prologue .ೃ࿐
The sunlight glistened every part of the ground it touched, birds chirped at every direction they knew, windows allowing the glare of the sun in, letting the people of the continent of Aseria know of the special day that had finally arrived. It was one day that Afrina had looked forward to ever since she knew of the existence of magic.
It was the day where she would find out if she was just a normal girl or a Mystic. Her child-like mind had fantasied over the day ever since knowing the existence of magic. Her giddy emotions brought infinite joy to her parents as they looked at her with such love and adoration every child yearned for. None of her family members were Mystics which made Afrina's desire to be one grow even more, the idea of using magic to protect her loved ones was an innocent idea she loved so dearly. The idea of magic fascinated her, it was the coolest thing she had ever known. What could be better in the mind of a young girl?
Her father walked her to the Yeosya school for Mystics, also known as the Academy of Magics, Daewon. It was founded thousands of years ago and held the title of being the most prestigious magic school in all of Aseria, leading to many families with at least one child who was a Mystic moving to Yeosya, to reduce the transportation fees their child would require and also for the potential better life that Yeosya could give. Daewon and other magic schools also welcome mythical creatures, it was not just a heaven for humans, it was all so amazing that Afrina did not know what to do if she wasn't a Mystic and did not get to experience all of the foreign magical stuff there were to offer. Needless to say, she was beyond excited. Her life would be so different if her dream came true, she yearned for her dream to be a reality. Her father had promised that he'd wait for her and treat her to the best meal of her life after that, no matter the result.
Meanwhile, all the way in the Yeosya, in a castle, a 9 year old, who shared the same fate as Afrina, refused to wake up despite it being almost noon, with the sun practically trying to burn her room with the heat. Her sister was desperately trying to wake her up with every humane method possible. It seemed that her younger sister was far too gone into her sleep.
"Lee Aera!" Screamed her 15 year old sister. "Do you want to know if you're a Mystic or not?" Lee Rina was not a girl fit to handle Lee Aera, and yet, they were related.
"Mhmmm leave me alone," Aera mumbled as she dragged her blanket over her face. Who knew a child could be so sleepy?
"Fine, be a nogictian then," her older sister, Rina, replied. Her tone was one of exhaustion and annoyance, a tone commonly used by Rina while talking to Aera.
"Hmm strawberries," Aera mumbled in her sleep, she clearly wasn't any closer to waking up.
"Devil's shit, help me," Rina sighed a disappointed breath as she walked towards the kitchen and returned with a bucket of water, the palace maids, also known as court ladies, or in the Yeosyan language, gungnyeo, looked at her with an uncountable amount of concern. It was moments like this when she wished she was an Aqualis, or an only child. She went back and poured the bucket over her sister, the impact of the water hitting her face was all it took to wake the little princess from her lazy slumber.
"What was that for!" Aera complained. Rina simply pointed out the slightly opened door, allowing sunlight to sneak in.
"Uh so?" Aera asked, not sensing the severity of the situation. Rina wished she had a sister with a better brain. A functioning brain would be all Aera needed to be a normal person. Lee Aera was easily the weirdest breed of human Rina had ever seen. How does one be this stupid was a question Rina did not want to know the answer of.
"Do you even know what day it is today?" She asked.
"Everyday is the same, can I go back to sleep now?" Aera replied before laying down on her bed once more.
"Do you want to know if you're a Mystic or not?" Rina snapped before scoffing. "You have to be joking at this point."
Aera sat up, processing what her older sister had just said for around 10 seconds before dashing out of her room, cursing and getting ready to shower. The way her face changed from one with nothing but confusion into one mixed with everything from horror to terror. She ran around, gathering her clothes and everything she need to shower as though running from a sadistic murderer.
"Aera! You're a girl and a princess! You shouldn't curse," their father shouted as he stormed into Aera's bedroom only to see her gone. Rina could only assume that their father, too, wanted to wake the little girl up, hence why he was even here.
"She's showering," Rina replied.
"Tell her to start acting like a lady," father demanded, looking down on his daughter with his arms crossed behind his back. "I shall have no barbarian for a daughter."
Aera would never do that and Rina knew that, her little sister was as stubborn as a rock and as observant as one too. If there was anything about that girl, it was that she was born without shame.
It seemed that Aera was not the only child who needed help to be awaken, a village boy had the same fate as well. They were getting ready for the same thing as Aera. It seemed that the ceremony was getting people anxious and filled with anticipation.
"Lis!" A girl cheered. "Get ready!" The younger sister was jumping up and down, tugging onto the sleeve of the boy she viewed as her protector. Her older brother. She was trying to wake him up.
"Panhia," Lis muttered as his little sister dragged him out of the comfort he called a bed. "Panhia La Vang, leave me alone." His voice sounded tired and dragged out, just as his sister was dragging him out of the comforts of his bed. All he wanted was just a few seconds more of sleep. Why was that so impossible to achieve?
"I want to know if you're Mystic," Panhia whined as she turned to face her brother, pouting. She was a 5 year old full of energy. Too much energy for Lis to handle.
A part of Lis did not want to go as he knew how much his family detested the Mystics. If he were to become one... It'd be disastrous. His family did not view Mystics as something as beautiful and pure like the view of nature with waterfalls and riddled with flowers, they saw it as something as hideous and filthy like muddy ponds riddled with dead fish.
"I want a Mystic brother to protect me!" Panhia cheered, oblivious to her brother's hesitation. "Or I will become one to protect him." Her innocent little grin made Lis smile. She was so pure and kind, he loved her more than anything. He could never imagine life without her.
"Let's promise to protect each other," said Lis. "No matter what happens."
"Promise!" Panhia grinned.
"Lis Phia! Let's go already," his mother boomed. "We're almost late!"
Mystic seeing day was the only day where all transportation would not be charged. Anyone could go wherever they desired, it was a day many would use to their best abilities. In Aseria, Yeosya was the only country available for young children to discover their abilities. Foreigners would have to plan months ahead before the ceremony or else they would not be able to make it to Yeosya. Boats were often filled with passengers months prior and domestic dragons were often fully booked. Nobody liked that.
Lis' mother whined. "We're going to be late!" Her children were extremely slow, she did not like it one bit. She barely managed to book a domestic dragon.
The only Mystic power seeing ceremony took place in Yeosya as it was where The Academy of Magics, Daewon, was at and many foreign people detested the idea, including Lis' mother, Xee Xia Hang. It seemed that the idea for the people who do Mystic seeing to be the ones doing the traveling had been disapproved due to lack of funds by the school once more.
"We're going to be so late," Xee complained. Lis weren't going to be the only person that was late though. The Yeosyan princess had a friend that was waiting for her. Aera had showered well beyond the agreed timing with her friend.
"Aera!" Ashvina shouted as she was let in the Jinjoo Palace. "How long do you take to shower?"
"She's almost done," said Rina. "She woke up around 15 minutes ago."
Ashvina was done. She had known Aera for years and there was never a day where she wasn't done with her shenanigans, how does Ashvina handle her shenanigans will always amaze her. It was a mystery Ashvina will never have a clue to. Yet for some reason, Aera was a friend she wanted to keep for the rest of her days.
"Nobody woke her up?" Ashvina asked even though she already knew the answer. She did not know why she even asked.
"Many tried, many failed," Rina explained. "It's Aera. She is full of nothing but surprises. Bad surprises."
"I am ready!" Said Aera as she burst out of the bathroom with her hair still wet and dripping onto her outfit, Rina and Ashvina couldn't have been more disappointed.
"Are you serious?" Ashvina asked. Should she laugh or cry?
Rina ordered a servant to get a towel for Aera while she used her Flarion powers from a distance away to help dry her stupid little sister's hair, hopefully the heat would somehow speed up the process. Ashvina simply sat down at one side and took a book from the royal family's library and started reading. The servant soon arrived with a towel and handed it over to Aera and she started to dry her hair.
"We're almost late!" Ashvina pointed out.
Aera didn't quicken up her pace though, she didn't seem to realise how urgent Ashvina sounded. Aera was as observant as a rock after all. She wouldn't realise anything until moments later. It wasn't until Rina took the towel that Aera realised what was going on and finally understood the depth of the situation.
"You need to change your brain," said Ashvina.
"No, imagine the person getting her brain, poor thing," Rina replied. "Aera has to be one of the biggest idiots ever."
"Excuse me?" Aera mumbled but she was far too soft to have her words heard, the other two didn't manage to hear what she had just said. It took around 15 minutes for Aera's hair to dry completely and she hopped into the royal carriage alongside Ashvina, saying goodbye to Rina. Just as she thought she could catch a break, her father had news for her.
"Rina, come here," ordered the king, who also happened to be her dearest father.
"What do you want?" She asked as she walked into the palace and greeted her father as he sat on the golden throne. The colour had never suited a man more.
"Let's take a stroll in the garden," he smiled. Something wasn't right, his smile didn't seem innocent. He stood up and walked Rina to the garden behind the palace. It had lots of green and plenty of flora and fauna, there's vines everywhere, some wrapping itself onto a shelter and a swing. Even as a young child, Lee Rina knew how to read faces, and her father's face had bad news spilled all over it.
"Do you remember the war that almost happened between us and Fermia when I married your mother?" He asked.
"Uh... of course I do," Rina replied. He was supposed to marry the Fermian princess but he rebelled and married Rina's mother, a normal lady from Caiji, a Nogictian. It caused outrage within both families but it was solved by a promise, a treaty, one that both Rina and Aera didn't know about. They only knew that the Fermia princess married into the Caiji royal family. The Fermian princess was against the marriage she was supposed to have with Rina's father and had always been in love with the Caiji prince. It was a win for their hearts but a loss to their family.
"Do you know what the promise is?" He asked as he walked the both of them into the vine covered shelter and sat on its bench. "The treaty your grandfather signed?"
"You never told me and Aera," Rina replied. She was getting curious as a weird feeling was building up in her stomach. Her father took a deep breath, this was obviously not something that he wanted to say. In fact, he dreaded it, he knew Rina wasn't going to react well. She was his daughter after all. He knew her well. The both of them were the same kind of people. She would have the same reaction he once did.
"The promise was for you to marry the Fermia prince once you're of age, which is 25," he explained. "He's just a year older and the second son of the current ruler."
A bloody arranged marriage.
"Are you kidding me?" Rina asked as rage boiled inside of her. She was very close to setting everything on fire. She could explode into flames and have everything go down with her temper. But she knew better than to just explode.
"Please calm down," he urged.
"You're marrying me off to prevent another war?" She stated. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She never expected this from her father. The unbelievable rage began to rise from the pit of her heart as she let the nightmare of a news sink in. "You're sending me to a pack of wolves!"
"No. He is coming to marry you and you'll stay here. You'll be queen and he will be the prince as he isn't a descendant from our family," he explained. "I had demanded that from Fermia. No abomination from that country shall rule what is rightfully ours."
"That doesn't make it better," Rina replied before leaving the shelter and escaping into the garden. She needed to clear her mind. Her father let her leave and she was glad he did. The comforting silence would give her everything she needed. She needed to be left alone, she loved being alone. Loneliness was the biggest comfort she had, her sole best friend. One that would give her the silence she ever so desired, making her feel unknown.
She walked around the outskirts of Donghae for what felt like eons, she enjoyed how the outskirts made her feel. It has a calming effect on her. The greenery and flowers were her favourite parts of the field. She often walked in the fields when she felt stressed, or she would play some of her favourite songs in her room if she wasn't able to go out. She loved her record player.
She laid down on the grass and stared up at the ever so white and fluffy looking clouds and saw a pretty lilac coloured bird with a forked feathered tail, which had the same colour as an amethyst flying by. She knew which bird species that bird was, it was the Ombré-Feathers Coronet, a type of hummingbird, those birds were pretty well-known for their ability to change colours, they were also Rina's favourite too. The scenery was pleasing to her until an arrow was shot into the bird's wing, causing it to drop into the river below. Rina immediately stood up and ran after the bird, hoping to rescue it.
She took around 15 minutes to reach the riverbank, by then, the bird was gone. Probably sunk deep into the river to its demise. However, an injured boy, probably older than Rina by at least a year, was sitting under the tree, with an injured arm. An arrow was shot into his shoulder. What was wrong with hunters?
"The bird sank and drowned before I could rescue it and that darn hunter shot me too," he whined after his eyes found their way to Rina, probably knowing that the bird was why Rina was there.
"Uh... I guess I can... get some... help," Rina replied awkwardly. She wasn't used to talking to strangers. All she wanted to do was run away and leave him be. But she was a princess, the world would tear her to shreds.
The boy looked at her hesitantly before looking back at his injured arm. "Make it quick," he said, not even making eye contact with Rina, his eyes barely leaving his wound.
Almost immediately, she sent out her mystical bird, which took the form of a Phoenix and it looked as though it was made out of fire. The boy stared at the firebird as it flew in the direction of the palace. Mystical birds were something only Mystics had, it could fly anywhere, pass any message onto another Mystic or a normal person. A normal person had domestic telegeons to deliver their messages. A telegeon were like messenger pigeons, except they could teleport from anywhere, anytime. A Mystic's mystical bird would bore the user's powers alongside its form, which was often the user's favourite bird. She had sent her's back to the palace, hoping that a palace Healer would see it and come to their aid.
Rina has never seen this boy before. He had a messy middle part dark brown hair and it was long too. His straw hat was beside him, all torn up, she wondered how he was able to walk about without his hair even slightly tied. His eyes were also of the exact same shade. His nose and lips also appeared appealing to Rina. He had bow-shaped lips that were peachy in colour and matched his pale skin complexion. He had a roman nose as well. His eyes were the same shape as Rina's, big eyes, round and slanted, except his eyes resembled a cat's, dark brown too. The kind of dark brown where it looks almost black, it's really common in Yeosya. Really common in most parts of Aseria.
She and the boy didn't exchange any more words as they waited for help, allowing for silence to fill the air. Rina was hoping that her palace maids or doctors would arrive soon. They seemed to be taking such a long time and she was growing impatient. She wasn't the most patient person around. She wanted out.
The injured boy looked at Rina as she fidgeted her fingers nervously, he was confused. What was she waiting for? She could just leave and get some Healer, there should be one nearby. Was she stupid? It then dawned on him that she could've potentially called a Healer over with her firebird earlier. He mentally scolded himself for not realising that sooner.
His wound was still hurting him and he needed help to stop the bleeding, he couldn't do that all by himself with just one hand. Reluctantly, he called Rina for help.
"Hey... hey?" He called out. "I need help with this," he pointed to his bleeding arm. Rina looked at him before looking back at the arrow. "This might hurt," she said. He didn't even have the time to process what she had just said as she looked around for a cloth that she could use to tie around his wound, she used his outer wear as she did not want to stain her outfit and slowly began tying, sending a sharp pain throughout his body as he winced. She had tightened the cloth around his wound really tightly, sealing off as much blood flow as she could, reducing blood loss.
Bastard shooter, he shouldn't have transformed into his bird form. He wouldn't have to be sitting here, bleeding out, if it wasn't for that bastard. He just wanted to escape from his father. Have some taste of freedom.
Stupid father, stupid kingdom.
His elder brother was the only person keeping him sane there. But he wouldn't be surprised if he turned on him as well. He was Sim Junghyuk afterall, black sheep of the Fermia Royalty. The one with different ideas for the future of the kingdom, ideas that never sat right with his father. Sim Junghyuk, the Fermia disappointment. Sim Junghyuk, the useless prince of Fermia.
It didn't take long for a Healer to finally arrive at the scene and escortes both teenagers back to the palace. Junghyuk panicked a little, what if his father was at the castle? This wasn't going to end well if he was there, he ran away from the castle, it was bad. He would have to live through hell for weeks. But what choice did he have? He was nothing but a slave to fate. How would he fight against that?
As they made their way back to the palace, a little girl was on her way to the Mystic seeing ceremony. She was rather early.
There was a list where every child of age needed to write their name on and she was no exception. Her name was among the first five people.
Rafeeda Jafari sat down at the first row as she waited for the ceremony to begin. After the ceremony, she would move to another continent for her father's job transfer. As she sat down, she could hear some adults talking about her weight, something that made her look down on the floor and tried to block out their voices. She couldn't wait to get back home, she hated it here. It wasn't her fault that she was heavier than others. Why do they even care?
She could hear several adults, both male and female, communicating in a foreign language, one she assumed to be Yeosyan. She could understand a little of what they were saying. They were wondering which kids here would be Mystics. It seemed that even adults were just as excited as the children.
Rafeeda took in a deep breath as she watched the sun outside, trying to analyse the weather in order to judge the time, the time where the Mystic seeing ceremony would finally begin. She was beyond nervous, her family were all Mystics and there was a lot of pressure on her as she was the youngest child and her parents didn't want her to be a disappointment to the family. Her family was one of the strongest family of Mystics in her country, a line of powerful Luminas.
She watched as children started filling up the seats and the minutes tickled by. Her palms were sweating at this point. They were drenched with sweat from her nervousness. When was it starting?
Rafeeda wasn't the only nervous one, many other people appeared fearful of their upcoming fate. However, there was only one boy that seemed weirdly calm, it seemed as though he didn't care at all. Afshin Nouzari.
To him, this was like any ordinary day, he didn't really care that much. Just get this day over with and he would be able to go back home and have a peaceful nap. All he wanted was just rest, time to himself. He didn't want many things. He was a simple boy.
He would just have to go to a new school if he had powers, that's all. He was certain that he would survive the change, he was quite the independent boy given the fact that his parents were often working and his elder sister had her own things to do. He knew how to handle himself at the young age of 9, his entire childhood were spent being an adult,
He noticed that many kids started talking as a certain guest entered, he was confused. He took a look at the person who had just entered and didn't see the big deal, until he heard someone say princess. The guest was most likely the princess of Yeosya. She looked like every other child around. An excited little girl awaiting what could possibly be the biggest news of her life. Just how different the princess was to regular children?
"Alright kids!" A man shouted. His sudden voice startled Afshin and he almost jumped from his seat. His loud voice had startled many children and he seemed to take pride in it, considering the fact that he had let out a small chuckle. "It's time for your sorting ceremony!"
Afshin sat as upright as he could while he listened. The announcers were going to call out kids in order of a list which every kid had written their name on when they arrived, basically the later someone arrived, the longer they would have to wait. Afshin was glad that he made the decision to be early. He could get home as fast as he came.
"First two are... Kashiwa Hiroya (柏 浩也) and Kashiwa Nagisa (柏 凪紗)!" The announcer announced as two siblings sat up, they looked similar so Afshin assumed that they were siblings. Twins to be more accurate. They most likely were, they had the same surnames.
A few minutes passed and neither had left the room and Afshin was growing worried as he waited. What was going on?
"Next up... Mae Woojin and Rafeeda Jafari!" The announcer called out once again as a short Yeosyan boy stood up, followed by a plump Sulastani girl.
Rafeeda made her way into the room and watched as Woojin made his way closer to the testers.
"Are you a right hander or a left hander?" Asked a lady wearing a white uniform with her hair tied in a loose bun, her hair pins of Yeosyan design poked out of her messily done hair. Strands fell out, making her look sloppy and tired of her job. But the sight of that woman appealed to Rafeeda.
"Right," Woojin replied. The lady ordered him to open up the palm of his right hand and placed a red rock on it.
Nothing, both Woojin and Rafeeda were confused, they knew nothing of what was going on, neither of them having older siblings to inform them of what was to come. The lady changed the rock after seeing no reaction. This time, she chose the dark blue one.
Again, no reaction, so she changed it again, to the green one. And to the silver one, and to the white one, next, the golden one, followed by the black one, then the yellow one, next was the gray one and lastly, the pale blue one.
Rafeeda finally realised what they were after the golden one. Those were stones that determined if they were a Mystic or a Nogictian.
Red was fire, Flarions. Dark blue was water, Aqualis. Green was plant, Terrane. Sliver was metal, Argents. White was wind, Avian. Golden was light, Lumina. Black was dark, Dusk. Grey was lightning, Flash. Pale blue was ice, Glazer.
After Woojin failed to get any reaction from the rocks, he was told to leave from where he had entered. This means that he was a Nogictian. Woojin hung his head as he left, he clearly wanted to be a Mystic, now his dreams were crushed.
And now it was Rafeeda's turn. She walked a few steps before stopping in front of the lady.
"What's your name?" The lady asked sweetly while smiling at Rafeeda with the most angelic smile she has ever seen.
"Rafeeda Jafari," she responded in a soft voice as the lady took out the Flarion stone and placed it on her hand. Nothing, no reaction.
Aqualis stone didn't get a reaction out of her either. It just felt like any regular stone to her.
Next was Terrane stone, even though it didn't draw out anything. Rafeeda was getting nervous at this point. What if she wasn't one? What would her family say?
"There's no need to be scared," the lady reassured. "We have plenty more stones to test with." She grinned as she took the Argent stone and placed it on Rafeeda's palm, it was like she had read the worries that plagued Rafeeda's mind. Once again, she failed to get a reaction out of the stone.
The lady placed the Avian stone next and there was still nothing. Rafeeda sighed, she was a Nogictian wasn't she?
The lady then placed the Lumina stone on Rafeeda's palm and suddenly, the room lit up with light coming from her hand. It was enough to light up a cave. Rafeeda started to grin like an idiot as she realised what she was, a Lumina. Just like the rest of her family.
"See?" Said the lady. "You're a Mystic! Now we have two more left!" The lady took the Lumina stone away and took out the Dusk stone.
Rafeeda smiled in response as the lady placed the Dusk stone on her palm and the room began to darken. Pitch black swallowed the once brightly lit room. This was the complete opposite from the Lumina stone as Rafeeda couldn't see anything among the darkness that had swallowed everything whole.
It was when the Dusk stone was removed from her hand that she was able to see the sweet lady in front of her again. She smiled brightly at Rafeeda before continuing, "Now we just have to see if you're a Crafter or a Healer!"
The lady took out two wooden planks and told Rafeeda to hover her hand over them in order to turn them into boxes. Rafeeda did as she was told, her hands were above the planks as she concentrated her mind on an image of a wooden box, hoping to be able to conjure out a box that was at least somewhat functional.
Nothing happened. The lady simply took the planks away and replaced them with an injured cat.
"Don't worry, I didn't harm the cat on purpose, he's a Mutater actually. My co-worker sprained his ankle and I decided to use him for today," the lady explained as the cat shot back a disdained look, which only made the lady's smile widen instead. "Now I want you to try and heal his ankle."
Rafeeda stared at the cat, who's eyeing the lady intensely. She wasn't sure if she could do it. Poor cat, or guy. Rafeeda concentrated her thoughts on a healed ankle and hovered her hands over the injured ankle. Both the lady and the cat watched as nothing happened to the ankle. The cat seemed disappointed, it seemed that his broken ankle would have to find a Healer among the sea of children waiting outside.
"And that's the end of our testing," said the lady as she took the cat away and placed him on her lap. "Open the door behind me and wait until we're done with testing everyone else."
Rafeeda waved her hand at the lady before heading towards the door and opened it. There was Kashiwa Hiroya (柏 浩也) and Kashiwa Nagisa (柏 凪紗), chatting away. They probably made it as well.
Next up was Afshin Nouzari and Li Jiaying (李嘉樱). Afshin calmly opened the door and entered, smiling at the adults as he did so.
He was the first one to be tested and he was surprised when the lady sitting at the counter placed a red rock on his palm. He had no idea what the rock was supposed to do. Jiaying looked at Afshin's confusion with a frown, it seemed that she had someone tell her about what to expect which led to her being confused as to why nobody told Afshin. She had the urge to tell him but decided to keep her mouth shut and let Afshin figure out everything himself. She figured that it would be a fun little surprise.
"Uh... what is this supposed to do?" He asked, his face rising up to meet with the friendly lady's patient smile.
"It is supposed to trigger Flarion magic, guess you're not a Flarion then," the lady smiled sweetly as she repeated the process with other coloured stones.
It was when the white stone was placed on Afshin's hand that a reaction was triggered. The whole room was filled with a strong gust of wind that had Li Jiaying screaming, fearing that she might just somehow be blown away. Afshin froze as he realised what this meant for him, he was an Avian. He hadn't realised it until the lady pointed out, he was grinning, the widest grin she had seen in days.
The next time a reaction was triggered was when the grey stone. A zap could be heard once his palm touched the stone. Soon, harmless lightning could be seen in the room, it was harmless but it still terrified Li Jiaying to the point where she started screaming for help again. It was like a storm had moved from the skies and right into the palm of Afshin. It took several minutes to calm her down while the lady continued testing Afshin to see if he was a Crafter and Healer or not. He was a Crafter. He managed to somehow make a wooden box out of a few planks. They were floating as he waved his hands around, the planks twisted and turned, fitting other planks together in order to make the box. The lady appeared astonished at the result.
"You can head to the room behind me," the lady grinned. "Your Crafter skills seem pretty well trained already. I am sure you would excel."
Afshin nodded with thanks before slowly heading to the door and opening it. He had a feeling that those children in the room with him now were Mystics as well. His future classmates.
Time flew by as another room opened up to quicken the process of the Mystics seeing ceremony, it seemed that the amount of children had increased from the previous year. Idle kids were getting restless and playful. Quiet kids were sleeping. Sociable kids were causing a nuisance. A few kids left the room, where they see if they're a Mystic, disappointed. A multitude of emotions could be seen being displayed by various people all over the ceremony, some left happily knowing they have no powers, while some brawled all of the moisture out of their body. The ceremony went on for hours and hours, the sun seemed to be setting soon when it was finally Lis Phia Vang's turn.
"Good luck!" Panhia grinned as she frantically waved goodbye to Lis. His mother did not look happy, "Don't disappoint me," was all she said, with the fakest smile she could give.
Lis smiled back as he was led into the room where all the children entered. Nervousness entered his mind as he saw the few adults in the room. He had no idea what was going to happen and he didn't like that feeling at all. He wasn't fortunate enough to have anyone tell him what to expect, for his family pride themselves for being powerless, not freaks with powers.
"So who's first?" Asked the lady at the front desk, beaming at the two kids standing right infront of her.
Lis raised his hand as the lady motioned for him to sit on the chair in front of her desk. He obliged and coloured rocks after colour rocks were placed on his hands. It didn't take long for him to realise what it was, he was a smart boy afterall. His grandfather had told him the process of the ceremony. He was the only sane adult Lis had known.
None of the rocks managed to trigger any reaction out of Lis until the silver one. Metal items around the room started to twist and turn, causing a creaking sound in the room. The lady quickly removed the silver stone from Lis' palm as soon as the metal items started reacting. Lis stared at the metal item closest to him, keys to the door he had just entered from. He hadn't expected that at all.
"Congrats! You're an Argent!" Said the lady cheerfully as the testing went on.
Nothing happened for a while until the white stone was placed onto Lis' palm. That's when a gust of wind flooded the room, turning Lis' head of hair into a mess. The lady seemed unfazed at the fact that Lis had accidentally summoned a strong wind, but then again, she was doing this test for hours. Who knows what she had to endure for hours.
"Oh cool, you're an Avian too!" The lady grinned.
Lis only had two more tests left. Healer or Crafter. He wished that he was a Crafter. He loved building things. But clearly his wish didn't come true since he achieved no results from his last two tests. He was just an Argent and Avian, a Mystic without any other special ability. He was upset over not being able to build but it was better than being a powerless person, he wanted to have powers. He was happy but he knew his mother would not be. Nobody in the family condoned magic. One did but he was no longer alive.
The lady gestured to a room for him to go and he entered. What greeted him was a bunch of kids being loud and chaotic, some were even trying to summon their powers to no avail. They would be his future classmates from now on.
Outside, Aera and Ashvina were waiting rather impatiently. Aera was complaining to Ashvina, who only listened to half of her complaints. Aera was the one without any patience while Ashvina had built up her own patience thanks to Aera. It has been hours now, even with ten rooms, Ashvina and Aera still had to wait for hours. At this point, the sun was already gone, the glistening crescent moon was available up high in the night sky. Ashvina and Aera were among the last few to be tested. It would be nice to be early.
"Hmm... Ashvina Shivaamithan and... oh my... Lee Aera!" Said the announcer, clearly not expecting the princess of Yeosya to be here.
"Finally!" Aera squealed as she leaped off her seat and ran towards the direction of the room with Ashvina following slowly behind her.
Ashvina was the first one to be tested and she was confused when a rock was placed on her palm. She had expected something more... magical. Not a rock being placed on her palm. Nonetheless, Ashvina didn't complain as she waited for the results.
The red stone didn't trigger anything but as soon as it got to the blue one, the room started to flood. Aera started screaming as the water reached her knees. The water soon disappeared as soon as the rock was removed from Ashvina's palm.
"I thought I was going to drown," said Aera. She doesn't know how to swim. She had thought her life might have just ended right there and then.
The testing continued, rocks after rocks were placed on Ashvina's palm, none of them triggered any reaction until it reached the black coloured stone. This time round, the whole room turned pitch black, taking both Ashvina and Aera by surprise. The light returned as the stone was removed from Ashvina's palm. So she was an Aqualis and Dusk. It seemed to be a unique combination which led Ashvina to look forward to her classes learning magic.
"There's only two more tests left!" The lady smiled as she held up a cat for Ashvina to try on. The same cat that had the broken ankle, it had been fixed but the lady got a Healer to undo it for the test. It seemed that she and the cat had some history together. The cat could be seen glaring at the lady the entire test while she winked at its glare.
The lady and the man, who turned into the very same cat, were a married couple. They knew each other for their whole lives, watched the same moon together and judged the sunrise side by side.
Ashvina aww-ed at how cute the cat was and Aera joined in, they were young girls who couldn't resist the side of an adorable little feline, it was a good thing they had no idea it was a grown man. Ashvina even held up the injured leg of the cat and to her surprise, the injury seemed to be slowly healing and the healing process seemed to be enjoyable for the cat.
"Uh..." Ashvina muttered. "This is good right?"
"Was this supposed to happen?" Aera asked.
"Yes! Congratulations, you're a Healer as well! And you didn't hurt the cat on your first time healing! Such a heart of gold, I hope to see you as a good nurse! Many people accidentally do harm during their first time, some due to an impure mind. Ashvina, you'll do well." The lady smiled as she gestured for Ashvina to enter the room behind her.
At last, it was Aera's turn to be tested. Aera stared at the rocks as they were being placed on her palm. They looked just like every other rock. It was only the colours that were different and unique to other rocks. She wondered how the rocks came about to be the Mystic rocks. How does one even tell the difference?
Aera almost jumped when she saw vines coming from underneath her as soon as the green rock was placed on her palm. She didn't even realise what that meant. It was obvious but she was just in too much shock to realise.
"You're a Terrane," the lady smiled.
"Huh?" Aera was confused. She had no idea what that meant.
It took her a solid ten seconds to finally understand what it meant as the testing continued. Nothing special happened until she reached the silver stone. All of the metal in the room started to bend out of shape.
"Uh..." Aera muttered. "Was this supposed to happen?" She had thought that only a small amount of metal would be affected, not all of it around her. It was surprising. Rina had gave her a brief idea of what to expect but Aera was still surprised.
"It's nothing to be worried about," the lady explained as she removed the rock from Aera's palm and everything went back to normal. "You're an Argent as well. You must be a real good one if everything is bending. I see potential boiling up in you."
The lady ushered Aera to the same room she told Ashvina to enter as the testing ended. Aera wasn't a Healer or Crafter. She wasn't interested in either anyway.
"Hmm... Afrina Munni," said the announcer. Afrina almost fell asleep while waiting for her turn. She was late by a few hours due to the long queue outside the entrance admitting people in but still made it in time, before the testing had ended. If she had missed the testing, she would have to wait for another month where the testers visit the houses of everyone that had missed it, and pay to be tested.
She quickly got up and entered the room which she was escorted into. There was a friendly looking lady with a smile on her face. She waved to Afrina and motioned for her to sit down and Afrina complied. She watched as the lady placed a red stone on her hand and almost screamed when her hand caught on fire, which rapidly spread everywhere, swallowing everything in its path. The fire didn't feel like anything, it wasn't painful like what she was expecting. It felt like nothing. almost like it was not even there at all.
"What just happened?" Afrina demanded as soon as the stone was removed from her hand and the fire disappeared. She thought that she was going to die for a moment. It was such a scary sight for a young child to behold.
"It's nothing dangerous," the lady explained. "But it seems you have great potential. You'll do great it seems."
"Really?" Afrina asked. The lady nodded as the testing continued. The moment the blue stone was placed on Afrina's palm, water started to appear out of nowhere in the room, startling her once again.
The lady removed the stone and the water disappeared, but Afrina's fear didn't, on the bright side, at least it wasn't as scary as the fire. The testing still continued to see if Afrina was a Healer or Crafter or neither. She was neither. Neither tests brought up any results.
The next thing she knew, she was being ushered into a room full of people her age. People she assumed to be Mystics, like her. She looked around and saw an empty spot beside two girls and she sat down.
The two girls were having a conversation and one of them appeared done with the other girl. Afrina recognised one of them to be the princess of Yeosya.
"I think I should give myself a nickname," said the princess. "Aera can be a bit boring, you know."
"Sure if you want to," replied the other friend. "Just make sure that it's not something worse."
"I think Ivy would be a good choice," the princess grinned at the silly name choice that her mind had produced. It was a reference to her being a Terrane, clearly something creative.
And so the hours went on. It was already midnight when the testing was completed. Most of the kids were sleeping. It was announced that most of them would be able to attend Daewon if they wanted to since Daewon decided to accept as many students as they could into their school. There were other schools that they could attend as well, in other countries but Daewon was everyone's favourite. Hence everyone wanted Daewon and started prepping for the entrance exam that they would have to take in order to get in.
It was also a good time for people to start befriending each other. Those extroverts started befriending each other faster than lightning, so as to not live a lonely school life. Afrina picked up the courage and talked to the princess and her friend. She didn't want to enter school without any friends and this was her perfect chance to get one. Besides, who would miss the chance to befriend a princess? It was a bonus that Aera seemed as kind and innocent as her face had suggested. Ashvina also seemed like a kind soul, and she also looked to be a foreigner which meant that Afrina would have someone just like her in a foreign school, in a foreign land.
Maybe Daewon would be fun, maybe it wouldn't. Either way, it was sure to be a fun experience. A whole new life was waiting for all of them. A completely new experience.
While the testing was going on, Rina was busy looking after the injured boy she had found. No words were exchanged between them as time passed, silence was the only thing found among them, aside from all of the cloth used to wipe his blood. Only a thank you left his mouth after she and some nurses treated his injury. He left rather quickly after that, alone and to some place unknown to Rina. Aera arrived home hours after he had left and Rina updated her on the mysterious boy she had just found. The sisters often shared stories with each other, even the stupid ones.
"Are you falling for him?" Aera asked. "This is going to be a cute love story! Please find him again!"
Rina sighed, Aera's hopeless romantic side would never fade. She has been like this ever since she started reading romance books, which was five. She was a curious child, wandering everywhere at places she shouldn't, seeing things she shouldn't be exposed to.
"Also one more thing," said Aera. "I gave myself a nickname! It's Ivy so please call me that now."
"I would rather call you an idiot," Rina replied.