"Surround yourself with the dreamers and the doers, the believers and the thinkers, but most of all surround yourself with those who see the greatness within you even when you don't see it yourself." – Edmund Lee
Alachna City, Ardam 1216
I look at the marble bowl of water in front of me. I see a glimmer in the surface, promising to transform into a clear image. It disappears and I groan inwardly. I suppress the urge to swipe the bowl off the table and settle on taking a deep breath: causing a scene would be ill-advised. That would emphasise my failure to the whole class. I exhale. I do not excel in this.
I quickly scan the faces of those around me. Everyone is concentrating. I can see some of them nod, and then whisper something into their bowls. Everyone else is faring better than I.
If Aedan was here, he might be able to help me, but the other half of the class, including him, is on the other side of the city, awaiting our contact. Earlier it was their turn to contact us, and obviously, Aedan succeeded within moments of starting. He is probably pulling out his hair by now. It has been almost an hour since we've started and the class is about to finish, and I haven't been able to get one successful call.
I frown and concentrate even harder. I try again. This time again nothing. Not even a glimmer. Not even a ripple in the water.
Luckily Elorhim doesn't have lessons with us anymore. He would have made my failure known to all in ArBrae.
Oliua Threetrees' clear voice rings through the room: "Class is concluded. Most of you did quite well. Please practice with your partner. I expect you all to have perfected this skill by our next lesson."
Next lesson? That is a week from now. There is no way I would even slightly master it by then.
She looks around the class. Her brown hair has a bouquet of different flowers woven into her curls and braids. Her brown eyes are emphasised by intricate flower designs on her eyelids. She turns her observant eyes on me: "Laelia, I would like to speak to you for a minute."
I nod. I don't even have to ask why. I am failing this class. Oliua Threetrees isn't the reprimanding type, but I can see the disappointment in her eyes.
"Laelia, you seem to have some difficulty with this particular skill," she says after the class emptied out.
She knows that I am struggling with anything to do with water, but trust the kind soul to downplay it.
"I struggle to hold the image," I start saying - that is, if I get an image I add silently.
She nods absentmindedly. "It is not only this that you struggle with. You are having trouble mastering a few of the skills I teach."
I avert my eyes downwards.
"Have you mentioned this to your guardian?"
My eyes recoil to meet hers. "My guardian?"
A look of bewilderment settles on her face. "Have you mentioned your difficulty to our Lord during your sessions?"
Sessions? She sees my puzzlement.
"Have you had any tutoring sessions with your guardian?"
"No," I say slowly. "Was I supposed to?"
"I thought he has been assisting you in the curriculum, and that is why you have been excelling," she mumbles more to herself than to me. "Not the matter. I will speak to your parents. Please practise this with either of your brothers."
I nod and make myself scarce after wishing her rays of the sun and nourishing rain.
On my way home, a light drizzle falls. The rain is soft, like taking a nap on grass covered by dew. A gentle mist covers the city of Alachna making the white buildings seem as if they are built on clouds. The green forest pops out in between.
I pause a moment to enjoy my beautiful home, but then I am reminded of Oliua's words. There is no way that I'll be able to master this in a week - I haven't been able to succeed for a much longer time. I can do a few things with water, but it is as if the water is reluctant to obey me. She mentioned that I am supposed to have tutoring sessions with my guardian. I haven't had any contact with him in decades. Sure, I've seen him from afar at our ceremonies and celebrations, but he has never again glanced at me.
I do not need his guidance. I've been excelling in all my classes - without his help. Oliua Elder thought that he has been helping me this whole time and that that was the reason I'm a star pupil. I grin. No, I am doing it all by myself, but I definitely need help with water. Faolan might be able to offer me excellent advice about how to use water. He will be merciless until I succeed.
Upon arrival home, I seclude myself in my room. I scoop some of the water from my fountain up with an Amethe glass bowel. I sit down on my bed and stare intensely into the water. I close my eyes and concentrate on feeling the water. Oliua has been saying that we have to take the water into us. The water feels strange to me though - as if it is not natural to me. Perhaps I should take on the water - like putting on a different layer of clothes.
"Laelia?" Aedan shouts from his room. "I can see you, but you look frustrated."
I'm not able to see him, but he sees me. I have failed again. That pushes me over the edge. The bowl crashes to the ground. The water splashes over the floor and an open textbook. I curse internally as I jump up to save the book.
"Now I can't see you," Aedan shouts from his room.
I hear him standing up. I bite my lip.
Aedan comes and stands in my door: "Laelia, you will get this."
"Aedan, I'm the best at everything. I'm the best in healing, I'm the best in sword fighting. I'm the best with a bow and arrow -," I see Aedan lifting his eyebrows. "Fine, I know you're better at shooting, but bear with me for the purpose of my rant. I have the best marks for my essays. But I cannot do anything with water!"
"You are exaggerating. You can do something with it, just not as much as I can."
I give him an icy look: "Aedan, everything else I can do doesn't matter if I cannot prove that I am worthy of our family name by wielding water."
Water-wielding is the measure of an elf's worth. My father is king because he is the mightiest water-wielder in ArBrae. He is backed by generations of the greatest water-wielders. He inherited the right to be King, but the other families would have overthrown him if he was weak. I have heard some rumours that Faolan might be more powerful than my father – in only a few centuries of practising, but I have never seen him wield it. Aedan is the best wielder in our class. Elorhim was very, very good. He liked to show off at all available opportunities, especially when I was struggling.
Aedan frowns: "You don't have to prove yourself." He walks to the bowl and picks it up. He scoops up water. He moves his hand over the water. The water moves and forms a small figurine.
I haven't seen Aedan do this. This is more advanced than what we have been taught in our classes. I see the figurine has my likeness. I smile sadly.
"Laelia, look at me."
I do so reluctantly.
"Laelia Elderlight of the family Darkwood, you don't have to prove yourself. You are greater than everyone here."
I lift my eyebrows.
The figurine splashes back into the bowl.
"Your problem is doubt: you doubt your greatness."
I give him a lopsided smile because I don't know what else to do.
He shakes his head: "I wish you could see what I see." His eyes have a distant look - as if he is looking into the past, present, and future at the same time. "I really wish that I could share my visions with you, but most of them make no sense to me yet."
"When have you grown up so much? I barely see the little boy picking flowers from the mud in you anymore?"
His eyes lock with mine. He bites his lip and shrugs: "Probably during the last ten centuries."
I nod my head slowly: "It is a lot of time to grow up. But you're wrong. It is not yet a millennium."
"It will be soon enough."He bites his lip. There is something he wants to tell me. I don't prompt him. I wait for him. He scratches his head.
"Water-wielding is not your real talent."
"Really, I did not know that," I say with sarcasm colouring my words.
"No, really. I don't know how to explain it."
I just lift my eyebrows.
"But now, we better try to teach you to at least conjure an image. You have to be able to call upon someone from a distance."
I groan.