Dawn broke, and with it came the sound of buzzing and excitement. Today was a very important day, as it was the day where the children who reached the age of 13 would be tested for their elemental affinities. The reason why there was a need to wait until children were 13 before the test and the beginning of their training was that it took roughly that long for their magical cores to stabilize. Practice before that age risked bringing more harm than good.
Kieran moved toward the Assembly Hall, where the test would be performed, with a calm face and steady steps, a visage of tranquillity. Only he knew that inside the sleeves of his robe, his fists were clenched tight. He had been waiting for this day for years, ever since he discovered his love for all things to do with magic. He couldn't wait for the moment where he could put all his various ideas to practice, no longer limited to the world of theoretical knowledge.
Arriving at the hall, Kieran was only slightly surprised about the number of people currently in it. While the test day comes every year, considering how big the Moonfyre clan is, there were still over two dozen children to be tested this day. That, combined with parents and curious individuals, a large portion of which no doubt were there to witness his test as the only grandson of the Family Head, meant that while far from capacity the place was quite lively.
As he looked around, he spotted his parents talking quietly with his grandfather and some of the family elders. Seeing him, his mother smiled and waved him over.
"Grandfather, Mom, Dad." He greeted with a smile.
"Seniors." Much more formally, with a fist to the heart and a slight bow, he greeted the elders with the traditional etiquette of practitioners.
"How many times have I told you to call me grandpa?! What's the point of this "respect" when you're so disobedient?" His grandfather glared at him, with mirth in his eyes and a slight twitching of the lips.
"This is a formal occasion, grandfather, it would be distasteful to address the family head with too casual an attitude." Kieran spoke seriously, but there was clear mischief in his eyes that told anyone who knew him he'd done it on purpose.
"Humph, stinky brat!"
"Father, Kieran is right about the formality of the situation so don't make a scene! It won't be good for the clansman to see you behaving like a child." Ezra by his said admonished him in hushed tones, but he clearly looked like someone who was taking pleasure at someone else's misfortune.
"Ezra, do not think for one second you're too old for me to take over my knee. I'll spank you so hard you won't be able to sit for a week" Glaring furiously at his son, he waved his fist.
"Sigh... Children, I'm surrounded by children!" Karina said with a tone and expression of woe is me, if a shade overdramatic.
"Jests aside, when will the test begin Grandpa? You know I've been dreaming of this for ages!" Once more bubbling over in excitement, Kieran was almost vibrating in place as he asked his grandfather.
Erick had a soft smile on his face as he looked at this grandchild of his. It was so rare to see Kieran behaving like other kids, he seldom was this emotional about anything other than magic.
"Soon you brat. We were just discussing with the elders about the order of the testing. As you know, thanks to your mother we possess more than one testing formation. Not having to call on an outsider formations master really is great. While the materials for setting up the formation are quite expensive, the fee asked by them can be almost as expensive!"
He was right. Formation Masters were rare, especially in a small town like Purple Grove. As the most difficult to progress magical specialization, it not only required immense talent but also a great amount of time, dedication and funds. Formation Masters burn money during their training, with the only specialization that even comes close with regards to expense being Alchemists. Out of all the clans in Purple Grove, the Moonfyre clan is the only one with a Formations Master. No clan in the city would be able to afford to raise one.
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"With your mother here, we only had to acquire the materials. I honestly don't know how my good for nothing son was able to ensnare your mother. I already told him that if I hear even a hint about him treating her poorly I'll beat him to death!" With a glare towards his son, he explained to Kieran. On the side, Ezra looked like the most wronged person in history.
"Anyway, I digress. Since we have more than one formation, we can test the kids in batches. We decided to place you in the last batch, your mother saying that you would enjoy observing how the formations work and it also avoids any hint of impropriety and favouritism our part." Erick spoke with a serious tone, finally behaving like a proper head of the family.
"It's not a problem Granpa. Mother was right, I'm interested in seeing the formation operating. Since it's one of the simpler formations to set, I hope to get some insights into the path of a Formations Master." Seemingly stuck between seriousness and excitement, Kieran already couldn't wait for the testing to begin.
"Very well, we shall go to the podium now to sit with the remaining elders. You can stay at the front of the group, it will allow you to see the formations at work. But keep quiet, this is a solemn affair after all." With a serious face, Erick advised his grandson. Kieran, on the other hand, had an eyebrow raised and a look of incredulity on his face.
'If someone heard this they would think I am the one with a problem with behaving properly' Thought Kieran, but wisely kept his mouth shut and nodded along.
After they reached the podium, Erick raised his hand to quiet the noise, and with a regality that someone who had seen him before would not believe him capable, addressed those gathered.
"Another year has passed, and we once more gather to test the new blood of the Moonfyre Clan. These children are the future of the clan and must be cherished. Those who are found to possess the talent to join the ranks of Practitioners, as well as those who do not. Do not become disheartened if you belong to the latter, for you will always have a place within this grounds." Waving his hands, a surge of magic leaves his body and enters the four formations engraved in the ground. With four flashes of light, the formations now hum with power.
Each formation contained 4 separate runes floating at their centre. Each glowed with their own colours, red for fire, green for wind, yellow for earth and blue for water.
"In the order that your names are called, enter the formations and place your hand above each rune. If there is no reaction, it means you have no affinity toward that particular element and you can move on to the next. If there is a reaction, you are to leave the formation. There is no need to continue attempting the other runes since an individuals soul can only be attuned to a single element. It doesn't mean you can't learn the magic of other elements, it simply means it will be extremely difficult to do so, especially when it comes to the element that opposes your affinity. I can't do anything more complex with water magic than create a novice level water ball for example."
"Now, begin!" With his piece said, Erick sits down to observe the proceedings.
As Erick commanded, the elder responsible for the test begins calling the names of the children in the pre-determined order. With nervous looks on their faces, they each enter one formation and wait for the order to proceed.
"The first one, go ahead and attempt to resonate with the runes. Remember, you simply need to place your hand on top of the rune and once you feel resistance in your hand as if you're touching something solid, just wait a few seconds and, if you have an affinity to that element, your aura will manifest around you in response to the probing of the elemental energy." Once the elder spoke, a boy who looked nervous extended his hand towards one of the runes floating in the air and did as the elder told him. He touched the first rune from left to right, the earth rune.
A few seconds passed and no reaction occurred. Now even more nervous, the boy extended a trembling hand towards the next rune, the rune of fire. Less than 2 seconds later, a somewhat dull red aura manifested around him and the rune let out sparks as if about to be set ablaze. Spooked he quickly removed his hand and the aura around him slowly vanished.
"Good! You have a talent for the element of fire, young man! Come out of the formation and stand by the wall behind me." The elder smiled kindly the boy, pondering that considering how dull the aura he manifested was, his talent was only average. Probably the highest rank he will reach is the Adept rank, the early stage at that.
As the boy left the formation, his parents hugged him and then sent him to stand where the elder ordered. The other children looked at him with eyes filled with admirations and slight envy.
The children still in the formation thus did the same thing as the previous boy, with only one out of the three remaining showing talent for cultivation. A girl, tall for her age and even taller than most boys in the group, showed a talent for earth magic. As she placed her hand over the rune, a bright yellow aura manifested around her and the rumbling sound of rocks rubbing together echoed across the room as the formation where she stood trembled like an earthquake.
Up on the podium, the elders and Erick had interested looks on their faces. While obviously not unheard of, it truly was quite rare for someone to have an affinity toward any element other than fire in the Moonfyre clan. Over 90% of all members who tested positive in the affinity test had fire affinities. That's how strong the influence of the Moonfyre blood was. A decade could easily pass without even a single one appearing. Of those who appeared, all of them had talents for wind and earth, which are complementary to fire. It has been over 3 thousand years since someone with a water affinity has been born in the Moonfyre clan.
"It seems like her talent is more than enough to reach the Adept rank before the age of 50. Our clan might have another Master rank practitioner in a couple of hundred years." A satisfied smile appeared in the face of Erick. Master rank is the strongest rank the past several generations of the Moonfyre clan has been able to achieve. Before the clan's decline, they used to be far more powerful but a loss of inheritance means that it's too difficult for them to charge at the barrier of Grandmaster. The last one died over a thousand years ago.
As the day progressed, more and more children were tested. Most groups of four would have no talented individuals. By the time the last batch was to be sent in, 7 more children were found to be talented for a total of 9. With the exception of that young lady with the earth affinity, whose name was Morgana, all others showed an affinity for fire.
During all this time, Kieran was observing the proceeding like a hawk, trying to uncover the secrets of setting up formations. Every time changes occurred, he would quickly look over, a fascinated look on his face.
Before long it was his turn, and with heavy steps, he headed towards the formations.