This story is part of the Wanderer series.
Alisan pointed the group towards the front of the ground, finding seats just under the half wall. When the high elder returned, he was accompanied by three others, dressed in white robes. One of the three wore a more elaborate robe, with golden trims around his sleeves. He was similar in age to the high elder. Each of them carried two to five long rods, light in color with pointed top ends, almost like spears, but they certainly did not look like functional spears.
Coming to a stop on the pathway near the half wall, they greeted the group with their customary bow. Alisan returned the bow, and the group stood to awkwardly follow along, Nozomi dipping much lower than she needed to with her arms flailed out like wings. The supervisors each introduced their family names before Weststar invited the group to introduce their given names.
After the introductions, two of the supervisors descended down the terrace to the platform, each of them carrying four to five rods. The supervisor with the trim sleeves initially stayed at the top, separating his two cream-colored rods and planting one of them into a stone circle on the pathway near the half wall, a feature the group missed. When he let go, the rod stayed planted, inserted into the ground. The supervisor then took the other rod and carried it halfway down the terrace, where there was a similar stone circle in the ground between the two rows of seating. Out on the platform, the two other supervisors were planting rods along each corner of the octagram, with a final one in the dead center.
The group watched the supervisors perform their duties with curiosity. Seeing all of the rods laid out now, Rin noticed the ones out on the corners of the platform were different from the others, their pointed heads being slim in shape. The rod in the center was taller, with a bulkier and more pointed head, though all of these points were blunt. The rods halfway down and at the top next to them actually had circular plates at the end, engraved similarly to the platform with an enclosed octagram.
Once finished, the two supervisors returned up the steps. The gold trim supervisor, on the other hand, returned to the top earlier and gripped the first rod he planted with both hands, standing there briefly and seemingly pushing the rod deeper into the stone a few times before letting go. Rin watched this with confusion.
“What is he doing?” she asked out loud.
Weststar, already making his way down the steps, turned his head back briefly to check what she was asking about. “Northridge is making sure everything is in place,” he quickly said without much detail. “Come, follow me down and I will explain how the trial works.”
Alisan and the group followed Weststar, with Rin begrudgingly trailing along, her question unanswered. He stopped halfway down, where the gold trim supervisor planted his other rod. Standing next to it, the high elder faced the group, looking like he was ready to begin a lecture.
“There is a seal in the ground, placed already so we can perform the trial at a moment’s notice. The supervising elder only needs to check and make sure it is functioning, which is what Northridge was doing.”
Hearing this, Rin subtly nodded, briefly glancing up the hill.
“The seal contains a set of commands… or instructions, that tells it how to behave when imbued by a life force. In this case, the candidate’s life force… or energy.”
The high elder pointed towards the rod at the center of the platform, the group’s eyes following.
“The stave at the center is where the candidate imbues the seal… by gripping the stave with both hands and resonating, providing a stream of their energy.”
Transferring his staff to the other hand, Weststar lightly wraps his fingers around the rod next to him.
“Depending on the pressure of the stream… or, in other words, the potency of the candidate’s resonance, the cap will change color, which is mirrored in this stave. It will begin as a light, whitish-blue, and transition to a deeper cyan… to teal… to grass green… all the way up to a golden sunset color, which is the ceiling that is tolerated.”
The group quietly followed along with his explanation. Although, at this point, Rin spoke up again.
“But if the power is too much?”
Weststar nodded. “The seal has a safety mechanism.”
Then, as if realizing something, the elder briefly straightened, almost performing a little hop on the tip of his toes.
“Ah…! I should say what I mean by the ‘cap’. The seal, in truth, extends well out beneath the earth, beyond the central grounds you see here.”
Glancing back at the platform as Weststar stretched out his arms, the group raised their brows in surprise. Even Alisan seemed to express interest.
“In essence, the seal functions like a bottle, with the cap in the center.” Weststar motioned towards the platform again. “If the strength of the stream is too strong, the cap will break away…”
Letting his staff rest against his shoulder, he brought both hands together and briefly mimicked the motion of pulling a lid from a bottle before pointing around at the corners of the platform.
“And allow the life force to flow to the eight staves, diluting the stream and spewing the energy harmlessly into the sky and away from the candidate and any witnesses.”
Half turning, Weststar gripped his staff again and motioned up the hill with the other hand.
“Or, Northridge could release his cap using the stave at the top, and the stave the candidate is gripping would spew the energy it holds harmlessly into the sky… Either way…” Weststar glanced around at his audience. “Either Northridge, or the supervisor, releases the life force… the energy early, if he deems it appropriate, such as if the candidate is behaving in an unsafe manner… or the seal releases the energy on its own without intervention.”
Very subtly raising his staff, the high elder lightly tapped it twice against the ground, as if probing for something, briefly pinching his lips together and nodding.
“In rare cases, both will happen.”
Finishing his explanation, Weststar watched the group begin to silently nod in understanding. Alisan too seemed to nod once or twice, looking like she learned something new.
“Sounds complex,” Chiara eventually commented.
The high elder chuckled proudly. “It is a trial that has been refined over centuries. I can assure you… The East is no stranger to potent mages. The trial is safe.”
Rin glanced away, as if feeling the assurance was directed towards her.
“Now then…” Weststar gestured out with an open palm. “Shall we begin?”
Jumping up to her toes, Chiara brought her hands in front of her and gripped them into fists. “Me first!” she exclaimed.
Weststar laughed. “Follow me, then. And the rest of my friends…” he faced the others. “Take a seat up here, by this stave.”