The Feast of Flames. It was time.

After returning a slight nod to his father, the man left with the guests, guiding them to seats in the hall. Gentle laughter filled the halls before Mona, the light of the candles seeming ever so radiant. Not to far away from his perched the obelisk, its Mana coursing through the rectangle pillar, winnowing up and forth its length with a steady rhythm. It glowed with life, as if something inside was resting within the manmade creation.

The aura of the festivities shaded Mona's face. A tender sigh escaped his lips. His eyes looked to the distant table his father sat with his inner circle; his mother's passing was once again announced. Shaking his head to rid himself of those depressing thoughts, he looked back to the rest of the crowd. Taking a shallow gulp, he made his way to each table, welcoming each table of guests the best he could to the event. Luckily one of the maids was already nearby, so he had the perfect entry to converse with his neighbors from across the land.

His thoughts held his anxiety firm, until it suddenly spiked. Soon after the event, his father would likely go around to find him a fiancee, perhaps even from this crowd, maybe even this table. Could it be her? Or her? Or...her? He found himself staring a younger woman, a tad plaintive in appearance. She seemed to be quietly chatting away with the lady to her left, before her eyes matched with Mona. The staring brought out a shade of red, before she swiftly turned her head away, hoping Mona did the same, but taking glances all the while.

Alas today wasn't the day. Mona found his feet leaving behind his maid accomplice, the table coming to notice the reddened face of the young woman from before. If love was to beset him, awkwardness did instead.

Why did I do that? Why, why, why??? Mona admonished himself, wondering why he stared so heavily onto that woman. Surely the tables would find out, and suspect he had something to do with her. Rumors would do nothing good for him so young and new to this world of subtleties. He made his rounds to the other tables, the maids softly stepping around the young noble, the embarrassment a slight tinge on his own visage. At long last, Mona made himself back to the main table, hiding his social exhaustion as he gave full greetings to his father's brothers-in-arms.

Wizened faces and sturdy eyes looked at him with approval, before giving his father sweet praises. The old man dishonestly played along, pretending his pride wasn't rising every moment. Mona's father brought his son to his right, the servants filling the hall bring their food last. Glasses filled with northern drink, platters littered with offerings from all of Steel's cuisine, the seated took in the extravagance of Aurum.

The Lord of Aurum stood up, filling his lungs with the power of Aura. His Master ranked Metal energy spread throughout the vicinity, serving as a sort of net casting his voice across the room. The Mana temporarily entered his flesh, filling his veins, letting his words reach every guest.

The smile not yet leaving his lips, his gregariousness filled his utterance.

"Welcome, welcome all. Today, I gathered you all, not for sake of steel, not for sake of war, but for the sake of family. My son," Mona's father gestured for the anxious boy to stand "He is of age. Ready to wield sword and banner for the sake of Steel!" His father put on a false front, a few around putting on smiles.

"Come on Signor, we haven't fought a war in decades. Do we really need to hear sword and banner, hmm?" A friend of Mona's father, a thin, tall, sharp-eyed man chuckled. The other men assented their agreement, asking why the Lord of Aurum would bring that up.

"Calm down, Malekai. You know our traditions. Should I entertain the traditions of the House of Tungsten when that son of yours reaches of age?" Mona's father shot back, half-joking in his words.

"Really? Lord of Aurum guiding my son? I'd be honored." The dastardly man got ready to bow, treating the suggestion real. The crowd before them began to laugh in amusement. Seeing the situation decay, Mona's father yielded, urging Malekai he was only joking and to return to his seat.

Waiting for the laughter to settle, Signor cleared his throat, quietening the crowd. "...As I said earlier, for the sake of Steel, when each child reaches of age, they must be checked of their Mana to inherit their birthright, and vow their honor to serve the Steel monarchy. Such was agreed upon by our founders. My forefathers followed. I followed. And now..." Looking to his son, Signor spoke, "...it is time for that legacy to continue. Rise, Mona Aurum, my son."

The shy boy steadily got up. Now everyone was looking at him. Usually preoccupied away, today had flooded his flesh with enough anxiety over this event. And this much attention, and judgement, was novel poison for his sprit. His father gestured to the Mana obelisk, the item glowing at his father's behavior.

"Go, Mona. Show us the brilliance of House Aurum." His words carried a hefty weight, but comforted Mona, making his walk past the watching crowd much more easier than he thought. His thin figure scanned the length of this Mana device. The gentle streams of mana buffing his clothes as if a gust of wind filled the hall. Mona, remembering the words he was told of, uttered the phrase,

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"Oh mana, follow my will and engulf this obelisk."

His tongue found the archaic wording a bit difficult. As asked, the mana gathered around his body, thanks to the influence of the obelisk. The mana entered his body, moving a replacing a tiny portion of his inherent Mana from within his heart, before carrying this piece of his essence into the obelisk. At this moment, the world went black instantaneously.

*****

Mona found himself in a darkened enclosure, a space with no definite beginning nor end, no up nor down. The sudden shift in view paralyzed him. He didn't know where he was, or what to do. The new sensation, lost, consumed his spirit, before something miraculous occurred. His feet found footing, and there he stood nowhere, the darkness slightly decreasing around him, as if to welcome him.

Then he saw it, a color in the distance. A fiery red arced across the sky, burning before it vanished. A deep aquamarine made an appearance, but then faded away. The ground glistened with a tannish sheen, but that too left. The rush of a zephyr quickly came, and then left, unimpressed with Mona. The sound of thunder could be heard in the distance, but nothing happened. The motley arrangement of noises had him swiveling his head, unsure of what was going on.

The sun shown a little, before it left. The moon matched, not sticking around for long. A pure power touched Mona's body, but dwindled to nothing when he noticed. A malicious feeling wanted to wrap itself to him, but that to went away. At long last, a ding could be heard, faint, and in the distance.

Mona moved around, the sound of the ding getting clearer, but not closer.

"Do I need to walk...there?" Mona caught himself. Right when he was going to take a second step, he remembered the void he occupied. The worry of no footing enveloped him. As if sensing his thoughts, the bell rung louder, demanding he come to it. Mona, as if in a trance, felt his body move, lurch forward towards whatever was on the other side of this sound.

His steps grew in speed as he got closer. The ring grew clearer, more harmonious, more beautiful. His soul began to ring as well, a softer chime following the omnipresent one. As Mona watched, a region of amber light appeared before him. His hopes rising, he willingly ran to the bell, leaving the dark world in his rear. Anything that gave him peace would easily catch him at this moment.

His body slowing down, Mona looked up. A few arms' lengths away, a bell stood, floating in the air. It wasn't hung, except perhaps by the space itself. A sweet sonorous chime came from the bell, as if noting Mona's arrival. The surface of the plain, somewhat old bell, glistened, the age of time slowly leaving the bell. What revealed itself were convoluted drawings and a forgotten language, lost to time. The markings on the bell grew in visibility, a pale white light emitted from the surface of the bell.

Deep within his body, Mona could feel the changes overcoming him. A seed of something, a faint glimmer was growing in his flesh. He didn't know what to make of it, but he could feel a brilliant life force from it, situated in his stomach. When it reached its peak, the glow shrunk down considerably, revealing itself to be a ring, a ring of Mana, that steadily travelled his body, before situating itself on his heart.

Pain arced across his body. The ring, it was painful. More painful than what words could tell. His soul was being refined and condensed, the faulty turbid remains being forcibly removed along with the foul waste of his imperfect flesh. His stick arms grew strong, his thin legs grew sturdy, his body developed by a few years. The ring was thoroughly imprinted onto his heart now, the pain of the previous moment disappeared, like the last few moments in Mona's life never happened.

The bell had grown silent, overseeing the event, before returning to its wonderful sound. Mona strangely enjoyed the entire scene, the amber air, the calming bell rings, the entire experience was soothing to him. The bell's glow only seemed to glow with each sound. And then, it changed considerably.

The steadily bell ringing was replaced with a sound, a song of sorts from the bell. The song itself seemed familiar to Aurum, but he couldn't tell why. The sound of this bell song gave him something he didn't have, but wasn't aware of. As if a figure was gifting him from afar, Mona felt the embedded mana ring in his heart follow along with the music, easing his pain and stabilizing his consider.

"Take care of the Aurum name." A steady, deep voice filled Mona's mind before it quickly left. Mona rapidly began to look for a source, but he couldn't tell where it came from. It seemed to have come from everywhere. A sense of exhaustion began to fill his spirit, the energy in his body seeming to decrease even after receiving his proof of becoming an Aura Novice.

As an Aura Novice, much like their Mana counterparts, he had taken his first step in strength. While the rings of Mana were located in the same area for Mana practitioners as well, their overall development would always be different. The words he heard in his father's study filled his head.

Can I...no wait, I don't know how to do that. Mona felt exhaustion seeping into his self, the bell now banging a different melody rapidly, trying to get the young man to fall asleep, unprotected. Suspicious of what was going on, Mona thought maybe he could reinforce himself using Aura, but he sadly didn't know how. The desire to sleep steadily took over, the sound of the mysterious bell quelled the last of his consciousness.

"Send him back." The sound of the voice from before returned. The amber lighting grew more clear, and a sight appeared behind the bell. One of the figure's hands held the bell, the other a small ringing hammer. The figure stood there, beating the bell with a steady rhythm. Mona began to disappear from this world, his eyes unware of the scene of the aged yet fit man overseeing him, the hidden owner of the bell waiting for the young man to disappear, before he and the bell dissipated into tiny strands of pale white light. The void returned to silence once more.

*****

Mona woke up, his eyes openly staring at the monument. The scene of before was shocking, and so it took him a moment to see the obelisk, the pillar shooting a pale grey Aura straight into the ceiling, as if to pierce the great hall. The young lord of Aurum had awoken, his Metal Aura ready to make way.