Zane-Ashburn was brought to a bench near the front of a stage where Gill and the other kids were already sitting. The sight of a familiar face somewhat calmed him. He cautiously peered around the large crowd as more kids between the ages of 8 and 16 filtered into the tent. He still felt slightly unsettled, but sat with his group, making sure everyone was together. His bench was probably the biggest of all of them since the group was so large.
Milieta and Mira were holding hands, comforting each other. Zane-Ashburn could sense the overwhelming anxiety within the group. Even Anabelle seemed to be a bit off-put. Something about this gathering and its timing felt weird.
A group of bigger teens including Lukas and Kit were standing on stage. Zane-Ashburn also recognized one of the older boys as Eli, who had requested them here. They all held a microphone and everyone's attention was on them.
"Ehem, good morning Children of the Moon," Eli announced. His voice rang clear and deep across the area. Zane-Ashburn and the kids looked among each other in confusion as everyone yelled out "Good morning, Elder" in unison.
"Today we have 9 new members! Lukas actually managed to pull them in from Britain! They are unfamiliar with us and have never been introduced to our ideals, so let's warmly welcome them!" Kit smiled. Zane-Ashburn thought it was an odd look on her. She was more of a sarcastic type and the smile felt fake.
"Zane-Ashburn! Come up here and introduce yourself!" Zane-Ashburn froze with panic as Lukas looked at him. He had never been good at public speaking, and especially not in this setting. He shakily walked up the stage, frantically looking back at the group who gave attempts at reassuring smiles. Gill's was the only one who passed as actually reassuring. Zane-Ashburn took in a deep breath before grabbing Lukas' microphone.
"Just give them your name, age, and power sign," Lukas murmured. Zane-Ashburn nodded despite having no idea what a power sign is.
"Hello, I'm Zane-Ashburn Everdon. I'm 9 years old and I have absolutely no idea what a power sign is," He squeaked. The crowd of children laughed, and Lukas pressed his palm to his face. Zane-Ashburn was burning and felt incredibly embarrassed.
"Welcome, Zane-Ashburn, 9," Everyone echoed. He was very unsettled by this, but he decided it would just be better to bolt off the stage. So, he did.
"Gill, please come up," Kit said in a soft voice. Zane-Ashburn was very upset over how good she was at being charismatic. Gill being the adventurous one, walked up on stage no problem and calmly gave his name and age.
"Hey, I'm Gilbert Everdon. I'm 8 years old and based off what Lukas just told me, my power sign is Earth."
"Welcome, Gilbert Everdon, 8!"
Zane-Ashburn was positively puzzled.
"Anabelle?"
The pink ruffles on her dress of the day flounced as she hopped up stage.
"Hi! I'm Anabelle Everdon. I'm 5! I like Rubik's cubes a lot," she gave an infectious smile that made the entire crowd coo.
"Welcome, Anabelle Everdon, 5!"
"My, my, that was adorable Anabelle. Margarie, please!"
Margarie hopped up to the stage in a similar fashion as Anabelle after giving her a hug.
"Hi," She gave a cheesy smile that felt more threatening than cute as Anabelle's had been. "I'm Margarie Park! I'm 6 and I really like goose!"
"Welcome, Margarie Park, 6!"
Zane-Ashburn cringed at the memory. Gill snorted and everyone else in the room looked confused. Margarie grinned directly at Zane-Ashburn and he could feel himself hate this girl a little bit more.
"The triplets! Oldest first, boys," Lukas grinned. They all raced up to the stage, tripping over each other.
"Hellooooo," Phoenix drawled. Arizona scowled at him and grabbed the mic.
"I'm Arizona Staten! I'm also called Ari and I'm the middle kid by 1 minute! I'm still the smartest though."
Tuscon scoffed and ripped the mic from Ari's hands.
"I'm Tuscon and I'm the youngest, but that means these idiots will be old before me," He stuck his tongue out at his brothers. Lukas looked very stressed, rubbing his temples. He gave Phoenix the mic again, whispering in his ear.
"Yeah, okay, shut up Connie," Tuscon pouted. "I am the oldest by 2 minutes, but we are all 7 years old."
Lukas ushered them off stage, obviously excited for this to be over.
"Milieta?"
She cautiously walked on stage, seemingly afraid without her sister by her side.
"H-Hi," she stuttered. "I'm Milieta Laurens. I'm 8, but I'm turning 9 pretty soon..."
Mira walked on stage with her, wrapping her arms around her. Lukas was unhappy with this as she was not yet called upstage.
"Hi! I'm Mira Laurens and I'm 8, too. We don't do much but we both like singing if that matters," She saved the whole thing being more sociable.
They walked off holding hands. Milly was a mess and Mira was trying to comfort her, but it wasn't really working. At this point, the crowd had given up on welcoming them since it was obviously more chaotic than what usually went down.
"Well then! Lovely to meet the new recruits! We are..." Kit began with another fake smile plastered to her face.
"Eli Aster! Aged 15!" Eli sounded bored and it really conflicted with his face. He was much better at faking the smile than Kit.
"Kit! Aged 13!" She reminded Zane-Ashburn of a cheerleader. It was just so remarkably not genuine, and it bugged him to no end.
"Lukas Stardust! Aged 12!" He sounded exhausted. Zane-Ashburn thought Lukas had really only gotten a few hours of sleep before he had to go on stage.
A couple more people introduced themselves, but Zane-Ashburn couldn't pay attention. He had spotted Maury at another table, attempting to slink off to some unknown place, a bag slung over her back. However her bright purple hair was not working with her and ended up being more of a detriment than anything else. Zane-Ashburn counted everyone at his table. He wasn't terribly noticeable; he was reserved and small, and with those traits came the ability to follow Maury and see what she was doing.
She had already mostly disappeared out of his sight and Zane-Ashburn decided he only had a few seconds to make his decision.
Zane-Ashburn ultimately patted Gill's knee. "Hey, cover for me." Gill nodded, slightly confused as he watched Zane-Ashburn creep out of the back of the outdoor-stadium.
As he walked into the open foliage in Maury's path, he could hear the noises of the meeting fade. His stomach rumbled from hunger, but he was more curious of Maury's where-abouts than eating.
He had finally caught up with Maury, seeing her small figure cautiously walking through the woods. He stayed about 10 feet behind her, attempting stealth in bushes, not letting himself be seen.
"Where are you going?" He muttered under his breath as she ventured deeper into the trees. She began to hum a soft tune he could barely hear, and Zane-Ashburn could've sworn he saw Maury light up a bit. It was like she began to glow, her skin illuminating ever so slightly as she gently sang her song. Suddenly, after about half a mile of walking, she paused in an opening. Zane-Ashburn sat in a bush, most likely invisible to Maury and he observed her actions in pure curiosity.
Maury looked around the opening and found 10 rocks as well as 3 small pieces of wood. Zane-Ashburn watched in confusion as she arranged the rocks in a circle with the wood in the middle.
Maury opened the small bag she had slung over her arm and pulled out a book. Zane-Ashburn couldn't read the text of the name, but it looked very similar to the magick books she had shown him earlier. Maury sat in front of the circle, still humming, but reading the book, flipping frantically through the pages.
"AHA," She yelled out as she paused on a page. Zane-Ashburn jumped back in fright, falling backwards onto a twig.
"OUCH," He cried out as the twig stabbed his back. Maury shot up, nearly dropping the book.
"Who is it?!" She yelled out, walking towards Zane-Ashburn, still not seeing him. Zane-Ashburn sat up in a panic.
"It-It's me, I'm sorry; I swear I wasn't trying to be creepy by following you--" He rambled, standing up and wiping the dirt off his jeans. Maury let out a yelp of momentary fear, holding her chest.
"Jeez, Zane-Ash, you scared me! Next time announce yourself before screaming in pain at people!!" She laughed. Zane-Ashburn's cheeks warmed in embarrassment. He wanted to tell her that wasn't his entire name, but he felt incredibly awkward about it and was unsure of how to tell her.
"Do you want to watch? Eli says that I'm super close to using the fire power sign! Maybe I'll finally be able to use magic then!" She grinned, grabbing Zane-Ashburn's hand and pulling him out of the shrubbery.
"Uhm... What exactly is a power sign? Nobody is telling me anything here and everything feels like it's going so fast..." Zane-Ashburn murmured. Maury looked at him in amazement, looking as if she had just won a golden opportunity.
"You-You're asking me? Well," Her face lit up and Zane-Ashburn prepared for an entire paragraph of explanation. "The power sign is your dominant trait. Like with astrology how some signs are earth signs, some are water, some are fire, and so on? Well, it's kind of like that except it has nothing to do with your birthday. It's simply the element you are most connected to. It usually matches your personality. Your brother? The fish one?" Zane-Ashburn stifled a laugh at that. "He is most connected to earth and thus has the most power, being able to control life and interpretation of such. That's why Greyden and Lukas jumped on taking you guys in. Real earth signs are hard to find. Eli says I'm most likely a fire sign. Fire signs usually have the ability to manipulate light and temperature and the perception of sight. It's a cool one, but it's not as strong as the others. Oh, and everyone's power is different. You could have two earth signs in the same room, and they might still have completely different powers, even if they're on the same basis. I find that fascinating."
Zane-Ashburn digested the information, trying to take in the key points.
"So, wait, you said earlier that everyone has magic, right?" He inquired. Maury nodded excitedly.
"Yes! You paid attention! Everyone has magic but not everyone knows how to use it, or it's not a very strong power. I don't have very strong power, nor do I know how to use it." She was gesturing with her hands dramatically, obviously excited that someone genuinely cared what she had to say.
Zane-Ashburn paused, thinking about it. His mind spun with questions and ideas, wanting to explore every bit of knowledge Maury had.
"So, what are all the signs?" He asked, stepping closer to her as she slowly bounced back in excitement.
"Well, there are four verified, common signs; although I believe there are five. The most common four are earth, water, fire, and air. But I think there is a 5th spiritual element. I already explained the fire and earth signs, but I'll explain water and air too. Water is the second most powerful sign and is also pretty rare. It's the ability to control liquids and bend them to your will. That's about the only virtue of it, but when you think about how many things in our world are liquidated, that idea is suddenly scary. Especially when you remember humans are 80% water." Zane-Ashburn visibly cringed as he thought about what could happen there. "Air is the least powerful sign, but only by a little bit. They have the power to manipulate our atmosphere, meaning levitation and things that appear like telepathy. However, air is only so strong because of the actual density of air. If you are in a highly gaseous room, being an air sign would be a perk. However, most room are not very full and mainly contain oxygen, which is not very dense, making the power feel less... powerful."
Zane-Ashburn nodded in wonderment. He had never thought of any of this. Did he have a power as well? And would it be a stong power?
"So, what's your theory with the... 'spiritual' power, then?" He asked, soaking in this information like a sponge.
"Well, I think there's a more emotional/mental power. Like the people who call themselves empaths. I think there are people who are connected to humanity and have the manipulation of the human mind and feelings. It's not proven though, it's just an idea of mine..." She trailed off, losing herself in thought. Zane-Ashburn's mind swirled in ideas and curiosity.
"He-Hey, what were you doing before I scared you?" He stuttered, pointing to the circle. Maury's face lit up in remembrance.
"Oh, yeah!! I was testing out a small fire manipulation tactic. I put wood on the floor and began focusing my energy, but then I lost focus because you're here. I wanna try again. Do you want to watch?" She pranced around the circle, energetic as ever. Zane-Ashburn nodded.
"Okay, okay, okay," she grinned. She took a deep breath and retook her position in front of the circle, standing quietly in place. She began to hum again, her skin relighting. Maury closed her eyes, trying to focus her energy on setting the wood alight.
Zane-Ashburn covered his mouth, trying not to distract her as he watched small sparks fly over the fire. It was hardly believable, and Zane-Ashburn was in awe.
Maury was glowing. A certain golden aura had lit up her pale skin, making her more luminous than the patches if sun coming through the trees. Zane-Ashburn wanted to observe closer but didn't want to disturb her in any form.
Suddenly, a spark successfully crackled, lighting a small section of a wood piece on fire. Zane-Ashburn gasped, and Maury opened her eyes and began jumping, exhilarated and bleeding with pride.
"I DID THAT! THAT WAS ME!!!" She yelled out, hugging Zane-Ashburn who became stiff as a board at her touch.
Zane-Ashburn grinned widely, still in awe at all this new information he had learned.
"Maury, I need you to do something."
"Hm?" She smiled, still hyped up.
"I need you to sneak me into the library."