"Yessssss!" yelled Ragni, right in the face of the head examiner. The Element of Fire had chosen her, and she was burning with delight. Before the inspector had a chance to turn up his nose at such uncouth behavior, Siungur also let out a happy yell, overflowing with joy at having been chosen by the Element of Water.

Andvari, however, who was contending for the favor of the Element of Earth, could not share their jubilation. Despite his excellent skills as a blacksmith and carpenter, his vast knowledge of the history of the Elemental Spirits, his incredible physical strength and his resolute character, he had not been chosen. The young master offered prayers to the Elder Oak, lit a titanic flame in the Elemental Spirit, and forged a magnificent mantle that had the potential to become a great artifact, if the Element so willed it. All in vain.

But Andvari did not despair, for he was not one to give up easily. Challenges only roused his determination. Driven furiously onwards by his goal, he hardly realized he was approaching the Tikku caves — a region located far from the eyes of the examiners and inhabited by short, rugged mountain dwellers. The Tikku people are known to be completely blind, trusting and peace-loving, like children. So nobody could have expected the cruelty with which they treated Andvari.

"Food for our awe-inspiring Overlord!" cried the Tikkuits, taking Andvari captive and dragging him deep into the caves. Caught off guard by this sudden display of hostility, he was stunned and didn't resist.

"To the dining hall with him! A splendid feast for our Overlord!" the small cave people chanted as they took Andvari into the mountain's depths, although they seemed to be behaving mechanically and without genuine enthusiasm.

"Tighten the chains! Our Overlord will be happy!" they cried, swarming over Andvari while their blacksmith, grunting and cursing through his mustache, bound him in chains.

Within half an hour, the young master was shackled firmly to the cave wall. The Tikkuits gathered up their things and left the hall, leaving Andvari alone to peer apprehensively into the dark abyss of the cave — the abyss from which the mysterious and evidently vicious Overlord was about to emerge. Examining his shackles carefully, Andvari realized that there was no hope of breaking them open. He yanked at the chain and tried to smash the rock, which only resulted in an increased sense of powerlessness. Minutes blurred into hours, until he seemed to lose track of time completely.

"Stop it!" the master said to himself. "What are you doing, Andvari? What do you really want?"

"What does it matter what I want?" he replied to himself with surprising calmness. "After all, I will die unknown in these caves. And as if that weren't enough, I won't even pass the exam."

"Looking for excuses, are you?" the inner voice continued. "Seems like you don't have a purpose anymore. You've lost it."

"No!" the master shouted aloud. The darkness around him rippled and seemed to come to life.

"Andvari, Andvari!" the master whispered to himself. "He's close, and if you want to prove yourself worthy of the Element's favor — now is the time to show what you're really capable of."

The master looked at the shackles binding his arms in an iron grip, and the blood trickling out from under them. Then he peered again into the darkness of the abyss — something was moving down there. He yanked again on the chains in another futile attempt to free himself. Meanwhile, something was crawling out of the abyss clinging to the stone floor with its claws and filling the cave with a suffocating stench. Andvari desperately pulled again and again at his shackles. Then he paused for a second, and finally gave them one last mighty yank.

Blood! Blood! It seemed to have covered the entire cave floor. His arm had been ripped off at the socket, leaving only a crimson mess behind. The master ran for the exit, holding his gaping wound with his remaining hand. His head was pounding, as if something was trying to drill its way directly into his mind. Everything was going dark before his eyes, but then a source of light appeared in the cave: the gigantic monster's eyes, burning like torches, studied the master with curiosity. From the monster's horrid mouth, its long, beastly tongue flickered out in anticipation of fresh meat. It slowly approached, never taking its gaze off its victim for even a second.

"Let me help you, drommer," the monster said, and suddenly grew a coat of light fur.

"Come play with me, cute little drommer!" continued the beast. Its eyes grew wider, even starting to seem cute. "Come with me..."

"It's the Illusioner!" flashed through Andvari's mind. He vigorously shook his head to throw off the delusion, and leaped at the monster. He slipped through its paws, swiftly turned around and sank his teeth into the back of the beast's head, meanwhile restraining it tightly with his legs and remaining arm. He bit down harder and harder... The monster writhed and flailed on the floor, blindly trying to reach its back with its claws and further wounding Andvari. The blood of the Illusioner and the drommer flowed freely, like streams into a river. Andvari began to fade. Red and green lights flashed in the darkness before his eyes, and he knew that his time was running out. Soaked in blood and slippery, his hand lost its grip on the beast, causing Andvari to instinctively move his other shoulder to retain his hold — and he succeeded! From his gaping wound, a stone shoulder suddenly materialized, followed by a forearm and hand, already throttling the beast. Then tree vines suddenly sprouted from Andvari's other arm, piercing the monster's skin and ruthlessly crushing the Illusioner's core — the organ with which it created mental images.

The Illusioner immediately shrank to half the size and began to whimper pathetically. Andvari tossed it to one side, and it quickly fled back into the cave's depths.

When the drommer examiners found Andvari, he didn't even try to leave the cave. Covered in wounds, he continued to tirelessly train his new power over the Element of Earth, rightfully earned through sweat and blood. With the defeat of the Illusioner, the Tikkuits snapped out of their trance. Realizing what they had done, they rushed to make amends. They left Andvari to savor his victory and went to fetch the drommer inspectors, guiding them back through the cave to him.

This exam will be remembered by the people of Ghirwil City for a long time to come! Glory to Andvari! You've earned this victory!