The Elementalist Tales: Lovers' Leap
Hey everyone. So sorry for the delay. I started this one and then kept re-writing part of it. I felt like I couldn't quite get it right. Hopefully it's right now.
Writer's block and my ongoing obsession to get Level 7 Mastery on Xayah also contributed to the delay ... (For those of you who are interested, I am currently Level 6 - as of posting this - on her, and am hunting for Level 7 tokens.)
Anyway, on to the tale!
“You okay?”
“I’m fine,” Xayah replied as she stretched out in the grass, trying to get comfortable. She looked over and saw Rakan with a worried expression clearly written on his face.
He pushed himself up into a sitting position and gave her an incredulous look.
“You’re pushing yourself too hard,” he told her.
“It has to be done.”
Rakan sighed, shaking his head.
“It shouldn’t have to be like this. You shouldn’t have to fight with your element just so you can be around people. And we both know that my element only makes it worse.”
Xayah rolled onto her side, ignoring him for a second. Unfortunately, he was right.
Xayah was a rare case – her affinity was to darkness, the most dangerous element, and it was terrifyingly powerful. However, she managed to keep it suppressed somehow, which enabled her to live normally. At least, as normally as she could until the day her element would inevitably slip out in front of witnesses, and she’d be forced to flee whatever village she’d started to call home in search of one she hadn’t been to yet. She feared for the day when she would have no other option but to survive on her own.
But this time, when she’d sought out sanctuary in the village she currently lived, a young man had caught her attention. He’d immediately taken to her, and had helped her learn to fit in with the other village inhabitants. She’d even started to have feelings for him, but that all changed when she learned his element.
Rakan was a powerful light wielder – her complete and utter opposite. As a result, she’d started to shy away from him, denying her feelings. But when the day came that he finally asked her what her element was – since it was obvious that she had some sort of power to anyone who could sense it – he hadn’t reacted the way she had expected him to. He didn’t turn his back on her.
Instead, he admitted that he loved her, and not even her affinity could change that. And then he’d even offered to help her find a better way to control the darkness that coiled within her. Together, the two of them discovered that the easiest way for her to contain her element was to use up bits and pieces every few days, so that the pressure never built up so much that she would lose control.
And they’d also fallen for each other.
Now, whenever they could, the pair would sneak off to the location they’d started to call “their spot” – a lovely, small clearing at the edge of the magnificent cliffs that bordered the village’s territory. Xayah loved to watch younger air wielders race each other through the open space, and longed for the ability to do that.
Xayah had always hoped that her affinity would change as she grew, but she’d had no luck with that. Instead, she learned to be content with watching others enjoy their own affinities, and would always smile when they looked over and saw her watching.
“Darling?” Rakan asked.
“Yes?” Xayah replied, still keeping her back to him.
“Pay attention to me.”
Xayah sighed theatrically, but rolled back over to look at him.
Rakan gave her an encouraging smile and asked, “Do you think it would help if you … you know, blew off some stream?”
That was his code for ‘do you need to use up some of your power so that you’ll feel better,’ and he was right – she did need that now.
Xayah smiled and pushed herself up.
“That would be great, thanks, babe.”
She moved close to the cliff edge, and then paused for a moment before adding, “I’ll try to be more careful. Last time was totally my fault.”
“What was?”
“Good answer.”
Last time, Xayah had tried to hurl an orb of darkness over the cliffs, but the orb decided mid-flight that it wanted to hit someone, not just disappear into the brilliantly-lit abyss below. So it turned around and flew straight for Rakan, who, thankfully, had been paying attention. He’d managed to destroy the orb with some of his own element, and also refused Xayah’s constant attempts to apologize for the rest of the time the two spent together. He’d merely given her a quick kiss and told her that as long as she felt better, he was perfectly fine.
This time, it might be better if I start smaller, instead of trying to get rid of all of it at once, Xayah thought, even as she started to summon her magic to the surface.
Whenever a powerful elementalist used their powers, anyone nearby could sense it. Xayah was no exception – the sensation that a person feels when magic is being used thrummed in the air as the first tendrils of her element appeared.
Xayah couldn’t help but watch in wonder as a small flower of darkness blossomed in her hand, and then slowly wilted, the petals falling to the ground. She then gathered up all of the darkness she’d manifested and carefully directed it over the cliff, on her guard the entire time. She really didn’t want a repeat of last time.
Once the first batch of her element had been carefully disposed of, Xayah summoned another portion. This time, she felt confident enough to condense it into an orb and hurl it over the cliffs. She held her breath, expecting something to go wrong, but fortunately nothing happened.
By now, Xayah already felt better. The pressure from the buildup of her element had faded enough that she wouldn’t need to use any more of it for easily a few days, maybe even a week. She stepped back from the cliff and told Rakan, “Alright, I’m done. No need to channel light in your own defense.”
Rakan smiled, but at the same time, he visibly relaxed. Xayah assumed he had summoned enough light to defend himself if they’d had a repeat of last time, but didn’t check. Rakan might not always be the smartest, but he was still careful.
After a moment, Rakan asked, “I’m going to go get some food. Are you hungry?”
“That would be nice,” Xayah replied. “Do you mind bringing it back here? This would be a beautiful place for a picnic of sorts.”
“Sounds good,” Rakan told her, smiling.
As he turned to leave, Xayah called to him, “Be careful!”
“Why do I need to be careful?” he yelled back, and strolled out of the clearing.
After Rakan wasn’t back within a reasonable amount of time, Xayah started pacing. Time seemed to stretch so that every moment was at least five times longer. The whole time, Xayah worried that something had happened to him.
Finally, just before she decided to head back to the village herself to find him, she heard footsteps. Someone was running towards her, but she couldn’t see who through the trees.
Xayah prepared to summon her element to defend herself, which she only did in complete emergencies. But, luckily, she didn’t have to.
Rakan dashed into the clearing, and then paused for a moment to catch his breath. Then, he said, “Xayah? I think we got a problem …”
“Think, or know?”
Rakan paused again, and then corrected, “I … know we got a problem?”
And then Xayah heard more footsteps.
Someone – no, a few someones – were on the way.
Xayah backed up so that she was close to the cliff – not close enough to fall if she got knocked backwards, but close enough that she could bait an attacker into flying off if the attacker dove for her. She also summoned a small amount of her element. The darkness within her seemed to sense the situation, and split into tiny, knife-like shapes.
Rakan turned to face the approaching group, shifting so that he would be in between Xayah and the arrivals. He instinctively summoned a faint shield of light around himself, and then prepared to summon one around Xayah, since he had no idea how her affinity would react if it touched the barrier, or even sensed it.
Finally, after a few more moments, three village guards broke through the forest line and skidded to a stop. They seemed surprised at first that Xayah was there, but quickly schooled their features as the guard in the middle, the first guard to enter the clearing, said, “Well, this certainly made our job easier.”
“What job?” Rakan asked, confused.
“We were sent to retrieve her -” the guard pointed at Xayah, “- and bring her to the elders. We have a witness claiming she attacked someone – with darkness.”
Rakan glanced over his shoulder at Xayah and asked, “Is that true?”
Xayah sighed and then said, “First off, it was in self-defense. The village council leader’s son got grabby, despite the fact that I’ve repeatedly told him I’m not interested, and I was worried that he’d take things farther. So I had to get him off of me somehow.”
Rakan went deathly still. Xayah noted that he looked furious as he whispered to her, “Is this true?”
She nodded.
Rakan went white with rage as he spun around to face the guards.
“So, you’re telling me that someone brought a complaint against a young woman acting in self-defense against a fool who won’t listen when she says no, and you focus on the fact that she may have used darkness to defend herself?” he snapped at them. He was practically growling in anger.
The guard on the right, the second guard to enter the clearing, chuckled. “So this is why the famous Rakan doesn’t flirt with all the village girls anymore. He’s smitten with her.”
Xayah and Rakan both ignored him as Xayah continued to the first guard, “And second, what makes your ‘witness’ so sure that I was using darkness, considering how many possible elements I could have an affinity for?”
“Well,” the guard replied, “an affinity for darkness would certainly explain why you’ve been on the road all these years. And I should mention you’re using it right now.”
“Damn it,” Xayah muttered. He was right.
There was a brief moment of silence before Rakan asked, “And you can’t even consider her testimony since darkness may be involved?”
The guard on the left – the last guard to enter the clearing, and who had shot Xayah a sympathetic glance when he’d arrived – replied, “Sorry, son, but darkness has a higher priority than an alleged assault.”
Rakan went deathly still at that, and Xayah knew he was about to do something reckless and completely stupid. And he did.
Rakan was well known for being the fastest in the village by far, especially when he wanted to be. And this was no exception.
Before the guards had even registered his movement, Rakan had reached them. He then lashed out with a powerful (and showy) kick, sending them flying. Before they even hit the ground, he had dashed back to Xayah’s side.
One of the guards started to stand, but froze at the sight of a well-placed dagger of darkness.
“Don’t even think about it,” Xayah called over to the guards.
They got up anyway.
Xayah muttered under her breath, and then looked over at Rakan, who looked eager to go again. She gave him a nod, and he dashed over to the guards, knocking them off their feet again. Then he danced around them, throwing punches, kicks, and the occasional bolt of light, not trying to hurt them but instead forcing them to pay attention to him if they wanted to avoid his attacks.
He’s distracting them so I have a chance to flee, Xayah thought. But he can’t keep this up forever. And when they catch him, he’ll be in so much trouble.
It’s my time to leave, but I can’t let him take the fall for me.
He’s coming with me.
And with that final thought, Xayah unleashed her power.
All four combatants froze in their tracks and glanced over as Xayah leaped into the air, tendrils of darkness encircling her.
“Xayah, NO!” Rakan yelled, but it was too late. All he could do was dive out of the way as the distracted guards gazed up at their original quarry, almost spellbound.
For Xayah, time seemed to slow as she went airborne. Her element came eagerly, having been trapped within her for years, and before long she was surrounded by her own affinity.
Rakan watched as Xayah’s eyes glowed a deep purple, the color of darkness. As her element gathered, what almost looked like wings of darkness formed behind Xayah. Rakan wanted to say something, but to warn her or the guards, he wasn’t sure which.
Xayah stretched her arm out towards the guards, and felt her magic surge in response.
And as they all watched, Xayah threw her arm to the side, and those wings of darkness Rakan had seen shattered into a million razor-sharp feathers.
The feathers shot forward towards the guards - who didn’t even have enough time to shield their faces before the darkness reached them.
They were dead before they hit the ground.
Xayah dropped back to the ground, and her eyes returned to normal.
Then she realized what she had done.
Xayah dropped to her knees as Rakan dashed over to her, and the first thing she said to him was, “I killed them.”
“That wasn’t you, Xayah,” Rakan said firmly. “That was the buildup of darkness you unleashed. It controlled you, and it is what killed the men, not you.”
Xayah shook her head, but before she could refute his logic, the sound of thundering footsteps reached her ears. Rakan heard the noise, too, and whispered, “They’re all coming.”
The guards must have arraigned for backup, Xayah thought, as she backed up until she was at the edge of the cliff.
Rakan moved with her, and then grabbed her hand and held it tightly, refusing to let her jump.
“There’s one way we might be able to get down the cliffs,” he said. “But I can’t it alone. I can’t do this without you.”
“What’s the plan?”
“Uh … we have a plan?”
“RAKAN!” Xayah snapped. “Now’s not the time! How are we getting down there?”
The footsteps were getting louder, so Rakan quickly whispered, “We need to weave our elements together, to slow the fall, or at the very least keep our skulls in one piece when we hit the ground.”
“That’s better than what I got, so let’s do it,” Xayah said.
The two prepared to jump, and Rakan wove a shield around both of them, protecting them from any projectiles the village guards might throw at them.
And just as the first line of guards reached the clearing, they leaped.
Air whistled past Xayah’s ears as the pair plunged towards the earth below. Rakan had already begun weaving the light below them into a barrier between them and the ground.
“Xayah! I need your help here!” he yelled, since that was the only way she’d hear him.
Slowly, Xayah summoned her affinity to the surface, and began weaving her magic into the barrier Rakan was forming. The darkness hated being in contact with the light, and she had to force it to stay in place.
She wasn’t going to be able to hold on for much longer.
They weren’t going to be able to keep the barrier up until they hit the ground.
Rakan managed to shift his weight so that he was underneath Xayah – between her and the rapidly approaching ground.
“I love you,” he whispered, as he forced the last piece of light he could summon into the barrier.
Xayah opened her mouth, about to reply.
And then they hit the ground, and the barrier shattered.
Xayah landed on top of Rakan, and instantly felt sore all over. But she was alive.
She rolled off of him, stood up, and brushed off her clothes.
Xayah looked around, and saw a river, carving through the valley they’d landed in. We should follow it for a few days, she thought, since it will provide water, and wildlife will be nearby, so we’ll have food too.
She glanced up, finding that she couldn’t even see the ledge they’d plunged from, and then looked over at Rakan, who was being unusually silent.
And found that he wasn’t moving. At all.
“Rakan!” Xayah screamed, lunging for him. She desperately felt for a pulse, and checked his head and neck for any sign of trauma. If he’d landed on a rock …
Or he could have spent all of his energy building the barrier, and that would have done it too…
“Please,” Xayah whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Please don’t be dead.”
She was struggling to find a pulse, and the tears were making it harder and harder for her to see. Finally, she gave up and started to turn away with a sob.
And that was when Rakan jolted upwards, shouting, “Boo!”
“RAKAN!” Xayah snapped at him, half relieved and half furious. “How DARE you pull that trick on me! I thought you were DEAD!”
“And I did a good job pretending, didn’t I?” Rakan said with a smile.
Frustrated, Xayah punched him.
“Ow, that spot’s sore,” Rakan said. He then amended after reaching to rub it, “Actually, everything is sore.”
“Same here, moron,” Xayah said, relief finally washing over her. She looked him in the eyes and said, “I thought you were dead, and it terrified me, for two reasons. First, because I thought I’d be alone again, and second …”
Xayah paused, and Rakan asked gently, “What were you going to say?”
Xayah took a deep breath, and then said, “Second, then you would have never heard me say ‘I love you.’”
A smile broke across Rakan’s face, and he leaned forwards to kiss her. He pulled back almost immediately, because all of the muscles in his body started barking in pain.
“I’ve been wondering why you never said it,” he told her.
“Because then I’d never get to hear you ask,” she replied.
Then Xayah’s mind snapped back to the task at hand, and she stood up, scanning their surroundings again. After a moment, her mind registered a faint trail that followed the river downstream.
“You see that path?” she asked?
“Yes,” he replied. “You want to follow it?”
“Seems like our best bet.”
Rakan pushed to his feet and checked himself over for wounds, ignoring his aching muscles. Xayah was probably in a similar shape, and she wasn’t saying anything, so he was fine with keeping quiet.
Finding nothing but some cuts and scrapes, he quickly brushed the dirt off of his clothes, and then turned to Xayah with a nod.
“What’s after this?” Rakan finally asked, as the two started picking their way down the trail at the river’s edge.
“Another road, another horizon,” Xayah replied.
“Hmm,” Rakan said, and then paused. He took a moment to glance around, and let the weight of what had happened settle. Then he made up his mind, and, with a sense of finality, added one more word.
“Good.”
Thanks for reading, guys! Once again, please post any ideas you may have on the main page - if I don't get any soon, I'm going to resume working on the final two tales, and then these stories are finished.
Here's the link back to the main page if you're interested.
Have a great morning/day/afternoon/evening/night (or whatever time it is for you), and see you on Summoner's Rift! (Or Twisted Treeline, or Howling Abyss, or Crystal Scar ... oh, wait, never mind that one.)
