Deep within a swamp is a ruin. A crumbling set of pillars and archways, standing among long dead snags. The fetid waters of the swamp hide most of these ruins. Vines and moss cover what the water doesn't. It is a subtle thing, this ruin.

There is just one thing about this ruin that is not subtle: The unconscious girl laying face down in the mud, her nudity a bizarre contrast to the ruin's quiet camouflage. The girl stirs, pulling herself up from the ground.

"GUH!" The girl exclaims.

She looks around, her dark hair swishing this way and that. There is no glimmer of recognition in her eyes. Her pupils shrink as she feels the wind on her bare body. She shrieks in dismay.

"What the fuck?!"

The sudden noise sets several birds in flight. They depart, hoping to relocate someplace quieter. The girl doesn't notice the birds. She's too busy attempting to cover her nether regions with her muddy hands.

Where am I, and why am I naked?!

The girl looks ready to shout and cry at the same time. She doesn't do either, instead opting to survey her surroundings. Her bare feet leave shallow footprints in the mud as she approaches the edge of the ruin. Betwixt the overgrown stone columns she can see a vast expanse of swampland.

She frowns, turning her head away from the ruin's exterior. In the center of the ruin is a conspicuous pedestal. Resting atop that pedestal is a gemstone. It's clear, like a diamond. The girl approaches.

What's a big diamond doing here?

There's no hesitation in the girl as she reaches for the gemstone. When her finger makes contact with the gem something strange happens. She feels immense vertigo, and her perspective shifts dramatically.

She can see her body standing beside the pedestal. She can see the pedestal holding the gemstone aloft. She can see the stone pillars beneath the water. She can even see the fish swimming through the flooded portions of the ruin. Everything all at once.

What the fuck?!

The girl's mind struggles to parse the information. She focuses on trying to ignore most of the information. Limiting her sight helps alleviate the headache, and she relaxes somewhat.

Am I having an out of body experience?

Returning to her body is the first thing the girl tries. She pushes her focus into her still standing body, and feels that nauseating bout of vertigo return. When the nausea fades she's leaning against the stone pedestal for support. The gemstone remains on the pedestal.

"Haha... Freaky."

A particularly loud mosquito flies over to the girl, catching her attention. She grimaces as the tiny pest attempts to land on her bare skin. It surely seeks to steal her blood and leave a nasty welt in the process. The girl swipes at it in retaliation, managing to swat it right out of the air.

With the death of the mosquito comes an alien sensation. The girl's eyes move to look at the gemstone. She felt something move into it, as if it was a part of her body. The best comparison she can make is the feeling of cold water going down your esophagus and into your tummy.

Curiosity drives the girl to approach the pedestal once more. She can feel it. It's like sensing where your limbs are, except that's no limb. She tilts her head as she looks at the shiny gem.

Is this diamond a part of me?

With that thought in mind she reaches out and places her hand atop the gemstone. The vertigo isn't as bad this time. She doesn't let the stimulation overwhelm her either. She can see herself standing beside the pedestal. She can feel she is both the gemstone and the human girl.

If the diamond is me, then maybe this ruin is too?

The girl pushes her mind toward one of the stone pillars experimentally. She fails to connect with the stone, instead pushing it with her mind. Surprise plays across her face as she realizes what she's just done.

To an outside observer it would appear the stone pillars are moving all by themselves. The girl knows better, as she is shifting the old pillars around with her thoughts. Her face is split by a wide smile as she uses her newfound ability with childlike wonderment.

"This is awesome! I'm like a... an earth bender or something!"

The girl's giddy exclamation comes from her human mouth, an eerie thing to view from outside her body. Her mind is floating freely, yet her human body reacts as if she's still in it. She's glad her eyelids remain shut. Seeing herself staring at nothing like a zombie would be creepy.

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A droplet of water hits her nose. She watches in fascination as the droplet slides down and drips off the tip of her chin, all from a third person perspective. Then another droplet appears, and another. It's beginning to rain.

The girl looks up--still outside her body--and marvels at the dark clouds rolling overhead. A dark curtain of water is approaching the ruin. The girl's expression shifts to reflect fear as she realizes how intense the coming storm is.

Shit, maybe I can make a shelter?

Stone hits stone, cracks forming in both pillars as they fall against each other. Another pillar falls beside the first two. Finally a fourth pillar falls atop the third. All of this done by the disembodied girl. The girl flies back into her body, repossessing it. She scurries over to the improvised shelter. The toppled stone pillars provide meager protection from the elements.

Rain pours down upon the swamp. Sheets of water splash the rock shelter the girl hides within, drenching the ground around her. She shivers as wind and water work together to chill her.

Hardly any time passes before water begins to lap at her feet. She glances down to see the ruin is being flooded. The murky waters of the swamp surrounding her island are rising with the rain. She curses under her breath.

"Damn it..."

The water level is rising fast. The girl stands up, stepping out into the pouring rain. The water laps at her ankles as she marches toward the gemstone. Wind buffets her naked body, ripping away the warmth from her flesh.

She places her hand atop the gemstone. Droplets of water run down the sides of both the pedestal and the girl's bare body. She switches perspectives, floating above the pedestal. The rain is overwhelming to her senses.

I just need to move the water away!

The girl pushes at the rising water with her mind, yet it is hopeless. Every swell of water she moves aside is replaced by a flow of fresh water. The flood is up to her knees now, and rising fast. She can feel her human body growing dangerously cold.

"Argh!" She shouts into the storm.

As her human body yells in frustration she tries again to remove the water. This time the water disappears, as if swallowed by something unseen. The girl is stunned into silence as she feels her gemstone fill with energy--the same energy the mosquito's death produced.

Hardly believing her eyes, the girl tries to replicate it. She removes water in a spherical area where her mind is focusing. The intangible energy flows to her gemstone again. A relieved smile works its way onto her face as she starts countering the flood.

I suppose I'm not just an earth bender, am I?

The girl smiles as she continues to beat back the rain. She takes great care not to swallow up the fish swimming in the deeper waters, only removing what is necessary. She's no eco terrorist.

Rain and wind slow their assault. The flooding is no longer a threat, yet the girl remains a soaked shivering mess. She sneezes.

"Achoo!"

She repossesses her body, wiping her nose with the back of her wrist. Her legs feel like blocks of ice. She can't stop herself from shivering violently. The flood may be gone, but the damage it dealt to her body is not.

The girl shuffles away from the pedestal in search of firewood. Her eyes trace the branches of a gnarled tree growing on the edge of the ruin. Several small sticks lie at the foot of the tree. She bends over to grab one, yet recoils when she finds it soaked through.

Of course... Everything here is going to be too damp to burn.

Shivering, the girl returns to the pedestal. She places her hand atop the gemstone once more. Hardly any vertigo touches her mind as she finds herself floating outside her body.

She has an idea. There's no way to be sure it will work, but she has no choice. Without heat she will die to hypothermia.

Okay... Just make something, instead of destroying it.

The girl focuses on a spot near her body, and bright orange flames burst into existence. Shock and excitement color her face as she watches the flames dance in the air. Then, just as fast as they started, the flames stop.

Shit... Okay, no fuel means no fire.

Rather than gathering firewood with her hands, the girl uses her mind to pull apart the tree. Several sturdy branches come apart as if broken by large invisible hands. The girl floats them over, dropping them unceremoniously.

With a little focus and the intent to create fire, a new orange flame is born. This time the hot burst of fire manages to dry out and light the branches. The girl smiles as the twigs and branches catch fire, burning steadily.

"First earth bending, then water, now fire? It's like I'm the avatar!" The girl exclaims.

Repossessing her body, the girl takes a seat by the fire. It's warmth is enough to ease her shivering. It will take time for the rain to pass and her body to dry out.

She waits.

~

The overcast sky is lit by an orange setting sun. Croaking frogs sing from places unseen, their voices forming a disorganized chorus. The water flows down, draining from loamy soil to rivers and bogs. A twig snaps beneath the foot of a child: A little boy with dark hair.

Wet earth shifts beneath the boy's feet as he trudges through the swamp. Small scrapes and cuts adorn the boy's body. Suspiciously purple and green discoloration accompanies many of these small wounds.

The boy's eyes aren't focused on the world around him. His mind is elsewhere, even as he puts one scraped up foot in front of the other. The mud and clay sticking to his feet hinder his limping movements.

His wandering takes him to the edge of a river.

The boy's sluggish steps bring him down the river's muddy bank. His toe catches on a rock, tripping him. The boy falls belly down into the river's fast flowing waters. His eyes widen as the cold rushing water wakes him from his stupor. He struggles to surface, kicking his arms and legs.

"Gh-Buh- H-Help!"

Forgetting he is all alone out here in the deep swamp, he calls out for help. Help that most certainly won't be coming. His body drifts with the current, his legs smacking into wood and stone alike. His lungs burn as water fills them with each sputtering breath he takes.

Splash!

An errant piece of driftwood falls into the current. The boy is so busy sputtering for oxygen that he doesn't notice the floating branch. It floats on a direct collision course--

Thump!

The hard waterlogged branch swings around to hit the boy on the temple. One final gasp for air is all he gets before his world goes dark, leaving him at the mercy of the current.