My door opened as I woke up. "Your highness," shouted my chambermaid Ana. "the awakening ceremony is only an hour away and your father needs you in the grand hall in thirty minutes.". Ana stated as I rolled out of bed and fumbled my way to the bathroom.
I could see Ana staring at me with a slight blush on her face as she stared at me in my undergarments.
"Ana, please stop staring at me I can get ready on my own," I softly said with a touch of drowsiness still in my voice.
"Certainly, your highness. I will wait outside if you need anything," Ana said before walking outside and closing the door.
I took a quick bath before getting dressed and looking in the mirror. I have medium-length black hair with bright golden eyes, like all the members of my family. Currently wearing a red dress shirt with a symbol of a black wolf with golden eyes sewn on the sleeves, a crest of the house Regis of the royal family of Estela, and black dress pants.
As I looked into the mirror, I called out to Sam, and as soon as the words left my mouth, a man in a dark cloak and hood emerged from the shadows of my room.
"Yes, your highness," Sam inquired. Today during the awakening ceremony could you record the name of everyone who will be attending the same academy as me, investigate them I'll need ten recommendations with a focus on loyalty and strong character above talent.
"Understood, your highness," Sam said before disappearing back into the shadows.
I left my room and walked towards the grand hall where my father and the other nobles with children who turned fourteen this year were waiting.
When I arrived in the grand hall, I greeted my father. Since I was the last to arrive my father cleared his throat Silencing the hall then spoke in a loud commanding voice lets head to the ceremony, I wish your children luck. The number of young nobles turning fourteen this year totaled twenty-five.
We went out to the front of the castle where the carriages with our family crest on them were waiting. It is tradition for the children of the noble families of the realm to start the awakening ceremony.
My father and I climbed into our carriage and led the way as our carriage was traveling my father once again explained the ceremony As I was a prince and of the highest status participating in the awakening ceremony I would kick things off once my name was called all I had to do is step forward and place my hand on the awakening crystal.
If I have a mana core, the crystal will awaken it and give me a talent grade ranging from F grade to SSS grade. Since only 10% of the population form mana cores, even the lowest grades of mana cores can join the academies free of charge since mages are the strength of every kingdom. Aside from that, if you have enough money, you can buy elixirs made from precious herbs to nourish your mana core to at least an A grade, although it would take a lot of money to do so, so most mages would work for Noble houses after graduating the academy to earn money. The academies are funded by the royal family and the four duchies. So every year, not a single 14-year-old would miss the awakening ceremony. Becoming a mage would raise your position in society, and even the lowest-class mages would be able to earn enough money to provide for their family.
If I awaken a mana core, I'll announce which of the kingdom's five academies You'll be joining. The royal academy is located outside the capital of the kingdom, the purple orchids academy is in the northern duchy, the golden circle is in the southern duchy, and the azure sword academy is in the eastern duchy, and the white dragon academy is in the western duchy.
The carriage stopped before my father could say anything else, and a few moments later our driver opened the door. My father and I stepped out of the carriage, and the crowd erupted in applause. I don't often appear in public so I guessed were probably excited to see me, I gave a small wave and nothing changed, then I noticed my father raise his hand and gave a wave and the crowd's cheers got even louder, I thought to myself, well he is the king maybe I was a bit conceited.
After the crowd calmed down, the steward began the ceremony, and I was the first to be called. I stepped up to the podium and stared at the orb. I saw a white mist swirling around inside a sphere almost twice as big as my fist, made of glass. When I lifted my hand and placed it on the crystal, I sensed a small jolt of mana travel through my body to somewhere in my stomach. When I felt the mana hit its mark, I could instantly feel the difference; my body felt stronger; I felt a strange energy in the world that I had never experienced before; thanks to the lessons I immediately knew what was happening. This must be mana I'm feeling I thought to myself. A small amount of white mist emerged from the crystal, forming the letters SSS above it. As soon as the letters appeared, the crowd went silent. It had been 50 years since an SSS-grade talent had been awakened in our kingdom.
After the shock passed, the crowd cheered; who wouldn't want their kingdom's royal family to be strong? Before going back to my position in line, I announced that I would be attending the royal academy. I saw some signs of jealousy in the eyes of the nobles waiting to go next. I couldn't feel the emotion, but I still learned how to identify it in others and understand its meaning. As my family has been cursed with the seal of emotions. Most of our childhood was spent learning about emotions that we could not experience.
The ceremony continued and there were 4 S grade talents and a SS grade talent. Fortunately, these talents would probably join the royal academy. As most nobles would rather attend the royal academy than the academy closer to home to build relationships with other nobles. All 20 other nobles had A-grade talent, which is typical for noble houses. Having talented offspring is more likely when two powerful mages have children. This year's batch of students was exceptionally talented. SS grade talent appears every five years, on average the last one being my older brother 3 years ago. So it was a little surprising to see another one this soon.
When everyone had been tested, we climbed back into our carriages to return to our estates. It would take us the rest of the day to finish up the awakening ceremony for all of the children of the kingdom. We were all eager to begin training now that our mana cores had been awakened. In a month, the academy will start and there will be a tournament on the first day. First, the top ten would be able to select their teams that would remain together until the academy ended. To be able to have first dibs on talent was a huge perk that none of us wanted to miss. Although someone could decline to be on your team, why wouldn't someone want to be on the team with the most talent? Everyone, even those who didn't have a chance of getting into the top ten, would try their best in the tournaments to be one of the top ten teams. The higher your ranking, the more resources the academy would provide, and all the members of the ten best teams would be able to select a class one weapon from the academy. Even though class one weapons cost approximately 20 gold coins, it is a significant amount of money for the average person.
Upon my carriage's arrival back at the castle, I hurriedly jumped out and started to make my way to the liberty so I could begin my training.