The Abyss of Elements

First came The Earth. Mature, wise and omniscient. She was able to cope with all the problems surrounding her, and when they overwhelmed her, no one could notice her failure. She hid herself in, immersed herself in the green foliage and waited alone for the crisis to pass. The Earth looked with lonely eyes at the withering greenery around it, at the empty tall trees full of leaves. And even as her eyes feasted on the beauty she had created, something deep inside her was trying to make her understand that she needed a solution for the withering plants, the dying trees and the falling petals of her beloved bouquets. One day someone gave her Water. She wasn't much younger than Onatah - Mother Earth. At first the lady of nature didn't make her presence felt and only observed the newcomer's actions. The guardian's eyes observed individual movements of her working hands. With a single touch of her hand, she caused a pearly string of water to flow through her small valley. Onatah watched her beautiful garden come to life day by day. The enormous ball of bright light seemed to glow more intensely, as if trying to warm everything the two guardians had created. Her fear of the new creature disappeared one day, as the Water Guardian passed under the huge willow that had been hiding her in its branches for weeks. And when Onatah noticed the tiny chick in the blue hands, she decided to come out of hiding.

From then on,  Onatah and Adva could not live without each other. Together they influenced and complemented each other. The land was growing larger and more liveable every day. However, with each passing day, as their island expanded and the sun warmed its rocks, the Guardians had the impression that something was watching them. As time passed - and the night became colder and more terrifying -the noise of hunting animals made the mothers unable to close their eyes, which resulted in the deterioration of their creation's harvest. Then Azar was born. First in the wisp of a small flame, then transforming into a full form. By scaring away animals, providing warmth and with their protectiveness, together with the other two Guardians, they created a beautiful, rich and ideal land. They possessed all they needed and complemented each other, yet with time, they observed the solitary trees remaining stagnant, unable to thrive. Despite their best endeavours, the rivers' waters dwindled, leaving the trio of Mothers perplexed and sorrowful as they grappled with the mystery behind the imperfections plaguing their once prosperous kingdom.

The years passed slowly, the day followed the night and the moon followed the paths marked by the sun. However, nothing that could change the fate of the dying land appeared. The Mothers, worried that their island was doomed for death, began to plead with something towering over them. Something that allowed each of them to be born, for another gift from a strange hand. For a new breath for the land, for a freshness that would shake the leaves on the trees and comb the ears of tall grass spreading across kilometres of wasteland. The answer came faster than anyone expected. Her laughter, like hundreds of bells, rang out between the treetops, her feet crossed the meadows full of wildflowers and surrounded the remaining Guardians like a ribbon of cold. The creature they found was similar to them, but its transparent structure seemed downright ghostly to them. Her bright eyes seemed to sparkle like the rays of the sunlight.

The youngest of Mothers posed a grave challenge for her three companions, as they struggled to contain the immense power she wielded. Unleashing tornadoes and fierce gusts of wind, she wrought havoc upon the land, causing extensive damage. Despite this turmoil, all four Guardians bestowed upon the realm everything necessary for its sustenance and flourishing. For years, the Guardians tended to their garden, nurturing the soil and fostering life, while also nurturing their bonds with one another. Each of the four possessed great wisdom and were kin to share it, ensuring that nothing was amiss in their domain.

Animal. Man. They didn't know how to define it at first. They appeared in their little land out of nowhere. The Earth was terrified by the actions of these little robbers, every fruit picked and the smallest plant trampled on made her feel sick and had headaches. Onatah was breaking down more and more every day, she finally gave in to the screams and one day she disappeared with the last rays of the sun. The next victim was the mother of water. The savages living in their land used water for strange purposes. Adva did not understand the need to drink it or bathe in it. With each passing day, the water became more and more polluted, and the Mother uniting herself with the plague prevailing in her rivers, became one with the prevailing streams.

Azar and Aria were untouchable. They couldn't touch or hurt them. Air displayed recklessness, failing to acknowledge the looming threat, while Azar perceived danger lurking within the tribe of savages. To the mother of fire, the peculiar appearance of the people, clad in feathers, leather, and armed with sharp implements, signalled potential peril.

The screams that pierced their ears and marched along their bodies as more trees were cut down as animals died as meals. Nothing could erase the screams of despair that the Earth let out. And when they started spreading trauma, the Guardians decided to put an end to it. However, none were brave enough to step forward. To expel the emerging society from their lands. The Mothers talked to each other for weeks, months and even years. However, Aria, being a curious soul, wandered closer and closer to the creatures that threatened them, scrutinized and examined them. She tried to fathom their secret, and when the other Mothers discovered her secret, they exposed her to lines full of frightened eyes, mouths open in curiosity. And Aria started talking.

Her words spread across their land like the buds of wild flowers, blooming in the mountains and valleys. By rivers and even in black thickets. The Mother of Air was everywhere. Every little creature recognized her, with every breath they took she was worshiped, and this was not met with a pleasant response when the remaining Guardians finally realized that everything they had worked for was accredited to Aria.

Mothers nursed their grievances and delusions in silence. In silence they allowed them to fester and, left untreated, they turned into wounds that could not be helped. Aria covered everything with a huge smile and a twinkle in her bright eyes. Her bright robes moved along the clouds and waterfalls. Her laughter swayed the grass, and with each passing year, people worshiped her more. Each of the monuments erected could not reflect her true appearance, but each figure had stripes of bright paint and bows fluttering in the wind. With each century, words about the other mothers faded away, and Aria reigned alone on the lips of the creatures they were all supposed to care for. Fruit and tall candles were offered along with the psalms, and even as huge storms and fires passed over their altars and fields, their lips faithfully pleaded for help from the Guardian of Air, which was unaware of the danger that began to creep behind it.

Aria's smiles that were sent their way were perceived as attempts of mocking. And even if the guardian in white clothes and ribbons in her hair tried many times to pull them out to people - to their amused faces, to their loud singing - the hearts of the guardians had long ago decided that Air was no longer one of them. The betrayal that the Guardian wrought on their souls with her smiles and her words was not easy to forgive. The little hole which stayed in this place did not look for brightness, it preferred to stay in the darkness that fed with illusions.

The evening that made the guardians finally decide to do something was the evening of the summer solstice. An evening when all four mothers focused their energies together and helped the season change its course. As usual, year after year, for this holiday reason, in the nearby forest where the Mothers liked to sit, voices and laughter began to appear. Candles decorated the glades and the wreaths shining in their glow were released into the poisoned waters of the rivers. Each wreath floating on the water surface was a single wish. Each of them contained the name of an air guardian, a guardian who did nothing but had fun and was stupid. This was enough for Azar to take a single glance at a nearby wreath and cause the delicate flame of the candle to explode right into the mortal's face. Her screech spread like a tsunami throughout the forest, the screams of the people surrounding her were like salvation for the keeper of the Fire. Her behaviour did not attract a single comment, but when the black eyes turned towards the other Mothers, her lips twisted into a grimace of horror.

''Do you see what Air did? Her stupidity finally hurt one of our people!''

With each passing moment, the Mothers settled into a pattern of humiliating Air. Aria, having no idea where the offensive comments and terrified looks came from, tried to find out what it was about. But nothing she found out would help her save her reputation. Her good relationships disappeared into lies scattered like weeds in a garden. They devoured every good thing and left behind the eaten remains that were not enough to be useful. Aria tried to communicate with the rest of Mothers, tried to find solutions, tried to help the creatures she loved so much. However, her heart broke with each harm done to her. Her nostrils were filled with the smell of burning bodies, her ears were filled with the screams of drowning people. The sound of bodies breaking against the rocks haunted her dreams. Her throat was choked by the dust rising high into the sky, her skin darkened with each burning tree.

And when her suffering reached its zenith and the silence began to disturb her, Aria went to Mothers for help. Begging them to stop their protégés from murdering their beloved land. And how shocked she was when they accused her of being the one to blame for everything. Fires burning along the clearings, dry lands opening to swallow the things they encounter. Everything around them was deteriorating and becoming useless.

''But how?'' The voice that came out of Aria's throat was not hers. Filled with dust and smog, it seemed as if the depths were speaking through her body. ''How come it's my fault? I helped them take care of everything. I taught them everything you didn't want to! How could they turn their backs on me? How could I do all this? How could I start fires and cause avalanches? How could I kill all these people when I loved them so much?!''

Her cries spread throughout the silence of the forest. Mother Earth crouched next to the sick Guardian, her green eyes hiding the pain of every cut tree and plucked fruit. Aria moaned as her light hair was grabbed and she was pulled up.

''And you are hated for all this.'' Onatah muttered. ''Sometimes you do not deserve what you obtain. And now you will be punished for your stupidness.''

The cough that went through Aria was unbearable. The guardian had no idea what had happened, but her skin had turned dark. Her bright hair and eyes darkened to the colour of an onyx. As the guardian's body was torn apart by the breath and coughing, the remaining Mothers disappeared in a single breeze. Aria stood up with the last of her strengths and with tears flowing down her blackened cheeks she moved forward. She went where the screams were loudest, where the trees were calling for help. Where the rain soaked everything around and the earth refused to moisten. 

Everything was falling apart and she couldn't do anything to help. And when her eyes met those of  man's, he threw a sharp tool at her. The same one she taught them all to forge with tiny sparks of fire. And before she knew it, the tar that slowly covered her face revealed a gathering herd. Oh how she wanted to laugh, but every breath hurt. And as she ran away, and as the screams continued to subside, she began to laugh.

She didn't know what hurt her more. Her thoughts or her heart.