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CH 5: Its Time

  “IT IS TIME.” A man from atop the gates of the arena shouted to the long line of people making their way in an orderly fashion through the gates. “Your time to awaken is here.” The shouts continued to fall from the atop gates.

  “After passing through the gates, there will be a staircase on your left. That is only for family members or guardians of our future Awakeners. The Awakeners will continue down the hall. After passing through the gates…” A soldier from the city garrison walked down the line of Awakeners and families repeating the instructions.

  “Future Awakeners? What? The Spirits blessed everyone here with their powers or something.” Rodrick said sarcastically with a sneer.

  “Well, there are bound to be a few. Even if our city is a small one. We will most likely have at least two to three awakeners if we go by our history.” Damon replied, tiptoeing trying to see how close they were to the gate as his excitement and nerves grew the closer they got to the gates of the arena.

  “Exactly.” Rodrick rolled his eyes in frustration. “ They’re talking as if everyone here is going to awaken when we all know that's not true. Two or three is the number. Last year we were lucky enough to get four.” Rodrick shook his head in disbelief. “Future Awakeners? Spirits, the ones that will awaken are probably already inside. We all know most Awakeners come from nobility.”

  Damon furrowed his brows by the end of his friend's rant. As they got closer to the arena, Damon noticed his friend’s growing negativity and did not like it. But he held his tongue as he knew that this was Rodrick’s third attempt at Awakening, making it his last. Which reminded him of the conversation they had earlier after seeing that granddaughter and grandfather duo.

  Damon forgot that his friend was suffering from the back to back failed results of becoming an Awakener for a moment, leading to him saying some insensitive things. Thinking back on it, if he was in the same boat as Rodrick he probably would have bought something to help him increase his chances of Awakening even if he was to be seen as crazy from someone like himself. But his earlier comments probably prevented his friend from finding something to ease his nerves.

  “Hey about earlier-” “Nope. No need for apologies. It's fine. I guess I just got carried away. That's all.” Rodrick interrupted Damon’s potential apology with a forced laugh.

  Feeling a bit awkward, both boys followed the line in silence. Damon’s earlier excitement was diminished and Rodrick’s complaints were pushed to the side due to the weird air surrounding them.

  “For our future Awakeners, follow the path straight once you pass the gates and you will enter a hall where someone will be there to instruct you.” Damon observed the soldier shouting out instructions as a way to escape the awkwardness.

  The soldier responsible for shouting out instructions wore an old leather armor that bore a sigil on his chest and pants that were absent of any armor. The soldier paced around, spear in hand that was chipped near the tip and a sword strapped to his waist continuously shouted out instructions. The familiar attire was of the city garrison who usually worked overtime during the Awakening Ceremony making sure everything goes right.

  Damon watched the soldier get close enough to him to make out the sigil placed on the left side of his chest. The sigil broke into five parts with a water drop on the top left, a mountain beside it, a tornado on the bottom left, a flame on the bottom right and lightning bolt in the center of the four. The famous sigil of the Republic.

  The sigil stuck out for it was the only thing on the soldier that remained spotless and undamaged. Damon remembered his father told him that soldiers were never allowed to dirty the sigil of the Republic as it was seen as disrespect. A tradition that even the city garrison followed.

  “Do you still want to Awaken the Earth Element? I remember you said you wanted to create a mountain where only you and your future wife can stay.” Damon raised a brow at his friend in amusement.

  The memory brought a chuckle out of Rodrick. “ Yeah it still is. Just add a few animals, then I’m all set. I think it’s something my dad would’ve appreciated having after an argument with my mother.” The conversation slowly eased the tension.

  “And did he tell you that?” A woman’s face popped into their conversation from behind the pair of boys.

  Both boys winced after hearing the familiar voice. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Rodrick turned around and reached his arms out to his baby brother. “What was that? You want big brother to hold you Randy? C’mere, c’mere.” Rodrick ignored the glare from his mother and attempted to grab his baby brother from her only for her to shift the baby and pinch her eldest ears causing Rodrick to hiss in pain.

  Damon stared off to the side hoping to escape any accusations or scoldings from his aunt.

  “Damon, come here.” Robert called for his son who was happy for the escape.

  “You ready Damon?” The question brought him back to the reason he was here. Damon didn’t know the answer but he answered anyway with a nod.

  Robert chuckled after seeing his son nod despite the fear and nervousness clearly spread across his face.

  “It's okay to be scared.” His mother’s reassuring voice came from beside his father as she elbowed her husband with her free arm that wasn’t connected to Riley to stop him from laughing at their son.

  “I’m not scared.” Damon scoffed as he tried his best to put on a nonchalant look that was obviously not working after seeing the amusement clear as day on his parents' faces.

  “It’s okay.” Reassuring her son “ We were all the same way when it was our Awakening Ceremony.” Turning to her husband for support which she got in the form of a nod.

  Damon felt a little better after hearing his father, who he saw as the strongest person he knew, went through the same emotions he was currently feeling when he did his Awakening Ceremony.

  “Are you scared?” Feeling a bit embarrassed that his own little sister was the one directing the question, Damon wore a smile of confidence that was about to be followed by an answer of confidence until he stopped himself. Staring into Riley's eyes that were filled with worry he nodded his head.

  “ A little.” Damon brought his forefinger and thumb to form a pinch. Damon watched in curiosity as his little sister glanced down at the stuffed dragon toy in her arms before looking back at her older brother and then back to the toy. With a nod she stretched out her arms with the toy dragon in hand.

  “Do you want to borrow Sparky?” Damon froze at the question. Stunned that his little sister would even offer the dragon. Sparky has accompanied Riley since the day she was born. She never went anywhere without it.

  Knowing the importance of the toy, Damon's heart was immediately filled with warmth at the sweet gesture.

  “Thanks Riles, but I got this.” Pointing his thumb to his chest with a smile that bore true confidence that formed after hearing his little sister's words.

  “Are you sure?” Riley asked again, wanting to make sure.

  Damon reassured her with a nod. Damon imagined himself walking up stage to Awaken with a stuffed dragon toy and let out a chuckle at the image. He could already hear Rodrick laughing at him.

  “Here Damon. If you can’t accept her help, at least accept mine.” Lisa reached for the clasp of her necklace around her neck that carried the symbols of the five elements similar to the Republic's sigil and handed it to Damon.

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  “But mother…” Damon trailed off after seeing his mother’s glare. He knew the importance of his mothers necklace. It was something his mother always grasped tightly whenever trouble came or her children worried her. An image of his mother kneeling beside his bed when he was plagued by nightmares, praying for the nightmares to go away was a memory that could never go away.

  “Thanks mom. I’ll keep it safe.” Damon assured his mother.

  ***

  “After passing the gate, family members will take the staircase on the left. While future Awakeners will continue down the hall.” A voice from beside the gate entered the ears of everyone passing the gate. Damon swallowed his saliva hoping to alleviate his dry throat that didn’t seem to want to go away once he realized they were finally about to pass through the gates.

  A few minutes after passing through the gates, Damon immediately spotted a large open doorway leading to a dim tunnel with a staircase beside it leading upwards. Knowing what was coming Damon turned to his family.

  “Don’t worry. Whatever the end result is, you're still our son.” His father was the first to send some words of encouragement followed by his mother. “ Your father’s right Damon. We will always be here for you. And besides you could always come back next year if you fail.” Damon watched his mother’s eyes widen after realizing what she had just said. Quickly turning to Rodrick who wore a bitter smile. “ Of course Rodrick will have to meet you there at the academy at that time. Hopefully he could show you the ropes.”

  Rodrick muttered a thank you with a smile that he tried to make as genuine as possible before making his way down the tunnel. Lisa could only mouth an apology to her friend Emily who shook her head saying it was okay before they made their way up the stairs.

  “Great save mother.” Damon said, holding back a smile.

  “Be quiet and go. And don’t forget to pray to the Spirits to bless you before going up.” Damon laughed at his mothers reddened cheeks as he waved at his family before making his way down the corridor to catch up with Rodrick.

  Midway through the journey he realized the entire corridor slightly going downhill. Similar to the mining shafts that his father worked at. Feeling a bit uncomfortable, Damon sped up a bit to catch up with Rodrick. Only he was having a hard time picking out Rodrick in the crowd due to the only source of light being the torches hanging on the walls every few feet and the small light at the end of the tunnel resulting in Damon only being able to see the silhouettes of people. After a minute that felt like a lifetime and still no sign of Rodrick the light at the end of the tunnel was finally growing larger signaling the end of the journey.

  Damon winced once he reached the bright lights before his eyes adjusted to the scene in front of him.

  What welcomed him was a giant hall spacious enough to fit around a few hundred carriages or even a half a dozen of those dragon styled Lyle airships. A fact supported by the amount of space there was in the hall even with over three thousand children present.

  Scanning the rest of his surroundings he found pillars that reached the ceilings carved with dragons wrapped around them scattered all around the hall. While scanning the pillars he took notice of how bright the hall was. Looking up, Damon widened his eyes once he got a clear look at the ceilings. Or more so what he saw hanging from the ceilings.

  “Is that…” Damon left his mouth open in awe.

  “Illumination Stones? Yea, I was just as shocked as you were when I first saw them. Spirits, I still am. Just look how many there are.” Rodrick suddenly appeared beside Damon with his experienced knowledge.

  Spread across the ceilings were hundreds of Illumination Stones. An invention that was created back during the Golden Era. After so many years the identity of the inventor has faded. There are speculations that it was a mortal man. Others say an Earth and Fire Elemental came together to create the stones. And most people around Damon believed it to be a gift from the Spirits. Damon didn’t care which one it was, he just knew Illumination Stones were key items to any household. And the Republic knew this as well, which is why Illumination Stones are usually sold for around five silver and could last a year. They were usually around the size of a baby’s fist and could light up a small room. But the ones Damon was currently staring at were much larger. Damon could see the details of some Illumination Stones from where he stood so he could probably guess the size of them.

  “How much do you think they spent on this?” Damon pulled his attention from the goldmine hanging from the ceiling to his friend.

  “Don’t know.” Rodrick shrugged “Probably all their money they were supposed to arm their garrison with.”

  Staring back up at the ceiling, Damon attempted to count the Illumination stones before being cut off by Rodrick pulling his shirt to bring him up to the front.

  Ten long lines of people greeted the duo. Placed in front of the long lines was a desk that seems to be manned by a Government clerk who appeared to be handing out badges to people. Beside the clerks were a group of soldiers in leather armor and spears lined up watching over everything, probably making sure things were going smoothly. Standing behind the ten clerks were another group of awakeners now broken into lines of seven in front of the giant double doors.

  Damon and Rodrick chose a random line and waited quietly. Whispering to each other every few minutes after noticing the solemn atmosphere. After half an hour they finally reached the middle aged clerk who looked like he wished to be anywhere else but here.

  “Name?” The clerk asked, not bothering to look up.

  “Rodrick” Rodrick answered with a raised brow.

  “What? No last name? Are you an orphan?” Reaching for farthest the pile of badges from him, still not bothering to look up.

  “No,” He answered sternly. “ I have a last name.”

  “Then what's your last name?” Pulling his hand back before placing it back on top of the pile in front of him.

  “Margrave” Rodrick answered calmly, now staring into the now shocked eyes of the clerk with his own.

  The clerk scanned the boy in front of him wearing a shirt that probably cost a silver or two and pants that appeared faded from the constant use. “Ah, the commoner side.” The clerk laughed to himself. "Of course it's the commoner side. Having one of the Great Houses visiting is already a miracle. Two is just a dream." Shifting his attention back to the book in front of him, he threw a badge across the table.

  “Next.”

  Rodrick glared at the man before grabbing his badge and walking past the clerk towards the group of Awakeners lined up in front of the giant double doors.

  Damon, seeing all this, glared at the man as soon as it was his turn.

  “Name?”

  “Damon Beaumont” Damon hoped his glare was burning the top of the disrespectful clerks head. Catching his badge that was thrown across the table, nearly falling off, Damon knew his hopes fell short. Sending a final glare, Damon walked past the clerk choosing to side with peace. Glancing down at the badge in his hand, it read “D”. Looking up to the five lines he tilted his head in search of group “D”. Within a few moments, Damon found it and made his way there.

  Reaching his destination, he took the opportunity to scan his surroundings and fellow line mates. Giving a quick scan he found no signs of his tall mustached friend. Each line had about a few hundred people which was growing by the minute. Damon was having trouble finding his mustache wearing friend.

  In his search, he found a red haired boy standing at the front of the ‘A’ line that was made up of noble children. The red haired boy was staring straight ahead, not bothering with those around him. Damon observed the boy to be around his age and of average height. Of course aside from his height, everything else screamed ‘special’. The boy wore expensive looking red silk robes that had a design of a black dragon peeking over his shoulder from the front as if it was watching the boy's back for anything brave enough to touch the him. On his waist was a black sash that appeared to match in color with the black dragon making it seem as if they were connected. From what he noticed, the boy held a status way higher than any noble here.

  Damon had a feeling that the red haired boy might have been riding the black ship that he saw flying over the city earlier in the day. With his outfit and demeanor, it would make the most sense in his eyes.

  After finding no one else familiar nor anything interesting Damon shifted his attention back to the ceiling to once again begin his count of Illumination Stones in hopes of speeding up the time. After an hour passed and losing the will to count after messing up his count a few times, a man dressed in silver robes, stood atop a small box grabbing his attention.

  “Attention Awakeners.” His voice echoed throughout the giant hall silencing the chatter and whispers from the Awakeners. With their attention now his, the man on the box continued “Behind me are the doors to your fates. The beginning of your journeys…” The man paused before continuing “or the end of your hopes.”

  “Whichever outcome it is, you will only find out once you pass these doors.” The man gestured to the doors behind him. The Awakeners looked towards the giant double doors with a mix of emotions: Fear, excitement, nervousness, and hope.

  Satisfied with the reactions, the man continued with a nod “ Now for instructions. Listen carefully because I won’t say it again. Once you pass these doors in front of you, there will be seven stages. Each stage from left to right, are from A,B, C and so forth. Your badge will tell you where you belong. Once lined up, you simply wait your turn. Simple enough right?” Without waiting for an answer the man stepped off the small box and moved to the side. The man stood there with a stoic expression that did not change even with the thousands of eyes that followed him.

  The confusion and nervousness was plain to see on the Awakeners whose heads were on swivels wondering what to do. Although the crowd of children were skittish, not a single person let out a noise. Everyone held their tongues and stood waiting.

  After a few minutes, their wait finally came to an end once a soldier came running out the cave to whisper into the ear of the official who gave the speech.

  Damon watched the man turn to the soldiers by the doors and nod. With the message received, the soldiers pulled open the giant doors that held his fate and the fate of many others.

  Damon just hoped it would be a fate he could be proud of.

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