Page 55 of Damned and Broken Gods
“To the rest of you, safe travels.” Guru Mahir and Umbra sweep from the room.
Silence follows their departure, and Leela is the first to break it. “Who are the Vayujaari?”
Chaya speaks before I can. “They’re wild elemental beings in service of the Asura and a most formidable force in battle. They’re able to carry a person in their elemental force.”
“I don’t get it,” Leela said. “Why not just use vortexes? Those are elemental too, and we wouldn’t be taking warriors out of the field for it. Seems a little redundant to use these Vayujaari as transport.”
But it isn’t about transport. Not really. I catch Chaya’s eye and see my conclusions echoed there.
“What is it, Araz?” Leela asks. “What are you thinking?”
“The Vayujaari do not carry just anyone. They will only carry those who they resonate with.”
“Wait, what does that mean?”
“Every being has a resonance, some stronger than others. It’s a frequency they emit. It’s why you are drawn to some people and repelled by others. The Vayujaari are highly resonant beings. The Authority may have instructed them to transport you to the coast, but if they find your resonance repellent, then they will drop you.”
The room breaks out in exclamations and a cacophony of sound.
“Calm down!” Keyton says. “It’s all right. The drohi will be on thunderbirds, I’m assuming to allow us to catch you if you fall.”
“And if you miss?” Joe asks.
“We won’t,” Mahira says.
“Why can’t they just test our resonance or whatever before they take us into the air?” Alia asks her drohi.
He looks lost for an answer. He’s one of the younger drohi. He probably hasn’t seen the battlefield yet, so I answer for him. “It takes time to test the compatibility of resonance, and the Vayujaari always do so in the air. There are not many who are compatible. Only a handful can fly within the arms of Vayujaari.”
“Then why make us travel like that?” Leela asks.
There it is. The burning question that gets to the heart of it all. I have an answer. But it isn’t one she’ll like.
Chaya gives me a nod, approval to reveal what she has already surmised. “I think that the sea trial is coming, yes, but right now you’re all about to be initiated into the air trial.”
“What do you mean ‘initiated’?”
“If the Vayujaari doesn’t drop you, then the Authority will know you’re one of the chosen few who can work alongside this elite force. You’ll be exempt from the air trial. But if you’re dropped, then you will complete the air trial later.”
“And what does the full air trial involve?”
“You’ll have to try to bond with a thunderbird and learn to ride it. The creatures are extremely picky about who they bond with. No one knows what the criteria are. If you’re rejected by a thunderbird, it doesn’t class as a fail. You’re graded on effort. It will mean you’ll be taught vortex summoning. The ankh will grade you.”
Silence fell once more as everyone absorbed this.
“You best make sure you catch me if I fall,” Bina says to her drohi.
He grins down at her. “Do you doubt me?”
She grins back up at him. “Never.”
“What about me?” Vick asks, his voice small. “I…I don’t have a designated drohi. And you can’t exactly keep an eye on your own demigodandme.” His eyes are wide, his chest heaving. “I could die.”
“You’re right,” Dharma says. “It’s too risky. You need to bow out. You can do the trial another time. Sylvie, Evie, and Remi still need to do the sea trial. We’ll talk to their drohi and?—”
“He can’t back out,” Chaya says. “He has been chosen for the trial, and there is no way out of it, only through.”
Vick wrings his hands. “I should have seen the warning in her eyes when I asked to be included. Umbra asked me if I was sure three times. She didn’t want me to take the trial, not because she doesn’t like me, but because she knew…she knew about the risk.”
