This story is part of the Wanderer series.
Chiyoko walked onto the terrace with her escort, eyeing the five elaborately robed mages before her, each no younger than late-middle age, sitting higher up behind a stone half wall. Stood to either side of the elevated elders were eight other mages in plain white robes, four on each side. In the center, on the terrace with her, was the trial curator, wearing a similar white robe with golden trim on his sleeves. It was not hard to tell who amongst the supervisors were the enlightened high elders.
She was excited, yet nervous, considering her audience. She was before five enlightened high elders. To have reached such a high status, each of them must be keenly attuned with magic and the forces of nature. The figure at the far right end, she recognized from the stone faces in the hallways of the central village.
Seeing the summoned girl had been retrieved, the curator turned towards the five high elders and brought his hands together in a praying formation, bowing.
“I thank you all for journeying far to conduct this sacred trial…”
The curator’s words faded from Chiyoko’s ears as her escort left her side, leaving her all alone at the center of the circular terrace, engraved with an octagram star. Her heartbeat continued to elevate as she stared forward, her pupils dilating as they began to lose sight of what she was focusing on.
“… Miss.”
Blinking, Chiyoko snapped out of her trance as she managed to catch a word from the curator, clearing his throat. He was staring at her, waiting.
“Heh…?” she uttered in confusion.
The curator made a long elaborate gesture with one arm towards the high elders. “Please introduce yourself to the esteemed elders, Miss.”
Shoulders flinching, she straightened, cheeks growing red.
“Chiyoko! Chiyoko Northstar!”
“At ease, child,” the curator soothed. He abruptly drew his lips in and cleared his throat again, realizing the informality in his use of honorifics. “You have done well among your peers to be standing here today.”
The high elder on the left end of the platform, an elderly woman, spoke up with a soft, wavery voice.
“How old are you, dear?”
Chiyoko immediately responded in almost a shout. “I am ten, High Elder!”
There was a concurred collection of impressed grunts amongst the elders.
“Very good, indeed,” the curator resumed. “You will be judged today on whether you are ready to become a candidate for Enlightenment. Decisions are final, so please, relax and do your best.”
She remained tense. “I will, sir!”
“Now then…”
The curator continued with the formalities, introducing the names and titles of each high elder. However, Chiyoko remained fixated on the familiar face, waiting anxiously as the curator’s droning words walked their way down to the elder. And then…
“… and finally, Elder—”
“You’re the legendary Elder Northsight!” she blurted out.
The curator abruptly turned his head, appearing clearly crossed. Her outburst received mixed reactions from the high elders, some eying her disapprovingly while others chuckled. Northsight himself divulged a quiet but hearty laugh.
“Ho ho, a grand title for an old man without much time left.”
The other high elders joined in to chuckle at his self deprecation. The curator, however, clearly still unamused of Chiyoko’s improper behavior so far, cleared his throat again.
“Miss, please do not speak unless you are addressed.”
Chiyoko stiffened her shoulders. Eyes widening, she quickly threw herself forward, deeply bowing. “Yes, greatly sorry!”
Holding his hard stare a moment longer, the curator turned back to the panel to finish.
“Yes, indeed we welcome Elder Northsight, the esteemed First Mage from the village of Pointedrock. Now, I shall review the specifics of the trial…”
Motioning to one of the plain-robed mages with a nod, the mage nodded back and began to move. The other seven mages followed suit. They walked down the terrace and fanned out, taking positions on each of the eight corners of the octagram as the curator carried on.
“The candidate shall be judged on the strength of her life force as well as the duration she can hold that strength. She will not be permitted to use a staff to aid with her resonation.”
With a final motion from the curator, the eight mages planted their staves onto the ground and released energy, their silhouettes gradually glowing. The energy flowed through the circle and the octagram star engraved into the polished stone. A translucent dome materialized from this circle. Chiyoko raised her head with it, following the forming dome as she watched with awe. Once complete, the seal formed a hemisphere of colorless energy, encasing and sealing off the girl within.
“The seal will measure the potency of the candidate’s life force,” the curator continued, reaching an arm out with his palm facing the sky. “Her strength will be reflected in the color the seal takes on, transitioning from blue to green to yellow. The trial shall conclude when the color begins the revert.”
Dipping his chin, the curator set his eyes on the candidate.
“You may begin.”
Furrowing her brows to exude confidence, Chiyoko straightened.
“Yes, sir!”
Loosening her arms to her side and clenching her fists, she closed her eyes, feet stepping slightly apart to firmly plant them flat on the stone. She breathed deeply for a moment, concentrating inwards on herself. The world shut out of her senses, feeling like she was briefly levitating.
Then, she suddenly squeezed her fists tighter. Her face scrunched up. Her silhouette illuminated as she abruptly released her energy in a rapid burst, filling the sealed cavity with light. The seal quickly transitioned from colorless to light blue, to blue, to teal green, holding steady at that color. There was a quiet murmur of approval amongst the high elders as they watched the quick transformation.
However, it did not take long before the color slowly began to revert. Chiyoko knitted her brows as she struggled to sustain the output, squeezing her eyes tight and holding her breath for an instant. Before long, she lost her breath and let go, cutting her resonance off as quickly as she released it. Gasping, she dropped her hands to her knees, hunching forward as she caught her breath. The seal quickly returned to its colorless state.
After a quick few breaths, she forced herself to straighten up proudly, opening her eyes and gazing up at the panel of high elders with a big smile, trying her hardest to hide her fatigue. She awaited their praise.
“Not bad, Miss,” said Southbridge, the high elder second to the left, a man in his late middle ages. “A decent output for someone your age.”
His praise drew excitement within Chiyoko, neck rising as she opened her mouth.
“However…!”
Freezing, her excitement quickly warped to uncertainty as the high elder continued.
“The output did not last very long,” he finished.
The elderly woman who first spoke up nodded in agreement. “Yes, a well attuned mage must be able to maintain a strong stream of life force, a critical requisite for holding seals or barriers.”
Disappointed by their critique, Chiyoko shrank into her shoulders, diverting her eyes from the panel. The curator moved on his gaze to the third elder, who, leaned back, expecting his peers to say more, did not appear ready to speak.
“Ah, yes… Though I am impressed by the potent force you can invoke, I must agree with Elder Eastfield’s argument. From the looks of it, you are already fatigued from invoking just that short burst of life force.”
“Let us not jump to conclusions, Easthills,” said Westsea, the fourth elder, an elderly woman with a strong voice. Leaned forward, she addressed Easthills like a close acquaintance. “If she had not tried to expend all her life force at once… Perhaps the child needs better instructions.”
Seeing the panel break out into conversation, the curator spoke up. “Shall we require the candidate to try again, applying the suggested adjustments? Or shall we move to the final verdi—”
“Wait!” Chiyoko bursted out. “I can do better!”
Her outcry once again received a scorned reaction from the middle two high elders. The others simply looked over with surprise.
The curator, clearly crossed, glared at the girl, doing his best to hold his composure.
“Miss, it would be appreciated if you did not—”
While the curator spoke, Chiyoko lifted her arms up and clapped her hands together, fingers interlocking to grip tightly as she began to release energy again. Keeping her eyes open this time, she spread into a wide stance and hunched over, shoulders stiffening. Her output rapidly rose once more, enhanced by her linked hands enabling her resonance to cycle through her more effectively. This time, she was able to sustain her release, the seal turning from light blue to blue. Then, to teal green. Then, to green. Then, to lime green.
Chiyoko began to struggle as the air around her became dense. It became harder for her to breathe, yet, with the high elder’s criticism sharply etched in her mind, she continued to push. The eight mages surrounding the terrace grunted in surprise as they struggled to hold the seal against the deluge of energy. The pressure against the dome continued to rise sharply as Chiyoko’s energy pushed furiously against it, causing it to expand.
As the seal began to take on an orange shade, minute cracks formed. In an instant, the seal shattered abruptly. Without anything containing it, Chiyoko’s energy sweeps through the clearing like a strong gust of wind, knocking back the mages. The curator stumbled backward, barely managing to stay standing. Having a wall to sit behind, the five high elders fared better against the gust, though most of them instinctively ducked in their stone seats. Eastfield and Easthills performed a small energy release to shield themselves against any harmful discharge that might have flown their way. Northsight, on the other hand, stayed seated, sitting straight up and only slightly leaned back, his silhouette lightly glowing as well from a small energy release.
Upon feeling her energy expand out from her, Chiyoko broke her grip, allowing her remaining energy to expend from her body in a final hard gust. Knees buckling, she collapsed onto the floor, palming it with both her hands. Panting heavily, it took her a long moment to catch her breath. When she finally did, she wearily gazed up in the direction of the high elders, hoping for a better conclusion. Noticing their ducked positions, as well as her clear vision of the elders, Chiyoko looked around in surprise as she realized the seal containing her was gone. The field was silent as all the witnesses remained speechless.
“By the gods…” Eastfield whispered, becoming the first to speak.
“What a remarkable resonance,” Westsea quietly exclaimed.
Silence gripped the trial grounds again. The mages around the terrace slowly got back up to their feet, but remained in their positions. The curator stayed silent, gawking. Chiyoko, elated to hear their praises, moved her lips, but in her exhaustion could not find the words to say.
Slowly glancing up to the sky, Northsight, in a calm, almost lighthearted demeanor, finally remarked. “You broke the seal.”
Stiffening, Chiyoko held her breath, eyes anxiously widening. She was not sure if the elder was scolding her or not.
“Indeed…” Southbridge added. “It is impressive enough for anyone to overpower eight senior mages at once, let alone a child… Even if it came with a great deal of exhaustion.”
“Gripping her hands together like that,” Easthills began. “One could say it is a form of aided support, which should disqualify her second demonstration.”
Hearing the last part, Chiyoko’s heart sank again. The other three high elders break into whispered conversations. Northsight stayed silent, observing the child.
“The trial forbids the use of staves, but does not dictate the candidate’s gestures,” Eastfield pointed out, turning to her fellow Elder.
Easthills did not appear convinced. “Regardless of whether or not there is a stave between her hands, the gesture is still an aid.”
“The rule is there to ensure the candidate can invoke the same output whether their stave is broken,” said Eastfield, speaking with authority.
“And what if their arm is also broken?”
The elder coughed up a short, breathy laugh. “You are getting into far too extremes of a scenario.”
“It could be as simple as a restrained arm,” Southbridge joined in.
As the high elders started to erupt into conversation, Northsight straightened and finally turned to his peers, speaking up plain and clear.
“My dear brothers and sisters, are we going to pass over the miraculous capability the child demonstrated over mere specifics of the trial?”
The other Elders quieted and turned their attention to him.
“This is exceptional. An innate talent seen once in a lifetime.”
Northsight paused, allowing the Elders to digest his words.
“Though you speak the truth, the child is temperamental,” Easthills reminded. “The Eightfold Path requires a quality of maturation which the child has yet to achieve. A child that cannot listen is not ready for tutelage.”
As Easthills spoke, Northsight nodded along. “Indeed the child has the spirit and temperance of youth, a vigor derived from ignorance and a keen desire to prove themselves to their elders. Yet, these rebellious traits can be tamed and put in their place by the finest mentors.”
The Elders stared at him in surprise, decisively concluding what his words could only mean. Even the curator looked at him in shock.
“Though I am beyond my years, I would take up my stave again to tutor the child, as any distinguished scholar from the north would.”
Chiyoko perked up. She could not believe her ears.
Taking a step forward, the curator finally spoke up. “Are you truly willing to take sole responsibility for the child, outside of the sacred trial’s jurisdictions?”
“So long as there is consensus amongst all the elders, of course,” he clarified, turning his head to glance back and forth between the curator and the other high elders. “If she is deemed passable, I will take on the child. She has my vote of confidence.”
Chiyoko’s heart almost jumps out of her chest, incredibly jubilant to hear the words. Once again, her exhaustion helped her contain another improper outbreak.
Given an impetus, the other high elders leaned back in their stone seats to consider their verdicts.
“I believe there are possibilities for the child to explore,” Northsight continued. “She has demonstrated incredible potential. If she is turned away today, she will come back tomorrow, stronger than before. Yet, think about the progress she could have gained in between had she had a proper tutor.”
Some of the Elders began to murmur, seemingly coming around to Northsight’s appeal.
“We live in extraordinary times,” he finished. “The weight of tradition risks holding the East Continent back in its progress to civilize.”
Finally turning back to Chiyoko, he met her in the eyes. Unexpectedly, she flinched at the sight of his firm stare.
“My dear child… Are you a Wanderer?”
Surprised by the notion, Chiyoko rose out of her slouch. Her eyes widened at the possibility.
“I… I am not sure…”
Upon the suggestion, the other high elders’ faces lit up in epiphany.
“How foolish of us all to have missed something so plainly in front of us!” Westsea exclaimed.