Fantasmical • The Many Trials of Elyn Tusit

01. Trial of the Elements (Fantasy)

Fantasy

In a kingdom of elemental magic, you gain the ability to control all four elements through an ancient artefact. But this newfound power comes with a price.

A beetle scuttled across her path. Before Elyn could step aside, the poor creature was turned to ash by a passing stranger. Elyn Tusit stared after the man, horrified by the fire curling around his fingers.

No one else in the cramped street was watching him. But then, no one else was like Elyn, who's skin bore no flames, rings of earth, or droplets of water. The air didn't shimmer at the touch of her hand.

The people of Dun'sel were gifted with elemental magic, and Elyn was no citizen of Dun'sel.

Pulling her shawl tighter, she sidestepped the beetle's remains. The city of Dun'sel was cruel. The locals let their magic run wild – there seemed to be no regulations in place to stop injustices like that of the beetle's untimely demise.

Despite her discomfort, Elyn couldn't stop herself from lingering in the city. She had no reason to be in the market today; her destination was the port, where she would reunite with her brother, Acarish.

Tents and stalls lined the street. Behind them, ancient buildings stood on their last legs, their brickwork bleached by the sun. Compared to Elyn's village, Dun'sel was a monstrous maze and, unable to quell her curiosity, Elyn was allowing herself to be pulled deeper within it.

A table covered in jewels caught her eye. Elyn tried her best to squeeze between the crowd without setting her dark hair on fire or wetting her loose-fitting attire.

The jewellery was extravagant. She couldn't afford any of it – nor did she need any of it – but that didn't mean she wasn't going to weigh the glass beads in her hands or toy with a string of emeralds.

The seller stood up, his onyx robes falling around his towering form. "You aren't from around here," he said.

"I'm just passing through." Elyn was already plotting an escape route, embarrassed that she had been caught admiring his goods.

"Then you need a souvenir. Something enchanting." Before she could argue that she did not, the man reached under his table and revealed a small box. He cracked open the lid and turned the contents to face her.

Elyn stared at the headpiece, and, although she knew better, found herself reaching for her coin pouch.

*

The circlet rested on her brow. At first, Elyn struggled to get it to stay still – it kept slipping over her eyes and hitting the bridge of her nose – but once she learned how to adjust it, the circlet stayed in place even when she rocked her head back and forth.

She had never seen anything like the circlet before. It was an ancient and delicate thing, no doubt worth far more than what she had paid for it.

Elyn stepped back into the busy street. She moved to ask a local for directions to the docks, but when she opened her mouth a blast of cold air escaped her lips. The man whom she had hoped to approach lost control of his magic as he was knocked over. His body was engulfed in flames.

Elyn raised her hands as she jumped aside. Water shot out of her palm and soaked the burning man, extinguishing the fire. Elyn yelped and turned her hand to inspect it, only to drench herself.

Someone swore at her in passing as she flicked her hand in a weak attempt to stop the flow.

Spluttering an apology, she aimed her leaking palm at the ground and hurried along, desperately searching for somewhere to hide. People were staring and pointing at her as she scrambled by. She forced herself to move faster, her palm tingling with the sensation of magic.

*

When the water finally stopped flowing from her palm, Elyn's throat was raw. She slumped towards a fountain in hope of soothing her dry mouth. But when her skin touched the water it started to bubble.

Alarmed, she forced herself to look at her hands again. Her skin was blistered, and fire was lacing through her fingers.

Elyn launched herself into the fountain. Those around her swept away. She was unsure if they were frightened by her melting skin or by the sudden burst of plant life that sprung up around her as she hit the bottom of the fountain.

She wrestled through the plants to the surface. Her skin felt cooler, but being swallowed by plants was hardly an improvement over being burnt.

Her fingers found the rim of the fountain. Fighting every step of the way, she dragged herself up and over the edge, hitting the street on her back, covered in blisters and scratches, soaked to the core.

What would Acarish think of her, turning up at the docks looking like this?

Elyn sucked in a deep breath - or rather, she tried to. The air tightened around her, causing her to gag. She clutched at her throat as she struggled to breathe. She spluttered, dots clouding her vison.

Perhaps she would not turn up at the docks at all.

As she clawed at her face, her fingers caught the circlet.

Enchanting.

It took a few tries to free herself from the circlet. When Elyn finally succeeded, she flopped against the fountain, panting, and returned the questioning glance of a horse nearby.

She found Acarish fishing at the docks, grinning at his catch. When he saw Elyn, his good mood instantly dissolved. Rather than ask why she was burnt, wet, dirty, and red-eyed, he pointed at her forehead and demanded to know why she had gotten a tattoo across her face.

Elyn paled. She considered telling him the truth, then thought better of it. He would never believe her. She had thrown the cursed circuit into an offering pit for the Mother Goddess on her way to the docks, leaving herself with no proof.

"It is awful," Acarish said. "Mother and Father will never let you walk the cities alone again when they see this."

"It's bad?"

Acarish raised his eyebrows, then steered her towards a widow so she could see her reflection. Elyn winced. It was bad – a twisted mess of black lines across her forehead. She'd be lucky if her parents ever let her leave the village again.

Her souvenir, it seemed, would be with her forever.