This story is part of the Wanderer series.
As he led Chiara down to the center, Nozomi playfully skipped a few steps up the hill towards the stone seating one level up from the measuring stave and plopped down. Rin and Alisan followed over using the stairs, sitting down next to her.
Standing next to the imbuing stave, Chiara glanced up as she now realized how tall it was, about three heads taller than her. Weststar waved her to stand on the other side, facing the rest of the spectators up the hill.
“My friend, stand with your feet firmly rooted, and grip the stave with both hands.”
Looking down at her feet, Chiara adjusted her feet to stand shoulder-width apart, then reached her hands out, gripping the smooth metal with her right hand over the other.
“Keep your hands apart, one below the other,” Weststar patiently instructed.
Correcting herself, Chiara drew her right hand down to nestle right underneath the left. Then, after a brief hesitation, she slid her right hand back up to rest above her left instead.
“Whichever is comfortable for you,” Weststar assured. “Keep your arms limber, such as you would when holding a stave.”
Chiara nodded, adjusting to stand a tiny bit closer. Seeing her sufficiently positioned, Weststar warmly smiled.
“Keep a good grip, and do not let go until you fully stop your imbuement. I will return to Northridge at the top. Whenever he signals he is ready, you may begin.”
Affirming with a closed-mouth grunt, Chiara watched the high elder make his way to the stairs and start climbing them. However, eager to begin, she dipped her chin down and began to resonate her energy even as the high elder was not halfway up.
Gradually, her silhouette began to glow light-yellow in color. The stave glowed in the same manner. Nozomi and Rin leaned forward as they gazed down at Chiara’s small figure on the platform. In front of them, they noticed the head of the measuring stave slowly glow a dim white. The octagram pattern on the plate showed this color most clearly.
As she continued to resonate, Chiara closed her eyes and focused, pushing as much energy she could muster into the metal stave. Her silhouette slowly grew brighter and brighter, clearly defining her figure.
Rin straightened, lips narrow, eyes wide and circular. This was the brightest she could ever recall seeing Chiara, given how infrequently Chiara spent time pooling up energy. The measuring stave began to take on a bluer shade of color, darkening to a pastel blue one would see when looking towards the sun in a cloudless sky.
The four elders stood still at the top, observing closely. Their expressions shone a scholarly interest, yet all the while retained calm and measured qualities. The supervisor kept both hands loosely gripped around his ejection stave at the top, looking not too urgent to spring, but ready at a moment’s glance.
As the color continued to progress closer to teal, a slight frown began to form on Chiara’s forehead. Slouching a bit, with her elbows winging out to the side some more, her breaths became shallower as she began to struggle with maintaining her outpour. Alisan straightened and looked over to the measuring stave for one last observation, as if recognizing Chiara was at her limit.
Once the stave did reach a teal color, Chiara’s breaths briefly locked up for an instant. Then, with a gasp, she let go of her resonance, eyebrows slanting outwards in exhaustion. Raising her head and loosening her tensed arms, she let her shoulders drop. The color mirrored on the measuring stave quickly began to revert its colors while Chiara’s silhouette dimmed at a more gradual pace. The stave she was holding dimmed with her.
Seeing her finish, Nozomi sat up and uttered a cry of enthusiasm.
“Ha ha! You did great, Chiara!”
Turning her head towards Nozomi, Alisan couldn’t help but smile at Nozomi’s spiritful manner. Rin also leaned back, crossing her arms and glancing curiously at the measuring stave one last time as its glow disappeared.
Straightening, Chiara let go of the stave and breathed out, shining an embarrassed gaze as she raised a hand behind her head. The elders up at the top nodded approvingly, and Weststar began to climb down the steps. Seeing this, Chiara left her spot at the center stage and skipped towards the stairs.
“Well, how did I do?” she gasped as she jogged up to rejoin the group.
“You were awesome!” Nozomi exclaimed. “You were glowing so bright!”
Chiara expelled a breathy laugh. “Really?”
Rin chuckled along with them. “That was the brightest I think I’ve ever seen you.”
“The cap measured a teal color,” Weststar informed. “A modest performance, but impressive nevertheless. With more practice as you grow older, you can certainly reach a higher ceiling.”
Chiara nodded, eyes proudly glimmering.
Rin looked over to the high elder, becoming curious again. “What color are you expecting?”
“Teal is about the range we normally expect for a Wanderer, especially her age. Chiara is right on that threshold. But, again, results can vary, and potency is not the definitive factor for a mage.”
Subtly tilting her head, Rin gazed off to the side as she mulled his words.
“Now then…” Weststar motioned in a familiar manner. “Who will go next?”
Nozomi straightened, staring across the bench at Alisan. “Alisan! I want to see you go!”
She leaned back, surprised. “E-eh?! N-no, you two should really go first.”
“But I want to see how you did!” Nozomi persisted.
Yet, Alisan remained uncertain. “Maybe at the end… I already took the trial before.”
Weststar chuckled. “I agree with my dear. Let us conduct the trial for you friends first before we repeat the trial for Alisan if she so wishes.”
Nozomi then drew her eyes to Rin and lifted both hands to give her a playful shove in the shoulder. “Then, you go, Rin!”
She irritably glanced over, uncrossing her arms to defensively stretch the elbow of the shoved arm across her chest. “Huh?! Why not you?”
“I want to see how you do!”
Dropping her arm and palming her lap with each hand, Rin stood up, closing her eyes with annoyance. “Fine, fine! If I have to do it!”
“Good luck!” Chiara cheered.
As Rin walked down with the high elder, Chiara took Rin’s place between Nozomi and Alisan while the three elders up the hill left their gaze from the group to quietly exchange a few comments amongst themselves, taking the moment to loosen up from the poised readiness their positions demanded. Like with Chiara, Weststar instructed Rin how to stand, though it did not take long for her to get right into a stable position. After a quick approval, the high elder left her side. While she waited for the high elder to return to the top, Rin warily stared around the platform, feeling vulnerably alone in this flat, open plane. She felt caged in by the eight rods around the perimeter, connected by the pronounced diagram on the floor. The experimental nature of the trial still made her feel uncomfortable.
Glancing up, she saw Weststar was already at the top, patiently watching her. The supervisor next to him gave her a nod to begin. Briefly slouching her shoulders as she sighed, Rin straightened up and, locking her eyes on the measuring stave, took a deep breath and released her energy.
Glowing crimson red-orange, Rin watched the octagram on the stave begin to illuminate. Taking in her senses immediately, it did not feel too different than how it would normally feel to charge up a fireball. However, as she charged up more and more, she found herself doing so with relative ease. Much easier than she was familiar with, being able to keep her energy close to her. She realized quickly it was the stave she was imbuing that helped her contain that pool of energy.
While Rin mulled her feelings, the octagram on the measuring stave transitioned from white to sky blue and into teal in a matter of less than half a minute. Chiara straightened up and uttered an exclamation of wonder as she observed the stave functioning for the first time. Simultaneously, her awe reflected how quickly Rin had already matched her performance, despite remaining modestly bright.
Nozomi and Alisan perked up as well, with Nozomi echoing Chiara’s exclamation. Meanwhile, Rin, seeing she had already met the standard, felt satisfied enough to stop. Yet, there was a twinkle of curiosity kindling in the back of her head as she wondered what would happen if she gave it her all.
Seeing the measuring stave stabilize at a teal color, she casted aside her doubts and suspicions and gave her resonance a sudden push. Suddenly, her silhouette grew very bright, dyeing the surroundings sunset orange. The octagram began to quickly progress towards a teal-green color. Chiara and Nozomi uttered ascending degrees of surprise. Even Alisan let out a gasp. Weststar gave a hearty chuckle as the other elders raised their brows, impressed.
Taking in her sensations again, Rin felt strong and heavy with all of the power welling up inside her. The support the stave provided felt exceptional, swelling her confidence. Yet, the longer she observed, she noticed a sense of fatigue building up in the background as her body resonated longer than it was accustomed to.
Checking the measurement again, Rin realized it was already lime green in color and still quickly changing. As it began to take on hints of a yellow hue, panic took over, leading her to abruptly let go of her resonance. What came next was a sudden and unexpected sensation as the power swelling in her dispersed, providing great warmth to her chest and abdomen. Alarmed, she let go of the stave and took a step back with one foot, separating their glowing silhouettes into two.
Up at the top, the elders became alert. The supervisor, suddenly straightening, tightened his grip on the stave he held and, very quickly, the eight rods around the platform glowed a hazy white. Rin bewilderedly glanced around in response, freezing in place as she realized she made a mistake. However, the rods did nothing more, and, once she regained her composure, Rin quickly reached out again to grab the stave. Linked up again, her resonance quickly dissipated along with the warmth, reassuring her.
Silhouette dimming, Rin dropped her head into her shoulders, sighing with relief. Shortly after catching a breath, she heard a loud exclamation.
“Whoo hoo!”
Shoulders jumping, Rin glanced up, seeing Nozomi jumping up and down.
“That was awesome, Rin!”
Next to her, Chiara erupted in laughter, clearly thrilled.
Letting her fingers loosen, Rin gazed speechlessly forward, taking in what she just experienced. She noticed, all around her, the eight rods were no longer glowing.
Alisan, though she was not laughing, smiled with a hint of excitement, matching the enthusiasm of the crowd in her own way. Weststar walked down the steps, staring at Rin with a huge grin.
“Did you see it turn yellow?!” Nozomi exclaimed as she turned around to the others.
“It did?!” Chiara shrieked.
“Very briefly,” the high elder chuckled. “Well done.”
Rin blushed as she heard their praises down where she stood. Weststar finally motioned to her.
“Come on up, my friend.”
Exhaling, Rin let go of the stave and walked back up.
“Are you tired?” Chiara asked as she rejoined them. “You’re tired, right?”
“Yes, that was tiring,” Rin admitted.
“A splendid effort, however,” Weststar assured. “You certainly would be classified as a potent Wanderer.”
The high elder’s phrasing reminded Rin of the probing nature behind the trials they were participating in, causing her to dampen and withdraw a little bit.
“Rin is the strongest one, that’s why!” Nozomi touted.
Weststar nodded. “I would not be surprised.”
With a quick glance at the high elder, then to Rin, Alisan gazed back at the platform and subtly drew in her shoulders, seemingly lost in thought again.
“Well then…” said Weststar, keeping his smiling face locked on Nozomi. “It is finally your turn, my friend.”
Excitement kindled in Nozomi’s eyes. Just like Chiara, she gripped her fists in front of herself, pumping them.
“All right! I will give it my all!”