Origins (Book 4 of Alfireán age)

Command Center

Aster splashed to the surface of the water in defeat. "I'll never be whole again," he cried.

Ferrous swooped down, pulled him into her airy form, and lifted him out of the water. "Don't say that," she scolded. "We will find the rest of you. We will!"

"Easy for you to say," he grumbled, his watery body losing form and sinking into a sphere. "You've almost doubled in size since this morning; I haven't even found a single drop of myself today."

The wind swept across the vast, open ocean, causing Ferrous to bob up and down. "That's because we're searching in all the wrong places," she said, then turned to Derrick who sat in a burning brazier attached to the sailboat they had commandeered. "You read sea charts all the time. Where do you think the currents might have taken him?"

Derrick pulled the flames licking at the wooden boat closer to himself and glanced at the sky. "It's difficult to say," the former guardian of fire admitted. "I've always focused more on wind currents than water. But, my best guess would be north, towards the Federation of Alric."

"Well, that's just perfect," Aster grumbled. He had experienced several run-ins with the Alricians, seeing as they were always trying to claim more ocean than what was theirs. They also guarded their borders jealously.

"They're not my biggest fans either," Ferrous added, the sunlight shining through her airy form and casting prismatic rays on the boat.

"I know," Derrick replied. "Worse yet, they were hit by the hurricane initially headed for Merinia last night. So parts of Aster may be scattered onto their land as well," he said, waving his tiny, fiery arm towards the distance. "On the other hand, I believe the wind carried my smoke and your particles," he nodded towards Ferrous, "further south."

"So, we can either search for Aster or ourselves?" Ferrous asked, her windy features shifting with the breeze.

Derrick nodded.

"Then we must look for Aster," she decided. "The hurricane could scatter him to the four winds, and that would make it even harder for us to find him."

"Agreed," Derrick stated. "However, we must be cautious; the Alricians don't take kindly to trespassers, especially to ones like us."

"We will be," Ferrous replied. Gently placing Aster back on the boat, she began to propel it northward with a focused gust of wind.

Aster reshaped himself into his small, water-formed human figure and looked at his companions. "Thank you," he whispered, offering a heartfelt bow. Gradually, hope swelled within his heart. With the aid of such selfless friends, he would become whole again.

He just knew it.

***

Werrkanngggg!

The elevator door clattered as it plummeted down the shaft and crashed onto the elevator far below.

Rex sheathed his blade and grimaced as the noise reverberated throughout the facility. "Whoops," he mumbled.

Drake placed his hand over his eyes and sighed deeply. His friends might as well have been a herd of stampeding elephants loudly trumpeting their presence wherever they went.

"Yeah, that wasn't good," Alf muttered, peering into the deep hole.

"It's fine," Drake huffed, stepping closer to the edge. "No doubt anything down there is well aware of our arrival by now."

Fifteen feet down, the heavy metal door had crushed the top of the elevator and snapped the wire that held it. The door now rested at a forty-five-degree angle on the floor of the elevator. It wasn't ideal, but it didn't matter in the grand scheme of things. He glanced at Zaphaniea.