I slipped into my house and went right to my bedding, I sat down an started going through the books Edjudan had given me. Books were normally a rarity, if my father hadn’t been so powerful I doubt I would have ever owned any. I thought I was familiar with the written word and the knowledge they contained; but two of the books Edjudan had given me were different. One was the history of the Church of the divine Will, the book was small, thin and the script was neat and very easy to read, colorful pictures adorned many pages. I glanced through the book and tried reading it.

"[1]Church Of the Divine will

For Aeons the Universe was a mystery but it was told to the prophet Orsule, in the time of the first cleansing, by the universe itself the truth of existence. This truth is the tenet of the church."

The writing was dense and philosophical and bored me to tears so I put it down. The other odd book was simply called the Way of Eternity and it looked like a training and fighting manual, It was littered with diagrams and body stances. It was odd as the pictures looked incredibly life like and were not drawn by hand. I spent most of the night trying to grasp the methods and burn the images into my mind. The last book was similar to one I owned it was a compendium on beasts but was thicker with more notes written in the margins. I took greater care to read and re-read about the beasts of the central plains.[2]

The next morning I got up slowly. I was groggy and had spent far too long reading, I was still bleary eyed and went to go eat breakfast. There was no gentle waft of flavorful aromas. The hearth was cold and I saw a bowl of porridge sitting on the table.

“Murste” I mumbled.

I had missed breakfast and morning all together, I slurped down the cold gruel like porridge and left to go look for Tora. Not everyone in the village had to report to a village elder or do odd jobs. Many paid a tax, some were placed in permanent positions and paid directly by the Village. I was a special case, being a minor and being unable to awaken an element. The village center was adjacent to the shelter, an untouched island in a sea of reconstruction; fresh timber could be seen everywhere. . I found Tora, quill in hand, hastily scribbling in a giant ledger.

“Elder, I am here to report to work.”

“Ah Jeru, so nice of you to stop by” his tone was melodious and I could not tell is he was being genuine or sarcastic as it was late in the afternoon.

Tora stood up his broad shoulders had slumped with age but his frame reflected the power he once wielded.

“ Jeru, as the only child of age who is not in school. You have to work, seeing as you are still young it won’t be anything to strenuous.”

Tora was walking out of the village center now and I took to following behind him.

“ Come with me to the river I will show you what you are doing.”

We walked a little ways west of the village to a large stream the babbling of the water against the smooth rocks was peaceful and soothing.

“Your job will be to fill jugs and take them to the end of the gorge to fill the cisterns at the copper mines, then you will retrieve some of the refined copper from the forge and deposit it at the trading post.”

Tora was still smiling and I did not think much of the task, the real issue would be how many trips I had to make.

“ Now Jeru you can start today with 2 cisterns and 10 stones of copper, tomorrow 3 cisterns and 15 stones worth of copper, get it done before days end,”

My eyes glazed over and visibly dulled as I mulled it over.

On the one hand it was not a terrible amount, but it would still take hours and it would be grueling. Even the women were stronger than me as their bodies were nourished with the power of the elements. I knew all the carts in the village were being used by the merchants and workers who were rebuilding the village so he expected me to do this all by hand.

“ Jeru,” my thoughts were interrupted by the elder “ Don’t worry you only have to do this 8 days of the week[3] and I won’t let anyone else bully you with more chores. Now please get started.” The elder met my eyes with his gentle look and briskly walked back towards the village.

I knelt down and dipped the jugs in the cool stream then placed a wooden staff through the handles carrying them over my back. I followed the edge of the village along the gorge till I reached the copper mines. I poured the jugs into the first cistern and my soul nearly shattered. The cistern had been filled by a little less than a quarter. This task alone would take awhile, I walked into the gorge and saw large puffs of black smoke painting the sky with billowing black clouds. The forge was in full swing. I called out and a giant man came and greeted me. He stood nearly 3 rods tall and his chest was thicker than a barrel. I recognized him as Erda’s brother Tadroth.

“Jeru, they got ya on stone mule[4] duties huh?” I nodded beads of sweat already dripping as the heat from the forge magnified my exhaustion.

“Well a man is only a man after a hard days work. Ingots are cooled on the racks back there make sure to grab the cooler ones.” His gravelly voice echoed in the gorge and I bowed thanking him for the tip.

I grabbed 3 ingot bricks and placed them on a wooden sled so I could pull them to the trading post, the now empty jugs still draped from the staff around my shoulders. The trading post was fairly close to the gorge and I thanked the heavens for this small blessing. By this time I was more than a little winded and I took my time walking through the village on my way back to the stream. I purposefully took a small detour near the village school, curious as to what the other children would be doing.

The school consisted of a small building but a large walled off outside area. Climbing up one of the walls to peer over I saw everyone grouped by element. The water students of all ages were sitting by a man made lake, some were partially submerged some manipulating water others were polishing swords or spears. The earth students were around a group of large boulders. The darkness students were within the shadow of the building and a large tree but seemed to be having a much harder time gathering darkness essence .The Students of light were underneath a dome-covered gazebo which had a hole in the top and I saw them reach their hands into the center of the gazebo. It looked like they were grabbing threads of sunlight weaving it around their bodies. The fire students were the most active running around on coals or the older students tossing fire between burning bonfires. The air students were balancing or running across large wooden poles high above the ground, occasionally falling to sand below which elicited only a soft thump. Everything else faded away as I watched the other kids. I saw Erda summoning pillars of earth trying to make each higher than the last. There was an air kid who was floating next to the pillars the occasionally red wisp of flame came his body and threw his floating off balance. It was all fascinating and I was more than a little jealous. I was so enthralled I did not hear a teacher approaching.

I was grabbed from behind by the collar, as I was spun around I saw the tall pale woman who hoisted me off the ground. Her hand was covered in an inky blackness and she exuded so much pressure that I was having time taking in full breaths.

“This is no place for the likes of you. Go and get back to work now.” She didn’t yell but her tone was cold the words were punctuated with an increased pressure I felt like I was almost choking unable to breathe.

“ Yes Yes, thank you teacher I must be getting back to work now”.

I gathered the jugs and started walking towards the stream again. Sensing an element isn’t hard, most children can do it by age 9 even slow ones by the age of 12. If someone cannot do it at all then there are defective, with some profound weakness or addled mind. Many people treated us with pity or some form of distance or apathy. That teacher though, I still felt her gaze on the back of my neck, she was like a viper ready to strike me down for merely existing in her presence. I finished the rest of the work with increased vigor my muscles sore but I was more resolute than ever. Jealousy and anger coursed through my veins; I wanted strength and I wanted it quickly.

[1] The First few pages of the church are on the divine creation and role of man

[2] Close to where Jeru Lives- Western edge of the Central plains specifically Seagreen Gorge

[3] Time works differently as weeks are 10 days for a total of 40 weeks a year the Tenth day is usually a day of rest so Jeru actually has 1 extra day off.

[4] Common domesticated beast, slow plodding pack mule whose appearance makes it look like it is shaped from jagged gray gravel.