The commander entered the room, his authority palpable. Today he was more serious. The last meeting was like a polite introduction, and storytelling session. He took a seat across from Remy and waved his hand to dismiss Astrid.
She bounced over and gave him a peck on the cheek and took off into the other room. The Commander gave a disapproving look to the young girls back as she disappeared through the doorway. She didn’t take the position as serious as her older sister.
Remy curiously wondered where that door led, the kitchen was the other door she assumed. Ok, focus. Breathe. Relax. Remy turned her attention, from the doorway, inside to her tumultuous emotions. She was excited to learn more, but nervous that he was going to ask her to choose before she was ready.
The commander leaned forward and steeples his fingers under his chin. “Remy, I am going to explain to you what the Guard is and what they do exactly. I will give you a few days to consider and continue to heal, then I will call you back to give me an answer. Does that seem fair?”
“Yes, I think so.”
"You recall that the ancients chose worthy humans to bestow powers on?"
Remy was too anxious to speak, she nodded her head and gave an assenting uh huh sound.
"I know you still have many questions regarding the ancients, those will be addressed during your training, if you so choose to stay."
The Commander reached over to the side and pulled something out from a compartment under his chair, he leaned forward handing Remy large amulet. it was intricate bronze with a gold design around the outside. Inside the circle, in the pattern of the four directions on a compass, there were four symbols. Between each symbol was a character in some language she was not familiar with. She studied the amulet, and notices that each symbol was actually a gemstone embedded into the metal.
"These four symbols you see stand for the four elements with which the ancients have blessed us. do you recall the four element entities"
"Yes, Air, earth, fire, and water,"
"Good, you are listening. These entities passed the powers of their element to the ancients, who in turn gave the gifts of that element to their chosen people"
The race born from these gifts became known as the Elementus."
Remy studied the amulet in her lap, Elementus, isn't that Ilona introduced me as?
The Commander stood and slowly stretched out his back. "My apologies, I am not as young as I used to be. where were we?"
Remy pulled herself out of her thoughts, "The Elementus."
"Ah yes, the Elementus knew themselves to be special. They had gained speed and strength, among other talents, over other humans. They did not know how special until times of heightened emotions. Many of the Elementus developed affinities for one of the elements."
"Affinity? like, they could move them?"
"More than move, they had a deep connection to the element. They could manipulate the element and they were unaffected negatively by the element."
The commander looked Remy in the eye and took a deep breath. He held her gaze, imploring her to listen carefully to his next words.
"You are Elementus, Remy."
She sat still, she somehow expected this, with all the weird stuff happening, but that doesn't lessen the shock.
She sat still for several moments, considering what this means for her.
Deep in thought, she ran her hand over the surface of the amulet, admiring its craftsmanship and beauty. As her hand ran over the water symbol, she felt a tingle in her fingertip. she stared closer and a realization hit her like a tidal wave of recognition. The water symbol looked familiar and she knew just where she had seen it before, on the back of the pendant holding the turquoise stone. She reached up to her neck, and for the first time in days, realized she wasn't wearing her mothers necklace. All of a sudden she was desperate to get out of the room and ask Ilona about her necklace.
"Did you hear what i said?" the Commander asked sternly.
"Um, no sorry. I was a little distracted by this stone."
"The turquoise is the stone of the water affinity."
"I have seen it before, what were you saying?"
"I was saying that you, as an Elementus have several options in our society. You can choose to be a civilian and train in one of the support departments, or you can choose to train for The Guard. Ilona can give you all the details and you have time to choose."
"I have a couple days? and what happens if i choose to leave"
"Yes, i will summon you. You are free to resume your life in the unenlightened world, if that is what you choose, but we may still keep an eye on you for your safety."
Remy was anxious to finish the meeting, but also interested in what else he was to tell her.
"There are several ways to determine your affinity as an Elementus, once we know which affinity you hold then we can help guide you to choose the right path. Some affinities are better in certain areas."
At this point Remy is starting to be visibly anxious to end the meeting. The Commander dismissed her with his order for her to await his summons.