Keeper of the Lost Cities: Elysian

Chapter 9

The raging storm continued into the following hour. Also the next.

Elysian cooked their lunch- a smooth, rich concoction consisting of what looked like noodles and an assortment of delicious vegetables.

"It doesn't seem like we'll be doing anything particularly useful today," Sophie mumbled, wishing that the storm could be over more quickly.

But Elysian had said that it would likely continue for a few more hours and then cease during the night. Which was far. Too. Long.

"Hey, at least we received a delicious breakfast and lunch," Keefe observed. "Even if we can't go to the quarry, we can still fill up our stomachs."

Elysian looked a little abashed.

As they ate, Sophie asked, "Elysian, what are all of your abilities?"

"Well, you already know that I'm a Telepath, Conjurer, and Flasher," Elysian replied. "And that was the result of me being a Polyglot. Although I suppose it does have to do with genetics. My parents were both Polyglots. My mother was a Flasher and my father was a Conjurer."

"Wow, so you manifested four abilities?" Maruca said, astounded.

Elysian nodded. "It was quite the marvel once I manifested all four. It gave me popularity that I enjoyed at first, but what I grew to resent. I hated being the center of attention everywhere."

Sophie could relate. Sometimes she didn't want to be the moonlark, the girl with five abilities, the leader of Team Valiant, and a member of the Black Swan.

She just wanted to be... Sophie Foster. A normal teenager. A normal prodigy.

But the world didn't always agree with her.

She told herself, I am a person.

"You're also a Hydrokinetic," Maruca pointed out.

"True. My exposure to shadowflux and quintessence gave me elemental abilities. I'm a Hydrokinetic, Guster, and Pyrokinetic."

"Wait, you are?" Marella asked, accidentally dropping her fork onto the ground. She quickly picked it up.

Elysian snapped her fingers in response. A small red flame sprang to life. "Funny, isn't it? I guess nature decided I would command water, fire, and wind. With fire and wind, I can create firestorms. With wind and water, I can create tsunamis, storms, and shift tides. With water and fire, I can create geysers. However, due to the terrible destruction that they can make, I use those abilities together very rarely. I guess nature trusted me to command these forces responsibly."

She snuffed the flame out.

"Whoa," Marella said, her jaw dropping. "I guess that's what Linh and I tried. We tried merging our abilities somehow... We have our answer now. Geysers and storms, huh?"

"They are very useful in battle, but they have less practical purposes," Elysian admitted ruefully. "Perhaps that's why elemental abilities are so rare."

"You're a Telepath, Flasher, Conjurer, Polyglot, Hydrokinetic, Guster, and Pyrokinetic," Maruca said. "Any more?"

"My body's reaction to esylune gave me two more abilities," Elysian replied slowly. "The first ability is what you know as enhancing. It was an ability completely new to the world, so I called it amplifying at first, noting that I could give boosts of power to heighten abilities. But I like it being called an Enhancer."

It was Sophie's turn to drop her fork, and she was certain her cheeks were burning.

"It feels odd discovering you aren't the only one with a rare ability, isn't it?" Elysian murmured. "My second ability was interesting. It gave the power to block abilities, which is the phenomenon you all experienced when you came here. If I try hard enough, I think I can remove abilities entirely. I call it purging, so I'm a Purger."