Lucien’s father called to him, to join him up front.
“Listen, I know you are feeling every emotion under the sun right now, and that is perfectly normal. The nervousness and excitement that you are experiencing at the same time is exactly how you should be feeling. Your hands won’t stop shaking, and you can hear your heart beating,if needed you could jump into action at any given moment. Call to those emotions and calm them down. Never let the emotions of an event cloud the judgment you need in that moment. Your mind needs to be calm, your emotions need to be settled before you go in there. I know you can handle this but it will test you in whatever way it sees fit.
Talking to his father did calm his heart and mind just a little, it is enough for him to collect his thoughts as he gets closer to the Chamber. As the group rounds the final corner and find themselves in the middle of the city's market, Lucien is finally able to see the object that will change his life forever.Lucien pauses for a moment to process that this is the biggest moment of his new life, and he prays to whatever gods there are that he gets something good out of this. He wants to believe that the pain and suffering in his old world, that he had to endure for so many years, might make this moment finally be worth it. It was said during his studies that these chambers were formed when the land started to take to the sky. The 5 great kings formed their kingdoms around these buildings. It's the lifeline to the future of the kingdoms, it is imperative to protect them with everything they have. The kings in the past have tried to start wars over the chambers in hopes to gain an advantage over one another but in starting these wars many have lost their lives with not one king gaining anything on the other. Since then in order to preserve the future of their people each king came together to create laws that state they are not allowed to start future wars over the Chambers.
While Lucien was lost in thought, his dad pulled him from his day dream and said,
“Son listen, you need to know something now that your chances of new power are right in front of you. There are ranks of power we use to identify how strong someone is, and there are a lot of them, but your first task, will be to go in there and see what the Chamber has in store for you. When you come out I will tell you the ranks of power and what you can do at those ranks with the powers you are about to receive.”
Lucien looks at his father, gives him a nod, and stares at the door to the Chamber with a look of fear, and excitement. The Chamber is terrifying yet unyielding, Built with massive stone blocks, so old that moss struggles to cling to their weathered surfaces. The blocks look sturdy and strong, supported by four massive cylindrical pillars, wide enough that Lucien couldn't even wrap his arms around if he tried. Faint carvings and symbols layer the blocks with the meaning long lost to time. Some believe that the immortals who sacrificed their lives for the world carved them before their life force was drained away. To Lucien’s eyes there are no windows, no seams to where time might have cracked the stone, only one singular door, positioned directly in the center, made of a dark black steel standing in stark contrast to the pale white stone.
Lucien dismounted from his horse, glances at his father and moves to stand in line with the others who are trying to enter into the Chamber. Crowds have formed knowing today to be another party filled day, the townsfolk know that these doors only open once every year.The townsfolk use today as one giant excuse to drink and have fun. There has only ever been one person to not get any blessing this kingdom's time. When a person goes into the chamber and is deemed unworthy by the gods they get branded as “broken”, someone who is broken is sent to live out their days on the surface. Each kingdom has had one person who has been branded as broken, and they all have been banished from the surface never to be seen again.
Lucien walks to the line with growing excitement, the thought of actually have the ability to use magic is something he never thought possible.Lucien is fifth in line, standing in front of him are kids all around his age. When it was time to begin, a person from the council who oversees this entire day stands and says,
“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming to another awakening! Many of you know me, those of whom don't, I am Orwin Morchant, I am a member of the city council. We are here today to celebrate our children turning into adults! It is their time to shine, it is today where these kids will now have the chance to make their families proud, and maybe just maybe even have the chance to change the future of their households, if the gods deem it so. So now without wasting any more of your time let the awakening begin!”
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The townsfolk took that moment after the speech to cheer and yell well wishes to the kids. Families yell and push their children forward to form a line in front of the door, Lucien is fifth in line to the door. He looks back to his parents and his brothers to try and gain some comfort and confidence, his dad had the same stoic look on his face the entire time. His mother had tears coming down from her face, and surprisingly his brothers actually gave him a smile and a nod.
Looks like they can actually be normal brothers for once. I better hold onto this moment because I'm not sure I'll ever experience that again.” thought Lucien.
The first boy who was in line, slowly walked to the door and stopped right in front of it. The door has no handle, no key hole, no window. The rule was you stood there until the Chamber was ready to have you inside, you do not talk to anyone else in line, you just stand there and wait. The crowd could tell which of the kids were scared and nervous, and their were bets made to see which kids would break first and run back to their families.There were also bets on which kid looked like they would get the bet blessing from the gods., of course there was no way to know who got what, but it was based off of the reactions the kids had when they came out. No one is sure who controls the Chamber or how it gives you its power, everyone that goes in keeps their experience to themselves. When the kids have come out of the Chamber, families have been overheard asking what happened inside and what they experienced but not one of the kids have ever answered the question.
Lucien noticed that the boy who was standing first in line was shaking with fear, or excitement or maybe even both there was no way for him to tell. Whatever that boy was feeling was the exact copy of what Lucien was feeling, he was just trained to hold his emotions better than the first kid was. After about ten or so minutes of waiting in line the first child broke. It was a rather tiny looking boy, right around Lucien's age, just smaller in stature. The crowd started laughing and money was exchanged between a lot of hands. Lucien thought that it was a cruel bet to take but felt bad for whoever tried to bet on him. Lucien would rather die right here and now then to break and run back to his parents in tears, his brother would never let him live that down.
After another fifteen minutes the chamber door groaned like a slumbering giant waking up from a long rest. The door shook against its frame, another year of dust falling from the archway, like snow gently falling from the sky. The seal of time breaking once again for more chances of children making a name for themselves in this cruel world. A cloud of dust erupts into the air being pushed away from the unseen pressure from behind the door. As the door opens, everyone tries to take a peek inside but as the gap widens it is only the blackest of voids that people see. Nothing seems to lay beyond the threshold of the doorway, it’s like a void that has swallowed the lights itself. No movement, no shadows, no glimmer of life beyond the doorway, and as the first boy in line stood there with much fear, some could see a little dribble of a yellow liquid stain the front of the young boy's pants. Lord Orwin tried to coax the boy to go into the door, and with a not so gentle push from behind by the second boy in line the first boy stumbled inside.
Lucien felt like time itself was frozen, he felt like he was standing there waiting for hours for the first boy to reemerge from the chamber, he wasn’t sure what torture was but he was sure it was this.After ten minutes the door slowly creeked open and the with the same groan as before the boy reappeared and it was definitely not the same boy who first went in. The air to him has changed, at first glance the fear was gone, it was like it was a totally different person, Something in his stance was different as well, it was like he is now carrying an unseen weight. A new level of confidence that he didn’t have before, something Lucien desperately needed to find within himself.
After what felt like years it was finally Lucien’s turn inside the chamber. He was scared beyond belief but he can’t deny the excitement he feels at the chance to become someone important in his new life. Lucien looks all around at the families that have come to see what their children will become. Lucien at his parents one more time for a last second bit of confidence, his mom mouths “I love you”. While his father stared at him with a sense of pride and recognition, a quiet understanding that the boy in front of him was no longer just a boy, but something more. With the quiet gain of confidence Lucien walked closer to the door and waited for the chamber to welcome him into its home. His thoughts were like the beginning of an avalanche, slowly tumbling down the mountain side but quickly gaining speed, until they became an unstoppable force, crashing over each other in pure chaos.
With what felt like a lifetime, Lucien begins to hear the small groan that he knows the Chamber gives off everytime it starts to open.
“I can’t believe it's finally time for me to go in. What ability will I get? I'm about to begin on the journey of a lifetime and I'm beyond excited. Let's Begin!”