Elas stood on a raised wooden platform in the middle of a large clearing east of Farhaven. He wore a flamboyant robe of imperial red and gold along with a massive feather hat made from several dozen different species of bird found all around the continent. On both hands he held bejeweled golden batons to direct the ceremony with.
Behind him to the right stood the baron while to his left was the baroness who were also wearing similar clothing. As imperial nobles they were required to perform the ritual alongside him by mimicking his mundane movements even when they weren't allowed to actually take part in casting the ritual. The platform was to show off imperial authority over the locals after all. Having the most important people in town quite literally dance for the emperor's pleasure was one way of showing his power over them.
Below the platform were dozens of drummers prepared to translate his baton's movement into rhythmic beats to help with the ritual's pacing. Elas hated mass rituals and he hated imperial mass rituals the most.
The moment he stepped upon the platform he felt the Emperor’s crown gaze at him from halfway across the continent through his connection with his own.
His feet were starting to feel sore after standing in place for almost an hour as he waited for more than two thousand citizens of Farhaven that were picked to take part in the ritual to finish singing praise and giving prayers to the infinite glory of the emperor.
This was not even a true part of the magical ritual, just some fluff to stroke the man's ego. After the pre-ritual prayers were finished ritual leaders chosen among the most competent citizens set dozens of bonfires alight as the rest of the participants surrounded each bonfire according to prearranged groupings.
The citizenry started their chants and slowly rotated around each bonfire in a choreographed dance. From Elas’s vantage at the top of the platform each bonfire looked like dancing flowers with people as its petals.
Elas held his right baton up signaling the ritual leaders to prepare the first reagent. He waited until he saw them all hold the correct reagent high into the air while standing before their respective bonfires before swinging the baton down signaling for them to toss the reagents into the flames.
He spread his mana into the surroundings in order to feel whether the ritual was going smoothly. It went like this for hours with him moving his batons as if he was dancing as he made sure that no one went off the pacing. When they inevitably did he had to strain to wrangle the massive stream of mana back in place as he glared at the delinquent responsible.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
The ceremony started at dawn and it was already noon by the time the last offerings finally burnt to nothing within the fires. Elas was drenched in sweat even in the chill northern climate.
The baron didn't even look winded as expected from a skilled warrior. But the same was not the case for the baroness whose hands shook violently as she tried to hold her batons still.
It was the obvious difference between mages and other folk. The world gave blessings to all, rewarding them for hard work and skill. The blessing came in three categories. Milestones can be received as a reward for just living life and becoming skilled at one's craft. Achievements were earned for performing deeds and attaining mastery far above the norm. While Triumphs were celebrations for doing the impossible.
The world's blessings take root in a person's body in the form of permanent passive mana structures. This puts blessings in conflict with the mage heart, a magical organ that all creatures of the world possess, allowing them to interact with mana.
Mages train their entire lives to grow their mage heart to gain a stronger grip on mana. The more blessings one accepts the less space there is for the mage heart to the point that if a powerful mage accepts a blessing their mage heart might shrink to accommodate the world's boon. Thus it has been standard practice for mages to deny most of the world's blessings in favor of leaving space for their mage hearts to grow. The baroness was most likely still hesitant about abandoning the mages path and had put off accepting any boons.
The people erupted in cheers as conspicuous god rays shone in the sky outdoing the radiance of the afternoon sun and marking the end of the ritual. Elas felt the baron relax and he immediately turned his head to glare at the man to continue emulating his movements. The Eternal Emperor was still watching and Elas was not taking any chances with the monarch's fickle nature.
Elas crossed his hands to his chest while still holding the batons before kneeling and bowing low. He then slowly kneel-crawled backwards off the stage as the damned emperor was watching far longer than usual. The baron and baroness emulated him, following him off the stage and away from the emperor's vision.
Elas relaxed when the emperor's gaze left as soon as they exited the platform. The Emperor’s crown can of course track them anywhere in the world he ruled but that was only if the emperor focused on them in particular. The man was probably watching every single one of the thousands of ritual platforms performing the ritual in his name.
Attendants swarmed the three of them the moment they got down the platform holding bowls of warm water and towels along with food and drink. Elas wiped his face with the warm cloth then draped it on his hand to ease his aching joints. He allowed himself to be led to a nearby tent in order to change out of his ritual robes.
He sank into the prepared bathtub and breathed out in contentment as it eased all his aches and pains. He closed his eyes and relaxed.
“Elder may we enter?” A female attendant asked from outside the tent.
“You may.” Elas answered.
A group of attendants filtered in and started scrubbing and massaging his hands and feet. It was only in times like this that he appreciated being an imperial official.