I was in the church with Father, he was going over some points about the ceremony. I knew a bit, but as the village priest, it was his duty to do these lessons, to prep new adults for adulthood.

“Once the ceremony is done, you will be asked to imprint a document with blood, a simple poke on the thumb, and then stamp the document,” He said, I did see that being done after ceremonies.

“It will make you an official citizen of Aston and able to move more freely and independently.” He added.

In Aston, movement was fairly controlled. You could travel around as an adult, but you had to be with your parents or guardians if you were underage. Alaster and Rose were part of the order which gave them some special privileges.

“The document itself is sealed with magic. Any jurisdiction in Aston will be able to identify you if needed, once they return to the capital and get it filed anyway.” I nodded, so no rushing to travel right after. Not that I had any plans to.

“If you have enough affinity for magic, the order will take you with them for training. Unlike what Alaster had, you would be more of a general conscript. Conscripts are fairly well off, but not nearly as much as the officers, like Rose and Alaster.” He continued. I knew about that from previous talks with them. There was a hierarchy setup. Officers started training much younger, giving them an edge over conscripts.

“For the ceremony itself. You only need to go up on the stage and touch the special mana crystal the order will bring with them. It will flood your body with mana, and open up your mana channels. The feeling is different for different people and different elements. It hurts for some and feels soothing for others. So be prepared for it.” Father explained.

“Fire is probably more on the hurt side isn’t it?” I asked. Mana did not negatively affect the user, but just because I would not burn to death or something didn’t mean I would not feel anything.

“It is different for different people, it’s hard to say, but it’s best to assume it probably will. Father certainly had a way with words. I wonder how many people he almost scared off of their ceremony, not that you could run from it.

“For the ceremony as a precaution, you wear only a special robe, made to withstand all elements to a certain degree.” I frowned. I certainly saw it, it was re-used for every ceremony, no matter how tall or small you were, and looked like it was left in a pile of manure between ceremonies.

“Haha, I know you hate that thing, so I got you a gift”. He said as he got up and went to his office. A gift? Given the timing it had to have something to do with the robe, did he get a new one?

Father returned carrying a package, it looked a bit hefty but I was kind of excited to see what it was.

As soon as he dropped it on my lap, I ripped it open. Inside was dark-looking leather armor. It looked extremely well made. Shoulder guards with metal supports, and even a breastplate that looked easy to move, with supports added in such a way as to avoid limiting movement, but adding extra protection.

This was not a robe, this was leather armor. I looked up at father and he smiled.

“It is made with salamander leather. Fireproof.” He said and it all came together. I could wear this for my ceremony instead!

I moved it to the side, got up, and vigorously hugged father. It must have cost a fortune.

“Your mother and Alaster pitched in as well. As much as I may have wanted to, it was a bit more than I could manage alone” He added. I would have to thank them both later as well.

Alaster arrived in the afternoon the day before the ceremony. Unlike his previous trips, this time was more official. He had managed to get in with the paladin squad sent to oversee it. Rose also managed to squirrel her way in.

However, the leader of the squad was Kamil. I was not happy to have to see him again but didn’t have much of a choice.

As soon as I saw Alaster I was shocked, as were mother and father. His hair turned from the previous brown to a bright gold color. His eyes which were previously blue were now gold with a light glow. He truly looked divine.

This time, being on official business he had to camp out with the rest of the squad, he was still allowed to come to visit during the day though. Kamil didn’t make any effort to talk to us, he just went to help the other paladins set up camp.

Alaster was allowed to skirt that duty for now, but Rose didn’t get the same courtesy. She no longer wore the simple armor as before, now going for lighter armor, with a bow and a short sword at her side. No staff though, then again she was probably still working on training her magic.

Alaster was now in the same full plate armor that Kamil wore, and it looked amazing on him with the addition of his golden hair.

We gathered for a late lunch and talked about the next day. Unfortunately, Alaster could only stay for today and tomorrow. The day after he would be packing up and leaving in the morning. Taking the ceremony duty had only given him a small time to visit.

After we finished. Alaster left to go assist with the setup. He felt a little bad getting to eat lunch while Rose was forced to work, so he took her a portion as well. They were such a cute couple, despite them still denying it.

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I decided to spend the rest of the day lazing around since I didn’t want to run into Kamil if I didn’t have to. Alaster returned for dinner. This time Rose managed to come as well.

Rose was a natural with her magic, she showed off her skill by creating some ice for our drinks. Having cooled drinks was nice, it was not something we normally got to have.

“Last time Alaster tried using his wind magic he blasted the training dummy apart, the instructor was furious” Rose explained as we sat for dinner. I laughed, I had never seen much magic, only the little bits some of the villagers could do. It was never very extravagant, lighting a fire, or filling a bucket. Jack could use ice magic, so you could often get some ice at the bar, but he was just one man, so it was used sparingly.

“Alaster is OK with light magic though. The output is less important since it’s more defensive than offensive. He managed to heal a broken arm without even setting it first”. She continued, she seemed to love talking about Alaster's exploits, good and bad, meanwhile, the man himself just leaned forward a little; red in the face with embarrassment.

After dinner, they headed back. I turned in early since it was likely to be a long day tomorrow.

The next day, father seemed to have vanished. I looked around for him for breakfast but he seemed to be out somewhere. Mother had not seen him either but I heard from Jack he was walking around the village right at dawn. I decided to let him be for now, probably working on setting things up for the ceremony later today.

He reappeared just after lunch, covered in leaves and twigs, and was quick to head to the bath. I couldn’t think of what he needed to do out in the woods.

“What did you need to do out in the woods?” I asked when he came out of the bath, having changed into a robe he used for ceremonies.

He opened his mouth but then closed it again and took a breath. “Come with me Alena, I want to have a little chat,” He said. Directing me to his office.

I followed him and sat down. He didn’t say anything for a minute and just hung his head a little.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, he seemed very downcast.

He just exhaled and reached into his desk. Grabbing a sealed letter and handing it to me. I tried to take it but he held firm to it.

“Don’t read this Alena, I will explain what it is for” He said as he finally let go. I was confused, give me a letter and tell me not to read it? I could see it was addressed to me.

“Something may happen tonight. I am not positive about it though. I have been making preparations just in case” He explained. That would explain why he was gone, to prepare, but to prepare for what?

Father took a few deep breaths before continuing. I could see this was very hard for him, so I felt a little scared. “When we do the ceremony, something might happen when you’re on the stage. What it could be, I could not tell you. I have some theories and those are in the letter.”

I looked down at the letter, it felt heavy all of a sudden. “You may not recognize it if it happens, but if I yell your name. I want you to run, run as fast as you can to that pond you and Alaster went to as kids.” He looked directly into my eyes saying the last bit.

“Run, from what?!?” I kept my voice down, but I was feeling a bit panicked now. If he was asking me to run, then there was a danger? And it had something to do with my coming-of-age ceremony?

“It’s better you don’t know unless it happens. I have written all my thoughts in the letter. There is a pocket in the armor I gave you that can keep it from getting burned. Read it at the pond when you get there. If nothing happens just give it back to me. Some of the contents are dangerous, you know what I have to do with books that come here, you shouldn’t read it unless you have to” He replied. My confusion only deepened.

“What about you? Mother? Alaster? Rose??” I asked. I was so in the dark about what was going on, but I could see this was something major. It felt like when Kamil had said he would be taking Alaster. Did he have something to do with this?

“We will be fine Alena. I have made preparations for them as well” he added. Though I felt like there was a different tone when he said that but I decided to trust him. I knew he was doing all he could to protect us.

“Needless to say, speak nothing of this chat, to anyone. Even Lily or Alaster. Even after your ceremony. Promise me!” He begged. I had never seen him like this before. I could only meekly nod. That seemed enough for him and he seemed to relax a little.

“I know this is going to worry you during the ceremony, but try to enjoy it, you are an adult now, and I am proud of the woman you have become. No matter what happens tonight, that will never change” He said as he got up and walked around to me. I got up as well and we hugged before he directed me to the door.

After I left he closed the door; he probably needed some time to himself. I also had to get my thoughts in order. The ceremony was in only a few hours and I needed to be ready for whatever might happen.

I sat in my room and just thought over what father had said and tried to guess what it might be. Opening the letter was tempting. But father’s eyes and the worry they held kept me from doing it.

Whatever it was, it sounded like the order was involved. Father was a filter for the order in the village. Keeping out anything the order didn’t like. Did the order not like me? I shivered at the thought, but It was the closest guess I had at the moment.

I decided that considering father’s concern, I should get changed a bit earlier. So I took my new armor into the bath to get cleaned up. I had to deal with cold water, unfortunately. I didn’t want to bother mother to come to heat it and a cold bath might help with my nerves.

Finishing the bath I got dressed in the armor. Underwear should be fine with how the armor is pressed against it, so thankfully I could still have some softer cloth under. It may have been easy to move in, but it was still somewhat rough against the skin.

Looking at myself in the mirror I marveled at it. It accented my curves but covered them well. There were leather tassets that had metal bars to help with the defense. It made it very light, but still provided great protection.

The pants were mostly leather, with some chain mail weaved in more critical areas. The joint was just leather, with fairly thick kneepads.

The shirt had no defense and seemed very breathable. Instead, the breastplate that went over it provided the defense. I was flat-chested, but it was malleable enough that if I did grow more, I should still be able to wear it.

It was intricately crafted. Metal bars scattered around with little bits of chain mail mixed in. Creating excellent defense in all important areas without sacrificing any mobility. There was a pocket just inside the breastplate as well. So I tucked the letter in there. It was hard to get to the pocket without loosening the breastplate first, but I figured it would work to hold any special document I might need if I traveled.

The spaulders were the same, as were the vambraces. I had never seen this sort of weave but it gave the armor a very cool look. All the armor I had seen up to now looked like it would be tiring to wear for long periods. This felt like it was just a regular set of clothes.

Before when I first looked at it I had felt it must have cost a fortune, but now actually wearing it I felt that was an understatement. This was masterfully crafted. Who made it? Did they come to the village in a caravan? I knew father had not left the village at any point. If he did the ward would have stopped working.

I decided to head over and show off to mother. Almost forgetting the worry I had about tonight.