Webspun, Chapter 4: Flawed Democracy

Something seemed to be pushing them towards the mystery of a new world, some invisible force that could not be changed, as much as any of them wanted to.
Lance joined hands with Solitude and Jenna. Jenna took the hand of Ethan, who also took Kimmy’s. Solitude said nothing, but began to make a motion as though she was scratching a chalkboard.
The color of the food-court-turned-botanical-garden seemed to drift away, into what resembled a swirling mass of different shades of paint. Lance, who seemed fascinated by the fact that they were traveling in a whirlwind of color, stared blandly and did not hear Jenna’s screams or the sound of Kimmy throwing up. However, Ethan had noticed that Kimmy had thrown up, as he had received a face full. It was as though they were being sucked into a giant vacuum.
They received a slight shock after landing again on solid ground, except for Solitude, who had clearly done this before.
Kimmy let out an audible gasp; she had recovered from vomiting fairly quickly. Ethan’s mouth dropped open (he closed it again tightly because Kimmy’s vomit trickled into his mouth, which he wiped off immediately), Jenna’s eyes just widened, and Lance smiled.
They were standing on top of a waterfall so tall none of the teenagers could see the bottom. Cascading water crashed into the river below. Solitude climbed carefully over several rocks to a large stone bridge connecting the cliff they were on to a large island.
The bridge was more perfect that anything on earth. It was simple, elegant, and it worked with its surroundings, instead of obstructing them. It was laced with plants and trees were growing from it. Beyond the plants and the bridge, the four teenagers saw an ancient skyline.
“Come.” Solitude said sweetly.
They obliged, still awestruck by the towering waterfall. Jenna made a sweeping movement and water leaped over the group, bounding out of the misty mirror of water underneath them in a needle of clear moisture. The land seemed to become less radiant.
Solitude led them up an old staircase made of white marble among gnarled trees and flowers of every color. They reached the top of the stairs, and began down a cobblestone path. A wall grew out of the thick undergrowth. Solitude took them to an entrance, which was simply where the walls separated. They entered a white marble city, pristine, bustling, and breathtaking.
“Welcome to Thellasorr, the Land of Opportunity.”
A small three-wheeled vehicle came into sight. A door opened at out stepped a small penguin.
“Your transport is here, Solitude.”
The small penguin transformed into a medium sized person in a top hat and a tuxedo. The four humans exchanged shocked looks.
“Thank you, Julian.”
The man looked at the others pointedly. He turned to Solitude quickly and whispered, “Are they the…”
Solitude cut him off. “Clearly, Julian, they are.”
The others climbed into the carriage-like transport, squashed themselves into one side of the compartment while Solitude and Julian (once again a penguin) sat cheerfully on the other side.
“Comfortable?”
They looked at each other. Jenna rolled her eyes and looked at Ethan.
“Not really,” Ethan said in a voice quite shrill and disproportionate, “We’re actually quite squashed.”
“I thought so.” Solitude waved her hand and the vehicle instantly enlarged into a hexagonal car with five wheels so everyone could sit comfortably.
“Would you like a view?”
“That would be nice.”
The vehicle became transparent. An ornate building with marble statues of books and scrolls stood in front of them as they turned the corner. It looked like a palace.
“The Library of Records is out the window to the right, which holds not only books, but an expansive history of this world.”
They passed through a crowd of people, who turned and stared at them, as though they had never seen humans before. Therefore, they passed through the crowd rather quickly. The carriage passed over a bridge where people were sitting on top of the water and girls and boys were running across it playing some form of catch. A dolphin-like figure jumped out of the lake, turned into a man who ran with the cart until changing into a dog.
“People can turn into animals.”
“Oh yes,” said Solitude briskly, “at will. Lance has seemed to pick up on that rather quickly.”
A small falcon was sitting in Lance’s seat. Kimmy looked concerned until she realized that the hawk worn the same expression that Lance always wore; a kind of bemused smile.
Soon, a large hare occupied Ethan’s seat, a spluttering cuttlefish occupied Kimmy’s seat, and a silky cat occupied Jenna’s seat.  The falcon rose into the air, went out of the carriage, whose surfaces rippled as he passed through smoothly, and flew along with them. The hare transformed into a hawk, the cuttlefish transformed into an owl, and the cat transformed into a macaw. They all took flight, and Solitude laughed.
“All right guys, come back down. We’re nearly there.”
She was right. A huge something could be seen before them. It could be place as to what it was, but from a distance it was huge and foreboding, and clearly reeked of the stench of government.
The car stopped. They all got out except the penguin. As the car drove away, they began to walk towards the building. At the next gate, a small, stout creature with four arms and a clipboard looked up at Solitude and said, “Identification, please.”
“Solitude, Child of Light, Ambassador to the Northern Isles, Ambassador to the Southern Isles, Ambassador to Equuguard, Ambassador to Octopolis, Westcove, and Eastgrot, Ambassador to Icebowl, Ambassador to Gonthrium, Ambassador to Julias, Speaker for the Trees, Chief Enchantress of The High Council, One of the Principal Justices for the Advanced Court, and Esteemed Senator for the Elves,” Solitude recited at top speed.
The creature walked out of her way. But then, the small creature blocked the Kimmy’s path.
“Identification, please.”
Kimmy looked pointedly at Solitude and then back at the creature, and then said, “Kimmy Cave, um, Arizona All-State Participant for Harp, Piccolo, Flute, and Voice two years in the running, Principal Harpist for The Phoenix Youth Symphony, Academic Decathlon Team Captain for Central High School, Mock Trial Team Captain for Central High School, 5.0 GPA, Junior National Honors Society Member, Harry Potter Alliance Chapter Organizer and, uh, Flamethrower, perhaps?”
Ethan smiled to himself out of utter pride for his best friend. Jenna didn’t seem to care that much, if not caring at all about what she had to say, as though she had heard it before way too many times, and it had lost all its appeal. Lance listened intently, although he too had heard of Kimmy’s many achievements many times before.
Solitude, who looked impressed, whispered in the ear of the stout creature, “In the end, they’re with me.”
They all walked toward the bridge until they reached the end, where a silvery wisp of light, smoke, and wind floated toward them.  It acknowledged them and floated away. They followed it.
Just as the people on the street did, people looked at them with inquisitive, questioning looks. Some of them looked blissfully happy and some of them looked downright furious.
The wisp turned a sharp corner into what appeared to be a waiting room. They walked into that room, and then Jenna screamed, “COUCH!”
She ran to it and sat down. Then the room filled with a light mist.
“What’s going on?” A shocked voice, Kimmy’s, came through the mist.
“Relax. Your clothes aren’t formal enough.”
What seemed to be light circled around each of them. When the mist cleared, they were wearing fantastical robes in different shades of green.
A voice rang out through the walls and touched every inch around them.
“The session is about to begin. Please enter your stations.”
The five crossed to a door that had materialized on the wall opposite the way they had entered.
They were standing on a semicircular balcony. There were many of these balconies lining the walls around them, and a large space in the middle. Some balconies were bubbles of water.
“Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen of the Senate. Session 157,643 has begun.”
There was a smattering of applause. The four humans noticed where the voice was coming from: a podium in the middle of the stadium. The figure that had spoken was a haughty looking man with white hair and a beard. He had the same pale skin as Solitude, but it didn’t emit the light on its own.
“Solitude, is now the time for this? Need we meddle in the business that ‘governs all living things’?”
“Chancellor, think about what you’re saying! We can’t help meddling in it. We live, thus we cannot help but ‘meddle’.”
“You know what I mean, Solitude. We simply do not believe that humans should be here now.”
Kimmy raised her hand before Solitude could say anything. The chancellor acknowledged her. “What is your name and your element, Human?”
“My name is Kimsley Cave and my element is fire. With all due respect,” Kimmy chose her words very carefully, “I would like to question why we are here. We just were misplaced from our world, and feel very out of context in this one.”
“Haven’t you told them, Solitude?”
“I was just about to,” Solitude said, “But we got called into session.”
“So,” said the chancellor, “You brought them to the heart of our world, even though they have no idea what’s happening.”
“We actually have a good idea what’s happening.” Jenna said coolly. “The Senate is unsupportive of the fact an evil witch is rebelling against them, and through many different tries Solitude has attempt to stop uproar. What we don’t is how we fit into this.”
“You have no idea what’s going on, then.”
“Yeah, well, then, I think we should know.”
The Chancellor raised a hand. “Very well,” He said uncaringly, and with an obvious tone of boredom. “According to Solitude, you are Chosen. Chosen are essentially people, chosen to represent the elements and to ultimately control them. You are supposed to destroy some kind of evil, some calamity.”
Solitude rolled her eyes, leaned toward them and said, “I’ll explain it to you later. He is not doing the story justice.”
“Am I not? Sorry to give such a cold shoulder.”
Anger bubbled up in every one of the teenagers. Leaning over the balcony, Jenna yelled, “I AM SO SICK OF THIS! IS IT DIFFICULT TO TELL US WHAT IS GOING ON? MUST YOU CONTINUE TO BE NONHELPFUL? IS IT COURTEOUS IN THIS WORLD TO KEEP US CONFUSED BECAUSE IT’S CONVINENT FOR YOU?”
“HOW DARE YOU INSULT THIS SENATE IN SUCH A WAY?” The Chancellor screamed, “YOU SEE, SOLITUDE! THEY ARE NOTHING BUT RUDE FILTH AND THEREFORE NOT SUITABLE TO BE CHOSEN!”
Kimmy did something that looked like a heavily-foliaged bird ruffling its feathers, Ethan’s mouth dropped open, and Lance looked quite offended. But none of them could top Jenna in being offended; she was turning the color of blood.
“HOW DARE YOU? LOOK IN THE MIRROR AND THEN TELL US IF WE’RE SO RUDE!” Jenna retorted, her eyes bulging unnaturally.
“YOU COME HERE, EXPECTING US TO REACH OUT AND EMBRACE YOU, BUT YOU OPENLY INSULT THIS SENATE!”
“WE TRIED TO TALK TO YOU,” Jenna bellowed, “BUT YOU TREATED US LIKE SHIT!”
Suddenly, the Senators all around them started booing and yelling too, and soon the entire of the stadium was engulfed in a riot. Then the stadium shook, and water was flooding the stadium, and fire spluttering from Kimmy’s hands, but as she took aim at the central podium, Ethan cleared his throat and over all of the tumult above and below them roared, “ENOUGH!” The tumult of the moment stopped, the fire was extinguished, the ground stopped shaking, but the water on the floor continued to crash and move.
Ethan continued, “I want all of you to listen,” the Chancellor began to talk, but Ethan again silenced him, “No more. We’re confused. We need answers. That’s really all we want.
“Seriously, I’m sure this Senate was created as stronghold against evil and violence. If this Senate does what was made to do, then I’m sure there’s no reason to fight. From what I have gathered, we are here because of the violence that has happened.
“There is no reason to be rash with my friends and me. We are here to help in any way possible, and we come with open minds and open hearts to your traditions, ideals and ceremonies. We will adapt to your society, stay out of your way, and honor you as friends. We only wish to be accepted.”
The silence floated through the stadium for less than a second, and was suddenly thrown into applause. The four teenagers smiled, and felt happy for the first time in the day.
“Well put, Chosen. Please leave the stadium with your friends, immediately.”
The Chosen left and Solitude gave the Chancellor a dirty look.
“You see, I have told you all before, and I will tell you again. They are vermin. Humans do not deserve this world.”
One of the podiums lit bright green instead of the normal white.
“Yes,” the Chancellor said, his patience obviously waning, but he still acknowledged the woman in the podium.
“Chancellor, you will not be happy to hear this, but I do not think they are as bad as you say. They struck me as humble, courteous, and kind. Perhaps if you had been more gracious to them things may have gone differently.”
“Enough, no more. Hold your tongue. I will not continue to listen to this madness.”

The four teens and Solitude met in their meeting room. Solitude had a serious expression. When she spoke, her tone was dark, “Though I am happy, I am also very surprised. Your behavior was astonishing: I expected more.”
“We don’t need your criticism,” said Kimmy decisively. “What we need is a story.”
Solitude was intensely gazing at them. “You may want to sit. This may take a long time,” She took a deep breath. “At the beginning, everything was perfect. Everything was balanced and equal. The six elements were at peace.
“But as time wore on, the elements became separate, independent races. In turn the elements turned away from each other, and finally the balance was overturned. At this time the creator thought it wise to create creatures that would represent the elements, and hold their power. The Titans were the true power of the elements, and the guardians of the raw power. The Titans do not fight; they instead seek peace with one another.”
Lance coughed. Solitude looked at him inquiringly, and he looked suddenly very embarrassed, almost like a turtle retreating into his shell as he said, “I’m sorry, Solitude, but could you slow down a bit? I’m having trouble understanding you when you speak so fast.”
Although she looked confused, she nodded, and continued, slower than before:
“I know the form the each Titan takes. Water is a great cuttlefish, wise, yet tough, elusive. Earth is a great snake, firm, yet flexible, sturdy. Fire is the phoenix, ever living, peaceful, magnificent. And Wind is a great cat, free, opinionated, and quick.
“The creator decided that mortal lives could not true hold the true power of the elements, but instead gave them the ability to simply control the elements. This ability was coveted by many, and was soon known to all.
“Now the creator also secretly decided that there were to be six individuals, chosen to be divine, as well as be able to hold the power of the elements. However, the creator did not choose who would be the Chosen yet.
“Meanwhile, more and more people had decided to live a, for lack of better word, normal life. In other words, they began to abandon the elements for new technologies that would make life easier. Thus, the elements became rarer in society, and only some people wanted to use them in everyday life. This led to using the elements to fight.
“As expected, the elements were eventually misused for war on certain world, the one imperfect world. The races of this world were named by my race from humun, the word in our language to mean imperfect. The race was humanity. Your race.
“The creator became agitated, and took your abilities away, and then cleansed the world of your problems. He wiped the memory of the elements from the mind of your people. Having been on Earth, though, I think he only cut the power down, so can you still control the elements, but on a lesser scale. On Earth you only have about a third of your power.
“You see why the chancellor didn’t want you here. You’re human. You’re imperfect. You’re the scum of the elements. It’s ironic that you would be Chosen, being human. It’s deeper than you being considered scum; humans tried to destroy the elements, after all. After they saw what the elements could do, they thought that it would be better to refrain from using them. Earth almost acts as a limited world, where life is just mortal and mundane. We closed almost all connections that we had to Earth, leaving you to do what you liked to that world. The only thing that remains here are the rumors and legend about how horrible humans are to civilized society.
“Furthermore you must understand that we did this to you. We put you on your own world, so that you could screw it up, while everyone was happily bouncing around the others. We shut you away so we wouldn’t have to deal with you.
“I think it’s cruel, what we’ve done to you. You, as humans always look for a better world, and it’s because of us that you can’t have one. We’ve forced you into what we would consider living as animals. And you don’t even realize it. You can’t, and you never would.”
“I just couldn’t imagine something like that. I’ve been conditioned for my whole life to consider you as dirt, and you’ve been conditioned to live like dirt. But I think people naturally want a world that’s better than what they have. I mean, in our world, everyone gets food to eat. Everyone has somewhere to stay at night. Everyone has the things they need.”
She waited, as though the full impact of the words needed to hit them.
“So,” said Ethan slowly, “If you don’t want us here, why did you bring us here? This is a paradise, we could ruin it.”
“It is not I who does not want you here,” Solitude said simply.
“But you ignored the entire point of that question, Solitude,” Kimmy replied.
Ethan held up a hand and Kimmy shut her mouth. He continued, “I wasn’t asking if you wanted us here, I was just asking why you’d bring us here if bring us here would stir up trouble. I just don’t understand why more violence is necess-”
“Because,” Solitude said, cutting him off, “It’s time for change. I can’t stand it anymore: you can’t be treated as you are. They want you to think that you’ll ruin it, as humans. That, and, yeah, um, there’s an evil witch who wants to destroy our world.”
“I’m a little perplexed; wouldn’t this witch be considered imperfect too?” Kimmy said.
“That’s another problem. People can only be considered imperfect if they’re human. Also, there’s a very big difference between evil and imperfect. One can be perfect and evil.”
“That defies logic.” Kimmy said.
“That defies a human’s logic.”
“True.” Kimmy said, after think for a second of two. Then, after a couple moment of tense silence, Kimmy raised her hand and asked the question she had burning to ask since she had received the letter, “How did you know that we could control the elements?”
Solitude said, very carefully, “That’s a hard question. Here’s one way of looking at it: a lot of people, in my world, show signs of elemental potential when they reach the pinnacle of childhood and start becoming an adult. Most signs appear sometime during adolescence. That must have happened to you.”
“You speak of these ‘signs’. Could you elaborate?” Kimmy supposed, obviously egging Solitude on now.
“People who control the elements have particularly strong influences on the world around them. They also act particularly like each of their elements. They start showing a particular affinity to a certain mindset, or way of living. Why these things happened to you, why you took on the characteristics of the elements, I have only theories, and each becomes more complicated than the last; however, I knew the second it turned out you could control the elements, that you could not possibly lead a normal life on Earth. So I brought you here.”
“I think that makes sense.” Ethan said quickly, not giving Kimmy enough time to ask her next question.
“Oh, good, I think so too. Until I can discover a more concrete answer to that question that is what I will leave you with.”
They looked around at each other with reluctant looks. It was silent until Kimmy said, “Does everyone think we’re impure?”
Solitude shook her head. “No. Most people don’t, actually. It’s sort of like the people who prejudice against people who are different in your world. There are people, but it’s a minority of them who actually believe the lies. Unfortunately, it is the people who are most vocal about their opinions who believe you are dirt.”
“Then it shouldn’t matter,” Lance said in a happy, heartwarming tone, “where we come from. We’re here to help. We want to help.”
Solitude took a breath and said, “Thus we begin. Do you know who Mesagon is?”
“Mesagon’s the one who attacked us at the mall on Earth.”
“Yes. She is after your lives; she doesn’t want you to meddle. She believes there is a war coming, and she wants to stop it early. It’s best if you can protect yourselves. That is what we need to do.
“I will take to many places, so that you can learn about our various cultures, and about your individual elements. You will train in different places to hone different skills regarding your elements, and then you will be able to protect yourselves against her.”
“Wait, Solitude? If we were banned from your world because we fought with the elements, why are we allowed to do it here?” Kimmy said quickly.
“I told you the letter: if she can play dirty, so can we.  And there’s a very big difference between using the elements to fight, and using them to kill. You use them to do evil, and then, I believe, out of remorse you attempted to destroy the elements. Evil in and of itself is perfect and reasonable, perhaps inevitable, but destroying the elements would be the last thing that would incline a steady and respectful relationship with the elements. Don’t try to search your history, you wouldn’t find it. We took everything away. Every memory and every thought.
“But self-defense is very different. Fighting back is instinct; we couldn’t take it away from you. That’s what I love about it. I love the idea of being able to protect the world.
“Also, in this world we have formal competitions to prove whom is best a using the elements.”
“Is Mesagon actually a trade lord?” Kimmy said suspiciously.
“I said that in the letter to simplify what she is. She is a rebel, a rogue, excluded from society, much as you are. She is evil because of it. She lost her moral compass from being too far excluded from society.”
They were still thinking about the steps ahead when they walked out of the waiting room, but as they entered the hallway the discovered that their behavior in the session had not gone unnoticed. The floor was still flooded. Several ornate vases and marble statues had been knocked off their plinths.
“Your training can start with clearing this up.” Solitude said with a girly giggle.
They obliged. Ethan and Lance lifted the vases and statues back onto their plinths (under instruction of Solitude, who knew where each one was supposed to be). Anyone who stood outside the stadium would see that water flowed from all the exits into the river below.
After they were done with clearing up the stadium hallways, people started filing out of their corresponding waiting rooms. Some people simply ignored them, though most people waved a hand, or made some other polite gesture.
“You see?” Solitude whispered. “Most people want something to change about how you been treated too!”
One person was particularly gracious, and caught them on the way out. She was a short, petite woman, who had graying curls and sparkling eyes, a bright green dress, and a delighted smile on her bright face, and she said in a bubbly tone, “What you said in the stadium was very inspirational to me; could you please join me for lunch on Monday?”
“No, I’m really sorry, Martha, but they’re going to be really busy.” Solitude said apologetically.
“Of course we can!” Kimmy said very appreciatively, and with a wide smile.
“It’s settled then,” she clapped once; “I’ll see you at one o’clock at my residence on next Monday.”
Martha left, skipping happily into the crowd, but not without giving them each a high-five. Solitude leaned over and whispered, “I have so much to teach you. You never, under any circumstances, accept an invitation to lunch from a leprechaun.”
The coach was waiting for them across the bridge. Julian opened the door for them and instead of the heading back to the city; they went on a small stretch of land, in which the only building was made of stone and glass. It looked like a huge grey pillow between the rocks and sand of the beach and the tall grass of the meadow, and as though some huge someone could just float up out of the water and rest his or her head on it. There were trees growing around the door, which was also laced with ivy. Flowers of many colors and shapes were in bloom, giving the house a forged-by-nature look.
“This is where we will be staying for the next few days,” said Solitude, smiling. “It has everything you need, but if you need something that this place cannot provide you may cautiously go into town. You may also go to Whiteshore for a relaxing day at the beach.” She stopped talking for a moment as they went inside. The inside was lavishly decorated, and was like being inside a stony cave, brightly lit with lamps. The lamps appeared to be infested with fireflies. The walls had a polished look, and there were painting here and there. The furnishings were made of a slivery substance that could not be recognizable. Solitude resumed instructions, “There is a room for each of you. I will be gone for most of the next few days, so make you at home here. I have to secure where will be training. Right now, I have to go and talk to the Chancellor about exactly what’s going on. I will see you later.”
And without another word Solitude left. For the first time, the four teenagers were left alone. They were silent as they walked over the threshold of the building, and only after Ethan closed the door gently behind them, did every one of them, without exception, scream with all the elation and the panic and the confusion left in them.
They looked at each other with wide eyes, absolutely and totally with loss for words. Kimmy said, “This is amazing.”

Solitude marched up the marble steps to the balcony of the Chancellor. The thoughts in her mind repeat over and over in a steady rhythm: Chosen, Chosen, Chosen. When she was in the room, the Chancellor did not look at her, but simply took a drink of his slightly purple beverage, and folded his newspaper. Before she said a word, he said, “I know you are there, don’t worry.”
She closed her mouth stupidly, but then said, “You should learn to accept them.”
He folded his newspaper again. “I have accepted them,” and he paused, “for what they are.”
“They’re not scum. They have just as much reason as we do to…”
“To what, Solitude?” The Chancellor look annoyed. “I have tried time and time again to force it into your mind that they are the not supposed to dwell with us. They cannot be trusted!”
“I trust them, Chancellor. You may not, but I do. And I intend to train them, because that is what needs to be done.”
He set down his newspaper. “As you know, I cannot stop you. Train them, but keep them hidden as much you can. This world is in bad enough shape as it is.”
“And I seek to fix it,” Solitude had gotten what she wanted. There would be no point in arguing with him over the perfection of the world. She looked down, and said, “Thank you, Chancellor.”
The Chancellor drained his purple beverage and said, “Now remove yourself from this room before I change my mind.”