Jasper always wondered how the mage academy discovered what power you had. It was well known that you were sorted into four towers, one for each of the elements, regardless of whether or not your power had an elemental attribute, but it was not revealed how they figured that out from the start.
Jasper was able to observe exactly how that day, or rather, three days after the trial. It varies how long the recovery takes, oftentimes the longer it takes for you to recover the stronger or more in control it predicts your power to be. Jasper had awoken two days after the trial had ended, with one day of waiting for the rest to recover in order to begin the tower selection ceremony.
The ceremony took place in a grand hall made of stone. It was a courtyard in the middle of the vast academy, aimed for neutrality between the four towers. Behind a magic barrier sat the four heads of towers, dressed in elaborate blue robes with stripes of colour lining the middle to represent their tower’s element. Grey, Blue, Red and brown.
The magic barrier separating them from potential harm during the ceremony was maintained by a curious magic sphere in the middle. It was glowing a faint grey. It was the first magical artifact other than the underwater breathing necklace he had encountered so far.
These kinds of magical artifacts were rare and expensive as those who can create and maintain them aren’t many, not ones that are to that level. There are some mages that can create smaller devices that most nobles use to heat up their homes or commoners use to light up the street. Would he get to see more of them now that he made it into the magic academy? Would he be able to create them? Those who are able to create magical items and artifacts are placed in the water tower as it represents knowledge and skill. Magic with no elemental attribute that dealt in creation of magic items or other types of magic creation went into the water tower, those with magic that gained them item creation skills that were not associated with magic would go into the earth tower, the lowest one where craftsmen were often placed into. Crafting was for the commoners and not for the knowledgeable and elegant mages, so they went into the commoner’s element.
Jasper prayed to the gods to not put him into the earth element. Although he did not believe they deserved to be looked down upon just for being the element the commoners represented, he did not wish to be in the lowest tier of the magic academy. He would not have an easy time, especially as someone born of low background.
Finally it was time to begin the ceremony. One by one they stepped forwards into the hall while the rest lined the back, as far as possible from those who stepped forwards.
This was due to the nature of the ceremony, as he soon found out. A vial of iridescent blue was handed to the first child from a rack of many, enough for each one of them.
The vial handler stepped forward, robed in grey to represent the tower of air, and spoke to the room and to the gods. His voice was booming and clear, his face that of a man in the middle of life. He looked confident and commanded the attention of everyone in the room, including the tower heads, even when they heard this speech many times before.
“We pray to the gods Eimhir and mihrin who have blessed us with life and knowledge and power. Mihrin’s greatest gift to us mortals is the magic clams known as eolas. Their pearls give us power, their knowledge gives us validation and their shells give us much more.
Eolas’s circle of life begins a mystery and as they mature they gain their pearls and many more after that. They live many centuries and finally once their consciousness comes to an end, the very knowledge and soul they once owned enters back into the bed of the lake and it is said that is what gives birth to a new Eolas, however no one knows for sure, hence the mystery. They leave behind their shells which bring us great benefits. You have already experienced one of them, the ability to breathe underwater, and one of their other ones will be shown to you here today.” the man paused to raise one of the vials and show it to his audience. “The exact method of making this is a secret, but the one ingredient we will share with you today is the shell of an Eolas. It is what gives it its appearance. We share this with you today to acknowledge the great gifts Mihrin has bestowed upon us, and in return we need to dedicate our lives to knowledge, truth and magic.
Just as the Eolas had given you magic, it can for a moment bring it out to its full capacity. You will have your powers forcibly showcased before the tower heads. Do not fear your power, but you must be weary of its capabilities and the risk you might pose to others if you misuse it. There are people ready to step in if your power poses a risk to others today so do not try to hold back.” He gestured to the red robed mages lining the walls on the tower head’s side of the barrier. “Now we shall begin the demonstration of your power.”
With that, the man stepped back towards the wall and nodded to the first boy, indicating that he should drink the elixir. Jasper could see his hand trembling as he consumed the elixir.
It took a moment to take effect, but finally something happened. Vines from outside the courtyard began crawling in, beneath their feet and up the walls. They made their way quickly to the boy in the middle and enveloped his arms, forming a barrier. They kept coming. The boy began panicking but he could not seem to be able to control his power.
Before the room was consumed with the vines, the mage stepped quickly towards the boy and pressed a palm on his head. The vines suddenly fell limp and became inanimate once more, devoid of the power it had before. The vines were still entangled around the boy, so he shook and pulled them free.
“As I said, do not fear your powers. We have measures in place to prevent anything from happening. My power is the ability to temporarily put a stop to your power. You might see me in the future as you go through your life in the magic academy, of course it's not a good thing to see me as my job is to stop anyone from misusing their powers.
I will introduce myself. My name is Nilidh. For the duration of this ceremony you will be in my care. Once you demonstrate your power, the care will be handed over to the magic tower heads after they discuss where you should be placed.
What is your name, boy?” He looked down at the trembling child before him, vines littered around him and knowing full well where he would be placed, dreading the official announcement of it. Vines was nature magic which fell under earth, no matter how powerful.
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“Jacob.” He said shortly, unable to make eye contact with anything but the vines he had previously controlled.
“Jacob for example has the power to control vines. As it is a clear elemental power, deliberation is not needed. Go get your earth robes.” Jacob was sullen as he nodded and made his way through the barrier and towards one of the mages lining the walls behind the mage heads. They were not only there for security but they also acted as administrators of tower robes; each with a tray behind them stacked with robes. Jacob was given his earth robes and sat himself in the earth designated side of the courtyard. The benefit of being first is ending your curiosity before it turns into overthinking; the down side is having to sit through the rest of the ceremony with the burden of your future and inevitability of your life in the academy. The tower heads had yet to talk or show signs of emotions. They just watched silently from their seats. And so the ceremony continued.
Each child stepping forwards, taking the vial, demonstrating their powers and then heading towards their designated waiting spot with their robes in tow.
The first child that caused deliberation amongst the tower heads was a small girl, she looked much younger than the rest of them despite being the same ages as them.
Her power had her observe the vines the first child had left on the stage and name the medicinal benefits and potential usage of the vines for various potions.
Her power was the comprehensive understanding of materials and their properties. Did she fall under earth as this is a power to understand nature, or did she belong in the water tower for its knowledge and potential magical usage. It was decided that she had potential to become an alchemist or herbalist, both of which are rooted in magical knowledge and therefore belonged to the water tower. The earth tower head, a slender man in his 30s, looked unhappy at this decision however he had no choice. Even amongst the heads of the tower, there was a hierarchy. Water gets priority in the ceremony and has the right to reject any potential candidates into a lower tiered tower even if it was deemed a water tower power, and those below had to take who they got in order of the hierarchy. Air was the most selective of the four. They prided themselves in their purity and only took children with air related powers; however there were exceptions. The power to temporarily stop the usage of magic like that of Nilidh was considered important enough to be placed into the air tower. Powers that dealt with the control and monitoring of other powers were usually the few exceptions made when it came to getting into the air tower.
Finally it was his turn. He was both nervous and excited for what faced him. His curious nature made it hard to wait around to find out what his power was, and yet still the fear of getting into the earth tower put his nerves on end.
He put the elixir to his lips. It tasted funny. It tasted of salt water with sugar mixed inside. His powers began to surface not long after.
His fear was not met, however his excitement was settled at the reveal of his powers.
From his hands rose steam. His hands were heating up and emitting steam into the air. The air around it rippled with the rise of temperature, but he himself felt none of it.
His power...was steam? What did that mean, and where would that put him? Steam was made when water got heated, would that put him into water or into fire for the heat elements of his power. The debate went through his head as well as amongst the heads of the towers.
Finally the water tower head spoke up, looking with her clear blue eyes at him scrutinizingly.
“Boy.” she said courtley. “What is your background?” His heart sank. If she was asking him this there was no way she would let someone of low background into the water tower. He wasn’t disappointed at getting the fire tower, however the difference it would make to his life being in the water tier at the mage’s academy would be significant. It was also the tower that focused on knowledge and learning the most, something he felt like he excelled at. Maybe she would take pity at his story? Would she let him in then? Even if he wasn’t a street boy, his mother was but a commoner even if she wasn’t born on the streets like he was. He couldn’t lie either, all they would have to do is ask the monastery and they would tell them. When he spoke he tried his best to put on a voice of confidence and eagerness, but even he could hear the cracks in his voice.
“My mother was a maid in the king’s castle but later had to live on the streets for being pregnant with me. I was found by a knight on the streets and taken in by the monastery. Since then I’ve put my all into my studies and worked hard in order to get here, if you give me the chance I will show you the results of my efforts in the water tower. If you ask the monastery you will be told that I was the top of my age group.”
When he finished talking the room was mostly quiet other than some boy snickering in the back. The snicker sounded like the dreadful one Johnathan would let out when he was mocking him to his friends. It made sense that he made it through to the mage’s academy. Regrettably. Other than that however, the mages just sent each other looks. Of course it was a simple sorting.
“After some thought, you would be a better fit with the fire tower.”
He made his way silently to the robes, resigned to his fate. The robes were as blue as the lake the academy resided upon with a hood. The sleeves were roughly layered and the middle strips red. On the chest of the left side was a rough fire insignia. The moment he touched the soft robes in his hands, held it and let his fingers run over it, that was when things finally sank in. The fact that he was a mage now. Whether or not he was in the water or fire tower, it was still a tower in the magic academy. He sat down in his section absentmindedly , stroking the cloth almost like a comfort blanket and was almost unable to hold himself back from putting it on at that moment. He only twitched back to reality when he saw Johnathan walking forwards, confirming his dread.
Jonathan’s was an odd one. Nothing happened when he took the elixir and he looked up at Nilidh with a perplexed expression. Nilidh gave Jonathan a quick scan before pointing to a boulder just outside the courtyard in the neighbouring garden.
“Pick it up or try to smash it with your hands”. At first Jonathan looked skeptical, but without another option, walked over to the large boulder and went to lift it up. To everyone’s surprise, he was able to lift it up with ease. His power was body strengthening. Body enhancement. Body enhancement fell under the earth tower. Jasper had to fight a grin off. While Jasper got the fire tower, his tourmenter would have to go to the lowest tower….
“I am Jonathan Dunne, son of Sir Lyons Dunne.” he spit out and as if it was a magic spell, the expressions of the tower heads changed and he was claimed by the fire tower. Jasper felt his stomach twist. Of course. Of course it had to be this way. He was lowered for his background, why would Jonathan not be raised for his noble status, abandoned or not?
The academy already favoured those of higher birth, the fact that the nobles and lords all donated to the academy for the sake of favour for their children would not change the favouritism they got in the academy.
The rest of the ceremony passed in a daze as Jasper’s mind was preoccupied with dread at the prospect of having to live the rest of his academy life with this boy. As they were led to the fire tower, he saw from Jonathan’s face and the evil glint in his eyes that he would not let Jasper leave in peace.