Wind tore at my clothes as I fell through empty space, the scream dying in my throat before it could escape. Around me, other students tumbled through the air like autumn leaves caught in a hurricane. Some flailed wildly, others somehow managed to right themselves, and a select few, the ones who probably learned to fly before they could walk, seemed almost bored by the experience.
Through the chaos, I spotted Finn nearby, eyes wide with terror, mouth forming what I could only assume were creative obscenities lost to the howling wind.
Above us all, Professor Zephyr descended slowly, his robes barely rustling despite the raging air currents. His expression remained unchanged, as if watching dozens of students plummet to their potential deaths was just another Tuesday.
"The second trial," his voice somehow reached us clearly despite the wind, "The Tempest Crucible."
Lightning spiderwebbed across the sky, illuminating the bizarre landscape far below. Islands of molten stone drifted through open air, rivers of shimmering ice twisted like serpents between them, streaking of lightning painted the horizon in jagged scars. The terrain was a patchwork of elements refusing to coexist peacefully.
"Survive both sections. Reach the end." His golden eyes narrowed slightly. "That is all."
The ground rushed up to meet us. I braced for impact, desperately trying to remember if I knew any slowing spells, cushioning spells, or preferably teleportation-directly-back-home spells.
A blast of hot air suddenly pushed against my fall, slowing me just enough that when I crashed into a narrow stretch of obsidian rock, I merely felt like I'd been hit by a cart instead of dropped from a mountain.
I rolled to a stop, groaning as new pain blossomed atop the old. Every muscle screamed in protest as I forced myself to my knees, then to my feet. Survival instinct trumped agony.
"That wasn't so bad," Finn's voice came from nearby. He lay sprawled on his back, staring at the chaotic sky. "I mean, at least we're not dead."
"Don't jinx it," I muttered, scanning our surroundings.
We'd landed on an obsidian platform maybe thirty feet across, floating in the middle of absolute madness. To our left, a waterfall flowed upward, defying gravity before dispersing into mist at some invisible ceiling. To our right, chunks of earth orbited a miniature sun, casting long, shifting shadows.
A section of solid rock directly in my path suddenly liquefied, transforming into a bubbling pool that wasn't quite magma but wasn't quite water either. The bizarre elemental soup rushed upward to meet me, and I braced for what I was certain would be an excruciating death.
Instead, the substance engulfed me like a semi-solid cushion, absorbing the impact of my fall before hardening back into stone around my legs, trapping me up to my knees.
"What the…" I gasped, staring down at my imprisoned limbs.
"Stuck already?" he asked, crouching down.
"The ground decided it liked me," I grunted, still pulling futilely at my trapped legs. "A lot."
Finn snorted, then placed his hands on the stone around my knees. A subtle vibration hummed through his fingertips, and the rock began to crumble.
"Wind magic," he explained, catching my questioning look. "Good for more than just not dying when falling from great heights. Creates microfractures in brittle substances."
"Neat trick," I admitted as the stone finally released me. I stumbled free, flexing my legs to ensure nothing was broken. "Thanks."
"Don't thank me yet," Finn replied, his expression sobering as he scanned our surroundings. "We've got bigger problems."
The obsidian beneath our feet trembled, then began to tilt.
"Move!" I shouted, already scrambling toward the edge.
Finn was right behind me as we reached the platform's rim just as it tilted nearly vertical. Below, or what passed for below in this place, was a churning pool of what looked like liquid lightning.
"Jump!" I pointed to another platform drifting about ten feet away, this one made of what appeared to be petrified wood.
We leapt across the gap, landing hard but safely. Before we could catch our breath, a sizzling noise drew my attention skyward. A sheet of acid rain was falling directly toward us.
"Not good, not good, not good," Finn chanted, looking wildly around for escape.
The platform we stood on was moving, but too slowly to carry us out of the rain's path. No visible shelter, no obvious spell I could cast quickly enough to protect us both.
Then I spotted it. A tunnel of swirling air about twenty feet away, crossing our path.
"There!" I grabbed Finn's sleeve, dragging him to the platform's edge. "When I say jump, jump into that air current!"
"Are you insane? That'll tear us apart!"
"Better than being dissolved!" I yelled back, watching the tunnel's approach. "Ready... JUMP!"
We launched ourselves forward just as the acid rain began to fall behind us. The air current caught us like a plaything, yanking us into its spiraling grasp. We tumbled through the tunnel, the roaring wind drowning out everything else.
After several dizzying seconds, the current spat us out onto a floating island of densely packed moss and twisted trees. Finn landed first, somehow managing to roll with the impact. I of course wasn't so lucky, crashing through several branches before hitting the ground with a thud and a groan.
"You alive?" Finn called out, forcing himself upright.
"Define alive," came my pained response.
Before I could meet up with him, the moss beneath my feet rippled like water. I jumped back just as vine-like tendrils erupted from the ground, whipping through the air where I'd been standing.
"MOVE!" I shouted.
More vines burst forth, thrashing wildly in all directions. One caught my ankle, yanking me off my feet. I hit the ground hard, the breath knocked from my lungs. The vine began dragging me across the moss, toward what looked like a gaping maw forming in the center of the island.
Panic surged through me. With a desperate fire spell, the red tongues of doom burned the vine, and lunged at it's source. I took it as my chance to scramble away as more tendrils sought to enact vengeance.
"This way!" Finn called from somewhere to my right. I caught glimpses of him darting between trees, staying just ahead of the writhing ground.
I followed as best I could, dodging, weaving, incinerating when necessary. We reached the far edge of the island, only to find another dizzying drop awaiting us.
"Now what?" Finn gasped, eyes wild as he looked back at the advancing vegetation.
Before I could answer, a massive stone platform materialized beside our island, close enough to jump to. Without hesitation, we leapt across.
The moment our feet touched stone, the platform began to move, carrying us away from the carnivorous island and deeper into the chaotic elemental landscape.
"I think I'm going to be sick," Finn muttered, doubling over.
"Save it for later," I replied, scanning our surroundings. "We need to figure out where we're going."
"Is 'away from here' not specific enough?" he shot back.
I ignored him, trying to make sense of the madness around us. Other students were visible in the distance, some working together, others going alone. Many were struggling, a few seemed to be thriving. I spotted one student actually surfing on a ribbon of ice, using wind magic to propel herself forward.
The stone platform we stood on merged with a larger landmass, this one made of smooth crystal that hummed with energy. As we stepped onto it, the vibrations traveled up through my feet, making my teeth chatter.
"There's got to be a pattern," I murmured, more to myself than Finn. "Order in chaos."
Against every warning in my head, I forced myself to stop moving and to just… look at the environment.
The elements weren't just randomly distributed, they were flowing. Fire gave way to earth which transitioned to water then air, completing a cycle before beginning again. And the transitions... they followed laws, strange ones perhaps, but laws nonetheless.
"Finn," I said, excitement creeping into my voice, "I think I've got it. The elements are cycling in a predictable sequence. If we time our movements right, we ca…." A deafening crack split the air as the crystal beneath us fractured. We jumped apart just as a fissure opened between us, widening rapidly.
"Asher!" Finn shouted from the other side of the growing chasm.
"Keep moving forward!" I yelled back. "Follow the elements in sequence; fire, earth, water, air! I'll find you!" The gap between us became too wide to cross. The last I saw of Finn was him giving me a reluctant nod before turning to run along his half of the crystal platform.
Alone now, I forced myself to focus. Understanding the pattern was one thing; surviving it was another. I followed the crystal path until it met a river of liquid fire. Rather than stopping, I looked for where the fire would naturally transition to earth. There, a small stone archway forming at the river's edge. I sprinted toward it, timing my approach so that I reached the archway just as it fully materialized. The heat from the fire river scorched my skin, but I forced myself through, emerging onto a floating island of rich, dark soil.
My lungs burned with each ragged breath as sweat poured down my face, stinging my eyes. The archway crumbled behind me, dissolving into nothingness, there would be no going back. The floating island trembled beneath my feet, chunks of earth breaking away at the edges and plummeting into the void below. I had seconds, not minutes, to find the next transition.
From earth to water. I searched frantically, my eyes darting in all directions until I spotted a waterfall forming at the island's edge, its flow suspended in midair before connecting to a cloud-like platform of mist and ice. The island lurched violently, nearly sending me over the edge. I scrambled across the disintegrating ground, my fingers digging into loose soil for purchase.
The waterfall was still forming, not yet complete. If I jumped too soon, I'd fall through nothingness to my death. Too late, and there'd be no island left to jump from. I counted under my breath, watching the water solidify, feeling the earth dissolve beneath me. Three... two... one... Now!
I leapt, arms outstretched, feeling the sickening drop before my body hit the frigid water. The impact knocked the wind from my lungs as the current instantly seized me, tumbling me head over heels. I fought against the crushing pressure, disoriented in the swirling torrent, lungs screaming for air. Which way was up? My vision darkened at the edges as I clawed desperately through the water, finally breaking the surface with a desperate gasp.
The water path was already evaporating into mist and air. I hauled myself onto the cloud-like platform, shivering violently as the freezing mist penetrated my soaked clothes. My limbs felt leaden, muscles cramping from cold and exertion. Standing was agony; running seemed impossible. Yet I had to move, the cloud platform was already thinning, becoming transparent in places.
Understanding the pattern didn't make it any less deadly. If anything, knowledge only heightened the terror of navigating this ever-shifting elemental nightmare.