Elementals

Chapter 7-The Blazing Trials: Part 1-The Warden of Fire

'What kind of trial is this? And why the neck am I in a forest? And where are all the other elementals? What's out here? Is there even anything out here? Am I gonna die?' My mind spun with questions when Cirus spoke again, seemingly from all directions.

"Okay Elementals, this is how the trials will work. This is the first of three trials that you elementals will go through. The aim of today is to try to complete at least one of them. It's okay if you don't, you won't lose your spot here at Arceus if you fail all three, not like you will. Anyway, you must have noticed that you have all been transported into a forest. For the first trial, you will each be tasked will getting out of there."

"That's all? This will be easy then." I say to myself, feeling confident. But that changes the moment Cirus speaks again.

"However, were not going to make it that easy for you elementals. You see, there's not only trees and bushes and rocks in these forests. I've added a few little monsters to make getting out of there a little more... tough."

Suddenly, a small patch of grass caught a flame, which then turned into a small tornado rising six feet above the ground. I took a step back, startled. Then, from the tornado stood a tall mechanical man with big arms. It's head hung low, and its eyes were black, unlit. I stared at the mechanical man in wonder.

"These mechanical men are the Wardens of Fire. While you try to make it out of the forest, these robotic creatures will hunt you down, shooting fireballs at you every chance they get. Not only will you have to get out of this forest, but you will have to do it while avoiding getting hit by one of their fireballs, which in itself is a hard task."

"Oh lord..." I muttered to myself. The thing's eyes suddenly lit up, glowing a bright red. A core in the middle of its copper chest and the little crevices between the metal emitted the same red glow. I took another step back.

"You will each have in minute to get as far away from the Wardens as possible before they hunt you down, and the closer to the edge of the forest you are, the faster and more percise the wardens will be. I'll meet you all at the edge of the forest. Good luck elementals."

Cirus's voice faded, and my heart rate quickened. How was I supposed to get out of this forest while escaping this thing? It didn't seem possible, but as Cirus's voice echoed through the trees again, my mood only got lower.

"Oh, and one more thing I forgot to mention. Your elemental powers won't work while you're in that forest. There are binding glyphs everywhere. It's to make this challenge a bit harder for you, and to prevent you from cheating."

'Bindng what?' I asked myself. Steam suddenly started to spring out of the robot's head. I took another startled step back, then it slowly turned its head to me. Faster than I've ever thought possible, I turned around and ran.

•••

I stopped by a large rock to catch my breath. Running for about ten minutes straight made my lungs burn hotter than the fire in my veins. I looked back in the direction I presumed I came from. Trees, shrubs, rocks and boulders. No mechanical monster hunting me down. I took a breath of relief and slumped down against the boulder.

"Man, I don't think I've ever run away from anything that fast in my life." I said, out of breath. I looked up at the trees, letting in a deep breath of fresh air before exhaling a sigh. A bird came down to land on the rock, chirping away without a care in the world.

"Psssssst." A voice spoke. I leapt up and turned my head frantically, trying to figure out where the voice came from. At first I suspected that it was Curis, probably giving me a hint, but this voice was a bit more high pitched, so it couldn't have been Cirus.