Elements (Tear of God Book 1)

At age sixteen, Mink Jolle still hasn’t discovered his Elemental affinity, which is an identity crisis on the planet Georra. Enduring constant bullying and held back in school, his parents devise drastic measures to help him find his affinity.

During Mink’s testing, he and his parents unearth an incredible find—an immense geode buried deep in the ground fabled to be the Tear of God—and the first nation to claim it will hold power and protection unrivaled on Georra.

Now the race is on to acquire the Tear of God. Mink must journey against all odds and rely upon his own strengths to save his people and his world, and discover his true identity.

ELEMENTS: A TEAR OF GOD NOVEL

Copyright © 2016 Raymond Henri

All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior written permission of the publisher.

This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Published by

Resonance Books

Library of Congress Control Number:

2016933575

ISBN-13: 978-1-943151-01-1

ISBN-10: 1-943151-01-6

Angel, Flynn, Dave, Sherry, Rhianna, Aaron,

Erin, TiCie, Brandon, Jim, Amber

Mom and Dad for encouraging my self-expression.

My wife Alexandra for her tireless support and

always insisting on one more rewrite.

Rody Salkeld, my mother-in-law,

for her help in making my imaginations become a reality.

N
OTHING IN
Mink’s appearance stood out from any other sixteen-year old Elementalist. The more he tried to blend in, the less he suffered bullying. As things were, the daily violence he endured, especially from that rothead Lightning user Blin, was all he could bear. His dark eyes matched his wavy, shoulder-length hair, and though his skin was not the manliest shade of brown, average did call less attention, and he was glad enough for it. Even on warm days like this, he wore an oversized pocket jacket and long pants to disguise and soften his sinewy frame. They further concealed the physical damage of bullying well enough until a Body user, either Pulti or his mom, could heal him.

When his parents suggested this camping trip on Rift Ridge, Mink suspected it would turn into yet another well-intended attempt to finally determine his Elemental affinity. The location was so far into the wilderness of Georra that there was no risk of being spotted by anyone of the four nations, despite the lack of trees. That didn’t make it any less embarrassing for Mink. At sixteen and failing to accomplish something typically mastered by a five-year-old, embarrassment fit like skin.

The view from Rift Ridge was amazing. Mink had never been this far out in the wilderness before, nor at so high an elevation. A steady breeze rose up to cut through the heat of the day. To the east below him, he could barely make out the jagged green horizon line of the Great Barrier Range. Thousands of years ago, the vast expanse before him was one of the largest oceans on Georra. Now its depths were awash in a sea of green grass waving with wind. Several miles away, a distinct line indicated where the grasses stopped trying to climb up the ridge.

Due to the lack of vegetation or shade, Mink thought it odd that his parents would pick this spot on the plateau to camp. A grove of hudlew trees grew a few miles to the north. For as long as it took Mink to go pluck some of their bright red fruit and bring it back to their campsite yesterday, he wished they were set up closer. His parents worried that being too near the trees would increase the risk that Reeks might find them. But the country of Harvest was far enough north into the permafrost, Mink thought they were being overly protective. This whole vacation had been so impromptu, and yet so specific, he knew something else must be going on.

Even more so, the tactics his parents resorted to these past couple of years were becoming increasingly more extreme, as any sane means of finding his Element had failed a multitude of times. Long gone were the days Mink could get away with simply practicing the chants of the different Elements in their various vocal styles. He wanted to know his affinity just as much as them, if not more, but his parents were starting to scare him. Now they had deliberately taken him to this remote area, far away from anyone’s sight.

Mink backed away from the overlook and headed back to their campsite a hundred yards farther west. Juré and Nyam were still busying themselves with a pre-lunch straightening up. Seats were positioned around the Fire, boxes and bags pulled out of the tent, and ceramic pots arranged. His mom’s cart was parked alongside the camp to cast whatever shade it could. For all Mink knew, lifetimes might have passed since anyone had last set foot in this part of the world, let alone camped here. He wasn’t even sure it was legal. That only strengthened his gut feeling that they were about to employ some controversial means to reveal his latent Elemental affinity.

Mink’s suspicions were confirmed as soon as he saw Juré, his dad, grab a yellow crystalline Star of Order from his bag near the tent. Two overlapping squares formed an eight-pointed star that demonstrated the relationships of the Elements represented by each point: Lightning, Air, Spirit, Water, Wood, Soil, Body, and Fire. Eight hateful little Elements that had been the bane of Mink’s life as far back as he could remember.

Juré wheeled his slender arm in circles, trying to garner his son’s attention. Mink ignored his dad’s beckonings, walking slowly the rest of the way to the camp Fire. He let his hair fall over his face as his mind raced for any possible way to avoid the inevitable. He longed for normal family vacations that didn’t make him feel like a cause, or a freak.