Ellasyna [Ceaelie #1] | completed

i | The Ancestral Ceremony

© Stephanie Anne and Dee Atkins

                  Chapter One

       “And we welcome all Ceaelie who have traveled far through the Mortal world to come to us today for the Ancestral Ceremony. We give thanks to the Ancestors for this day in initiating our new warriors into Ceaelie Tradition and Society.”

       Swallowing, I quickly walked towards my parents in the Great Hall, lowering my head at the glares that were sent my way, looking up only to stare into the heated gaze of my older brother. With his jaw clenched and his hands in fists, my brother seemed to meld in with the other warriors his age watching me.

       The Great Hall shone with illuminated crystals, the walls of the hall made of slick stone with vines coiling their way upwards, entwining through the stone. The ceiling was high and made of glass so the sunlight from outside flittered through, filtering the translucent light throughout the whole room, warming everyone inside. Beneath my feet I could feel the energy from the earth underneath the wooden floorboards radiating throughout the room, making it even more alive.  

       I sat beside my mother, who barely spared me a glance. My father, on the other hand, looked over at me with slitted eyes. It was then, that our Commander, Jeremias, continued on with his speech.

       “I now would like to welcome our new warriors.” He held his arm up towards the thirty or so warriors to the right. They stood still and composed, emotions hidden and faces masked, each wearing their leather vests engraved with their villages insignia. There were only eight from our village moving up into society - one being my brother - and another being Marceus, my mentor.

       His eyes met mine for a moment, the light green sparkling, a small upturn of his lips telling me he was ready, and that I should be too. Suddenly, his eyes left mine and we were both staring at our Commander.

       With sullen grey eyes and greying hair, the Commander still stood tall, radiating the power of his given element. As I focused I could sense it. In the depths of his mind, I could feel the power of air, and through his aura, I knew he was letting off the stench that he was the leader.

       “First, I present our warriors of Cellatania! Airen Brackdern, Mudon Calvic, Marceus Drakmyr, Adorra Efani, Jethil Hyten, Bein Nymira, Ashallyn Talin and Kaldar Zecele.” One by one, as their names were called, each of the new warriors came to stand by a Guardian who began marking out each of the warriors elements. I watched entranced as they started on Marceus’, beginning to draw his water mark, watching as the water ran up his arm to finish the mark.

       The same thing happened to my brother, only, his element was fire, and a spark of fear ran through me as I watched the flames lick his arms and chest, dancing across his tanned skin, finishing the marks of a fire warrior. As soon as the marks were sealed my older brother’s dark green eyes met mine, and I froze as he watched me with a slightly less hostile look. He never was very good at staying mad with me.

       If it wasn’t for our Commander’s booming, authoritative voice breaking through our moment we probably would’ve been frozen, just staring at each other all day. “And there we have it! Congratulations to all our new warriors!”

       After the Commander’s brief compliments all the villagers around me started to applaud, and I did too. All seven new warriors stood tall, passive yet proud faced, and I couldn’t help but smile at my brother. I knew I would be up there one day to get my marks and become a warrior, just like my father, brother and older sister before me, and I could hardly wait for the next year to rush by so it could be my turn.