Elemental

A red sparrow flew low overhead, and Barud stood like a stone captivated by the swooping little bird as it dived over the fields.

“Pay attention!” urged Calandra next to him, her white dress blowing in the gentle breeze. “Come on, it's easy. Try again.”

Barud turned back to the tall plant in front of him. Its broad green fruits swelled with juices and his mouth watered. He repeated the chant he learnt and the plant waved softly back at him.

“You're out of tune, cousin,” laughed Calandra. “Let me show you again.”

She sang softly in a low voice, her words barely audible. The plant stalks creaked as they stretched upwards, visibly growing in response.

“I'll never master it,” said Barud. He had been trying his hardest all afternoon.

“I think we've done enough for today. Let's pick some of these to take home for supper.”

Without thinking, Barud grabbed one of the fruits with an eager hand and plucked it. The plant gasped as if in pain.

“Not like that!” Calandra said. “You'll hurt her.” She chanted to the broken stalk, and it transformed into a new bud. Then she sang a different, happier tune and one of the fruits detached itself from the plant and landed in her hands.

“Your sister was no good at plant-charming either,” she smiled. “Talking to the beasts and the birds was her talent.”

Barud grimaced at the mention of Salara. It had been five years since she had disappeared. He often had nightmares about his last sight of her, being carried off by a great shadowhawk.

“I'm sorry,” said Calandra, her arms full of fruits. “I shouldn't have mentioned her.”

They walked back towards the village. The pale sun slipped out of sight behind the distant peaks, leaving only the crimson sun in the sky. The world rapidly darkened. Barud saw a bright flicker in the distance.

“Look! There's a fire,” he called.

The two ran as fast as they could. As they approached the village they could hear shouts and the bleating of goats.

One of the barns was overwhelmed by crackling flames.

Barud found his uncle Amrud kneeling by the front of the wooden building, chanting softly in the heat. His words had little effect, and it looked as if the barn would be lost. Its timbers blackened and split and fell.

Another villager joined Amrud in the fire-song. Barud wanted to help. He ran to the well and drew a full pail of water. He flung it at the burning barn, but the blaze grew even higher.

“Don't do that,” one of the elders scolded. “Your uncle will deal with this.”

“Sorry,” said Barud. He lifted the hood of his roughspun brown tunic. He wanted to hide.

A villager standing nearby addressed Barud. “Someone saw a Tunneller running away before the fire started. Did you see anything?”

“No,” he replied. Barud had never seen one of the underground creatures, but he had heard enough about them to think he would recognise one. “I was out in the fields.”

“Keep an eye out. They may have opened a new tunnel near here.”

Barud plodded home with Calandra to their small stone hut. It was dark inside, and neither of them knew any fire-songs. Together they managed to peel and slice the fruits in the dim light. Not long afterwards, Amrud returned home covered in sweat.

“We calmed the flames at last but the barn is ruined,” he wheezed. “Elder Gaffrud knew the right spell to sing. That was no ordinary fire.”

He sounded exhausted. “Now, time to light one.” He spoke a few low words to the hearth and it burst into life. The room bathed in a gentle golden glow, and shadows began to dance on the walls.

They sat and ate while Calandra told Amrud about their day.

“Don't worry, Barud,” said his uncle. “It took me years to learn the fire spells. In any case, tomorrow you'll get a break from it. We have to find this Tunneller.”

“Who are the Tunnellers?” asked Barud.

“You don't know?” said Amrud.

“I have heard about them, but I've never seen one.”

“Neither have I,” said Amrud, to Barud's surprise. “There isn't much to say about them. They live underground, and they look like us but with grey skin and big pale eyes. They usually keep to themselves. I can't think why one of them would want to burn down our barn.”

“Are you sure it was a Tunneller?” asked Calandra.

“As sure as can be,” said Amrud. “Who else would do it?”

Barud went to bed soon after, and fell into an uneasy dream where he was trapped underground with strange creatures. While he was trapped, a familiar voice called to him from a distance, but he couldn't make it out.

_______________________________________________

The following morning, the entire village gathered to find the tunnel. Old Gadara thought she had seen the Tunneller running off to the East, but when the others questioned her she admitted she might have seen a goat. Nevertheless the people decided to fan out around the village to look for the tunnel.

Before noon, a young goat-herd found a hole a few hundred steps away. It didn't look like a tunnel, just a pit in the ground. Barud helped them fill it in with his uncle's rusty old spade.

He wondered what was the point of covering the tunnel. If the Tunnellers were so good at building tunnels, then piling soil on top of their hole wouldn't stop them. They could tunnel through the blockage, or around it. He kept his thoughts to himself, as the other villagers seemed content after their efforts.

Some of them gathered in the inn to celebrate. Barud didn't feel like joining them. Instead he spent the afternoon visiting the nearby stone lith.

The lith was a triangular monument of raised stone blocks over a cairn. On each side of the structure stood a tall flat-topped rock three times his height. Each pillar was topped by a long wide block, like three great letter Ts facing each other.

He knelt by the lith and practised his plant-song. The elders said that you could communicate to the great powers through the monument. He asked them to help him improve his song. He didn't know if it would work but it was worth a try. If he couldn't become a plant-singer, then his future would be uncertain.

Another villager arrived and spoke to the monument in his own low voice. Barud greeted him, but he didn't want anyone else to hear his feeble attempts at singing so he left for home.

That evening, Amrud was in a merry mood. He boasted that the Tunnellers would not dare come near their village for many a year. Barud thought perhaps Amrud had taken too much mead. He often bellowed and blustered after visiting the inn.

Suddenly, a puff of smoke emerged in the corner of the hut. It did not come from the fireplace. It appeared in mid-air, and it was growing.

Out of the smoke cloud a woman leapt. She materialised as if out of nothing. Her long red hair shone, and she wore a dress of green feathers. As soon as he saw her, Barud knew her.

“Salara!” he exclaimed. “How...”

“Barud,” she smiled. Her voice sounded more mature than he remembered, but unmistakable. “Hello Uncle, Calandra.” She nodded to them each in turn. “I can't stay long. They won't let me. I must deliver a message to the village.”

“What message?” asked Amrud.

“In two days, a great storm will come. Not a storm of rain, but great rocks will fall from the sky. Lightning will strike people dead and start fires. And the winds will blow you away if you are anywhere near here.

“It will not be a natural storm. There is nothing you can do to stop it. You must flee. All of you.”

“Flee?” Amrud spluttered. “From whom? What mischief is this?”

Salara replied. “I can't... It's hard to explain. You need to leave here. Can you promise me that you'll go as far away from here as you can? Take as many villagers with you as you can.”

“You can't expect us to...” said Amrud.

“I have to go now,” said Salara. She turning to Barud. “Promise?”

“Yes,” said Barud. “Will you come?”

“I can't.”

“Where have you been? We thought you were dead.”

“I was in the mountains,” she said. “I'll try to come again soon and tell you more.”

She had barely finished her sentence when she disappeared as quickly as she had arrived. A cloud of smoke covered where she had been.

“Witchcraft!” muttered Amrud.

“It was Salara!” said Barud. “We have to go.”

“I don't know what that was, but it wasn't your sister. Haven't you heard of witches? I'll have to tell the elders.”

“I know that was her. Couldn't you tell?”

Calandra spoke up. “It was her, Father. We should heed her message.”

“I never heard of such a storm. And where would we go? What if we walk straight into the path of this storm? If you ask me, it's no coincidence that this has happened only one day after that fire.”

“I believe her,” said Barud. “We should warn the others.”

“It's getting late,” said Amrud. “We can talk about it tomorrow. It's too late to wake the village now. Maybe after a night's rest we'll be able to think more clearly.”

They all agreed. Barud couldn't help think that Amrud hoped they would forget about it by the morning. Barud wouldn't forget. He would leave the village as his sister asked, even if he had to go alone.