Page 4 of Elemental Hall: Nautica
I understand the map now. It’s the kind of map only someone with a connection to the elements could make use of, a map that demands the ability to feel the flow of the ocean currents, or the winds, or the energy of storms. I take out that precious map and I see the lines there in a new way now, understanding that I will have tofeelmy way to the academy that is waiting for me.
That is exactly what I do. It doesn’t matter right now that my clothes are soaked with seawater, my hair caked in sea salt rime. All that matters is that I can feel the ocean around me, feel itsdepths, feel its flow. I can picture its currents, mapping them in my head, and in that instant, I know exactly where I am.
I haul on the rudder, turning the boat, feeling the wind catch the sail. It pushes me along, the bright sun glimmering from the waves. I sit there, trying to rest, drinking a little of my remaining precious fresh water.
When it grows dark, I try to sleep, although the water is so deep here that I can’t use my anchor to hold myself in place. I simply have to let myself drift, hoping that, when I wake, I’ll be able to find my course again.
When Idowake, the world is covered in thick, silvery mist. It is light, but it might as well be the middle of the night, because I can barely see more than a few paces ahead of my boat. We rarely get this kind of fog back at the village, and when we do, no one heads out onto the water. It is easier and safer to wait it out.
I don’t have that choice, though. I am already in the middle of it. All I can do is keep going, moving forward blindly, hoping that my feel for the currents is enough to guide my path. I can feel that the water is shallower here. There are reefs below the surface, and I have to pick my way between them, moving slowly, following the flow of the water to try to avoid the danger.
It is a strange, eerie world, the sounds around me muffled by the fog, the light seeming to twist and bend through it, thwarting my every attempt to look beyond its depths. This far in, all I can do is push forward, keep moving, trust the waves to carry me where I need to go.
I’m hungry, I’m thirsty. If I drift like this much longer, I will probably start to starve. I could cast a line over the side to catch fish, but water is a bigger problem now. I have to ignore the complaints of my body, to keep going, to hope that the mist will finally give way.
It is an eternity before it does, yet when it does, I gasp.
Nautica is ahead, and it is like nothing I’ve ever seen before.
Chapter THREE
The first time I see Nautica, it’s… spectacular.
It is there on the horizon, dominating my view, impossible to ignore. It’s not an island, but a wholeseriesof islands, some linked together by natural spurs of rock, some by bridges, some standing separate from the rest. Jungle growth towers from much of the interior of the islands, while golden beaches line their shores. Huge, human-made edifices rise above the greenery, walled and designed for defense, turning the whole place into a kind of fortress. Yet even those seem as if they are a part of the sea, formed from blue crystalline rock that shifts and reflects the light differently from moment to moment.
As I get closer, I have to guide my boat carefully to avoid rocks. I see something else shift beneath the waves, the giant, snakelike shape of a sea-wyrm sliding past under the water. I shudder at the sight of it, knowing that such creatures can turn a calm sea into a storm without effort.
Thankfully, the waters around the island stay calm as I pull my boat into a sheltered cove, where a jetty waits. It is not the only thing. Finder Davan is there. Somehow, he has gotten there ahead of me.
“I thought you were off looking for other students,” I demand as I pull up to the jetty.
“I will be. And I told you that everything is a test.”
I clamber up onto land. “What do I do now?”
“Now, you run. The other initiates began their training weeks ago. You’ve missed many classes. You’ve a lot of catching up to do. Go up the steps, take the left-hand branch at the fork, then keep going until you find the dormitory for the new female initiates.”
“You could show me the way,” I point out.
“I could, but I won’t. Now, shouldn’t you be hurrying? I just told you that you’re late.”
“Thank you,” I say. His look suggests that he doesn’t care about me or my thanks. It’s enough to make me scurry away from him, following the directions he gave me. My hunger and thirst don’t matter anymore. I take the steps two at a time, and at the top, I’m greeted by a view that takes in several of the surrounding islands.
This is a maze of a place, with paths winding this way and that across the islands, more blue stone buildings situated seemingly at random. I suspect that, without directions, I would quickly become lost. As it is, I follow the guard’s directions, finally arriving at a large, smooth-sided building that looks like a cresting wave sitting in the middle of a jungle clearing. There are double doors at its base, currently open, and when I head inside, I see stairs leading up to different parts of the building.
A young woman comes running in. Literally running, as if she can’t move anywhere at a slower pace. She has flame-red hair and pale, freckled skin. She’s wearing a two-piece swimming costume, along with sandals. She looks at me with surprise.
“Hello, I don’t know you.”
“I’m Sera,” I say. “Seraphina.”
“Like the creatures?”
I nod. “I’m new here. I just arrived.”
“You’re a new initiate?” She hesitates a moment. “Then I’d better find you a room. But we have to hurry. There’s a challenge starting, and no student can miss challenges. I’m Aria, by the way.”
She talks like she moves, as if incapable of slowing down even for a moment. She leads the way up the stairs, moving quickly along a hallway.
