Chapter 1: Dean Powers
The grand elements were created in the beginning. Where there was an Omnipresent, he led the originals to master the elemental arts.
These men became the symbol of each element on the elemental wheel. There was one for fire, water, earth, wind, and lightning. However, Dean Tower's scratched his head trying to figure out why an empty space was glowing on the wheel.
Dean couldn't figure it out. Was the the thing broken? He shook it, spun it, and flared up his aura following the instructions to the tee on the right side. The result didn't changed on the fifth time, nor the time after that. Unfortunately, he was starting to get an idea of what that space was. It was the other, not listed, blank element. The elemental board even went as far as to catch on fire on the seventh time he tested it. He prayed none of the lurking elders would notice, and started huffing and puffing. Finally, he slowly slid away, ground the board under his foot, and immediately high tailed through the bathroom's line.
Alas, the blank element was a bad sign. It was the element of the Demon King from five hundred years ago. He was the strongest elementalist who ever lived! They weren't even sure if he was still alive. And although he was an overpowered, unstoppable man, no one quite knew what his powers were. However, once he acted nothing around him remained unscathed. So, they named it the 'blank' element, a.k.a., we have no idea what it does.
Dean stared in the mirror, after taking a brief piss, and ran out by some of his luckier classmates. He was hoping no one would notice the elemental board that dirtied sacred hall. But, unfortunately, a elder was staring down at it. He ran through entrance bushes as they tore his pristine robe like angry mobs. There was even a chubby guard in the bushes, relieving himself, at the top of the thousand stairs of Mount Saven. Unfortunately, he was away from his post.
The Great Shrine was a place that all the students went to test their powers for the coming of age ceremony. But if you made it up the thousand stairs it most certainly meant you had an element. There were kids passed out on the stairs trying to find their way up one more step. However, most of Dean's classmates had made it.
"Hey, did you guy's see Dean?" A young girl from his class pulled by the bathroom crowd.
"He's off crying in the bathroom."
"Hmph, what did you do this time, Bevin? You can't stand someone being better than you?"
"You mean that Dean?" Bevin pointed.
Dean traversed the thousand stairs like a bowling ball, hopping over the failures, on the wrong course. There was a special maze just ahead of him hidden behind a wall of 'stay away' tape. However, he was in such a tumble he rolled over and into the death labyrinth. The guard just scratched his head muttering curses. He couldn't even use the bathroom for one minute without someone trying to die!
Basically, the labyrinth was known great neck alligators, and wild ten armed dragons. However, Dean's mind was spinning with other thoughts. It wasn't just because he was still rolling down a dangerous path.
And, unfortunately, he couldn't see the warning sign beneath the cloud of dust. "Death, right ahead!"
....
Up above in la la land there was a tired wizard. He looked like he needed a nap. He was floating on a cloud kicking up some water droplets into the air. The man dived down, floated, and spun before spotting him. Wait, a young boy was heading directly into the sympathy bear's nest. He was even running through the stay away tape. The tired wizard instantly worried for the coins in his pocket. He might actually have to use a gem. Unfortunately, the sympathy bears weren't the most docile of creatures.
The wizard grabbed a puppet's neck from his bag and shoved a gem down its throat. Another precious is gone! Finally, he shook the puppet a few times.
"Hey, Red, go!"
The puppet nodded with an air of intelligence.
....
Dean had just finished stumbling inside the restricted, famous We'll-Eat-You Cave. It had bones littered near the entrance. There was skulls and academy gowns. He was so giddy he missed the signs, and as sad as he was he flailed his arms like an unfortunate alluring monkey. The blue sympathy bears got up and slowly snuck over.
....
"Come back!" Wendy screamed.
Bevin was right behind her shivering. He could hear the sounds of the beasts. "We can't go in there, Wendy. Don't you see the stay away tape!"
"But, I love him," she replied.
"I'm sure you'll get his bones back. Besides, the elders are already looking for him."
"No, you don't understand…" She hyperventilated
....
Dean looked up at some odd looking creatures. He was trying to find the top of their heads.
"Gulp."
Dean felt something odd and held his hands up to block. But A fierce gale pushed against the side of his cheek. His back bounced off the wall, and he ping-ponged to and fro.
The biggest of the bears picked up the fainting boy and spun him in the air with a happy laugh. After it took a lick, it grinned and passed him around. The mother bear, with a bow cleverly on her head, tried her hardest to decide what to do. Her characteristic sympathy eyes glowed.
....
The young wizard in the sky felt worried, but finally drew out three stones.
The gems he was about to use were only meant for emergencies. It was times like these he wished he wasn't such a cheap skate. Finally, that twitch of guilt made his hand reach into his side pocket. There was three very precious stones the head master had gifted him. Oh, well.
"Green, Red, and Yellow, go grab that boy before he becomes a sympathy meal." The wizard sighed taking out the few rare elemental stones. He shoved the rocks down the puppet's throats. The three puppet falcons nodded and eagerly dove.
The three sympathy bears were crying in a circle trying to decide what to do. The sympathy bears could feel the poor boy had been through so much today, but they were so hungry. They waited till their tears dried to decide. It would be easy for them to go outside and find something else to eat. But the boy tasted so good, so they felt ambivalent. It slowly started turning to hunger, and the other four all looked to her. The mother bear sadly fell on the ground and weltered on the cold pebbles hoping she would find it soothing. She was sure this boy deserved the utmost sympathy, but it would be so hard to find peace. However, she was very hungry, and her ambivalence started to fade away.
"Swoosh!"
The three falcons furtively flew inside the nest and clawed up the boy. The bears were just finishing their team meeting; they seemed to have reached the agreement that they would each eat an arm, but out of kindness they'd leave the boy with a chance to live. It was only proper to give him some sympathy. He smelled, he reeked, like he had an unfortunate fate. It made him even more delicious. They got off the ground.
"GRRRR!"
The falcon dashed in front of the bears and clawed the boy out of the puddle of tears and raced off from the beating footsteps. Behind it the blue sympathy bears chased. However, the yellow puppet shot out thunder at the big chasing mother. Unfortunately, they had just taken her meal, and she put up a fight.
Thunder and sympathy claws clashed sending off yellow and blue sparks.
Two puppets survived and flew Dean up into the clouds where their master was waiting. He looked down the boy, who had just swooned out of fear, and all the bear marks sporadically plastered on his body.
"Let's see why this boy ran away." The young wizard flipped open a magic book, a storing tome, and turned until he found the elemental wheel. It was placed over the unconscious, blue Dean before the elemental wheel spun and wiggled its tail like it was an excited dog. The blank square turned on and five bars shot up into the sky.
"It seems we have a candidate for King," The young wizard yelled.
Yes, that's right, a Candidate for King. It's something of an ominous title. It means the person is capable of utilizing the 'blank' element. They are able to change the world in all types of not understandable ways. A cow could be walking outside, and turn into something completely different. The clouds could invent a new type of storm. Just imagine if it could rain frogs, or pigs with wings. Well, yup, he was a candidate for King. But it could also create wanton destruction, and all other types of mayhem. And Dean had one of its most troubling characteristics.
He liked to sleep.
....
*King's Castle, 21st of September, 59 B.W.*
There was a tower propped up like a candle in a bundle of trees. The sun shone brightly onto it ignoring the miniscule, gossamer cloud of the young wizard, Beat. He checked Dean to make sure he was still in decent shape and plopped down onto the landing pad before the olphs approached. They were the landing crew on King's Castle, also its armored guards, with big ballooning arms.
Olphs were very special creatures with an unfortunately hideous demeanor. But, luckily, they were actually very smart, and had a few good things about them that made them perfect guards. They were created by omniscient, brother of omnipotent. And because of that they had been made in a different fashion, a la, very ugly. But, they also had some very special fruit on their hair they could give to their young-ins. And a very interesting way of communicating.
Beat had no reason to fear them, not at all, but their partners the two tails, half-breed dragons however, another story, were lurching on the walls.
The olphs and dragons didn't look happy to see him.
"I need to see the Head Master."
"Your name, and rank!"
"Second Pyramid, Beat Wonder."
"You'll hate to wait," it snarled smugly, "Follow me to the office."
Beat nodded his head and passed the angry dragons. The doors automatically opened, a little light shone on the pillars, and Dean snored. The person leading, Olph Commander, Yan, gripped his medal medallion and whispered.
Dean almost woke up.
A blurry figure showed up in Dean's eyes as he rubbed them open. It was still very hard to see, but he thought he saw a fruit and reached out to try and grab it. Unfortunately, it was the the Olph's sacred hair branch.
Beat was so shocked he knocked out the boy for his safety as they arrived by a sanguinary sign for the principles' office.
"Welcome back, Beat. Sit here and tell that brat to learn some manners."
Beat gesticulated, "I apologize. He probably thought you were a tree."
"Hmph, I'll plant him in the ground if he does it again." Yan walked off and looked back occasionally as he pet his hair.
Beat pinched the boy's ears. "I go out of my way to save you, and you almost died in a dream, lovely," he muttered.
Dean was not aware of what he did, nor all the people back home looking for him like unleashed dogs. He wasn't aware of how Wendy almost died looking for him in the vine labyrinth. And how his parents had bribed the elders to talk to the bears who promised they didn't eat him. They were still dreaming of him, though. Unfortunately, all Dean could know, in a sort of dreamy way, was that there was something warm right next to his face, and small orb of fire.
Then a wind seemed to blow past the two on the bench.
It was a wind unlike any Beat had ever felt before. The number of chills that swam up his spine made him shiver. He felt something breathing on him.
"He's so cute for a candidate. Don't you agree?" A man in a black hat was half formed speaking to him through a cloud of vapor.
Beat, a second level elementalist, already had two tons of fire essence hovering on the tip of his palms. The energy kept condensing as it lit up the contempt on his face. It was, frankly, not the time to mess with him. He just used up three elemental stones! He still wasn't over that yet. And now he had to deal with someone who was trying to take away what he saved. No way!
"I'm sorry, I'm simply a visitor, forgive me. But isn't his aura simply delicious?"He laughed and tried to reach for his curly fluffs of hair.
"Touch him, and I'll turn you into a dragon's meal."
"Your funny." The room turned black almost instantly. The cloud spread like a fast tide, and a small protective fire surrounded Beat and Dean guarding them from the nibbling of talons biting trying to reach through.
Then the door creaked.
"Beat Wonder," The principle ran out playing with his glasses, "I could sense you from anywhere." A boy tried to escape his office but was stopped by his hand.
Beat gasped. "You didn't see him?"
"See what, Beat, if you wanted to get my attention you could've just knocked."
"Yeah, you could have saved me earlier." The young boy flailed by his feet.
Principle Bane tossed the boy into a shoot in the wall before cleaning his hands and making his way to his desk.
The principles' office was full of failing papers.
On the other hand. Dean, being his usual self, rolled over slowly towards the fire.
"Well, pleasant surprise to see you here Beat, what was so urgent?" Beat propped his butt on the leather couch and yanked back Dean.
"Him," he pointed, "and there really was a demon that greeted me in the hallway."
"Oh," Bane replied, "You must have brought quite a boy with you."
"I have found a King's candidate,"
Bane eye brows raised in shock. "Ah, No wonder, how strong is his blank element?"
"Five bars, purple class affinity."
The principle Bane looked at the child, arms akimbo. "Why do you think their interested? Is a war coming?"
Beat shrugged his shoulders and pat the youngling's head. "He matches the Demon King's prophecy."
"So, had all the other candidates." Bane sat back in his chair.
Beat looked around and couldn't believe he was back here while he nodded. He had his fair share of times here just like the tubby boy. He was hoping the boy landed safely down the shoot. It was possible to die if you fell into the wrong air current. Regardless, he looked over at the principles name and remembered the lore he had heard in the classroom. The principle didn't bode well for enemies. He had actually caused an entire empires destruction.
"I hope you don't mind skipping his admission tests. I have a strong feeling about this one."
"Fine, just bring the good-stuff at the holiday party." Bane waved him off.
"Thanks." A red ball of light appeared around Beat, burning open the space, as he slowly disappeared through a ring of fire.
"Guards!" Bane impatiently plucked his fingers against his desk.
The boy was scooped up and brought away. He left with his bear marks, torn robe, and a small fruit vine in his hand.
The guards carried him all the way downstairs, and placed him inside a room that was already reserved for him.
The principle always kept a blank space open for the special one in the prophecy. the boy he imagined didn't quite match his fanciful dreams. He imagined someone a lot uglier, and a lot older. In the prophecy the boy was supposed to change the world. He was hoping, however, that the boy was more than met the eye.
He walked over towards the window, and looked out at the vast space full of god knows of how many undiscovered things. He just prayed that the new student would enjoy it here. And perhaps he would.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
BlueLightToTheWest
BlueLightToTheWest Hope you enjoyed the first chapter. I really appreciate any comments, and thank you for joining Dean on the start of his journey.
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