The ceremony goes…well

As Arti was walking up to the obelisk, I noticed his hand slightly shaking. I silently pray to Invia to let Arti awaken his magic. Arti reaches the obelisk, raises his shaking hand, and puts the palm against the smooth surface of the glass. It instantly starts glowing white. That’s a good start. A few moments later, several lines start glowing up. First, the yellow line glows brightly. Blue and brown follow its lead. Red and green glow dimly beside them. The purple one remains colorless.

The high priest speaks up excitedly. “Oh my. Congratulations Prince Artias. You have a high affinity for light, water, and earth magics, and a low affinity for fire and wind magics. This is truly incredible. To have affinities in five of the six elements is exceptionally rare. And three of those affinities are high as well. Truly marvelous.”

Arti turns around smiling brightly at me and I can’t help but smile equally as brightly. We then both turn to our parents. Our mother smiles with genuine pride. I even noticed the corner of our father’s lips twitch upwards for a second. A clear acknowledgment of how proud he is. Didn’t know he had that in him.

“You are up next, Prince Zenovia,” Dallan states.

‘This will be a hard act to follow’ I think to myself. I start walking towards the obelisk. On my way there, I pass Arti who smiles and nods at me encouragingly. I reach the obelisk and look at it closely. I raise my hand and put my palm against it. A moment later it started glowing white. A moment passes. Then another. Nothing happens. I stand in front of it waiting for something to happen. But nothing does.

Several seconds pass and the priest starts speaking. “Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem…”

He is suddenly interrupted by what happens next. All of the lines in the obelisk suddenly glow up bright color, all except the yellow line, which glows dimly. The myriad of colors temporarily blinds me as I look at the lines within the obelisk.

“No way…” the priest mutters.

I take my hand off the obelisk and turn around. Arti smiles proudly at you. My mother also smiles but there is a look of worry behind her smile. Our father’s frown indicates his concern more clearly.

“This is unprecedented,” the priest speaks up. “Not only having affinities in all elements but having high affinities in five of them. This has never been seen before. At most, a person had affinities in four elements and all of them were high. Prince Artias’ case would have been recorded as one being one of the rarest. But this…”

“This will not be spoken of,” the king finally speaks up. “Put in the records that he had shown high affinities in fire, water, wind and earth only. Do not mention his low affinity for light and high affinity for dark magic. A revelation like that would spark fear in the nations of the West. It could be seen as a threat to the Empire and its allies and ignite a war on the continent. Even with these precautions, having two princes of a rival kingdom having such strong magic affinities would be seen as a threat. At least then it would not be as bad as it would have if Zenovia’s true powers were revealed.”

“Yes, your Majesty,” the high priest replies. “I will do as you suggested.”

With that, Dallan makes his way into the back of the cathedral. I walk back to my parents. My mother pulls me into a tight hug and smothers me against her chest.

“Is it really that bad?” I managed to muffle against her chest.

Father answers. “Right now, it could be. Having six affinities and five being of high caliber have never been seen before. The Empire could quite possibly make a move if it got out. Saying that you only have affinity in four and they are high at least has precedent. The Empire could still try something, but it would less likely be an open act of aggression.”

Mother releases me and smiles gently. “It is going to be all right, son.”

“I know. At least it is better than having no affinity for magic,” I try to joke.

“This situation could be a problem now, but it will become less so as you grow up,” our father says. “When you get proficient in your magic elements, it will be much harder to make a move against you.”

“I understand,” I reply.

“Congratulations to you both,” our father looks at Arti and me. “Having both princes of our kingdom have such high magical abilities will make our nations stronger.”

We both smile and reply. “Thank you, Father.”

He nods, turns towards the door we entered through, and starts walking, Mother a step behind him. “I will now make the announcement to the public and we will make our way to the palace.”

We walk out the doors and meet with the guards standing in the lobby before exiting the cathedral. The crowd instantly stops chattering as they see the doors open and us stepping out.

Father takes a few steps forward before stopping and speaking in the booming voice I have never heard him use. “My sons, the princes of this kingdom, both showed a high affinity for magic. Prince Artias showed having high affinities for light, water and earth magic, and low affinities for fire and wind magic. Prince Zenovia showed having high affinities in fire, water, wind, and earth magic. This is a clear sign that the Blessing favors our proud kingdom, and this next generation of its royal family will help make it even stronger.”

As soon as he stops speaking the crowd erupts into thunderous cheering. They scream my brother’s and mine names and chant our kingdom's name. “Prince Artias. Prince Zenovia. Astria!”

Our family makes its way back to our carriage and starts our journey back to the palace. Father is in deep thought with the usual frown on his face. Mother looks at Arti and me with her precious gentle smile. Arti shuffles giddily in his seat. I, in the meanwhile, look outside the window. We are riding on the street past a long line of people standing there and cheering after our carriage. I have to agree with father. It would be a lot safer to hide my true potential. The possibility that someone would try to eliminate me, or my family would be too high otherwise. I will need to become strong fast to make sure that doesn’t happen. I steel my resolve as we entered the gate of the palace.

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