The room around Aeron seemed to vibrate with a deep sound, as if the ground beneath him were alive. He had learned to manage the balance between fire and ice, and thus, he felt, the rudiments of how the Aether moved. Now, however, standing in the Chamber of Balance, he was prepared for something quite different-a test of the earth itself.
He saw Aeryn standing before him with her composed face, unmoved; though in her eyes, he saw what was to be expected. "The next is the Trial of Earth," she told him with a quiet tone but powerful. The ability to control earth is the same as the control over this world's foundation. It's not an element that destroys suddenly, like fire; neither does it exert a silent, ongoing force, as does ice. Earth symbolizes strength, stability. It will test you, in ways you could hardly imagine at this time.
His eyes slitted as Aeron listened to her. He had gone through the grueling task set by Ice and Fire, things that needed quick reflexes and stiff concentration. Earth was different, though. It wasn't something one learned in a hurry or whose reins one could easily tame. Earth was solid, stable, and slow. Perhaps therein lay its greatest strength.
The earth beneath churned, and Aeron took a few steps backward at once, much more awake. A great rumbling murmur grew louder, it seemed something big was coming. It seemed the very walls shook, as if the building itself were in danger. From below, something started to emerge: a huge stone golem, its body made of rough, jagged rock with veins of hot, streaming lava.
The golem towered over Aeron, its eyes, in glowing red, meant for him. Roaring loud, it began to move, slow and heavy, the earth shuddering and cracking with every step it made.
Aeryn said to break the silence. "This is the Guardian of Earth. To get through, you have to beat it-but not too badly.
Aeron blinked, confusion crossing his face. "What? I'm supposed to—what, restrain it?"
"Yes," Aeryn replied. "You have to control it, show it your strength, and tame the very earth it is made of. Destroying it would show nothing more than your inability to master the element. To control earth is to understand its nature-not to force it into submission.
Aeron watched the golem move, thinking fast; it was huge, strong, seemed indestructible. Still, he had long since learned the use of elements. This time, he knew he needed to do something quite different.
Aeron took another deep breath and stepped forward, focusing now on the Aether stirring in his stomach. He let his mind drop toward the ground beneath his feet: solid, sturdy, yet when he tried to wrap his mind around the golem, the stone seemed to push back against him, almost resistant to his touch. Earth wasn't like fire or ice; a turn of the mind couldn't just mold it into shape. It was resilient, wouldn't be taken lightly.
A huge arm swooped at him in a blur of motion, and Aeron barely leaped out of the way in time. The stone fist hit the floor hard enough to shatter the ground. He felt it in his bones, the great weight of that golem's power. And in that instant, he knew this was not some common enemy; it was born of earth, alive and breathing with resilience and strength.
"Focus," Aeryn said from behind him. "You are not fighting it—you are working with it. Understand its rhythm. Its flow."
Aeron gritted hard and made fists of his hands. He tried again, taking it slower. He was not forcing the earth, he was feeling and understanding it. The Aether moved differently with earth: calm, strong, a heartbeat of the world.
He could feel the pulse of the earth beneath him. The golem moved with slowness, yet its gestures bore careful strength. It was not a machine of destruction but a force of nature. Aeron breathed deeply and extended his sensing further into the earth to allow its rhythm to become his own.
Then it came-a movement, slight. The earth wasn't as unrelenting as he had first perceived it to be; it was patient, strong, yielding. He wasn't in control, precisely, but guided it, which came in easy cooperation with the world's natural flow.
The golem swung again, and this time Aeron did nothing to dodge from under it. Setting his feet, he thrust his feet against the ground, sending Aether surging through himself and into the earth. In a single mighty surge, stone beneath him started to shift and flex. The ground fissured but refused to shatter. The golem's enormous arm-its velocity retarded by the shifting ground-was altered by the will of the earth.
The golem halted for a second, swaying its big shape, then went ahead once again, but this time much angrier. Aeron felt a strong force grow inside him. It was now-the time when he would actually have to grasp the earth's strength.
He closed his eyes and let the Aether move through him. The fire and the ice and the earth all acted with him. No longer alone with the elements, each was combined and equaled by the earth beneath him. He became part of the earth.
Aeron's hand wove, his fingers stretching into the stone beneath him, as with delicate fingertips he moulded the lie of the land. The golem moved more slowly now, its footing growing unsure. Aeron harnessed his energy further, and solid roots of the earth canted to his will-which did not force, but stirred with deep and abiding rapport.
In an instant, the golem stopped moving. The stone that made up its arms and legs began to sag, dissolving into dust as the earth, stirred by Aeron, collapsed in on itself, forcing the golem to its knees. He didn't destroy it-he manipulated it, smooth and certain. The golem's glowing eyes began to dim and its body buckled to fragments as Aeron's power initiated the shift in the earth around it.
Aeryn stood next to him, her eyes squinting as she looked at what was happening. "Good job," she said, her voice showing that she noticed the success. "You've passed the Trial of Earth."
Aeron stood tall, dripping with sweat from his face, but the feeling that enveloped his being was strong satisfaction. He did it, not using strength but understanding the element in front of him. Learning to balance and control, not just to win.
Aeryn was softer for a moment longer. "The Trial of Earth tests not only your strength but also your patience. You've learned that. But remember-each element has its own beat. So it goes with mastering the Aether; you have got to listen to its song, then you really control its power.
Aeron nodded-the weight of her words settling inside him. Earth wasn't all about destruction; it was about building to last, building to grow. And little by little, he felt it dawn on him. He turned and met Aeryn. "And then? Aeryn's lips curved into a small smile. "The next is the Trial of Water. Prepare thyself, Aeron; this will be something different, beyond anything thou hast gone through.