The day had finally came, 41 barely slept in the night before and consequently, did not let 21 sleep two. All of the saints were having breakfast, 11 was the last one to arrive, she sat in front of 13, on 41's side. \\
—Hello everyone.\\
—Hi, did you woke up happy? — 13 greeted her — You were looking kind of down yesterday.\\
—Yes, I was worried about some things yesterday, but I'm fine now! — She said and smiled to the one on her side. He smiled back, with his mouth full of the blue mass.\\
The others were talking about the ceremony.\\
—This morning when I was going to the bathroom, I saw Caliel and some other cavalier carrying to huge chests to the front garden — 22 was talking to the boy and the girl 21.\\
—Did you saw where they came from? — 41 asked her — I still have not found the armory.\\
—Why look for the armory? You are going to receive an armor today, you don't need to look for the armory anymore. — 21 almost sleeping said to him.\\
—I know, but like, I looked for it all this time and I still don't know nothing about it. I'm starting to think it is just a myth.\\
—Or you are just really bad in looking for things…\\
Adam, 12, 12, 14 and 31 were talking in the other side of the table.\\
—We are Finally getting armors. I am super excited — Adam was electric ever since he woke up. — What kind of armor do you think I will get?\\
—You, I don't know, but I want a big armor, with a giant axe and three swords. — The boy 12 was dreaming.\\
—You are just thinking about the weapons that come with the armor… You need to focus on the really important things. You should be worried about how your armor looks… — 31 telling his priorities. — What is the use have ten thousand weapons if your armor looks like a giant fish with horns and fur…\\
—No… that is not what you need to worry, you need to worry about what is the name of your armor — 14 explained to them — You need to take an armor with a cool name like Seraphim or Haamiah. Imagine you choose an armor with a shitty name and ends up being called Azazel for the rest of your life.\\
—To be honest I think that holding on until this day is already a victory for me. — Everyone in the table looked to 12 as he talked — I can't take it anymore hearing 41 talk about a stupid winged armors.\\
41 screamed at him from the other side of the table.\\
—And from now on you will get sick of Looking at it.\\
They finished eating in high spirits. After the breakfast Caliel went to take them to the front yard, they went through the entrance door and saw Raphael and Seraphim under the big pink trumpet tree with a big table in front of them. The table was full of things.
The saints positioned themselves in a row in front of the table, when they looked closer, these things were props with very different jewels placed on them, there it was rings, necklaces and bracelets, all of them with a gem that stood out compared to the rest of the jewel, there it was small labels underneath each one of them. Raphael greeted the saints.\\
—Good morning to all of you. The day you all were waiting for has finally came, — 11's were trembling — Some more than others — Raphael gave a distinct look to 41 — Now is the time when you become Cavaliers, this memory will be engraved in your minds forever, you will receive armors and names. Now, you will be part of the Sacred Cavaliers army.\\
The saints could not contain the excitement. Seraphim explained to them that, one by one they would be called, the saint should get closer to the table and slowly pass his hand above the props leaving a small amount of his energy in each one. The armor would then choose if it wanted to stay with the saint.
The armors are especial types of forges; when a master forger makes an armor, he needs to know what that armor is going to be before he starts, what will be its elements, what type of weapons it will have and what type of cavalier it will serve. During the manufacturing process, the armors absolve the elements that they can sense around them, forgers use that to give especial powers and personalities to the armors. When they are ready, they choose the cavalier they want to serve; armors will never open themselves to someone that it does not want.
The first one called was 21. She took a step forward and started to do it as they said, when she passed her hand close to a bracelet in the middle of the table the purple gem on it started to shine strongly, all of the others were hypnotized by it. Seraphim said to her:\\
—Claim it, — She grabbed and placed in her wrist — We now shall call you — Around her body, a blinding light appeared and the armor started to emerge in her body — Amniela, the Dream Goddess.\\
Her armor looked like a dress made entirely of small gold petals. They covered from neck to floor, like a giant flower sculpture in spring. The helmet looked like two masks, one in the front and the other in the back of the head, the one in the front was smiling gently while the one in the back showed features of hatred and horror. The armor disappeared and she went back in line with a huge smile on her face.
The next one was 22. She gets close to the table and starts to drop her mana in the stones, as soon as her energy reaches the table, a gem starts to shine right under her hand. When she was going to take it, another one starts to shine in the other side of the table. \\
—If two or more armors shine for you, you can choose between those that showed interest in you.\\
The saints were impressed by what happened. She thought about which one to take for a couple of seconds. The one closer to her was a green gem attached to a bracelet, the other was a necklace, when she looked deep to it the ruby light called her in a way the other could not do it. She got closer to it and leaned her fingers against the rock, her whole body started to shine.\\
—Wise choice — Raphael said smiling — Exoutius, the Overwhelming Power.\\
Her armor consisted of silver shoulder plates attached to a hooded sand yellow cloak, the cloak extended throughout the body, front and back, from shoulders to toe. It looked like the cloak was crumbling into sand before it touched the ground.\\
13 was called. She was a little nervous; her hand was shaking a little bit. She started in the left, slowly going over the jewels. She was already close to the middle but nothing had happened. 11 was getting extremely anxious imagining what it was going to happen at her time, 41 was by her side, he notices, turns to her and smiles, she gives him a small smile back. 13 was almost at the end of the table and none of the gems shone for her yet, she starts to get mad and drops a big amount of mana on them. The gem right under her hand starts to shine strongly and she fast grabs it. Raphael turns to Seraphim and whisper while the armor appears on her.\\
—That is weird. I thought the armors would like to serve a cavalier with such amount of energy.\\
—Maybe they are scared or something… If I remember correctly, the one that choose her is a pretty brave armor, probably the others were not…\\
—Maybe… But I think it was something else. It doesn't make sense that all of the armors we had available were scared, probably the personalities were way to different or they don't like her element that much… \\
The armor that wore her was made of bluish pure diamond. There it was a white fabric under the plates, preventing it from touching her. The plates were thick throughout the entire armor except at the joints, where there was only the fabric. The armor had a sharp curved horn in the frontal part of the helmet and in the back part of each boot; there it was also a belt on her waist, a belt with a big and heavy sword attached horizontally to it's back. The sword was made entirely of diamond except for the grip that had a leather layer on it; the pommel was quite big and had a distinct lotus flower bud shape. When she finished looking at the armor, Raphael started to talk to her.\\
—This is a really especial armor, it is one of the oldest we have here. The last owner of this armor was a close friend of mine. I fought alongside him in many battles; with a single blow from the Diamond Limbo, — He pointed to the sword on her back. — He was able to make entire storms silent and hurricanes run in fear. — Raphael said with a nostalgic flare in his voice. — You name from now on is, Asphela, The Lighting Angel, Son of Storms.\\
—Son? — She asked.\\
—Titles of previous users are carried with the armor in the way they were given.\\
She vanished her armor and went back to the place she was happy about the armor that she got. \\
—11! — Seraphim called.\\
When she heard her name, she froze. She was not able to move her legs out of nervousness.\\
—It's all right — Seraphim said with a gentle smile.\\
She takes a couple of steps forward and lifts her hand above the table; she takes a deep breath and starts. On the left side of the table nothing happens, her hand start to shake and the mana flux coming out of her starts to wave. The boy 11 notices something strange in one of the gems in the table. So far, when one of the saints would come to leave it's energy, the armor that would shine, would start to exhale the same energy as the saint before doing it, the others would not do anything, the mana would just pass through them. But one of the necklaces there was absorbing the mana and not reflecting. Seraphim and Raphael also noticed.\\
—Please stop for a second — Seraphim said.\\
She starts to sweat cold thinking that she failed but in the moment that she stops, the necklace starts to shine intensively. She looks scared to it. Seraphim says:\\
—Can she claim that…? — Seraphim was also surprised by what happened. — Do you know this armor?\\
—No… It's my first time seeing it.\\
—It keeps constantly sucking her energy, is it dangerous for her?\\
—I don't know. It is my First time seeing it.\\
She touches the necklace and immediately the armor appeared on her. It was entirely black, without many adornments and a material that resembled leather in the parts where there were no plates. The helmet, which was a hood that extend itself until it covered the entire face, was attached to something similar to a cape on the back.\\
—I think it is all right. If there it was a problem with an armor, Caliel wouldn't bring it here. But I will check with him later what will happen if someone in her situation use that armor. Your name is now… — Seraphim checked in the label — Onami, this armor has no titles. It is up to you deserve them.\\
She was immensely happy, she vanished the armor and gave 41 a big hug. Asphela kept looking to it. Seraphim was also showing a big, soft smile to her.
The next one they called was 21; with upright posture, he approached the table and with steady hands started. There it was not a single armor in the table shinning for him.\\
—Now that is a surprise — Seraphim said.\\
Onami and 41 looked scared to the two Paladins.\\
—What happens now? — 41 asked.\\
—Will he be dismissed? — Onami's question scared all of the saints.\\
21 looks extremely scared to Seraphim.\\
—What do you mean dismissed?? — 21 screamed.\\
—Calm down…\\
—Will he be dismissed???\\
—No, calm down…\\
—But Why? No one told us nothing about bee…\\
—CALM DOWN — Seraphim screamed — He is not being dismissed. That thing about being dismissed by not getting an armor only applied to Onami…\\
—Were you going to be dismissed? — Asphela asked Onami.\\
—21 has enough energy to go to the combat classes safely. — Seraphim continued.\\
—If I didn't get an armor today, Seraphim and Raphael would send me away. — Onami explained to Asphela and those around her.\\
—So I am not going to be dismissed?\\
—No, you can relax…\\
—But… what happens now? Will I stay… armorless?\\
—Well… — Seraphim looked to Raphael.\\
—I will send a message to the other castles so they can send us more armors for you to test, until that happens we can't do much for you, sorry. — Raphael explained — And if you still don't found an armor, we will make one specially for you in the forge. So don't you worry… for now…\\
21 showed to be quite confused with the occurred, he went back to the line a little mad about it. When he placed himself where he was 41 turned to him and said:\\
—Dude, you scared the heck out of me… For a couple of moments I thought you was going away.\\
—Yes, that was weird. I can't believe this. Why me?\\
41 could see that he was extremely frustrated, 21 did not talk much about it but ever since he became a saint, he was excited, especially about winning an armor and 41 could see that but did not know what to say to him.\\
The next one was the boy 12. As soon as he got close to the table, a bunch of jewels started to shine. 21 lashed in anger.\\
—WHAT? IS THIS SERIOUS? \\
The boy searched in the table the jewel that most caught his attention, right in the middle, there was a sturdy white ring with a small white gem on it. He got closer to it and grabbed the ring, his whole body started to shine and a white armor appeared on him. It was a huge, heavy, with white plates and golden details armor, with exception of the face, there it was no way to see any other part of his body. The body was relatively simple compared to the other armors; it was a single layer of the white metal covering all of it. The helmet was like the head of a lion, the mouth was open in the front and it had wings instead of the eyes. There was a kite shield in his right arm; it was about the same height as him and extremely heavy, with a big lion face engraved on it. \\
When Raphael was about to announce his name, another ring started to shine too. Usually when the saint choose the armor he wants, the others stop shinning, but there are rare cases where even after the saint choses an armor, the others still want to serve him, when this happens the cavalier can choose more than one armor and try to wear them at the same time. Raphael is a fused armor.\\
—If you want, you can claim that one two — Raphael said to him, 21 was outraged. — When two or more armor want the same cavalier, he can try to use them at once, if everything goes well the armors are naturally fused.\\
Every word that goes out of Raphael's mouth make 21's anger ascent. Without being so sure of what is going on, 12 goes and grabs the other ring. His armor starts to change itself, what once were a plain of white plates, now looked like a huddle of different pieces trying to occupy the same space. A new layer of red feather like plates was trying to penetrate the other armor. His left hand was now holding another shield, it had the same kite shape, but it was about half the size of the other and had an eagle engraved on it, in a way that the tip of the shield was the eagle's beak.\\
The other saints were dazzled, except 21.\\
—Having a fused armor might be difficult, you need to work your best to make sure that the two armors that have chosen you can come together harmoniously. — Raphael said to him. — Your name shall be… — He started to look at the labels of the two armors, thought a little, and said — Prospounae, The Unbreakable Lion and The Mighty Eagle.\\
—That is a weird name. I bet he just made that up… — 41 whispered to Onami and Asphela. Asphela laughed.\\
—He did. The names in the label are different… — Onami said. — He joined the two names.\\
—Ah… Then it is pretty cool. Forget what I just said.\\
After that, the saints were quicker with their choices, nothing out of ordinary happened. The next one was 31, he received the Tius armor, it was the only one that shined. The girl 12 received the Thysíla armor, as soon as the armor shined for her she took it and did not tested the others. Sotíel was the name of the boy 11's armor, three gems shined for him. Adam's armor looked like a bat and was called Sanael. Only two more saints left. 41 was electric, he could not wait any longer, Raphael saw it and decided to call 14 first. He turns to Seraphim and says:\\
—Hey let's leave 41 la…\\
—41! — Seraphim interrupted before he could finish. Raphael was sad.
41 approached the table jumping in excitement. He starts in the left part of the table and slowly goes to the middle. Sotíel sees that some gems are about to shine but then they stop, as if they are giving up. When he reaches the middle, a necklace in the right side flashed for a second and blacked out. They all stared at it, 41 turns to the two Paladins.\\
—Can I take that one?\\
They stared at each other.\\
—I don't know… — Raphael said.\\
—It turned off so… I don't think it want you… — Seraphim sounded undecided. — Keep going… If that armor wants you it will shine again — 41 started to do it again — I think…\\
Sotíel could clearly see that a big part of the armors were acting in the same way, they would start to show interest and then stop. When 41 was almost finished in the table he started to get worried, his hand started to sweat, and the mana flux started to oscillate. The gems stopped reacting to his energy, none of them exhibited any kind of signal or action. He reached the end of the table and none of them shinned again. He stood still for a couple of seconds and then grabbed the one that flashed.\\
—Thank you everyone. — He said while turning back to the line.\\
—Stop right there. — Seraphim interrupted him — You cannot take that one. It does not want you…\\
—It shinned, I'm pretty sure it does.\\
—It stopped shinning, I'm pretty sure it does not.\\
—There is no way to know that, so I am going to take it just to be sure.\\
—No, you will not. \\
—But if I don't take this one… — He was about to dramatically cry.\\
—You will have to wait just like 21.\\
—I don't want to be like 21. It sucks…\\
—Hey! — 21 screamed to him. \\
—C'mon, let me use this one while the others don't arrive.\\
—That is not how it works. You can't use an armor that don't want you. — Raphael told him. — If you try to wear it nothing will happen.\\
—But it shinned… — He mumbled with tears in his eyes.\\
—It shinned, but it stopped later. — Seraphim walked over and put his hand on his shoulder. — I know how much you want an armor, and you will have one eventually. But, you will have to wait a little more. — Seraphim lifted his hand and 41 placed the necklace on it.\\
—This sucks… So Much.\\
—I know, be patient and go back to the line for now…\\
He went back to his place in the line between Onami and 21. 21 turns to him and says.\\
—Welcome to the club dumbass.\\
—Shut up.\\
The armor 14 received is called Laylah. Now the big pink trumpet tree received ten new flowers.
In that night, all of the new cavaliers were sleeping. 21 was laying on his bed staring at the ceiling, he tried to sleep earlier but the morning events of that day were bothering him filling his head with all kinds of thoughts. Perceptive and stubborn since child, he was determined towards a goal, curious and a bit sly, he acted intelligently focusing at the rewards he was going to get from it. Raised by his mother, he experienced a tough reality in his early years; they went through several financial problem, his mom worked hard, every single day of his life, to make sure he did not know how bad life really was.\\
But he knew, he could see the reality behind the smile of hers. He never said anything about it to her, he never complained, whined or protested. Instead he did what he could to help her, while she worked to provide for now, he worked at home to provide to their future, he studied his hardest to pass in an elite school, the best in the whole city, there he made friends that helped him to go even further, making him the student with the highest grades in the school. If he had continued this path, he would have been accepted into one of the nation's great universities and studied something very profitable there, to give to his mom everything she ever dreamed about, but somewhere along the way an unforeseen event happened. In the seventy-fifth winter day of the nine hundred and ninety-third year of the second cycle, a cavalier appears in his class and says to him that he is now a saint and he will become a cavalier too. The first thing he said to the cavalier was "no, thank you."\\
For his entire life, the only family 21 ever had was his mom. The idea of leaving her alone for several weeks, in order to train to become a security with fancy clothes was not very attractive to him. The cavalier explained that even if he really wants to refuse, he still needs to be there in the fourth day of spring so day could seal his energy, if he actually does not want to be a cavalier. He went home after school thinking about what happened; when he got home, he searched how much money does a cavalier make, the results surprised him. Gold Cavaliers receive seven hundred and fifty silver units per season and Paladins receive eighteen hundred. Even after seeing this, he still was not sure if it was worth it, this are considered extremely high salaries in the country, but there are a few professions with an even higher average salary. It is hard to get to them, but he would not accept anything less than the best. That is how he was thinking until he read a certain information. The Major General and the Archduke do not have a salary limit, they have especial access to the public money available in the nation and they can use it as they please, he did not believed. Upon reading that he stood stoic until his mother came home from work. He sat down with her and told her everything, she gave him a long hug, and her tears that fell down on his shoulders marked all the love he received during his life and the weight of the path he is now taking. \\
Some days ago, during one of the weapons class, 21 was trying to use a crossbow, of all the saints left, he was the worst at long-range weapons, the most hardworking for sure, but still the worst. Haamiah knew he had an extra training routine in his spare time but he was not able to train all of the subjects in the common areas of the castle, so after the class she takes him to the arena, the giant building next to the White Auditorium. She explained to him that there he could train everything he wanted safely; all he needed to do was set up a time, and for the last few days he did train there for at least three hours a day. After receiving his armor, he was planning to increase this time, but now that things did not go as he planned, for one of the first times in his life, he was lost.\\
—Hey, are you awake? — 41 whispered.
—No.
…
—Are you thinking about what happened?
—Yes.
…
—Are you sad?
—No… Are you?
—No, I'm fine…
…
—Are you sure?
—No… I really wanted an armor…
—Me too, not as much as you, but still…
—This sucks.
—A lot.
…
—I was thinking…
—Oh God.
—Why did this happened only to us...
—Hm…
—Not a single one of the armors we've seen today had wings.
—Yes, and?
—What if… we did not get any armors because of that…
21 lifted his body and turned to 41.
—Think about it. Maybe having wings is like, our destiny — 41 continued.
21 laid down again.
—And since those armors didn't had wings they didn't picked us.
—Destiny… Is that you big conclusion? I think it is more probable that your fixation with wings scared the armors away.\\
—Think about it. Make sense right?\\
—No, it doesn't.\\
—Yes it does. You'll see, I bet that when they bring new armors, the ones that have wings will shine for us.\\
—Ahan.\\
—Just you wait…\\
—You say as if we can do something other than wait. — 21 said giggling.\\
…\\
—At least we can go to the combat classes without an armor…\\
—Yeah… by the way, — 21 turns to 41 again. — What happened to 11, I mean, Onami. They really would dismiss her?\\
—Yes. She told me that she almost don't have any mana, so they thought it wouldn't be enough to become a cavalier, if she haven't got an armor today they would sent her home. \\
—And even so, she got an armor… What if we don't get any armors because of our mana? \\
—Is there a problem with it?\\
—I don't know, maybe…\\
—Well — 41 was smiling maniacally — I know quantity is not the problem… Hey, changing the subject a little bit, I remembered that I haven't asked you. \\
—What?\\
—How does it feel to be so inferior to me? I can barely imagine the situation that you are in right now. I mean like…\\
—Someone who not even Knew how to walk, don't have the right Try to make fun of me. You dumbass…