I don’t like to travel through groves. Thoughts of journeying through the dense, dark trees that seemed to swallow any hint of light were enough to make my skin crawl. I would rather swim through crocodile infested lakes and sit under waterfalls than venture into one, but here I was, pushing my way through thick vines that hung between trees, all the while keeping my eyes down.

  Raucous birds with beaks bearing teeth – aptly named fanged shriekers by my tribe – dotted the branches of the jungle everywhere in sight; I had never seen so many before. A patch of lush undergrowth blockaded the path in front: a barbed wall of dark green. I looked around

  My machete chipped away at the plant matter with strikes that scatted flecks of moss.

  “So, a guy called Flint?” I mumbled to no one in particular, though one of the sinister birds cocked its menacing head and stared at me: a gesture I was afraid of returning. I continued to rant. “Why would I need to find him? What’s a boy from Fire doing here? Argh! Wailing Creek’s so far away from home!”

  ***

  My name is Willow. I am a girl from Water: no one special. I practice combat every day, often meditated in a river, and minded my own business most of the time. Naturally, when a spirit ancestor by the name of Tide appeared in a dream and told me to head to the Wailing Creek to meet a boy from Fire called Flint, where everything would become clear, I was surprised, and a tad excited.

  “Prepare for a lengthy trip,” Tide said as the dream faded away.

  I snapped awake and painfully slammed my head into my bed. I yelped and clutched my head. “That’s one way to start a day,” I mumbled to myself. As I dressed myself and prepared for training, I couldn’t help but think of last night’s dream. I would have loved to go on a trip if I could, but rarely were there any opportunities to.

  I opened the tap to wash my face, but after scrubbing for a few seconds, I realized that water wasn’t flowing into my hands. It coalesced into a ball, and strips of liquid bound itself in a circle to form a pendant.

  Tide’s voice echoed in my head as the necklace of bound water floated towards me: “Go to Wailing Creek tomorrow. Don’t arrive later than sunpeak.”

  Jewelry made from water bound by magic were not common items, as they could take craftsmen up to a rotation to fashion one into a desired shape and refine them so that they would augment one’s capabilities of manipulating water. Being able to create one in a matter of seconds constitutes immense skill and control. What Tide demonstrated must have been the epitome of hydrokinesis.

  I hesitated to tell anyone about what happened, and kept the necklace under my pillow.

  The same day, after failing to hit a single target in four rounds of archery practice, my friends asked me what was wrong. I complained to them about a lack of sleep: I stayed up late for the past few nights to read a novel. They laughed and patted my shoulder, suggesting that I prioritize sleeping at sunfall and reading at sunpeak. I opted not to tell them about what I planned to do.

  I stayed up extra late that night to read a guide on using Bound Water jewelry. It was simple, as hydrokinesis was used in a similar way. After understanding the basics, I drifted off into an uncomfortable drowse while thinking about tomorrow. As a result, I woke up very late, which left me little time to traverse towards my destination. I hurriedly put on my garments, warped my combat supplies into my storage, and raced towards Wailing Creek. I had no time to worry about food; I could get some on the way.

  ***

  Just as I cleared the grove, I caught sight of a boy trying to fight an Aquamaw. I stood there for a few moments, confused. When we saw Aquamaws, we would never engage in combat: they were too powerful for a single person to take one down by themselves. I then remembered: that was probably the boy from Fire I was supposed to meet.

  “Flint!”

  The shout burst out of my mouth before I knew what was happening, and I found myself racing towards him to help. By that time, the Aquamaw had already seized Flint, who was pinned underneath his backpack, and started to pull him towards the creek. Flint’s eyes were wide open, and he clawed at the dirt, trying to escape. “Help me,” he whispered weakly.

  “Try a Fire attack! Aquamaws have noses that are sensitive towards high temperatures!” I shouted, pulling my arm back to throw my trident, but lowered it. I might hurt Flint.

  Flint formed a fireball with his hands. As it grew, his formidable foe coughed and wheezed. The crocodile released his leg when the fireball was slammed into its face, and rapidly retreated towards its home. Flint groaned as he pushed himself into a sitting, position. The fireball hovered around him, presumably to dry his back. He poured some liquid onto the wound from a bottle that I didn’t see him take out.

  After Flint had treated his wounds, I briefly observed him while he was removing some of the mud that coated his clothes. He was a tall, handsome boy with short, brown hair, with short hair, messy from his fight. He wore a dull, maroon jumper and black pants. His lips curved into an ever-so-slight smile, despite his near-death experience, which I found amusing and - I can’t deny - cute . Then, he noticed me looking. His smile vanished, and his face took on a frown. His hand went to a weapon on his hip. I took a step backwards.

  “Who are you and how do you know me?” he asked, voice low and threatening. His eyes held a dangerous gleam.

  “Well,” I responded, “I’m Willow from Water, and a spirit visited me a few days ago in my sleep. It’s weird, and I still can’t quite wrap my head around it.” As I explained to Flint what happened the night that Tide came over, a smile gradually approached his face.

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  “That’s coincidental! One of our ancestors called Serafina visited me as well!” Flint said excitedly, explaining what he heard. “What confuses me, though, is how you knew that I was the person Tide was talking about."

  “Well, because challenging an Aquamaw to a fight was a stupid decision that Water people don’t make, and that you’re so hot!” I exclaimed.

  My face heated up as I realized my poor choice of words. Flint emitted a lot of warmth from his body, and he was quite handsome, but the word “hot” was an awful choice of description, especially considering our difference of gender. “I meant, in terms of temperature!” I hastily covered up for my mistake.

  Flint smirked at my outburst. “I know, I know, I’m aware of how handsome I am. I’ve got mobs of girls chasing after me at home.” I scoffed at his words.

  “Well, with your stupidity I seriously doubt that,” I retorted. We laughed awkwardly, shuffling in place. I was surprised at how quickly we set our differences apart, forming a new friendship. I only had a few friends, so I was always kind of outgoing in hopes of meeting new people.

  “So, I guess we’re part of a team now?” Flint asked, kicking a rock.

  “You bet! Life back in home is quite boring.” I hated the normally repetitive lifestyle of Water, often volunteering for missions like hunting for some kick in an otherwise bland life. Travelling with Flint would be great.

  “What do you guys even do, swim in the water with crocs and sharks all day?” I frowned slightly. Fire always thought we did that. He wouldn’t be too thrilled if I asked if he was born from a volcanic eruption.

  “Of course not, we train just like you do.”

  “You know, despite all our differences-” As we argued back and forth, we heard a deep, angry roar in the distance. A look of shock flashed across our eyes, and. Flint’s mouth froze mid-sentence. The shockwave emitted from the sound was powerful. He reopened his mouth, though slightly quivering. “What was that?! Some kind of Water beast? A Wyvern?” He demanded, probably still a little shaken from his encounter with the Aquamaw.

  “Calm down, it sounds like a leviathan. It’s probably fighting something in an ocean somewhere,” I said, trying to assure Flint.

  I was wrong. I paused and stared at the sky when I heard a faint hum. Flint, following my gaze, glanced up as well. The already bright sunpeak light was dwarfed by a ray of orange piercing through the white clouds. This could only mean one thing. “Oh no, an Earth dragon all the way in our land?”

  Earth dragons were very destructive, able to flatten large areas of land with just a swing of its tail, and could fire huge beams of light that would best even the largest of cannons.

  “Willow, we have to go there and kill it! It’s destroying everything!” Flint exclaimed. He pointed at the forest in the distance, where trees started to topple, and looked at me imploringly. Despite the better part of my conscience telling me otherwise, I ultimately agreed to the absurd proposition.

  I tossed my skateboard beneath my feet and jumped onto it. It expanded rapidly, forming a board made purely out of water. This skateboard was a recent craft by my tribe members for quick transport. It was intricately designed, with a head shaped like a dragon, four wheels, and a long, scaled tail behind the end. Flint grabbed a pair of wheels from his pack and jumped as well. The wheels shifted to rest underneath his feet, as if pulled by invisible strings. They burst into flames, rotating with tremendous speed to propel Flint forward. I gave a quick, strong push, moving my board forward to activate it. It sprang to life, furiously rolling its wheels. I tilted slightly to guide its path.

  Flint’s wheels periodically fizzled out on the damp ground, which would cause him to fall off and stumble before he gained control of it again, and was unable to get past a marshy area as he kept getting stuck in it. He had to wade through it, constantly complaining about the coldness and how sticky the mud was. He dove into a river after getting out of the marsh to clean it, despite the water being cold for him. He was reckless but brave, I’ll give him that.

  After we arrived at where the dragon was , we returned our vehicles and crept up, hiding near a tree. “That thing is massive! I regret this.” Flint whispered. The winged creature, swinging around menacingly, kept destroying trees, as if venting its rage. “I doubt that we’re safe here...”

  Just as his last words left his mouth, the dragon slammed its mighty legs on the trunk of our tree, sending it flying and exposing us. Setting its gaze on us, its pupils contracted and it gave a deep roar. It stood up straight, towering above Flint and me.

  Flint quickly unsheathed his weapon, a sword with blades attached, while my trident materialized in my grip. Seizing the opportunity of the dragon’s surprise, I flung the trident at its eye. It turned its head and batted it aside with its snout with a clang. Now thoroughly enraged, the dragon raised its legs and slammed it down on them, with us stepping backwards just in time.

  Before it raised its legs again, Flint took a swing at the dragon. His weird sword bounced off, not even denting the thick scales. He sighed and quickly sheathed it, grabbing a handful of explosives, a new form of weapon that had recently been widely used in battles. If you pulled a pin and waited a few seconds, they would blow up. Raising my hand, I pulled my trident back, getting into a battle stance. Flint magically summoned a flail from somewhere.

  “You distract it with your explosives, I’ll try to hit its eyes!” I told Flint, hoping that he could be of use with what he had at his disposal. Flint primed two of his weapons and threw them at the dragon. They sailed over our adversary and landed behind it, detonating soon after and igniting the forest floor. “This is going to be troublesome,” he complained.

  Although they didn’t hurt the dragon, the explosions distracted it and allowed me to gain a decent angle at its eye. Aiming my trident cautiously, I threw it at the winged beast and directed it towards the eye.

  The trident pierced its eyeball, causing the dragon to recoil and roar in pain. It thrashed wildly, lashing its tail in fury, hitting both Flint and me. Flint landed in a pile of shrub, but I hit my back on something. Hard. I screamed as I felt sharp barbs stabbing into my back. I slumped to the ground, my vision fading into another world.

  ***

  I found myself plummeting through a silent darkness, illuminated only by a faint, eerie glow. Panic coursed through my veins as I tried to scream for help, but all that appeared was a garbled gurgle that swiftly dissipated. In my desperate attempt to clear my throat, I felt an oppressive force constricting my neck, as if an invisible hand was throttling me, allowing me only rasping breaths. Within the void, a pair of bloodshot eyes glared malevolently at me, their menacing gaze piercing through the darkness. Slowly, a mouth begins to appear, with large, faintly glowing fangs as sharp as a Shadowblade.

  I tried to move away from the beast by waving my arms about, but failed to put any distance between us. The beast’s mouth curved into a bloodthirsty grin, and it slowly floated over to me. The lower body of it began to materialize, with curved claws just as terrible as its teeth.

  It grabbed hold of my arm and tore. My shoulder cracked, a sharp pain flaring through it. My pulse raced, my eyes darting frantically in search of a rift in the shadows—any glimmer of hope, however faint, that would indicate a possible escape route from this nightmarish realm. I tried to resist, but I could barely even breathe, let alone move.

  With each passing moment and each hammering heartbeat, my fear only grew. My mind raced, desperately seeking a solution, but the oppressive grip of fear tightened, paralyzing me. A wicked arm cleaved through my chest, drawing a silent scream. I thought of my family, my friends back at home, before my sight began to fade and my body began to falter.