The Veil of Darkness
Chapter 362: In the Middle of the Desert - Third Trial

Chapter 362: In the Middle of the Desert - Third Trial

Annalise stretched her hands as she followed Kenric after the lunch break. When they entered the room, the others were already present there, ready for the continuation of the trial.

She felt like asking about how many total number of tests were included in the trial but ended up holding herself back at the very last moment. Somehow, she knew that such a question wouldn’t be appreciated by the men who were analyzing her performance as she would seem impatient by asking such a question.

Letting out a sigh, she prepared to face whatever new challenges were waiting for her.

"Ready to continue?" Esmeray asked as she walked up to where he was standing next to the magical hologram.

"As much as I can ever be," Annalise answered as she gave the man a tight smile.

"You have performed excellently so far. No need to worry or feel tense. Just trust in yourself and try your best to the very last moment. Remember, you don’t have to win every single test." He spoke the words softly but the look in his eyes told Annalise that he wanted her to actually follow his advice which made her wonder if the coming tests were more difficult than the previous ones.

Slowly, she gave a curt nod in understanding before she turned her attention toward her husbands and Elder Elaron.

"It is time for the next test to start. Step inside the hologram, Lady Annalise." Elder Elaron guided and Annalise followed immediately. As soon as she stepped inside the hologram, she was once again pulled in by a magical force and the next thing she knew, she was standing in what seemed like the middle of a desert.

A strong wind was blowing across the empty space, carrying sand along with it that almost blinded her if not for her quick reflex of protecting her eyes with her hands. Realizing that the wind wouldn’t be slowing down anytime soon and she couldn’t keep her eyes open because of the sand hitting her directly in the face, she quickly cast a spell to surround herself with a protective ward.

The sun was high in the clear sky, shedding its powerful light on the barren land and turning the sand under her feet extremely hot. There was not a single tree or plant in sight and all that her eyes could see were sand dunes as far as the space was stretched far in front of her.

Just as she was wondering what would be her task in such a place, Esmeray’s voice entered her brain. "Your task here is simple. Surrounding you is nothing but sand. Use your elements to bring some life to this dead place. The bigger the result, the more points you will get. But you can pass the task just by growing a single plant. You will get two hours to finish the task. All the best."

And then his voice disappeared, leaving her brain in total silence that was soon filled by the familiar voice of Valerius - "Remember, this test will require the use of all your elemental powers."

She noticed how he emphasized the word ’all’. "You are not going against the rules to help me out, are you?" She asked him through their shared mind link and felt him chuckling at the other end before he replied - "Obviously not." That was all he said but it was more tha enough of an answer.

Taking in a deep breath, she closed her eyes and focused on the air present around her. Since she needed to grow a plant in the middle of the desert, the two key elements she required were - earth and water. Considering there was not a single drop of water seen anywhere near her, she was trying to capture the water vapors present in the air. But she soon realized that the temperature was so high and the place was so dry that there were not even water vapors present in the air.

It didn’t take her long to realize that this test was definitely harder than it seemed and considering that she was even given a time limit of two hours and was told to use all her elements, there was more to the eyes than she was seeing at the moment.

The sunlight was so strong and hot that despite the protective shield of her magic, she was still feeling slightly uncomfortable, especially when she was wearing warm clothes.

She hurriedly took off the fur cloak that was draped over her shoulders before she started analyzing the area. She kept wondering why the test required her to use all of the elements. Water and earth were to grow the plant, but what was the use of - air, fire, shadow, darkness, and light?

"Kenric?" She called out to the Autumn Prince after a while through their shared mind link and got his response almost immediately. "Can you keep me updated with the remaining time of the test? That’s not against the rules, is it?"

"It is not. I will keep you updated. It has been over fifteen minutes since you entered the test." Came Kenric’s reply before the link went silent just like before.

Annalise realized that the time was passing more quickly than she was aware of, meaning - she needed to find the solution to pass the test as soon as possible. And from what she understood, the key to passing the test was solving the mystery of the use of all seven elements.

Her eyes once again scanned her surroundings and she took her time as she observed everything sharply. Her brain recalled all the help she could get from - air, fire, shadow, darkness, and light elements at such a place.

Once she had observed the area to her heart’s content, she crouched down and placed her plan against the ground, almost screaming out loud as the scorching sand burned her delicate skin. She quickly cast an ice spell on her palm before she once again placed it against the ground and allowed her light element to seep deep into the ground. A long time passed in pure silence as she remained crouching with her plan placed over the ground and then suddenly pulled away and stood up with a smile on her lips.

"Little Bird, you have just a little over an hour remaining." Kenric’s soft voice spoke in her mind and Annalise could tell that her mate was slightly worried for her.

"It’s alright. I think I know how to pass this test." She replied before she turned her full attention toward the task.

She took several deep breaths to relax her body before she spread her hands out in front of her and focused on her air element. It responded immediately, coming to her aid. She used a small amount of her light element and added it into the air before directing her own air to calm the powerful wind of the desert. It took a while and quite some struggle before she succeeded. The powerful wind of the desert turned into a slow but hot breeze. And since the wind calmed down, there were no more sand grains flying all across the place, allowing Annalise to step out of her protective shield.

Next, she used fire elements to dull the heat in the atmosphere. Her fire absorbed most of the heat from the surrounding area and lowered the temperature to a certain degree.

Next, she used shadow elements mixed with a pinch of darkness, that she got from her weapon, to create a shield around a certain radius to create a safe sanctuary for the vegetation that she was planning to add to the barren lands.

And lastly, she used her light element to pull out the water that she had previously found in the depths of the ground. She first used her water element to create moisture in the air inside the safe done that was allowing filtered sunlight inside. Then she used it to irrigate the soil that hadn’t seen even a drop of water in ages.

"Only fifteen minutes are left, Little Bird."

"Almost done."

Annalise closed her eyes one last time and summoned both the earth and light elements. She didn’t open her eyes as she directed the elements to surround her and fill the entire done as she pictured a beautiful but small landscape of nature surrounding her. She directed her powers to create life and felt them accepting her request.