The magic shot out again, striking the bowl of water with a ringing sound. The water swirled, and rose, a pillar to match the flame.
The magic hit the bowl of earth with a deep ringing sound. It shook her bones.
A roaring sound filled Amyu’s ears. She couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, her arms outstretched in her plea.
Air now, and the bowl rocked as the smoke swirled like a twisting wind storm, surrounding the sword. The light crackled with energy.
“Elements, all, hear my plea,” Amyu cried out. “Restore that which has been shattered.”
The magic shot out, a glorious stream of golden light, and struck her full in the chest. The power flowed into her. Amyu breathed deep, trying to hold it in, trying to bear the pressure in and under her skin. She feared she wouldn’t be able to hold it, but then her eyes dropped to the shattered sword at her feet, and she knew…
She brought her hands together, and threw the magic at the sword.
A burst of heat and gold and light filled the cave, overwhelming and blinding.
Hanstau jerked inhis saddle, catching himself before he fell. His horse snorted tossed its head.
Reness was instantly on alert, scanning the herd around them for a threat. “What?” She asked.
“I don’t know,” Hanstau said, staring off in the direction of the sound. “Didn’t you hear it?”
“No,” Reness said. “The herd is not reacting,” she pointed out.
“It was—” Hanstau shook his head. “Remember how I said that using the power seemed noisy? I think someone just—” he stared off in the direction the sound had come from. “Someone just used power. A lot of power.”
“That way?” Reness asked.
Hanstau nodded. “What lies there?” he asked.
Reness snorted in amusement. “City-dweller,” she teased. “That way is north.”
“Xy?” Hanstau asked. They’d been wandering within the safety of the herd for so long, he’d lost all sense of direction. He flushed a bit. All sense of direction, of time, of propriety,
“Xy,” Reness confirmed. “I’ve enjoyed our wandering, Hanstau. But now I think we must move with a purpose.”
Hanstau nodded. “To Xy.”
“To Xy,” she confirmed, and put her horse’s head in that direction. “But don’t think this means there is anything less between us.” She threw him a glance over her shoulder. “I claim you, my city-dweller.”
Hanstau tried to stammer something intelligible out, but no real words came. He settled for blushing.
Reness laughed, and urged her horse to a gallop, leading his by the reins.
Simus was justsettling down to his nooning when Snowfall gasped, dropped her kavage and turned north. He was on his feet in an instant, and the warriors around them took defensive stances.
No sounds, no outcry arose around them. Snowfall was focused on a distant point, off to the north.
Simus took a step closer to his bonded, and waited.
“A flare of power,” Snowfall said. “Far to the north. Would that be Xy?”
“Xy.” Simus sheathed his sword, and the other warriors relaxed around them.
“Lightning Strike?” Simus asked as he bent to get her mug.
Snowfall shook her head. “Too far north for it to be them,” she said absently, squinting off into the distance as if she could see if she just looked hard enough. “But who else could use power like that?”
“You told me that all Plains warriors are tested at the Rite of Ascension,” Simus filled her mug and pressed it into Snowfall’s hands.
