“Why did Alyss write that you shouldn’t be near anything flammable? Are you going to burst into flames?” Rald asked as they looked around the commons for a good spot for Olivia to absorb the elemental fragment.

“I don’t know, but you’re not helping my nerves!” Olivia frowned and pointed across the grass to the wrought iron fence that bordered the flower garden adjoining the commons. “Let’s go in there; I’d like to be a bit out of sight,” she said, gesturing to the various groups of students using the commons for recreation.

“Yeah, there’s a little fountain square in there. It should be perfect.” Veena took the lead, and they all followed her.

“Seriously, though, maybe you shouldn’t wear any clothes you care about.” Rald didn’t want to let it go, and Olivia had to concede he had a point.

“I left my old clothes in my satchel back in the dorm.” She shrugged.

“Well, I guess you could take off your clothes altogether...” He choked off his words as Adaida shoved his shoulder with a growl.

“Rald, maybe you should wait outside the garden and quit trying to stress Olivia out!”

“I’m not! I’m just being practical!”

Olivia tuned them out and took deep breaths, picking up her pace to walk past Veena and into the garden. She turned right, then followed the little brickwork path between large flowering shrubs. She’d explored the garden before and found it a lovely and relaxing place. She knew exactly where the little fountain was that Veena had mentioned. After a few more turns, she came upon the little babbling marble fountain shaped like four large fish jumping out of a wave. The water burbled out of the fish’s mouths in a pleasant burble. Three marble benches surrounded the fountain, and thick shrubs bordered the brickwork square. It was about as private a place as they’d find on the academy grounds.

“Alright, I’m going to sit on the bricks on the far side of the fountain, please keep watch over me, but maybe Rald should watch the path in case my clothes burn off.” She laughed as his eyes bugged out, and he started to protest. Then, she walked to the brick area beyond the fountain and sat down with her legs crossed. Veena, Shani, and Adaida sat on the bench on the near side of the fountain, their backs to the burbling fish, facing Olivia.

Hanwol and Rald just kind of paced around, looking awkward. Olivia tried to keep a smile on her face as she took the box with the elemental shard out of her ring. She opened it on the ground before her, then took up the lotus position, trying to clear her mind. Rald and Hanwol were whispering, but Adaida or Shani shushed them; Olivia couldn’t quite tell which. She turned her mind inward and focused on her Core, watching the rings of elemental Energy rotating around the pulsing white center. When her mind felt calm and was aware of every inch of her pathways, she reached forward, felt for the box, and lifted out the little angular gem.

It was warm in her fingers, and she placed it carefully into her left hand, resting the palm of her right hand on top of it. Olivia reached out with her inner “sight” to the gem and became aware of a roiling sea of burning Energy within it. It was like looking through a porthole on a ship and seeing the tossing waves of the ocean outside. Could she possibly contain this force? Was she meant to contain it?

Before self-doubt could creep into her consciousness, she reached into the gem and gave the Energy a gentle tug. At first, a thin tendril of the warm Energy poured into her through the pathway on her right hand, slowly coursing toward her Core. Then it began to pick up pace and volume, from a trickle to a stream to a river and finally to a raging torrent. At first, it was exhilarating, but the warm sensation quickly grew to a hot frenzy, almost like something was digging at her, pushing into her, and she began to feel a swell of panic rise in her mind.

Accept me! Do not struggle!

The voice was sibilant and multi-layered, like the voice of a storm or a fire. Olivia heard it in her mind, and then true panic raged through her. Was this fragment of a soul still alive? Would it take over her body? Her mind?

No! Open yourself to me; we will join!

Would Alyss have given her something that would destroy her mind? Olivia forced herself to calm and breathe, turning her will to the stream of burning Energy coursing through her pathways and holding it in place. In her head, she thought, “Join with me but become a part of me. I am me and will always be so.”

Yes! Open yourself!

Olivia relaxed and stopped resisting, letting the fiery Energy surge through her pathways. It flowed in and around her Core and back out again in a cycle that picked up speed. The burning, painful sensation she’d begun to feel as the Energy filled her started to subside, and she realized her pathways had grown to accommodate the torrent. They resisted the heat and allowed the Energy to flow more quickly. Soon the Energy began to siphon off—some going into her Core but most bleeding out through her body and into the air. She didn’t hear the voice again, but she felt the connection to the elemental within her and knew that something about her had fundamentally changed.

***Congratulations! You’ve gained a new Feat: Elemental Heritage.***

***Elemental Heritage: Your very being has merged with the essence of a powerful, primal elemental. This heritage will be reflected in your racial evolutions and in your ability to harness and utilize elementally-attuned Energies. Elemental Energy that you wield through spells has increased efficacy.***

Slowly, Olivia opened her eyes and noted the warm yellow-orange glow that suffused the very air in the garden. She focused on her classmates and saw that Veena, Adaida, and Shani were staring at her slack-jawed. Rald and Hanwol were pointedly looking the other way. Olivia looked down and saw a blackened circle stretching away from her body for about a foot in all directions, and then she noted her bare legs and, as she looked up, her naked body. She folded her arms over her breasts, and Adaida jumped into action, producing a cloak and pulling it around her.

“I hate to say I told you so,” Rald said, but the others were talking at the same time.

“Olivia, your eyes are burning like there’s a fire in them,” Adaida muttered, pulling the cloak tight.

“That was so amazing!” Hanwol exclaimed. Veena and Shani said something too, but Olivia couldn’t make it out in the chaos. She slowly stood up, pulling Adaida’s cloak tight around her thin body. She noticed the orange-yellow glow in the air was starting to fade, and she reached up a hand to her eye, wondering what they looked like.

“The flames are fading,” Shani said. “Your eyes are starting to look normal again.” Olivia smiled and nodded to her, then looked at her status sheet. She saw her new feat listed and noticed that she’d gained yet another rank to her Core.

“Well, that was something else! You were sure right, Rald. How am I going to explain one of my uniforms turning to ash?” She wondered at herself; she didn’t feel embarrassed at all. She still felt a sense of warmth and energy within her chest, and amusement was the only thing she felt about her clothes burning off. “God, I’m glad I wasn’t wearing my satchel! I’d be devastated if that had burned up! What if I’d been wearing one of my nice outfits!” Adaida giggled, and her cohort crowded around her, blocking the view of strangers that might catch sight of a bit too much leg as Olivia walked back to the dormitory.

“Well, what’s the story? Do you know how the absorption has affected you?” Veena asked as they all walked in a cluster across the commons.

“Yes! I have a greater connection to my elemental affinities, and I even have a feat called ‘elemental heritage.’ It should affect me as I continue to evolve my race. I hope it’s nothing freakish. Were my eyes really on fire before?” Her vision had entirely returned to normal while they walked.

“Yes!” Shani replied. “You had smoldering flames inside those eye sockets, sweetie, and it was both scary and magnificent!” Olivia almost blushed at the compliment, but instead, she just grinned and winked at Shani. “Something’s definitely different about you, Olivia.”

“I like it, Liv,” Adaida added, squeezing Olivia’s arm through her silky blue cloak. “Roots, but you are a lot taller. You grew more than the rest of us, I think. Well, maybe not as much as Rald.” Rald turned to grin but quickly looked away as Olivia took another step, and her long, pale leg slipped free of the cloak. Adaida and Olivia giggled, glancing at each other.

When they returned to the dormitory, Olivia went into the bathroom to soak in the tub. Rald announced that he was going to eat his fruit, and Veena and Shani said they would drink their second elixirs. Olivia didn’t hear what the others were doing because she was in the bathroom, slipping into the big brass bathtub and letting the warm water pour down over her feet as it filled up.

She was absolutely exhausted, but in a good way—like how you feel after a long workout and a successful day. She leaned back against the curved slope of the tub and closed her eyes, turning her attention to her Core. Everything seemed in order; maybe her fire ring was a little brighter than before, and maybe her Core was a little more vibrant. Her pathways were more robust, that was for sure. She was excited to give her demonstration to the assembled students tomorrow. Olivia stopped cold and thought about that: she was excited—not anxious, not trepidatious, excited.

A soft knock sounded on the door, and Olivia heard it creak open. She turned to it and saw Adaida poking her head through. “Mind if I come in for a bit? I’m bored.” Olivia smiled and scooted down in the tub a bit more.

“Sure, but sit over there,” she nodded to the little chair next to the sink counter, a good six feet from the tub. Adaida nodded and walked over there. On the way, she stooped to scoop up her cloak that Olivia had let fall onto the little woven rug. “Hey, thanks for letting me borrow that!” Flustered, Olivia said, “I don’t even remember dropping it on the floor; I’m sorry! I should have hung it up.”

“Nothing to worry about. I think your mind was pretty frazzled from that experience, wasn’t it?” Adaida sat on the chair and leaned back, looking at Olivia’s face.

“For sure! First the elixir and that crazy trip, then the elemental absorption; my head’s still spinning!”

“You look good, though. Like, vibrant.”

“You’re not too shabby, yourself. How many racial ranks did you get, again? I think Veena only got two, but I don’t remember what you said.”

“I also got two. Shani, of course, got three.”

“Ugh! That’s not fair! She already had one, right?”

“Yeah, but life isn’t fair. I learned that a long time ago. My parents have always favored Shani. I’m fine, though—I’ve had plenty of people love me, don’t worry.”

“Still, I’m sorry about that. I was an only child, so I don’t know the feeling of having to compete with a sibling.”

“Yeah. She’s always been just a little better at things than I have. Not just academically but socially. She always had the right thing to say to adults—parents, teachers, and neighbors. If there were an attribute for charm, she’d have a much higher one than me.”

“I don’t think that’s true. You’ve been great to me, and Shani was cold to me for a long time.”

“Well, that’s because she didn’t think she needed to impress you.” She paused and gathered her thoughts, then continued, “She’s not really fake if that’s what it sounds like I’m saying. She’s just good at impressing people she thinks she needs to impress.” Adaida shrugged and sighed. “Anyway, I didn’t come in here to talk about my sister!”

“Sorry! Well, why did you come in here?” Olivia felt her heart rate pick up a little.

“I was just bored, and I like your company.” Adaida’s lips curved up unevenly, the right corner of her mouth lifting a bit in a crooked smile.

“Well, it shouldn’t matter what we talk about, then, right?” Olivia grinned back at her.

“Tell me about your home. What’s the Human settlement like?” Olivia hadn’t expected that question, but she did her best to describe First Landing to Adaida. They talked for a long time about each other’s homes, friends, and families. Olivia told Adaida a little about her life back on Earth. When she described her latest apartment in San Jose, Adaida had a lot of questions for her, mostly about the internet and VR. After a while, Olivia decided it was time to get out of the tub.

“Hey, I’m getting wrinkly here. You mind turning around while I get out?”

“Nothing I haven’t seen before, you know,” Adaida said as she sighed and stood.

“That may be, but...” Olivia gestured for Adaida to turn.

“I’ll wait for you by the couches. Let’s go get some food when you’re ready.”

“Alright, thanks for the company, Adaida.”

“Sure. Thank you, too.” Adaida gave her a funny little wave and then walked out. Olivia stood and dried off, getting dressed in one of her other uniforms. She’d felt Adaida was crushing on her in the past, but this little conversation seemed to confirm things. Olivia liked her, for sure, but she wasn’t sure she wanted her like that. She wasn’t really sure who she wanted, “like that,” which she knew was strange for someone her age.

The truth was, Olivia had never been in a really serious relationship. She’d always been too busy. Well, that was always her excuse. She knew she felt affection for certain people, and it wasn’t always women. She’d been with men before, but she just believed in letting her feelings speak for themselves, and so far, she hadn’t ever really felt that strongly about anyone. At least not as strongly as her mom, and books she’d read made it sound like she’d feel. She knew she felt something for Bronwyn, but it was hard to read her, and Olivia had never gotten a solid feeling that Bronwyn thought of her as anything more than a close friend. Adaida was certainly pretty, though, she thought. And sweet; she was definitely sweet.

Olivia hummed a little to herself while she brushed her hair and looked at herself in the mirror. For a moment, she was confused about what she saw, and then she remembered the racial enhancements. She’d changed in ways she hadn’t expected: her lips were fuller and more red, her cheekbones seemed more prominent, her entire face seemed slightly longer, a bit less oval. She had a hard time putting the differences into words, but there was definitely more to her now.

Her friends and family had always described her as pretty, and she’d never had anything to complain about in that department, but now, if she were honest with herself, she looked beautiful. As she stared at her reflection, she saw a slight flicker in her eyes, and when she moved closer to really stare into the mirror, she saw a brief image of a flame dancing before her iris. When she blinked, it was gone. “Yeah, something’s definitely different about me,” Olivia laughed, running her fingers through her smooth, shimmery black hair. She walked to the door and opened it, calling, “Adaida! Let’s go; I’m starving!”