Prologue

Prologue:

Fireballs lit the cloudy night sky with a bright orange tint. The sound of explosions drowned out the screaming of men burning and drowning. A lone man stood at the helm of the lead Holiand ship, barking orders at his men. The fireballs continued to fly from across the water, appearing out of the night, Garthian gold and green waving in the wind. They had been planning this ambush for months now, for onboard the ship they were bombarding was a precious relic that would turn the tides of the war.

Back on the Holiand ship the captain shouted for his mages to gather around. “We need to get the relic off this ship!” he shouted over the explosions. The eldest of the mages shouts back, “We won’t make it to the shore! Our wards are failing!” An explosion slammed into the side of the ship, throwing the men to the deck. The captain stumbled to his feet and called out for the youngest mage, who was atop the mast watching the wards. He jumped and wielded the Air around him to levitate himself down to the captain. “Yes sir?” he asked as soon as he landed. “I need you to prepare to Skip.” “But sir, that will leave me without any Myna for days, if not weeks,” the mage protested. The Captain grabbed him by the shoulders, “I know, boy. Prepare to Skip with the relic as far inland as you possibly can.” The mage stared at the captain for a second before straightening and grimly responding, “Yes sir.”

The captain turned back to survey the ship. Parts of the hull on the starboard side were in flames, some completely missing. Mages were scrambling around the deck trying to douse the flames, but there were only two who had the Water affinity and just three with the Air affinity, one being the boy who just escaped the front lines of the battle to get to the relic. The rest were Earth and Fire, and while the Fire mages could somewhat redirect the flames, they could not put them out, and the Earth affinity was useless without any actual earth around.

Suddenly the captain was thrown off his feet yet again by a fireball that struck the side of the ship nearest to him. When he pushed himself up he saw the hole the fireball left in the side of the polished ash wood hull, where water was rushing in. The captain glanced up at the enemy ship and gasped. There was a blue light that was steadily growing brighter and brighter. “A Banebeam!” he breathed. The captain jumped down to the main level of the deck and sprinted to where the boy was hurriedly packing a small rucksack that already has a cloth-wrapped bulge at the bottom. “There’s no time! We need to Skip now!” The captain shouted at the boy. The boy nodded and said to the captain, “It’s been an honor working for you. May you find space in the clouds.” The boy then disappeared in a short flash of light, leaving the captain blinking back tears.

The captain raced back onto the deck and shouted, “Prepare for one last strike! We aren’t going down without a fight!” The mages prepare themselves as the blue light continued to brighten. “If they want us so badly, why not go to them?” The captain exclaimed to his mages, who cheer in response. “Those b******s are going to get what they deserve.” The captain muttered as the ship slowly turned and halted facing the ship. “Full speed ahead!” The captain screamed as the ship started gaining speed. The boys words rang through his head. May you find space in the clouds. “I’m not going to find space, they damn well better give it to me after this.” He mused to himself right before the world became bright lights and loud noises and then silence.