I had never seen so many people gather in our village before. Maybe I had seen something similar during the last liturgy, but I certainly did not remember any of it. An endless caravan of people and carriages could be seen arriving as early as three days before the actual day of the liturgy, though the first travelers began to arrive here with five days to go.

All roads led to Nara, our little village—one of the few places that The Divine appeared in order to gift people with arcane fuel. One could only guess when this tradition had started, and why our village had been selected over numerous larger ones or even one of the great ancient cities. Be that as it may, this tradition was as old as the water and the wind, and people flocked from all over to spectate or participate.

I was informed by Archpriest Imar that along the twenty-three of our group who were taking the dagger, an additional one hundred six young people from neighboring regions would join us in the ceremony. This translated to roughly one hundred families. On top of those people, there were hundreds of pilgrims who had camped in the outskirts of our village, here just to experience The Divine.

This huge number of people could of course not be fed or amused by means of our otherwise humble village, which meant that large tents had been set up by wandering business-people in order to serve all who wished to enjoy the feast. Music could be heard almost anywhere and anytime in the village, while the air was always filled with the smell of something tasty.

Nara’s market had exploded in size and selections. Where just days before one could mostly find only fruits, spices, eggs, and the likes, the market was now brimming with wondrous creations: jugs of never-ending water or wine, flying carpets and floating stones, weapons and robes with various protections and a vast array of space-manipulating bags, pockets and chests. A grand sight to see, and full of cheerful residents and tourists. These were the most joyous times I had ever witnessed.

But the music and songs had started to die down since early this morning, as everyone prepared for the ceremony. While the smells of food lingered in the air, most of what was now being prepared was in anticipation of the biggest feast yet to come, the one after the liturgy. Everyone was getting ready for this once-in-a-decade spectacle. There was not a single person that would risk missing the descent and appearance of The Divine, in our mortal realm.

It had been an hour since Ched and Nessa had woken up and half that since they woke Kai up, but I doubted that I had slept for more than an hour all night myself. Anticipation and excitement had kept me up for the better part of the night. Years of practice had led me—no led us—to this day.

We got dressed immediately after having our breakfast. Ched put on the checked shirt he saved for special occasions, though it was really exactly like the ones he usually wore, except in light blue. He had matched it with a pair of black trousers and low black leather boots. Nessa, on the other hand, was a sight to see.

She was wearing a cyan garment that was neither a dress nor a cloak. It covered her body from neck to ankles but without making her look like a covered piece of furniture, as many of mine did. The shape of her body was easily distinguished as she moved below the softly glowing cloth.

This had to be one of Ched’s magical creations. The most interesting part was that the fabric never swept the floor, remaining at a length that it would not touch the ground even if she fell to her knees. I could understand why she would never want a garment like that to become muddy.

Kai was unwilling to get into the tight white ceremonial robes that his parents had created for him.

“I don’t understand why I need to wear such uncomfortable clothes when they don’t even have any magical boons!” he protested, pulling at the robes and making a face.

“Because you will be in the presence of The Divine!” Nessa scolded him, while continuing to try and tame his always unruly hair. “Because this is the most important day of your life and you must be dressed accordingly. And because you will be second in line to receive your powers, so everyone will be looking at you.”

Kai was going to be the second to take the dagger. And I was going to be first. The Archpriestess herself had recommended that I take the primis cantamenum position, and nobody had objected.

At first, I had felt a little awkward about it, as I thought that Adel or Krysha were more advanced than me, but I was happy to find out later that Adel was the one who had actually proposed me being honored by receiving my mana first. What’s more, he was kind enough to let Kai come before him as well, leaving him third in line.

He had actually said that a few minutes more would make no difference and Kai had been adamant about being just after me so that he could watch me do it and make sure he was prepared.

I opened my closet to retrieve the ceremonial robe I was going to wear, only to find that it was not there. In its place was a garment quite similar to Nessa’s, only white, and it glowed brightly in the darkness of my closet.

Although it initially looked like it would definitely be too big for my body, as soon as I put it on, I felt it change its size and fit as well as if it had been tailored by a master craftsman. I ran out of my room and into Ched’s arms. This masterpiece had his name all over it.

“Thank you!” I threw my arms around him, though I could not close them around his tree-like torso. “I love you.”

I heard a noise come from his throat as if a word had gotten stuck there. Then felt his breath on my hair as he gently kissed the top of my head.

“I love you too, pumpkin,” he whispered, and momentarily tilted his head to the right, swiping the side of his face on his shoulder.

When we broke our embrace, I saw Nessa looking at me above Ched’s right shoulder which now had a little wet smudge on it.

“White loves red, Myriam,” she said. “You look stunning.”

“You really look amazing, Myriam,” agreed Kai.

I felt my face flush as red as my hair. At least it too would match my new dress.

“You look amazing yourself, Mister” I replied, reaching over to tickle him and smiling at Nessa over the top of his head.

Ched, having recovered from his tiny display of emotion, urged us to make our way toward the altar outside the temple. As soon as we exited the house, we saw the large procession of people heading uphill. Most of them were wearing formal robes in blue or green hues, while some teenagers wearing white could be seen here and there among them.

We joined the crowd and were soon met with some of the people that took part in our weekly classes, accompanied by their parents. In what felt like the blink of an eye, we had reached the altar.

It was magnificent. Archpriest Imar had created this masterpiece outside the temple in just a few days. There was a giant platform elevated just a little higher than my waist, with stairs leading up to it from the left side. The stairs and platform were smooth matte white granite.

This meant that the granite was bright under the sun while also being easy on the eyes, not reflecting the light, but rather diffusing it and distributing its brightness. On the back side of the platform was a pair of giant black marble wings, spread wide, that glittered if you looked at them while moving. The shadows they cast was allowing only a straight line of sunlight to pass between them.

I remembered from my studies that this line of light would act as a countdown for The Divine’s appearance. When the sun moved to a position where the light would illuminate the center of the platform—where a waist-high cylindrical pillar stood— the liturgy would begin.

More people arrived while the thick line of light slowly shifted toward the center of the platform. Eventually, Priestess Cheandra climbed the granite steps with Priest Imar close behind her. She looked beautiful. No, not beautiful. She looked otherworldly. It was as if she was young and fair but old and wise at the same time in her white ceremonial robes. You could almost see the magic surrounding her in preparation for the summoning.

The same was true for Priest Imar who was also wearing his white robes and a conical hat carrying the Holy Order’s crest in golden threads. Their great staffs emanated and reflected light in almost infinite hues and directions.

“Thank you all for gathering here today,” the priestess began, with a voice that was magically enhanced to be louder so that everyone could hear her. “It is a great day for all of us. For some—”

Someone squeezing through the crowd bumped into me, disrupting my concentration on her speech.

“Sorry to disturb you, Miss,” came Adel’s familiar voice. “Wow, you look amazing. I mean… well, yes that’s what I meant. You do look amazing.”

I smiled at his awkwardness and thanked him by nodding.

“You look great as well, Adel.”

He thanked me and then went on to greet the rest of our group. My compliment did not actually come solely out of politeness. His white robes were really magnificent. The fabric was very similar to mine though his seemed to be tailored rather than magically crafted.

It did still seem to hold a certain subtle magic glow. The golden inlays were evidence of him being the son of priests but this distinction was in clothing only, and had never been reflected in his attitude toward us.

“…time is almost upon us,” I heard, as I returned my focus to the priestess. “Would everyone who will be taking part in the liturgy please move to the front?”

I took a deep breath to steady my nerves, and nodded at Ched and Nessa as they smiled back at me. Nessa hugged Ched’s large arm as I took Kai’s hand and walked toward the front with Adel and Krysha close behind us. People opened a path to let us through, and all I could see was smiling faces of people complimenting us as we moved forward.