Lightborne

By Himanshu Jain

Are you prepared to discover the light within you?

Emilia Victoria Brightsun, a girl in a society where technology has been abandoned long ago, and people can now control elements, cannot control an element. Considered abnormal by many, she tries to awaken her elemental power after her elemental ceremony. As she goes through her journey in the Nexus, the capital of this elemental society, a dark force rises once again. Can she defeat this force without being able to control an element? Or will the entire world fall prey to the evil that returned from long ago?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tellwell Talent
• Release date: Mar 22, 2022
• ISBN: 9780228870593

Himanshu Jain

Himanshu Jain is an aspiring teen author who has a passion for reading and writing. He is a high school senior preparing to attend college for computer sciences. He is trilingual in French, Hindi and English and has a love for English and literature. He is also a certified lifeguard and swimming instructor and has won numerous accolades in mathematics. As a child he spent his weekends in the library taking part in reading contests and expanding his knowledge on all types of fiction and non-fiction literature. Himanshu is an avid reader and is very excited to share his first novel.

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Copyright © 2022 by Himanshu Jain

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Tellwell Talent

www.tellwell.ca

ISBN

978-0-2288-7058-6 (Hardcover)

978-0-2288-7057-9 (Paperback)

978-0-2288-7059-3 (eBook)

Table of Contents

The Story of the Nexus

The Ceremony

The Trip to the Nexus

Him

The Village

Eliza

The Temple

The Daughter of Lightborne

To Face the Darkness

The Story of the Nexus

The town I’m used to living in is probably much different than many of yours. The bustling of the Fire-makers in their forges, the splashing of the Water-movers and Earth-breakers in their gardens, and the whooshing of the Air-swayers in their airships permeate the air.

Grandma, Grandma! Tell us the legend of Lightborne again! I hear a kid’s shrill voice yelling. I slowly open my eyes. Ah, yes. Back in my hometown, as a Daughter of Lightborne, who protected the Nexus.

Would you like me to tell you the legend of Lightborne or about my journey as a Daughter of Lightborne? I ask, smiling. All the kids scream and cheer and start chanting, Lightborne, Lightborne! I raise my hand, and everyone becomes silent. Alright, here is my tale. It is the tale of my awakening as a Daughter of Lightborne.

Before my eyes open, I smell a distinct scent. Is that… a pie burning? I dismiss the scent and turn on my side, until I realize where the scent is coming from. A name immediately pops into my head, and my eyes spring open. Ma! I shout. Tell Leo to stop lighting my hair on fire every morning!

I run down the stairs to the kitchen as fast as my legs can take me, and I douse my hair with water.

Leopold Trevor Brightsun! I scream at the top of my lungs as the cold water pours down my neck. Get your little mischievous fire-making butt down here unless you want to become a roasted chicken for lunch!

I hear a giggle from the cupboard directly next to me. My brother jumps out of the cupboard, and before I can react, he runs out the door. Oh, you are so, so dead when you get back! I shout after him.

My dad chuckles heartily at the dinner table. You’ve got to start waking up early if you want him to stop scorching your hair, Em! I glare at my father. That still doesn’t mean he can set my hair on fire!

Our house is small for four people, but it is home. Leo’s room and my room are both upstairs, with a five-step flight of stairs. Our kitchen has a gas stove, an oven, and a table, all within a very cozy area. Directly next to the kitchen is the living room, and to the right is the front door. As I look outside, I see children playing and adults hard at work, either farming, forging, or just having fun with the children.

Suddenly, I hear the oven beep. Hey Ma, are you making your pie today? The sweet scent of my mother’s pie always cheers me up.

Yup! she responds. It’s because tomorrow’s the big day!

I groan. D-do I have to g-go to the elemental ceremony? I’m scared I w-won’t get assigned to an element… Both my parents chuckle.

Isn’t everyone? my dad responds. You’re not the only one who thinks that. Plus, you don’t need to be able to control the elements right away to be assigned to one! Eventually, everyone learns to control them. My heart beats faster, and I can already feel the tightening in my chest.

Ever since I can remember, at times (especially when under stress), I physically can’t get my words out. It always makes talking while I am nervous harder, and today, the upcoming ceremony isn’t helping my nerves at all.

I take a deep breath and respond. B-but what if I d-don’t l-learn how t-t-to control an element? My dad puts his hand on his head. Just take a breath, okay? You’ll be fine. I sigh. If you say so… I gulp down a slice of pie, as if to assure myself, and wave goodbye to my parents.

Outside, I bike down the trail that leads to the forest. As I ride, I breathe in the fresh air. The reason why I’m so stressed for the element ceremony is that most people learn how to control one of the four elements by the time the ceremony happens. Although there have been cases where some people don’t know how to control an element, there’s only been a single person who turned bad because of it… just one. Even thinking about him makes my heart race with fear, so I distract myself by thinking about other things.

Our town isn’t a lone town without a capital. In our case, we call it the Nexus. The Nexus is the central hub of the Golden Vales—our territory, as far as we know. As soon as I start thinking about our history, I know exactly who I need to