Something was different in the air of the Chamber of Balance. Gone was the crushing weight of the earth, the hard, crushing stone. Now it was light, fluid-a room of motion, as it were, ever-changing. Aeron could almost taste the damp on his tongue, warning of mighty portent edging its way closer and closer.
Aeryn stood at the edge of the room and regarded him with an expressionless face. "This is the Trial of Water," she said calmly. "Water is the most adaptive element: it flows, it moves, and it changes. However, it can also be deadly: a flood can drown an entire city, whereas one drop alone can manage to cut through stone. You need to learn not just to control it, but to bend it to your will, just as a river shapes the earth.
Aeron nodded, truer to wakefulness now. He had faced fire, ice, and earth in their basic forms, and each had called for a different way of handling. Fire was instinctive to him, ice called for patience, and earth tested his endurance. But water. water was different.
The ground bucked beneath him as though it would split. Aeron lifted an eyebrow as the earth in front of him began to writhe and contort. Slowly, a pool of water large enough rose from the stone, swirling into a huge whirlpool. The water twisted and arced, rising higher and higher yet until it became the likeness of some sort of sea serpent, its body comprised of the churning waves, its eyes glowing brilliant blue.
In an instant, the serpent's maw opened in a low rumbling-a sound that rattled Aeron's bones. He could almost feel the power of the water, the depth, the pressure that came with it. Before him, the huge body of the serpent floated, its watery form seeming to writhe with a life of its own.
Aeryn came closer, limping, her gaze fixed on Aeron. "The Water Guardian-you'll have to face it, but unlike what happened with the Earth Guardian, you are not to defeat it. You have to learn to let water go with the flow. That's how you can succeed here."
Aeron fisted his hands and set his attention to the surrounding water. More than the other trials, this felt like a test of his attachment to the world. Water had no shape-at least, no permanent shape. It could be vapor, ice, or liquid, shifting and changing in ways no other element could.
Then the great tail of the serpent swished outward, and the water surged forward in a wave towards Aeron. He jumped back without thinking, the force of the water almost knocking him over as it pressed hard with its weight upon him. For one brief second, it was hard to stand straight because water was soaked into his clothes; the heavy garments weighed him down.
"Control it," Aeryn said. "You can't fight it, Aeron. You gotta go with it."
Aeron took a deep breath, his eyes slowly closing as he let the water around him seep into his awareness. But not as an adversary-something to be listened to. Fire, ice, earth-all three required a different method of working with it. Now he needed to find a way to move in concert with the water. He reached out in gentleness and not in violence, in great strength. Present with him was the feel of water and the gentle tug of its current, moving naturally without cessation. It was not like unto earth, wherein the land could be changed by strong wills. It was not like unto fire, wherein power might be seized and mastered.
Water flowed smooth: it moved nice, yet it could become too much-the flood that destroyed everything in its path.
The snake hissed again and heaved its body in a labored turn. Water started seeping toward Aeron on either side. He pressed his palms upwards; not to ward off but to allow this to happen. He let the water move around him rather than fight his way through. The trick wasn't to fight the water but to become part of its flow, feel the way it moved and surge of energy.
The snake reared its head and squirted a deluge at him. Aeron slitted his eyes again and allowed the water to wash over him. He extended his arms, his fingers spread, feeling water move, guide and pull it with his mind. For an instant, the water fought, tugging in another direction, and Aeron didn't push. He let it flow, guiding it with only a soft and cautious touch.
And in an instant, he knew that he didn't try to get a grip on it but join it. His own Aether reached out, hooked with the worm's essence, following the course of the water. He was just like water-able to change, adjust, and be free. So, the energy inside his body equaled the current of the water, but the serpent's body stopped bursting suddenly.
The waves began to still, the serpent curling and twisting as Aeron moved the water with his mind, not with force, but with it. Then the once-wild serpent smoothened out, the watery body of the serpent gliding softly with the way Aeron controlled the Aether.
Aeryn said nothing but watched, impassive. This trial had taken longer than any of the others thus far, but now it was unmistakable: Aeron had found the secret with water. It was not something to control; it was something to connect with.
Smaller and smaller, weakening, until it was a small stream of water. And with that, it trickled round Aeron's feet like a river that suddenly remembered it was supposed to flow to the sea.
"You have passed the Trial of Water," Aeryn said quietly, stepping closer. "Water is the hardest to overcome because it refuses to be conquered by strength. It obeys understanding and harmony. And so you have come to realize. Yet each element has its own nature, and you must continue to adapt.
Aeron took a deep breath as the water continued to churn inside of him. He had done it. He tamed the serpent, and not through fighting him-but by letting himself understand him. Water has shown him that strength does not come from forcing one's will, but from the ability to adapt and to flow.
"I'm ready for the next trial," Aeron said, his voice calm but full of determination. Aeryn nodded, a small, rare look of approval upon her face. "The Trial of Air is coming for you. And believe me, it'll test you more than the others have." Aeron stared at the open doors of the room, knowing the tests were not over. Each element had taught him something peculiar, but more were coming. It was his way-the Aether-and though the way was hard, he knew he had to go on. There were bigger forces in this world, and control of the elements would give him the opportunity to master his real work.