes, I did.” The old man said as he finished his tea, and gestured for Will to sit in the chair opposite.

“Will, do you know why you are so talented in the ways of the air magic?” he said calmly to Will, who sat there listening intently to his master’s words.

He shook his head slowly, “no…though I have wondered a lot, I know that I am different to all the other students, but I don’t know how or why. I can fly, somewhat, and control air better than anyone. Is that what this is about?” Will asked a little anxious at the outcome.

“Yes….you are one of the last elemental masters of this world my child; prophesied to return to vanquish a great and ancient evil and restore order and balance to all things. You are and shall become the most powerful and the most skilled in the art of air magic, you can fly, move things and control and conjure the winds and manipulate the weather. I am telling you all this now, as things have been changing out there for us all. I hoped that they wouldn’t, but alas they have. Now, I have a very important task for you. You must journey to the city of Onyx and there you must find a young man named Harry, he has a deep burning passion and love for one person in this world, but he has become broken, YOU must see to it that he finds this person again. That is all I know, ah, that, and this has something to do with the city of Mul.” The master spoke and waited for the stunned silence that he indeed received, as he casually poured himself another cup of tea.

After a long pause to contemplate and gather his thoughts, Will calmly agreed “Master Qi, I am unsure about Onyx as it’s not a nice place, from what I have been told. However, I understand you must have your reasons to send me on this mission and I trust your judgment.”

“I know, I’m sorry, I wish it could have been a more, ‘fun’ place I could have sent you for your first mission, but sometimes we must do things we do not wish to. Such things build character and strengthen our bonds within ourselves. I know it sounds complicated now…but, you have to fan his flames, with your wind...so to speak. His passion for life has dwindled somehow, somewhere along the way, and it needs YOU to stoke his fires. Don’t you see it? Feel it? The balance of elemental powers has shifted, and even the tiniest shift is can be very dangerous, his fire MUST be rekindled!" Now, a small and beautiful statue appeared out of thin air a few days ago, come, let us pray by it!” the master stood up and in an instant, he was standing in the courtyard waiting for Will who was still reeling from the sudden information he had been given.