The Realm Protectors - Chapter 8: Chapter 8

Finally Friday, I think to myself as I take a sip of coffee. The hot brew warms my throat, fighting the late January chill. It's thrown me off a bit, starting the school year in January instead of August. Gemma and Vermont are perfectly adjusted to it. The former likes to joke about my daily complaints about the cold.
I can't wait for summer. I think to myself. I make it to Professor Rottink's room at the same time as Nikolina. She's swimming in an oversized black sweater that falls to her mid-thighs, paired with some comfy-looking leggings and boots.
"Hey Nik," I say with a wave. "Morning,"
"Hi," She replies softly. She stumbles as she walks towards me, starting to fall. I start to stick a hand out to help before Nikolina shoots out her arms, shadows forming around her. One catches her binder and books, the other forms a crutch that stops her from falling. The shadows deposit her books back into her arms and dissipate into the air. I stand there in wonder as she tucks a lock of hair behind her ear and smiles shyly.
"Damn," I stare. "That... that was impressive." Her cheeks tinge pink. I motion to the door and I follow her inside. Ciana waves from our table, her two roommates engaged in a conversation with Gemma. Vermont is asleep on the desk. I take my seat next to Ciana and look back at Nik, sitting at her lonely little table in the corner with her two roommates.
"Maybe we should ask to switch tables," I mutter to myself, feeling sorry for the poor girl. She seems like she doesn't have many friends.
"Avani, are you being... nice?" Ciana asks with a smirk. I roll my eyes and tilt my head towards Nikolina's table.
"She seems so lonely," I say to my light-hearted friend. "Don't you think?"
Ciana's face softens as she looks at Nikolina. "I do agree that it must be lonely in the shadows, but she likes them, doesn't she? She is a darkness elemental after all."
I'm about to reply when the bell rings and Professor Rottink stands up to start class.
"Everyone take out your notebooks. Your prompt is on the board. You have ten minutes to write." Rottink says, pointing to the words written on the board. If you were trapped on an abandoned island, what three things would you want with you?
The class passes in a blur. Soon the bell rings, signaling the start of our ten minute timer to get to our next class. Gemma, Vermont, and I head back to the Earth Campus for Geokinesis Theory. Professor Calcaterra's room is filled with shelves of plants on every wall but the ones with the windows and the whiteboard. Geo Theory is written across the top of the board, surrounded by grape vines. Soft music plays from speakers positioned around the room, encouraging the plants' growth. As more students gather in the room and take their seats on the moss-covered floor in front of their rock-tables, the plants perk up at the earth energy.
"Everyone here?" Professor Calcaterra asks as we settle down. As she walks by taking attendance, the plants stand up as straight as possible, blossoms blooming. They feed off of her intense earth energy. We all feel the jittery energy of life in the room, and if I close my eyes, I can see the veins of life running through everything. "Today we're going to continue to work on your accessibility and control. I asked you all to practice reaching for your ability last night before you went to bed, and this morning when you woke up. Let's see how your accessibility has improved."
Gemma's eyes glow with a soft green light as she reaches for her ability, pulling the snowdrop blossoms behind her to ring above her hair like a halo. I reach for my own ability – proud that I don't have to imagine the well anymore – and pull an orchid plant up from the mossy floor. The blooms open, purple tips shining in the sunlight. Plants blossom and grow around every student as Professor Calcaterra smiles from her stool to the side of the board.
"Excellent, little sprouts, excellent." She nods. "Your accessibility has blossomed. Now today, we're going to begin our theory class." Some people groan around the room and Calcaterra shakes her head. "I know some of you more experienced geoelementals think you don't need this course, but I promise you that by the end of the year, it will be worth it."
Vermont rolls her eyes and Gemma bounces excitedly. Professor Calcaterra draws a line down the middle of the whiteboard, writing Plants on one side and Earth on the other.
"Can anyone tell me one thing you all had in common just now while displaying your abilities?" Calcaterra asks, turning around. A girl with pink box braids raises her hand.
"Our eyes all glowed green?" She offers.
Professor Calcaterra smiles. "Good observation, Iris, but no. Anyone else?"
I raise my hand and Calcaterra nods at me. "We all used our abilities to make plants?"
"Excellent observation, Avani. You are correct." She underlines Plants on the board. "Can anyone tell me why all of you chose to manipulate plants instead of rocks or dirt?"
A guy raises his hand from behind me, gold rings stacked up his ear. "Plants are alive, and life is easier to manipulate than non-living things."
Calcaterra nods. "You are spot-on, Chrys. As earth elementals and living beings, it is naturally easier for us to use our abilities to manipulate other living things, such as plants and animals." Calcaterra draws another line halfway down the board and writes Animals underneath it. "It's one of the reasons why earth elementals are usually stronger elementally than other elementals when they first start out. Every other elemental is manipulating non-living material. Whereas we merely encourage the life already inside the being.
"What is a downside of Earth elementals having the ability to manipulate life?" Calcaterra asks.
The room goes silent, and everything seems to take a collective breath all at once when Vermont raises her hand.
"Earth elementals are more likely to use their ability for selfish purposes." Vermont deadpans. All the plants and people in the room shutter.
Professor Calcaterra stands perfectly still. "That is correct. History has shown us that those with the power of life are the most attracted to abuse it. However, that's why I am here. Every teacher here at Asavanra is here to guide you all on the right paths to greatness. After all, one of you may become the next High Arch of Earth."
Vermont sits up straighter at the mention of the High Arch position.
"Alright, now we're going to work on your abilities gradually. So, manipulating rock will be last." Professor Calcaterra switches topics. "You all seem to have a decent grasp on the manipulation of simple plant life, so let's do a quick crash course on that, and then we'll dive into more complex plant life."
DeleteCreated with Sketch.
"I'm telling you, Gem, Biology is going to be a lot easier than you think." I assure Gemma as we walk back to Noni Building. "We're Earth elementals, and Bio is literally the study of living things. What could go wrong?"
Gemma shakes her head. "It's too confusing. Why do we need to know about all of those small little things that we can't even see?" I shake my head as we arrive in Asavanra Plaza. Noni Building looms above us, beautiful winter jasmine vines wrapping around it in full bloom. It's been mild enough here that they're able to stay alive.
Inside, Noni Building is built in rings, with staircases at each corner. The inside of the ring makes up the classrooms, and most of the bottom level is taken up by an impressive library. The history classes are all on the third floor, so Gemma, Vermont, and I head to the staircase.
The third floor is painted to look like a timeline. The door is painted to look like a gateway into the Realm, a rip filled the cosmos. When you open the door you see a group of people painted with eight different colors standing in the corner. As you walk the hallway around the classrooms, you see the story of that group of elementals as they started a village, grew in population, and went off exploring in this new place, exploring each land and settling there. When we arrive back at the door we entered through, there's three dots next to it to indicate that the future is yet to come.
"Avani! Gemma! I see you're checking out the mural." Professor Grantwood calls from the doorway of a classroom. We go back the way we came and go inside.
"It's beautiful, Professor." Gemma says. "It tells the story of our history quite beautifully."
"Thank you, Gemma." Professor Grantwood smiles. She pats me on the shoulder as I walk inside. "I got the idea from Uzima's garden in Jiji. The mural of her story is gorgeous."
Ciana waves at me from a table in the corner, Nikolina sitting with her. Neither one of their roommates are here. They must have some other class, like Vermont.
We wait for the rest of our classmates to arrive and for the starting bell to ring. We settle down when Professor Grantwood stands at the front of the classroom. A skylight above her seems to illuminate the board behind her.
"I figured we'd start our second day of class with a fun little story." Professor Grantwood says with a smile. "It just so happens to be my favorite historical story. First, let's review what we learned yesterday. Everyone come up with one thing you learned yesterday, and we'll go around the room and share. Ciana, you first."
Ciana furrows her brow. "Um... I learned that the original settlers of the Realm were from all over the world, and that they all combined their abilities with those of the space elementals to make the different countries of the Realm."
"Very good Ciana. Nikolina?" Grantwood motions to Nik.
"I learned that the first light, darkness, and earth elementals used their abilities to stimulate the new world into changing seasons and making night and day." Nik replies, fidgeting with a
"Also an interesting tidbit." Grantwood nods. "Without the many months they worked, our world may not be able to change by itself. Avani, you next."
"I learned that the first elementals were created by scientific experiments hosted by a country of the Otherworld." I remember. "They escaped together and created the Elemental Realm."
"Another excellent bit of history." Professor Grantwood nods. "Who's next? Gemma?"
We continue around the room, sharing bits of the little bit of history we learned about yesterday.
"Very good, everyone." Professor Grantwood says when we finish. "I'm very glad that you all remember my lesson. I do my best to make history fun for all of you. Now let's start with my favorite story to tell."
She steps back and motions to the board with a flourish. The words appear in a burst of the elements. Ciana grins excitedly, her face lit up. Nikolina leans forward in interest.
"Many of you know the story of , the heroes of our world. For those of you who are Otherborn, it is some of the proudest moments in our history." Professor Grantwood begins. The board changes to a picture of the Elemental Realm, each of the countries painted in their elemental color. "When our world was created, we lived in peace for a very long time. However, human history teaches us that when presented with power such as ours, someone is going to have the urge to abuse it."
The board zooms in on Dunia, and a figure wrapped in thorny vines. "Zyr Abilene was the first to discover that his power of Earth manipulation could be used in more 'interesting' ways." Grantwood narrates with a frown. "Abilene began to use his power against other elementals, trapping them or attacking them with vicious plants and animals." The screen shows pictures of elementals being strangled by vines, sucked into the ground, and clawed by big cats and bears. Gemma shakes her head in despair.
"It was dark times for the Realm." Grantwood continues. "Until one day, when the High Arches of the time went through all the records of all students in the Realm and picked the most powerful of each element. They brought them together here, in City Center, and told them that it was their duty to put a stop to Abilene's madness."
Eight figures appear on the screen, backlit by the color of their element. "The eight heroes battled against Abilene and his ferocious animals, and they defeated him. Abilene was killed, and the Realm was safe once more. The people of the Realm designated these eight heroes , the most powerful of the Realm.
"Mysteriously, once they were dubbed this, tattoos appeared on the heroes. They wound around their eyes, across their backs, and down their arms. No one knows for sure where these tattoos came from, only that it was a surefire way to distinguish these heroes from the rest of the population.
"After the battle, these heroes became the new High Arches, and the people of the Realm decided from then on that the High Arches would be . Ever since then, the High Arches are assigned to find the eight most powerful elementals from each generation and train them to take on the role of High Arches."
The screen zooms along a timeline, showing generations worth of High Arches, each of them adorned with shining tattoos. It suddenly stops on a picture of eight figures, only seven of them having the Realm Protector tattoos. "One year, one Realm Protector was missing. The High Arches searched high and low, but the destined Realm Protector of Water was nowhere to be found. Instead, he was replaced by the next best water elemental, but she never gained the tattoos like her peers. Ever since that generation, there hasn't been a full set of Realm Protectors." Professor Grantwood frowns at the board, the harsh lights bouncing off of her golden tattoos.
The room is silent as people soak in the impressive yet sad tale of . Nikolina looks at me in recognition. There hasn't been a full set of Realm Protectors... until us.
An albino girl raises her hand in the corner. "Professor, what would happen if we couldn't find any Realm Protectors?"
"Well Kier, that would be a sad day indeed in the Realm." Professor Grantwood replies. "Fortunately, my fellow High Arches and I are working on contacting the new Realm Protectors right now, and making sure they know how important their roles will be." Her eyes flick between Nik, Ciana, and I as she speaks. Ciana clutches her first element in her hand.
"That being said, we're going to be diving more in-depth with . Each group is going to be assigned one of the first Realm Protectors, and you will research them and present it to the class on Friday." Professor Grantwood walks around the room, passing each table a slip of paper. When she gives us our paper, she shoots a strange look at Nik, Ciana, and I. When she gets back to her desk, she starts typing. Our laptops light up with an email notification seconds later.
I need to see the eight of you in my office after classes.
– Professor Grantwood.