The Planes Walkers

6. Freedom

Jet shifted where he stood. Above him, there was a rift that poured out a pale green smoke. After a few seconds it closed. Jet figured it was the path to the Spirit Plane.

"Welcome to our land," the old man told Jet.

He felt too weak to respond. Before he knew it, he collapsed and his vision went black.

Next thing Jet saw was a ceiling made of sticks and grass. He jolted up from where he was laying. The room was dimly lit with two sets of candles flickering from the slight breeze. Jet was in a hut of some kind. The walls were made of thick sticks that held few spaces between them. Rays of light shined through like spears in the darkness.

The old man Jet had seen when he returned from the Elemental Plane sat next to the bed.

"Where am I? Is this Calbar?" Jet asked him.

"Calbar? No, we are far from the Soul Empire," the old man replied in a raspy voice.

Jet looked around. He wasn't surprised. It didn't feel like the Soul Empire. He remembered what the general told him about the Crystal Kingdom in the west. "Is this the Crystal Kingdom?" Jet asked.

The old man shook his head. "This is Lonava. We're south of both the Soul Empire and the Crystal Kingdom."

Jet nodded, as if he understood. He only knew Calbar. It felt uncomfortable being out of his natural habitat.

"What brings you here? Looks like you came out of an Elemental Plane. We could see the rift all the way from the village," the old man explained.

"I...I'm not too sure. I was in Calbar...then I wasn't. Now I'm here."

"You're a long way from Calbar."

"Really?"

"Calbar is several days, if not weeks, travel from this village."

"I have to get back."

"What's the rush, kid? You should rest. Looks like you were in the Plane for a while. It's quite a feat to even find Elemental rifts, let alone enter them, or exit them alive."

Jet wondered how long it had really been. It had only felt like minutes, maybe even an hour, inside the Plane. He felt much more exhausted. He nodded to the old man. "So this is your village?"

The old man nodded back and looked away toward the door. The door to the hut was just an opening, similar to the one Jet and Dustan had for their shack.

The old man stood up. His clothes were gray robes. He had a long walking stick nearby that he used to help himself up.

"So you're from Calbar, huh?" he asked Jet.

Jet was hesitant to tell him, but he had already said a lot. He nodded and said, "Yes, I grew up in Calbar."

"You don't look like you're from there. It's an industrial heavy city."

"I wasn't born there."

"I figured that," the man said as he glanced at Jet, "Spirit Elementalists aren't native to the Soul Empire, as I'm sure you would know."

"I know now..."

"The Emperor himself is a Soul Elementalist. You don't want to cross him."

Jet didn't respond. He knew all too well not to cross Wrathel. Jet decided to change the subject. "So what is your village called?"

"Lonav, after the land we live in. It's essentially the Calbar of our humble lands. Don't expect anything that you've seen before."

Jet was curious to what the capital of this new land looked like. He was hoping it would be a change. He thought that industrial factories would just be a grim reminder.

Before too long, Jet was asleep once again. When he awoke next, he felt much more energized.

He was still in the hut from before. This time, there was another person in with him.

"So you're the Spirit Elementalist?" the boy asked.

Jet examined the boy. They were around the same age. "Yes, I am," Jet replied.

"I suppose Trekthar has taken care of you?" he asked Jet.

"Trekthar?"

The boy smirked. "The old man."

"Oh! Yes, I believe he has. I feel much better than I felt when I arrived."

"He is our leader of sorts. I'd honestly be surprised if he hadn't," the boy explained.

Jet nodded carefully. He wasn't sure what to say in return.

"So why are you here?" Jet decided to ask.

The boy shrugged. "Guess I wanted to see you for myself. We don't have any Elementalists around here."

"There weren't many back in Calbar either."

"Huh. I thought that place would be crawling with Soul Elementalists or something."

Jet shook his head. He wasn't sure if there were any more than Wrathel.

"My name's Heyvl, by the way."

Jet was surprised by the sudden introduction. He scrambled to sit up straight and looked directly at Heyvl. "I'm Jet."

"Interesting name for a Spirit Elementalist."

Jet smiled weakly, not sure if that was a compliment or an insult.

"Well if you're feeling up to it, I could show you around Lonav," Heyvl told him, "It's better than being cooped up in this hut."

Looking around, Jet agreed. He was ready to see what was outside the dim room. He got out of the bed slowly. His legs felt weak. Jet felt as if he hadn't stood in days. He knew that could possibly be true.

Heyvl smiled, his grin a welcoming sight to see. He beckoned for Jet to follow him through the hut until they reached the outside. The sun made Jet raise his hand to shade his eyes. It took a few seconds, but his eyes finally adjusted to the outside light.