The light of the sun shone brilliantly in the clear blue sky. Birds were chirping indifferent to the weight the present day held.
Within the main hall of the town's square building people were gathered to know about what aptitude future generations held for spellcraft.
Or simply the other reason for it was the lord's son getting assessed today.
Naturally, it was a big occasion.
The wooden interior of the magnificent building looked pristine, sunlight seeped in through the clear glass windows.
People sat on the benches waiting patiently for the ceremony to begin.
August sat on his mother's lap looking at the hall around.
It was a small town so there were only two children who were getting assessed today.
Obviously, one was August himself and the other was the son of deceased mage Bren.
His widowed wife Alea was also sitting there in the crowd holding the hand of her son Elias.
August looked around with wide eyes, his curious gaze not slowing down for even a moment.
On the outside he seemed like a model calm and composed child but underneath he was just shy and introverted.
However, it didn't stop him from being his curious self.
He stared at the tree outside of the window for some time and then at the next moment he retracted his gaze.
Today the subject of his curiosity was this place.
Before him lay a tall slab of some fancy rock. It was white and smooth like marble and had different engravings on it horizontally—which kind of looked like symbols written in an ancient language.
August wasn't a language decoder though. He was a three year old child. So he stared at it as long as his attention span allowed him to and then soon after he moved to the trees again.
Not too long after the tall gate of the wooden building was pushed open and old man Rowan for whom everyone was waiting till now finally walked through it.
His wife Martha accompanied him. She sat on a bench nearby while Rowan moved to the centre.
He was the elder of the town hence the duty to assess the future generations fell upon him.
Standing at the centre he addressed the whole crowd—
"My friends, family and fellow residents, we all know why we're here today so let's just skip to the main event, shall we?"
The joke landed well, earning a few joyous laughs from the crowd.
Rowan turned his gaze and smiled politely,
"Now mothers, please step forward and let the children walk on their own."
Sophia and Alea placed the kids on the soft carpet laid on the ground.
Alea's son, Elias stood on his feet, while August couldn't stand without support just yet. Even being months older than the other child.
Rowan looked at both children, smiled pleasantly to make them comfortable and then proceeded—
"Oh mighty gods of the pantheon, I beseech you as an insignificant being —please bestow your blessings on our children. Keep them away from harm and let them see the way, the truth, ….the light."
At the same time, the weather suddenly started to turn ominous, winds began to blow furiously outside.
Inside the building of the town's square, a sudden pressure was to be felt, making some people faint immediately from the exposure.
Sophia felt the pressure but was able to withstand it, immediately supporting Alea who was about to fall beside her.
Valerius endured the strange pressure but his expressions turned bitter.
Up above in the sky, countless gazes turned towards the ceremony. As if the higher beings were observing from the sky above.
However, this all happened in a mere instant.
Not too long after the beings retracted their powerful gazes.
Rowan's forehead was covered in sweat as a smile appeared on his face,
"Marvellous, the gods gave us their blessings," He said.
"Now let the elements do their part."
Slowly the atmosphere began to shift. The mages present there could feel the essence making its way into the marble slab.
It condensed and took the place inside the engravings. The symbols on the marble slab ignited with light of different colours.
The five basic elements of existence took their spots in order to find the masters who could help them in continued existence.
The other elements lined up behind them waiting patiently for their turns.
The basic elements carried the lines of similar inferior ones with them.
The wisps of rainbow coloured light moved playfully around little Elias as though guiding him towards his destiny.
He followed it by placing his little feet across the carpet with small steps.
Before him lay the symbols of natural elements,
Fire burned with crimson flames, air moving visually around its symbol, tiny particles of dust flew playfully on another carving and the sky reflected itself on the other.
However, Elias was mesmerized by another element.
The essence guided him and he at last touched a carved symbol which channeled with crystal clear water.
"Excellent ," Rowan spoke, he looked at Alea, "the boy is destined to be formless like water. However, if it's true water or not we will find out that soon enough. In the meantime place your kid under a competent teacher who could unlock the true potential of his core element."
Alea was sobbing with tears, any parent would be overjoyed after finding out their child would be one of the people who could turn tides and make impossible …possible.
She was but a mere unattuned so she knew better than anybody how much importance a core element held in this world.
"Congratulations Alea, your son is a mage."
Rowan's words felt like bliss on her ears.
Everyone present there felt that happy satisfaction inside. Well how couldn't they, Elias was the son of Bren afterall—a hero who sacrificed his life for the town.
A smile appeared on Valerius' lips as he looked at Elias. Sophia also felt the same sense of happiness—however, her heart sank with deep fear when she noticed August hadn't taken a step forward.
What was worse, he sat there covering his ears with both of his hands. While carrying a pained expression on his face.
Groaning with pain he let out a loud scream. The hall fell silent, his mother rushed towards him immediately.
And when she slowly removed his hands from the ears a thin trail of blood seeped down them.
His heart was pounding quickly, his breath was ragged. Looking at his mother with teary —terrified eyes he hugged her tightly.
"What happened? What happened baby?" Sophia spoke hurriedly, her hands trembling.
August only cried for a while and then spoke in his sobbing voice—
"Momma I …hear ….I hear voices."
— — — — —