The sun had long since dipped below the edge of the floating island, casting I'anu into a cool twilight, yet the Elders Temple blazed with lantern light. Its stone walls were etched with ancient symbols that shimmered faintly when touched by flame. A slowed drumbeat echoed from within, steady and low, like the heartbeat of the island itself.
Twelve elders sat at the crescent-shaped table carved from stone by generations of hands. Their expressions were tense, lit by the flickering fire at the room's center. The flickering glow danced across their faces, making their concerns even more apparent.
At the back of the room, Nyla's parents stood, arms folded, eyes fixed forward. Her mother looked pale, but composed. Her father's jaw was clenched tight.
An elder slowly rose from his seat. Elder Renno, the oldest of them all, had skin as thin as bark and eyes fogged by old age. He placed both hands on the table, leaning in.
"The land convulsed," he said. "The trees withered, the sky cracked, and it all began as a girl stood holding a piece of her past."
The others murmured. Some nodded grimly. Others glanced at Nyla's mother.
"She had nothing to do with this," her mother said quickly, voice even but sharp. She's just a child. She helps her friends bake cakes. She doesn't control the earth."
"Perhaps not yet, said Elder Ireh, a stern woman with blue beads in her braids. "Something responded to her. You all saw it. When the quake tore open the festival ground, it stopped at her feet."
A silence fell over the room.
"She held her grandmother's necklace," he said softly. "It was glowing."
The air shifted.
The elders exchanged glances. A few leaned forward, visibly disturbed. Elder Renno closed his eyes.
"That necklace once belonged to a crest-weaver, he whispered. "That bloodline was said to channel the ancient forces: Fire, Water, Earth, and Light. But that power has been gone for generations."
"Or sleeping," said Elder Ireh, voice like a blade unsheathed. "And now it wakes."
"She's only fourteen," her mother said again, more quietly this time. "She didn't ask for any of this."
"No one asks to be chosen," said Elder Renno. "But the world does not call without reason."
A breeze stirred the lantern flames, despite no windows being open.
Far above, carved into the highest point of the dome, the four symbols of the elements glowed faintly: a drop, a flame, a stone, and a beam of light. They shimmered like they hadn't in years.
Some of the elders noticed. Some stood slowly.
The old ways were returning.