To my friends in USA, I hope you had a great thanksgiving. Here's the release for this week. I also updated the glossary [here] with pictures of the elemental system in Parthenon.

Enjoy!

Mu

Book I

Chapter 7: Arcane assessment

Owen’s seventh birthday was approaching and it was customary for aristocratic children to undergo arcane assessment at this age, where they would be tested for their potential for magic by a mage from either the Royal Institutes or the Magician’s Society. Both institutions were invested in the development of magical potential and offered their services for free, with hopes of recruiting promising mage candidates down the road. The assessment consisted of two portions; a test for innate mana force and one for elemental affinity.

Innate mana force was the amount of mana that the child naturally accumulated by the age of seven, which directly correlated with the child’s affinity for mana. A child with more innate mana force would have a higher inherent mana absorbance rate, leading to faster mana accumulation. Mana force throughout the lifetime of a mage could be increased by training or with the help of magical treasures, but someone with a higher innate mana force would naturally have a higher potential of reaching a higher rank in their career as a mage.

Elemental affinity was separated into two components; the first being the cardinal, or basic, mana elements attracted by the child. Mana in Parthenon existed in multiple forms, with the purest being pure, or attribute-less, mana. Following that, there were four cardinal elements; spread out towards four cardinal directions. Clockwise, these were fire, wind, water, and earth. Mages usually had affinities for a single cardinal element, with one in a hundred mages having dual elements. Dual-elemental mages were able to create new element and combination magics, more powerful and useful than those of single element mages. For example, a mage with affinities for water and wind, like Celeste, was able to combine the wave-like nature of both elements into sound elements and utilize it for illusion magic. Triple-elemental mages of these cardinal elements had not been seen in Parthenon, and had been ruled by the Magician’s Society as an impossibility as that would involve having affinities for two opposing elements.

A second layer of complexity existed above this. On an axis perpendicular to the cardinal elements existed light and dark attributes that acted both as their own elements and at the same time as modifiers, often exponential, of the cardinal elements. For example, a mage that was blessed with water element and light affinity would be able to create holy water, which healing capabilities quadruple that of water and light magic alone. Light attribute mages were rare, at a rate of one in fifty. The darkness attribute was even rarer in humans and mages born with it were shunned by the magical society at large, as cardinal magic imbued by it had extremely destructive and cruel effects. It was also common belief that one’s mana affinity reflected their disposition, and only someone evil and cruel would be able to wield such malevolent powers.

Lastly, there was spatial magic, that existed beyond the realm of this classification. Poorly studied, as a result of it being extremely rare, its single defining characteristic was that it held immense power only if its wielder was willing to pay an immense price.

The assessment phase happened in the early afternoon of the assessment day. If the child had reasonable mana force and affinity to elements, as most aristocratic children do, the mages will set up for a ceremony to form the child’s mana pool in the evening, where most guests had the option of not participating in. It was a day long event, and rightfully so, as it marked the coming of age of an aristocratic child and the emergence of a new mage.

***

On the day of the ceremony, Aran had just returned from his morning cultivation. Aran closed the door behind him as he finished teasing Justin about the mist leopard the latter had talked about. Aran was instantly greeted with a cacophony of activity and myriad of colors. Servants were busy preparing food, setting tables, and ushering guests. Adults and guests were mingling, exchanging stories, and sharing laughters. The walls and pillars were adorned with decorations and banners that were blue and silver, the Steele family colors. Guards were posted everywhere, dressed in their uniforms bearing the Steele family crest, a silver heater shield with a phoenix in the middle. The phoenix was blue, the color of the hottest flames, with tongues of flames flickering upwards as if burning eternally. It was depicted with its wings spread and head looking majestically downwards, as if everything in the world was below it. Domineering and powerful, it signified birth and destruction; hope to allies and swift retribution on enemies.

Scanning around, Aran spotted his parents at the same time they saw him. Celeste, dressed in her magician’s robe over a long, grey dress, walked towards him. The robe was made from a black, silky material, with a silvery sheen to it and had purple and blue lapels and cuffs. It flowed down to Celeste’s ankles and the sleeves extended to her wrists. It was held together with a single button by the nape. The button was silver in color, engraved with ten white circles radiating outwards, with the fifth one from the center etched black.

As Celeste approached, she said, “Go get ready. You have half an hour.” Aran nodded and headed to his room and collected his ceremonial clothes. He went to the bathroom where a warm bath was already drawn. Within fifteen minutes, he had bathed and was dressed in the ceremonial clothes of Iridis; black pants and white shirt made of cotton and a silken vest, bearing the family colors on the lapels and cuffs. His was silver and blue, with the phoenix from the family crest embroidered on the left chest. He went back into the courtyard and greeted his parents.

Celeste beamed and pecked Aran on his forehead. She pulled Aran by his hands towards Gerand, who was talking to a gentleman of his age, with brown hair, neatly combed to the side, and dressed in the same clothes but with a black vest with a brown wheel embroidered on the left chest. Gerand caught Celeste walking towards him and shook hands with the man as he excused himself.

“Father, as we have discussed,” said Celeste. Gerand nodded and gestured for the duo to follow him. They ended at Gerand’s study, where Gerand pulled out the same wooden box that used to house the bracelet that Aran was wearing.

“Since you have been doing well, we have decided that comes off today. You should at least observe, to the best of your abilities, the mana pool coalescing of your cousin,” said Celeste. Raising an eyebrow, and asked a question she already knew the unbelievable answer to, “You can sense it, can’t you? Mana.”

Aran nodded, confirming the doubts in the minds of both adults. Gerand spoke, looking at Aran, “When you’re ready, Aran.”

“Thank you,” said Aran, as he closed his eyes and steeled himself. He quickly suppressed his mana and nodded. Gerand took Aran’s left arm and chanted a spell. The bracelet shimmered and floated upwards towards Gerand’s downward-facing palm. The familiar feel of mana enveloped Aran and they rapidly rushed into his body. He slowly opened his eyes and was immediately assaulted by an intense and vivid sensation. His eyes dilated. Everything in his sight was warped, seemingly surreal. He had trouble focusing on a single point and yet was able to see everything clearer than ever before.

Aran could see every little detail around him and everything at the same time. The pulsating breath that Gerand and Celeste took. The beads of sweat rolling down their necks. The slight flush of red on Celeste’s cheek. The wind blowing through the open window, weaving through obstacles and playfully curling in the air. The fluttering leaves on the tree outside the window. The bugs that were shuttling around its trunk and nibbling at its leaves. The maids in the courtyard, hurriedly setting up for the ceremony. The flow of mana, omnipresent and every-moving, embracing everything. He could see it all.

“..ran … Aran!” Celeste’s voice slowly reached his ears, loud and ringing even though she spoke softly. Aran suppressed his senses and the world slowly grew calm again. Gerand, lips curled upwards, was looking incredulously at Aran. Never have they expected Aran’s reaction to be this powerful. Powerful enough to match that of a mage.

“I am fine now. Thank you, mother,” said Aran. He turned towards Gerand and added, “Thank you, grandfather.”

“We have some time before the ceremony. Do you have any questions?” asked Celeste, the academic and teacher in her kicking in. Gerand excused himself to tend to other guests of the estate.

“How will Owen’s magical potential be assessed?” complied Aran, taking advantage of this rare opportunity.

“There are a few steps to this. Owen’s physical condition had already been determined to be sufficient to begin forming his mana pool. Today, he will go through the actual arcane assessment which consists of two parts. You know of the two aspects, yes?” replied Celeste.

“Mana force and mana attribute tests?” said Aran, inquisitively.

Celeste nodded and continued, “His mana force will be tested using a mana compass. It’s a mana lodestone linked to a screen using magical circuits. When held, the mana compass draws in mana from the person holding it and reports the mana force in numerical value.”

“How do they quantify it? I mean what does it mean if someone had ten points? Doesn’t that seem arbitrary?” asked Aran.

Celeste laughed. Her inquisitive son had an analytical mind; he would do well as a mage. Smiling approvingly, she answered, “This is a question that the Magician’s Society had to first answer. To accurately describe and study the phenomenon known as magic, you had to quantify it. So what is a good measure of mana force? The foremost academics at the time raked their brains. They couldn’t have used the intensity of brightness from mana lodestones as each one had accommodated different ranges of mana force. An intense brightness from a lower grade lodestone was not even equal to a dim glow from a high grade one. Plus, there was enough variation within each class of lodestone that it was not feasible. So they decided on the one thing that changed life in Parthenon the most; light. Every single point of mana force is the amount needed to activate a standard mana lamp for a minute.”

Aran nodded and understood the principle. Magic in this world was treated like any other subject, it seemed to follow specific set of rules, and was thus studied like one would mathematics. Therefore, a common, systematic system was required for its study. The Magician’s Society had devised one. Aran continued, “What is the typical amount of innate mana force of a seven year old?”

Celeste answered, “About twenty to thirty. Higher innate mana force mean that the child had better affinity to mana and would absorb more mana than someone with lower innate mana force. But remember, it is a mere measure of the starting point as a mage; if the child didn’t meditate or comprehend the complexities of mana, they would soon be taken over by one who had less innate mana force. Furthermore, many richer families will boost their children capabilities by buying elixirs and magical tools. So even if the child is ahead, they cannot slack off in their training.”

Seeing that her son had grasped the information, Celeste continued, “Now, where were we? Ah yes, next is the attribute test. That is tested using an aura gem. With injection of mana into it, the gem displays different colors, reflecting different elemental affinities.”

“What are the colors?” pressed Aran, “And of the other attributes?”

“Orange for fire. Purple for wind. Blue for water. And brown for earth. There are also compound elements for dual-element mages, but those don’t exist until a mage has started fusing their elements. Light and dark attributes are manifested as white and black halos respectively around the gem. Spatial magic, which had not been seen in the known world for a few generations had be recorded to cause the aura gem to tremble and, in cases, collapse on itself, disappearing into a void.”

Aran was beginning to ask another question when Celeste stopped him, “We have to join the others. Let’s go.” Her soft hand wrapped around his surprisingly strong one as she pulled him towards the ceremonial hall. Passing by the courtyard, Aran realized that many of the guests had already gone into the ceremonial hall and both mother and son picked up their pace. Entering the ceremonial hall, Celeste sighed a sigh of relief as the ceremony had yet to begun.

The ceremonial hall was long, stretching 200 people deep and 50 wide. A blue carpet, the color of clear sky, was laid from the back of the hall to the door. The walls were adorned with banners similar to that in the courtyard. Everyone was gathered at the back of the hall. Fourteen empty chairs were laid out along the carpet with a single chair at the end, the seat of the patriarch.

Approaching the crowd of twenty people, Gerand was talking to two men, the man with the wheel-embroidered vest from before and another man in a magician’s robe. Unlike Celeste’s, the lining of his robe had brown and blue lapels and the sixth circle on the button was etched black. Noticing the mother and son, Gerand extended his arms in welcome and introduced them.

“Ah, here comes my lovely daughter-in-law, Celeste, and her son, Aran, who had given us our share of surprises,” said Gerand. Gesturing to the man in the vest, Gerand added as Celeste shook hands with the men, “This is Mister Gallen, the manager of the local branch of the Merchant’s Union. He has been helping us transport all the harvests and acquire anything we need without a hitch. And Magister Cain, who is joining us all the way from the Magician’s Society main branch in Iridis, located at the capital. Magister Cain has gratuitously offered his help with Owen’s assessment today.”

Magister Cain simply shrugged and said, “It is nothing much. I so happened to be in the regional branch for a separate reason when the request came in. I took it up. After all, I could not miss the chance to swing by to see old friends.”

“My pleasure, Mister Gallen. And Arturo, it’s nice to see you again. Have you spoken to Luca yet?” greeted Celeste. Arturo smiled and nodded.

“Aran greets Mister Gallen and Magister Cain,” he said as he smiled sweetly and extended his hand forward. Both guests knew Aran was about to turn four but his stature was similar to that of Owen. Taken slightly aback by the young boy's stature and forwardness, both men quickly regained their calm.

“So you are the child genius we’ve heard so much about?” asked a smiling Mr. Gallen as he shook Aran’s hand, surprised at how firm the handshake was.

Aran smiled sheepishly and responded, “Grandpa is being generous, as he does with all of his grandchildren.”

“Nice to meet you, Aran,” said Arturo, “Your father won’t stop talking about you.”

“He’s just like grandpa!” remarked a wide-eyed Aran. Mr. Gallen and Arturo smiled warmly, immediately taking a liking to this friendly, humble, and polite child.

Gerand shared a strange look with Celeste and shook his head, ‘Grandpa? This child is calculative.’

The small group chatted for a while when Arturo excused himself for the arcane assessment. Gerand ushered the group to their seats and took his at the end. Ed and Rana took the seats immediately right of Gerand, followed by Niall, Jura, Luca, Celeste, and Aran. Mr. Gallen was talking to a man, his aide, sitting on the opposite side, two chairs down from Gerand. Also gathered were important individuals of the Steele family guard and army, as well as four of Owen’s teachers. Those who were not seated, were standing at the opposite end from Gerand. Arturo was standing in the center with another mage and a nervous, yet excited, Owen. Arturo nodded at Gerand, who held out his arms and cleared his throat.

“Thank you everyone for gracing us with your presence today. It is my grandchild, Owen Balor Steele’s seventh birthday, and the day he will be tested for his aptitude as a mage. His parents are accomplished mages of their own. My son, Ed Furon Steele, is a fire mage and my daughter-in-law, Rana Ani Steele, is a wind mage. Magister Arturo, please.” said Gerand, as he gestured towards Arturo.

“Lord Steele,” Arturo responded, acknowledging Gerand, “Everyone, we will now test Master Owen’s mana force.”

His fellow mage motioned for Owen to place his hands on a jagged, translucent stone attached, by means of magic circuits, to a wooden box, the size of a tome, with a screen on the top. Owen gripped the stone with both hands, and immediately felt a pulling sensation, drawing a strange energy from inside him. Owen had felt mana for the first time. The mage whispered in Owen’s ear, “Relax, and remember the feeling.” Owen slowly relaxed and the mana lodestone shone white, the pale, gentle color of moonlight. It slowly got intense and within several seconds, the box emitted a strange sound and the number 56 was displayed on the screen. The mage tapped Owen’s hands and he released the stone, breathing heavily, exhilarated by this sensation.

“56!” declared the mage. The crowd nodded in satisfaction as that was double the amount in an average seven year old aristocratic child. Everyone in the Steele family, especially Ed and Rana wore wide smiles on their faces.

“Moving on to the affinity test,” said Arturo, as his colleague moved the mana compass off the table. Arturo took an aura gem and placed in on the desk. It was translucent and spherical, not smooth but faceted such that one could place it on a flat surface and it will not roll away. Owen put his right hand on the gem and immediately felt mana being drawn out of him. Immediately after, he felt a strange, unpleasant sensation of prickling all over his body. Mana had started flowing into the gem and, at the same time, Owen.

“That’s you absorbing mana. Don’t fight it,” said Arturo calmly as Owen fidgeted. Owen nodded. Arturo took a closer look at the gem and saw small spherical wisps of light inside, like lanterns floating in the night sky. There were many orange colored wisps and half as many purple colored ones. ‘Dual-element? 56 innate mana force? He is a strong candidate!’

“Dual element! Affinity for fire and wind!” declared Arturo excitedly. Everyone cheered. Rana gripped Ed’s hands, both trembling in excitement. A proud look flashed across Ed’s eyes.

“We will be back later in the evening to coalesce Master Owen’s mana pool,” said Arturo as he patted Owen on the shoulder and motioned him to go to his parents. He and his colleague cleaned up and walked over to Gerand. Arturo spoke, “Congratulations Lord Steele!”

Gerand smiled from ear to ear and responded, “Thank you both for your help.”

“You are welcome Lord Steele. That was the easy part,” said Arturo, knowing that the difficult part is coming up, and excused himself to set up for the ceremony.

The Steele household and its guests were chatting excitedly. Owen having a high innate mana force and dual elements meant that the Steele family was going to gain a mage with a lot of potential. A mage who will be sought after by multiple powers in the country.