Please note that from now on, the main character's thoughts will be italicized. Thank you for reading, and enjoy!
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As soon as Gates’s carriage made it through the gates of Radiston city, he excitedly dragged his parents along to get to the affinity testing hall at the Mage Guild, hoping to find Arisa already there.
When Gates and his parents made it into the affinity testing hall, he spotted Arisa, who looked only a little eager, but you could see the focus and determination on her face. Contrasting that was Gate’s jubilance at seeing his only friend once again.
“Hi Arisa”
“Oh, Hello Gates. Greetings Lord Bernstein, Lady Bernstein”
“Arisa are you ready to be tested? I hope I get earth like my father or water like my mother! What about you?”
“If you would really like to know, I would prefer to have fire affinity.”
An hour passed, and then a man from the Mage Guild used magic to amplify his voice.
“I am Arlton Paltor, and I am a light style sage-ranked mage. The other members of the Mage Guild and I will be proctoring this test to make sure that all flows smoothly. Everybody form a line in front of me.”
Gates, Arisa, and their respective parents were near the middle of the line which twisted all around the massive hall. There were so many people that everyone standing only inches apart filled the room to the brim.
As soon as a child was tested, the mages announced their name and their affinities, and whether they could be a mage or not. So far, out of the hundreds of tested children, all of them were commoners and only one had the ability to be a mage, with a 54% lightning affinity. Some of them even had negative affinities for certain elements!
Haha wait until I get up there, I’ll show them what a real mage is.
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As the line slowly progressed, it was almost Gates’s turn.
When it was finally his turn, Gates’s mother gave him an encouraging nudge forward, while his father gave him a stern look with a little glint which Gates could not identify in his eye. As Gates was walking up the stairs towards the mages and the crystal testing orb, Arisa calmly said, “good luck.”
Gates made a slight nod, and walked up the stairs, trying hard to contain the bubbling mix of excitement, emotions, and memories of his childhood. “Put your hand on the orb” said the mage in a rather bored tone.
Gates put his hand on the orb, and immediately, all he could see was black, expansive nothingness.
“Hahaha, I like you boy” rasped a voice from the darkness. After a split-second, Gates regained consciousness and was back in the real world holding the orb. Arlton Paltor’s Mage Guild assistants were staring at me in confusion, and one of them asked Arlton, “H-how is this possible? I have never seen anything like this before and I have proctored this test for 30 years already.”
Arlton took a look, laughed, and said “the orb never lies.” He then Amplified his voice, and said the loud words that reverberated throughout the entire hall.
“Gates Bernstein, Affinities:
Fire
WaterWindEarthLightningLightDark-100%-100%-1%-51%-1%-102%2%
”