The room was of a circular and dome-like shape studded with glass windows of concentric circles. The light of the 7 am sun shone brightly towards the room filled with about 30 young adults - likely of the same age as Martin. Most of them wore robes, but some wore coats and even others, metal armors. Martin looked around the circular room and spotted Alan, who had no unoccupied seats around him. Martin decided then to just find a random chair to sit on; once he found one, he kept his head down and blended himself to the crowd like he always did.
The soft noise from the murmurs and conversations of the people inside the room instantly became silent when a woman stepped up in front. Martin recognized her as the woman who talked with his Mother, verified by her straight gray hair and her exact same energy and poise. "Good Day to you all, Determiners," said the woman, with as much eloquence and grace as the Queen of England herself. "Good Day, Headmistress Faramis" the crowd answered in unison, excluding Martin, who was the only person who felt like he wasn't meant to be there.
"Today marks the day of your Determination. The day where you are to finally become the Mana-wielders you were all destined to be since birth. Today, you are to finally take up your roles as true members of the Order of the Golden Dawn; as true Wielders!" the Headmistress said, as the room of Determiners applauded respectfully to her words. "As not all of you are fully acquainted with the Ceremony, allow me to give a brief explanation. Mana is the spiritual life force of the whole universe - it exists, permeates, and lives among us. You, as Determiners, have been found with a Mana pool far greater than any entity in this world - ergo, you all are capable of controlling, bending, and even commanding the forces of the whole universe as you saw it fit,"
Martin was without words - yesterday, he was nothing but an ordinary boy who was always in a daze. He wasn't special, and he never really excelled in anything; he knew that and he was fine with it. That is why it came to him, as an implausible and frankly blindsiding surprise, that he is to be part of something far beyond the scope of his perceived capacity.
"But all your immense potentialities are mere sustenance for the maniacal and sinister beings that walk among us in this realm - demonic and fiendish beings bursting with malevolent mana who shall stop at nothing to drain the universe of all its available life force," The Headmistress continued, with the air inside the dome-shaped room becoming increasingly dense to not notice; Martin felt, in the eyes and energies of the young Determiners around him - anger, frustration, disgust, but most distinctly, vengeance. "Many a life of Mana-filled individuals had been siphoned by these demonic energies. Life that stood no chance against the darkness that is to befall them. Life beaming with potentialities that have vanished in the hands of the fiends and demons. That is why you are all here, Determiners, to learn how to fight, defeat, and overwhelm all malevolence! For the future of wielders!" the Headmistress raised her voice with astounding credence, changing the atmosphere of the room from anger and vengeance to hope and anticipation. "For the future of wielders!" the crowd clamored in concert.
"Now, let us begin the Determination Ceremony. In front of me stands the Golden Phiale of Hecate - the bowl birthed from the mana of the Goddess of Magic herself!" the Headmistress remarked, with great pride and confidence. From a distance, Martin observed the Golden Phiale - it had a mystical sheen, embellished with various geometric patterns that formed a sun, and at the center, sat a golden-stained sphere that beamed beautifully against the morning sun that peered through the glass windows.
"Once your name is uttered, you are to stand in front of the Golden Phiale and be determined. You are to offer two drops of your blood to Hecate. One drop to determine your Mana type; which can be Thaumaturgist, Warrior, and Mentalist. And another drop to determine your Mana Inclination. As some of you may know, there are numerous Mana Inclinations under the three Mana types; but fret not, for the Golden Phiale reveals all," the Headmistress explained, looking around the room with eyes of subdued excitement.
"Let us begin. Theodor Morell," the Headmistress said, as a boy of astounding build and coarse gray hair stood up and went immediately to the bowl. He wore a silver breastplate and some dark-brown greaves that seemed dated - like it was passed on from hundreds of generations.
"Stand and be determined." The Headmistress continued and handed the boy a black dagger, one that seemed endowed with otherworldly energies. He briefly stared at the knife before cutting his hand and placing it above the Golden Phiale. A drop of blood fell on the crystal waters of the bowl. Immediately, the water began to change - boiling vigorously and actively reacting to the blood. It started to gain a greater luster and a darker hue, ultimately turning to liquid silver. "Warrior," the Headmistress announced, as the crowd softly applauded. The boy kept his hand above the bowl, softly clenching his hand to drop another blood. As the liquid silver met the crimson drop, it began to illuminate a white light - enveloping the whole bowl in its gleam. "Templar," the Headmistress remarked as the whole of the crowd clamored in excitement. "Theodor Morell, you have been determined. Stand Benevolent!" the Headmistress said to the boy as he went back to his seat and embraced some of his co-Determiners.
One-by-one, each Determiner walked to the middle of the room to stand in front of the golden bowl and be determined. Every time a new name was called, Martin grew more anxious; he wanted to leave that place and go back home, but he knew he couldn't - he wouldn't. There was an internal force controlling him, telling him to stay and face the destiny he was born to pursue.
As another 18-year old was determined, the Headmistress waited for the crowd to finish applauding before calling on the next name. "Alan Estheim," Martin's eyes widened, his heart began beating furiously against his chest like it was he himself was the one called. Alan stood up and headed straight to the middle of the room. All eyes were glued to him, for even they could feel the massive and immense mana emanating from him.
Martin heard the soft buzzing of the Determiners behind him and decided to listen in to their conversation. "Another Estheim eh? Those emotionless Deathblades know nothing but murder! I've heard this guy's parents beheaded 60 daemons during a mission. They're insane!" A girl with feathered earrings whispered, as two of her gossiping friends gasped annoyingly. Martin stopped listening to their chatters and brought his attention back to Alan who was about to drop his blood to the phiale.
The blood turned a liquid silver, the same hue and sheen as the first Determiner. As he squeezed his second drop of blood to the bowl, a reaction had occurred that completely stunned Martin. Dark and demonic energy spilled out from the bowl and across the entirety of the platform where the Golden Phiale had stood. Even with the untrained eyes of Martin, he immediately knew that this was malevolence. There were pronounced murmurs and talking inside the room that was silenced by the Headmistress. "Deathblade" She remarked, but no clapping or clamoring was heard from the crowd, only a deathly silence marked with fear and apprehension.
YOU ARE READING
The Green Mage
FantasyA seemingly ordinary teenage boy named Martin Alalay-Branford discovers that he has a capacity for magic and is a direct descendant of the most powerful Green Mages who ever walked the earth. After learning of his ancestry, he begins his magical stu...
