The Elemental Games

2. Miss Talia

An hour passed, as all the wielders chatted and laughed in groups, sharing thoughts, making friends and showing off spells. At one point, water-wielder Brooke cast a mini tsunami across the room, drenching everyone's ankles, only to clear it away again the next moment. Despite scattered laughter, Amaro became irritated, and Kellie - a fire wielder - dried his damp shoes with a tiny inferno. 

Tamira checked her watch, chattering with Isa and Ronnie. They had been exchanging conversation about their families. "Gosh!" she exclaimed, "It's been ages since we arrived, I wonder if they've forgotten!"

As if on cue, a woman in a tight black dress emerged from a hidden doorway. She cleared her throat, earning the attention of all the young wielders.

"Greetings!" she said, "My name is Miss Talia. I am the adjudicator of the Elemental Games, so I will be monitoring your progress and potential for the next few months." She coughed, interrupting Amaro's whispered conversation with his partner, Matilda, and shooting him a glare. "It is of the highest importance that you work together, use the skills you have and strive to learn more, do I make myself clear?" 

"What's the Elemental Games?" asked Kellie, raising a hand.

"The Games are a comprehensive test of your abilities, both elemental and emotional, in order for you to become one of the world's guardians. At the point of acceptance, you will become very powerful, and so this is to determine whether you are worthy of the power. You must not be arrogant or greedy, otherwise universal doom is in your hands."

All eyes swivelled to Amaro. "What?" he said, staring mockingly back at Kiara.

Alek cleared his throat. "And how does one pass?"

"You must display extreme kindness to others and passion for your element. Any betrayal or purposeful harm will result in disqualification. Therefore, if you become disqualified, you will be deemed unworthy, much to the disappointment of your fellow teammates and family."

The wielders nodded at each other, forming silent friendships and alliances across the hallway with furtive glances. Amaro refused to be part of any of it.

"Through this doorway please. Silence, single file." Miss Talia said authoritatively. The group marched through the door. The walls were painted in swathes of black, white and grey, which would have been untouched once, but were now engraved with names of strangers. Kiara traced her fingers over them. "Charlotte, Mateo, Jinn..." she whispered, painting an image of the unknown generation in her mind.

Miss Talia hushed the group, snapping her fingers once to get their attention. All the wielders stood up straighter like wooden soldiers.

"Right, children," she said, "Beyond this doorway is the Divine Palace. You will walk inside in silence, and take your seats. They are all decorated with an element symbol, please do not sit upon the seat of another element. Do you understand?"

Without waiting for an answer, she opened the door grandly, allowing the wielders to walk inside. There were a few hushed gasps.

High above, a white arched ceiling curved, ribbed with gold. Smooth marble pillars supported a semicircular mezzanine, which had elegant panels of glass for railings. Several twisting staircases led to a walkway around the edges of the room. Paintings of people - most looking like Miss Talia, with light brown skin and green eyes - lined the walkway's walls. 

In the centre of the room, arranged in a circle around a golden compass, were fifteen throne-like chairs. Each had a cream cushiony look, pockmarked with crosses of gold thread. On the back of the chair there was an elemental symbol sewn with the corresponding colour.

As Brooke and Alek sat on their chairs, which had a blue raindrop, an invisible hand slipped azure bracelets onto their wrists. When Alek tried to remove his, the invisible hand restrained him. Aria took her seat (with pale purple curling thread) and the same happened to her, a beaded ring of lavender and periwinkle colours landing in her palm. She joyfully put it on.

One by one, the elementals all had irremovable bracelets put on their wrists. Their shouts of mixed joy and confusion echoed around.

Miss Talia clapped twice. "All right, wielders." she was smiling now. "You now have invincible bracelets. These represent your membership in the Games, your participation and your pride as an elemental."

Amaro scoffed, quickly regaining composure as Miss Talia fired him a steely glare.

"If you are disqualified, the bracelet will be removed and destroyed." She cleared her throat. "I should hope that none of you will ever experience such a thing."

Ronnie looked at the floor, then up at the leader again. "Does the removal hurt?" she asked.

"Well, considering the bracelet is bound to your wrist using spiritual magic of the highest strength, what do you think?" Miss Talia shot back, arching a perfect black eyebrow. "It is my job to educate you of these things, but sometimes you must work it out for yourself."

The air wielder's face was struck with an expression of shock, followed by realisation and a deep breath. "Thank you, miss."

"The first trial will begin tomorrow evening. In the meantime, we will need rooms for you." Miss Talia said, rising from her seat and crossing the hall towards a spiral staircase. "They have been specially prepared, with opposite elements next to each other." 

"Go!" whispered Matilda to the rest of the group. They stood up and hurriedly went after the strange new instructor.

They ascended a spiral staircase and walked across the mezzanine, into a narrow white-carpeted corridor. Brooke earned an irritated look from Miss Talia as she tracked watery footprints all over the pristine floor. They passed doors with plaques of "Do not enter" and "Confined magic - liable to explosion".

Stopping suddenly, Miss Talia pointed to a door with one finger and said "Aria, Ronnie." in a stern voice. The pair pushed their way toward the front, entering the room and closing the door behind them. More elemental partners went into rooms, until finally Amaro and Matilda were assigned theirs. Amaro sighed in annoyance. 

"Excuse me young man, would you rather sleep outside?" Miss Talia interrupted, raising both eyebrows. Without waiting for a reply, she continued, "I should think not. Two of the most important things in the Games are loyalty and gratitude. Show them." 

"Yes miss." Amaro replied, thoroughly shaken by his leader's turn of personality. 

Matilda, followed by her partner, slipped inside the room. As the lock clicked, she sighed in pure disappointment. "Amaro, what on earth do you think you're doing?!" she exclaimed.

"I-I..." he stuttered, failing to match the challenging approach of his fellow wielder.

"Not great, hmm? Stop trying to get us in the bad category. Now unpack, get dressed in something more casual-" she looked his suit up and down with a judgemental glance, "and we're going to dinner."

"What dinner?" Amaro raised his gaze from the floor. 

"We passed a dinnerhall on the way here. I'm assuming it will be open."

"Fine, but I'm not undressing in front of you." he said the last word with a sneer.

"Bathroom." she pointed.

"Fine. I didn't think you'd follow through after that." Amaro finished, turning to enter the bathroom.