[34] Practicals: The Elements; Fire

Jeremy and Ashley were gone; off to a new aspect of their training, with new people, new tutors and new possibilities. They were no longer regarded as beginners, as they'd tapped just deep enough to find exactly what they were looking for. There were only seven of us at the start, but with two gone now it seemed like our little group had shrunk so much smaller.

Ashley didn't get a celebration like Jeremy did... practical three had only begun when she'd moved the rose from its position in the garden. Instead, James had taken her away from us, back to her new classes at the Academy. The rest of us moved on to Practical Four. This was a combination of four, I'd realised: Fire, Water, Air and Earth. We walked back to the training room of the academy, where we stood in the shade beside the pool.

First, Berry took out a lighter from his jeans pocket and ignited it. "Look closely at the flame." Berry began, "Even as small as it is, there is so much we can learn from this."