Chapter Twenty-Four

At midnight, there was a shaking. Everyone felt the earth shake beneath them. The shaking intensified incrementally. It was an earthquake, but not a usual one. It was a constant and nagging type of quake that caused the earth beneath them to crack. The natives began to notice cracks forming everywhere. The celebration ceased. Cracks were forming on their cave homes. Atohmma began to panic and this was followed by the others. Soon, everyone was scampering to find something to hold on to. The periodic shakes and tremors were becoming so frequent now, that everyone was hovering in the air. They had to utilize their wings to fly or at least to get to higher ground. It was useless. Two of the guards were seemingly having seizures. They were behaving strangely unable to control themselves. Being salamanders, they were ruled by the fire element and it seemed to be out of their control. The villagers, helped them to occupy a dark cold and wet portion of earth for the time being. The winds were becoming colder and the rain began to fall. Atohmma's celebration had to come to an end. She knew there was very little that could be done under the circumstances. Nucamma held her, and the other natives were uncertain about what to do next.

One of the elder natives came to the fore and announced that it must be the battle of the elements which was foretold by the oracle. The others inevitably agreed as they were reminded, and they began to view the events according to the warning. Atohmma whistled Venomma, Orgamma and Nucamma to meet with her privately. They all met and discussed a quick plan of action. Atohmma then announced to the others that the situation was beyond their control, but that they should all try to maintain their balances as they too were elemental, and, she did not want them to be affected like the salamander guards. She advised them to utilize whatever support they could find, that gave balance to their unique elements. It made sense to the natives so this advice was heeded. Atohmma also advised them to remain in mid-air for some time, so they can go check the mountains. Orgamma, Venomma, Nucamma and Atohmma flew across to the mountains to see whether it was feasible to have the natives fly to higher ground. The guards on the perimeter were seeking refuge by the water bodies. The spiders were all bundled together, but they were uncertain whether the spiders were asleep or using a form of survival mechanism. The earth shook again and the tremor seemed to be heavier in the villages than the mountains. The four of them flew around a bit to see the effects on the surrounding villages. No one noticed Atohmma's wings yet, under the panic and state of anxiety. It was also not easily noticed in the rain and night.

They saw a very strange but colorful light on the western mountain, but it seemed like one of their natural phenomena and did not cause much concern. Atohmma led the other three to the ponies and also to the pasturelands to see what they could do to help. The ponies were just standing quietly in their stables. Atohmma knew her pony was in the village, but the others seemed to be secure in the stables. The unicorns over at the pasturelands were all there, not seeming to be bothered by the natural course of events. Assuming all was well, they turned around flew back to the village.

Upon returning, Atohmma announced that they fly up to the mountains as it was safer there than in their caves. At least until it was safe to return. The battle of elements had to subside for them to return because of their natures, and their cave homes were not suitable to withstand the merging or conflict of elements. The mountains provided them with the balancing elements they all needed. There was no need for the guards to be at work anyhow, because the assurance that the elements provided at the moment, guaranteed them safety from anything opposingly threatening. Everyone, everywhere in their world, would have been affected in many and the same ways. There would have been movement in all the villages and the same weather.

After some hours there was an ease in the fog, the winds and the fire element. The water element somehow affected them all. Atohmma was not in any way affected by either element, as she was the only one who had all the elements. But something else brought about a balance shift. There was the dominance of the water element but no rain. Some of the natives flew down and went back to their caves when things subsided, whilst others remained in the mountains. It seemed as though the water elementals were up and about. They took the opportunity to secure as much as they could. Atohmma and Nucamma went back to the village and Venomma and Orgamma remained with the others.

The oracle and the Shaman both came to the village that morning. Upon their arrival, they were greeted by Atohmma and other natives. They mentioned the battle of elements and that they heard about a celebration that took place last night. Atohmma confirmed that it was her birthday and they were all celebrating when everything changed at midnight. The oracle then asked Atohmma, "did you complete your assignment at the western mountain?" "Yes, of course I did." she replied urgently. "No need for panic dear, I was only asking to be sure." he responded. The oracle Cobra and the Shaman looked at each other and then back at Atohmma. The Shaman placed his hands on Atohmma's shoulders saying, "you may need to observe yourself in the coming days. You will develop, your wings may change and you should go back to the western mountains tonight to see what was happening there." The oracle added, "yes, you may need to re-visit the western mountain. Just wait until nightfall. Also, there may not be any reason for the natives to remain in the mountains, so you can all return to your caves." "You will see us again soon." said the shaman as he and the oracle Cobra went their way.