Note: all characters are over 18, as set out in the story.
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Master of Elements: Chapter 6 - Aether
"Sublime Aether, best cosmic element, radiant, luminous, starlit offspring, I call upon you and I beseech you to be temperate and clear." Orphic Hymns, number five.
Remembering past mistakes, I sent Brigit on to Egypt and then Greece alone, while Jenny and I followed on a later flight to Cairo. Brigit's orders were to make contact with Freya and Matsu but ensure they stayed apart to avoid attracting unwelcome attention. I also instructed the three girls to commence searching for the Mistress of Aether. Meanwhile, I stayed for an extra week in Egypt with Jenny to help her practice her new skills as Mistress of Earth.
Cairo is a big city but you don't have to go too far out of it to find wasteland where she could try some things out, but even on the edge of the desert there were still plenty of people around. This was where my newly discovered mind-influencing powers came in useful. I discovered I could influence people to look the other way or simply ignore what they were seeing. It was a heady and intoxicating ability and I had to remind myself only to use it in the cause of our mission; it would have been all too easy to abuse. Jenny helped with this; my modestly bought up and gently religious companion had a well-developed idea of right and wrong and was happy to act as my conscience in these matters. I was glad of her advice.
As to Jenny's own powers, I could see her potential was vast. She was able to produce small seismic tremors - we were careful not to push that one too far - and move material around with a thought, arranging it into new shapes to suit her need. I suspected that fully unleashed she could have destroyed Cairo in an earthquake or flattened the pyramids. She did not yet realise her own power and I kept it from her, knowing that such thoughts would frightened her.
To be honest, they scared me too. If I succeeded in uniting the Mistresses their power would be extraordinary. The first four could burn, blast, drown and crumble any place we happened to be into so much rubble and I still had no real idea of what the fifth might be capable. How exactly could they fight our enemy without devastating the surrounding area? And what must the Creature's full power be like if it could face such enemies and potentially win?
These thoughts were an admission that I had no plan beyond the immediate search. So, with that somewhat depressing idea circling my mind, Jenny and I caught our flight to Athens.
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In accordance with my plan, the girls were all spread around central Greece to try and ensure that they were not easily detectable by the enemy. This was not a situation that pleased them. Freya had grown close to Brigid and Matsu and was keen to meet Jennifer, just as Brigit was Matsu and Jenny all the others. The result was that I was subject to a constant barrage of tweets, texts and emails asking when we could get together.
Given none of us had made any progress in the search for the Mistress of Aether, after about a week of this I conceded that we should meet, but to do so invited trouble. If we were going to get involved in some sort of massive fight, I didn't want too many innocent people caught in the crossfire. This was where a bit of history Gwydion Jones had shared with me came in handy.
The monastic chronicles that recorded the last attack by the enemy had ended with a battle in Agrafa, a remote and mountainous area of central Greece, almost inaccessible from the outside. It seemed that was still true today and so as good a place as any to gather. There was a risk that the Creature might have the same idea, but wherever we met up it was likely to soon know anyway.
Agrafa remained so isolated that there was not exactly a surplus of good hotels, but I found a pleasant enough one near the centre of the area and then ordered us to assemble there. The Seeker and four of the five Mistresses of Elements; it was a gathering loaded with both excitement and risk.
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The hotel was on the small side but well-appointed and set in beautiful hill country. My favourite feature was a wide veranda that gave splendid views of the wooded slope opposite the one our hotel was set on and also of the deep valley with its stream that lay between.
Another bonus was that the place was mostly empty, with few other guests. I was grateful for this - I didn't want too many innocent people around in case something spectacularly bad happened, which seemed only too likely. The funds continued to flow from the Steward, so I took advantage of the emptiness of the hotel to get us a room each, although I had every intention of paying friendly visits to all the girls when the chance arose, especially Matsu who I had just met face to face for the first time.
We had all arrived at different times and from different places during the previous evening and so eaten our first meal together that morning. Now we were relaxing in the bar. I knew that by rights I should have been worrying about our mission and ideally coming up with plots and plans as to how we would win. However, as I sat there, the only man with four stunningly beautiful women from around the globe, it was hard not to be swept up in the pleasure of the moment.
Brigit, redheaded, green eyed, laughing with the easy happiness of someone with a natural zest for life as she enjoyed the company of her new elemental sisters; Freya, blonde, blue eyed, coolly observing the gathering and yet possessed of inner passions that I knew she would be only to keen to show me and the others; Matsu, bright and enthusiastic, eager to learn all she could of her sisters and her new Master; Jennifer Kitaka, quieter and shyer than the others, but glad to be with this new sort of family; and all four beautiful in their different ways and with fit, slim bodies that would turn any man's head.
And heads were indeed turned. There weren't many guests around, although a noticed a couple of middle-aged men taking a good long look at my companions when their wives' attention was diverted, however, there were some staff. In particular a Greek youth of around 19, who was one of the waiters, served our table with drinks and made of a very poor job of not openly gawping at the display of pulchritude, clearly unable to decide which girl to stare at first.
My ladies knew perfectly well what was going on and Freya and Brigit in particular teased him by flirting gently, until finally I thanked the lad, tipped him and sent him on his way. I can't deny that it pleased me that everyone could tell these four were with me and I was confident that every man worthy of the name must have been envying me.