Ruler of the Tides (Book Four of the Elementals)

I. Renuo

Since evening drew near, the Sun, Moon, and Elementals stayed the night in Earth's temple—none of them felt comfortable trekking through the jungles headed for Estys in the dark. They couldn't imagine what horrors the jungle held at nightfall or what kind of Fangril demons lurked when there was no light—Tegen said even fierce and brave Kemiji feared it.

So, the group entered the jungles outside the temple to search for food with an hour left of sunlight. Renuo had volunteered to refill their canteens since he could find a water source the fastest. Finding a stream of fresh water, he kneeled to refill the canteens. As he refilled the last, a distorted image in the water caught his eye. It didn't resemble the green foliage of the trees and bushes behind him; he leaned in to get a better look.

The moving picture cleared to a serene lake protected by towering cliffs, sparkling waters rippling ever so slightly. Because of something, the waters churned angrily, then parted before him. Revealed at the bottom of the lakebed was an algae-covered temple. His view moved down to a trident-shaped lock sealing off the doors.

A ripple changed the picture to an icy tundra. He could practically feel the extreme cold from the biting wind. Before him, a group of faceless beings stood on a frozen lake—the manner of their stances said they were dangerous. Adrenaline coursed through his veins and panic in the air set him on edge—something horrible had just happened.

He banged the butt of his trident onto the frozen lake: wicked cracks in the ice streaked out away from him, toward the enemy. Raising his trident, the ice broke apart as the lake erupted, enveloping the forms. With a swing of the weapon, the water re-froze, trapping the dangerous beings under thick ice.

Renuo sat back in shock and the image disappeared; the stream resumed its normal appearance. That couldn't have meant anything. Tegen had said strange things were known to happen in the jungle; that had to be one of them—some eerie illusion. He quickly tightened the top of the last canteen, draped it over him with the rest, then stood to go join the others before night fell, set on not discussing what he had seen.

***

Renuo tossed and turned in unease that night. As they ate, they had discussed on where they would go next; Zelenia said that they would have to wait until the next Elemental was chosen. She had said it with her eyes landing on him and Renuo quickly averted his gaze in shame—she somehow knew about his vision in the stream. He was too scared to admit what he had seen; doing so would make them interpret it as him being the next Elemental.

He had always been told that he was nothing and would become nothing—the son of an outcast gypsy and a useless fisherman that drowned in his own net. Renuo had devoted his life to overcoming that stigma placed on him, but nothing he did changed anything.

After bringing in the most fish in a day's haul, he was still looked down on.

He found an ancient trident and defended his fellow fishermen from Fangril's demons in the sea and on land and was seen as a boy playing with a relic, not a man capable of defending his homeland.

So, he accepted that he could never become something.

Then Zelenia and Helian showed up, telling him that he was something, and he had agreed to come on this fool-hearty quest. He still didn't know what had compelled him to come.

'"Your doubts will make you confident,"' Zelenia had said.

That had sounded so promising, and he had the thought that things could start looking up for him. And what had he been able to do? Well, other than saving Geryon when Fangril destroyed their ferry, absorbing the water out of Heela's guitar, and making a small rain cloud for Tegen.

All of that was nothing compared to the power he imagined the Water Elemental would have. What he had done resembled what magic practitioners could do; with his mother being a gypsy, magic probably ran through his blood.

Renuo gave up trying to sleep and got up. All the others were asleep other than Helian, who had taken the first watch. He walked over to the Sun watching him silently.

"Can't sleep; I'll take over," he whispered.

"Sure?" Helian asked.

He eased down beside him. "I guess."

Helian nodded his thanks before getting up and moving off; he lay down, wrapped up in a blanket and quickly fell asleep.

With the quietness, his mind replayed his vision earlier that evening. What the stream showed him was what he thought the Water Elemental to be: powerful; confident; dominant; bold; feared. That wasn't him; he could never be that.

His eyes landed on Kalisa's sleeping form, turned on her side and facing him. He mainly hoped he could become the Water Elemental to impress her. Ever since they met, and she named him Water, he longed to be that for her.

Zelenia surprised him by appearing and sitting down beside him—he hadn't heard her waking up.

"Renuo, what troubles you?" she whispered.

He felt terrible keeping something from her, especially since she knew it, too. But once again, she wasn't pressuring him; she was gentle, kind, and so patient it hurt.

"It's... I was... shown... something earlier today."

Zelenia didn't respond, just sat there letting him find the courage to say the rest.

After reassuring himself that everybody else was asleep and couldn't eavesdrop on them, he told the Moon of his vision in the stream. Confessing did make him feel better.

"I'm not the Water Elemental," he quickly added in before she could declare that the vision was proof. "I can't be that—I'm not resilient like Tegen and I'm not optimistic like Pica."

Zelenia nodded. "You're not expected to be. Those qualities belong to their elements, not yours."

"Then what is Water supposed to be like? Do I even fit?"

She took a while to think of an answer. "I can't say, I'm not here to push you into becoming Water. You're the only one who can figure out what Water is."

Renuo looked down at his hands to think.

"Zelenia, what if I'm not Water? What if the Elements made a mistake? What if I let everyone down? What if I go through all of this just to find out I'm what I've always been told: nothing?"

"But what if you are? Don't you just want to see? You'll never know if you don't take a chance."

He was torn; he desperately hoped he was Water—proving to the world that he wasn't a waste of life—but he was terrified of getting his hope shattered. So, it was easier just to deny that hope from rising—if it never rose, it could never fall. Yes, he wanted to take the chance, but he didn't think he was brave enough to take it.

She put a hand on his. "If it puts less expectation on you, we'll keep this between us. We'll head for the temple you saw, but we won't tell anyone it's Water's, unless you're able to part the waters like you saw. Is that okay?"

He met her icy blue eyes, so soft with kindness. She was the main one he couldn't bear disappointing; her and Kalisa. He grabbed her hand and nodded.

Zelenia's face lit up with a smile. "Now, get some rest, Renuo. I'll make the others believe I was shown where we are to go in the morning."

With a gentle squeeze of his hand, she got up to go lay back down. Renuo watched her curl up under her blanket; he released a heavy breath—sharing his dilemma with another eased his burden so much.