AHH---
It felt like I would be blown apart as I screamed and plummeted through the air. Branches, twigs, and stones slashed against my sun-kissed skin, scattering tiny trickles of blood, as they tore through my body like paper.
My heart was pounding as if it was trying to escape from my rib cage and it seemed like it might succeed. Every haggard breath I took felt like I was swallowing glass as the surroundings around me flew by at a speed undiscernible to the naked eye.
The bright colors permeated the scenic visage before I began to slither away, leaving behind only the cold embrace of profound darkness. It was getting harder and harder to focus my attention on the details as my consciousness began to fade.
My life flashed before my eyes as I continued to fall below.
It was the beginning, and the end when I turned 12 years old. When a child turns 12 years of age, they are required to take an affinity confirmation by the magistrate of the royal kingdom.
This is a mandatory assessment conducted by all citizens of the United Kingdom.
The confirmation will determine which element the candidate has the greatest affinity for and should focus on when cultivating or seeking further tutelage. When I was born, I was handed off to the local town orphanage with only a pitch-black necklace.
Everyone has some sort of trauma from being abandoned but all that was ever talked about was what would happen when someone turned 12 years of age.
All the children would sit around the crumbling wooden table during supper and ramble on about their potential affinities, claiming to be the brightest and strongest to ever leave the orphanage!
Mother Alisha would often smile while listening to us chatter, making it even harder for us to wait until we become 12 years of age.
Life at the orphanage wasn't the greatest but at least we had a roof over our heads. Some days were harder than others but the idea that you just have to wait until 12 years old before having a better life, was a great motivator.
Now and then, one of the orphans would reach the age and then head to their confirmation. Some of them would not come back, but the ones that did were always ecstatic about their affinity and would leave shortly after.
This only reaffirmed the fact that if you're gifted with a rare or powerful elemental affinity, there's a high chance you'll get adopted or maybe even scouted!
The night before my confirmation I thought I would be too excited to fall asleep but to my surprise, I fell asleep quite early. While deep in slumber dreamt that I was lost in an endless desert with a peculiar sun shining high in the cloudless sky.
The sun was dark brown with golden flames emanating around it, but no heat could be felt. The sand sparkled like fine particles of golden dust beneath the odd brown sun.
The sand began to ripple as pillars of the golden sand began to dive in and out like giant serpents. The entire desert around me began to dance and thrive as more pillars shot up from the sand.
Large ripples oscillated on the bed of the sand as something humungous began to rise from the sand. It appeared to be the remnants of a large ivory-stone temple.
The roof of the temple was engraved with beautiful gold feathers with silver tips. Gold sand wafting off the intricately crafted feathers gave the appearance of ravaged divine wings.
Before the desecrated stone temple could finish rising from the depths of the golden sand more pillars began to burst forth, encircling it, and then crashing into it. The awe-inspiring scene from before was replaced with one of savagery.
It was as if the desert was alive and trying to entrap the desecrated stone temple. It was getting harder to see if the sand was scattered everywhere but oddly there was no sense of discomfort.
Right before a pillar of golden dust smashed into my head I jolted out of bed firmly clenching my fists. Cold beads of sweat could be seen falling from my forehead as I heaved a sigh of relief.
What are the odds that I fall asleep early just to have a nightmare? Then again it truly did not feel like a nightmare until the very end.
"It felt so realistic…" I began to mumble to myself. Realizing that there was no heat, even though I was supposedly in a desert, made it clear that it was all just a dream.
As I was just about finished getting dressed, I could hear mother Alisha's excited voice calling for me. "Juzou ! Hurry up ! The carriage is outside and they don't like to be kept waiting. Let's go see if you'll end up amounting to anything…".
I frowned slightly, hearing her grumble under her breath at the end of her sentence, but I was too excited to be put down by her negativity.
I looked in the grime-smudged mirror and saw my light brown hair with its odd silver shimmers, my dark gold eyes, and sun-kissed skin. I didn't have any special clothes for the event, but I chose whatever had the least amount of wear and tear from my limited selection of rags.
I slapped my cheeks to amp myself up and squeeze my black pendant before running outside to where mother Alisha was waiting.
Running down the stairs I could see the other kids all talking about when it would be their turn to take the confirmation. A few of them waved at me and screamed, "Good luck Juzou! You better have a great affinity result!"
I smiled and shouted back "Of course, I will!"
When I stepped outside I saw mother Alisha beckoning me toward a large horse-drawn carriage. It looked pristine, as though it had never once been driven.
The dark shimmering wood was adorned with shining gold and even the elaborate carvings were crafted with expensive jewels and crystals. On both sides of the carriage were doors with large window panes that were accented with silver designs.
From how it appeared to be faintly glowing under the sun, this must be the royal carriage that escorts children of age to their place of confirmation. Staring at the passing scenery I pondered about what elemental affinity I would have.
We didn't receive much outside or basic information about the elements so I don't have a preference. Ideally, one of the rare elements like light or dark would be perfect for bragging to the other kids.
I'm not sure how long we were inside the carriage, but mother Alisha suddenly snapped me out of my thoughts when she shook my shoulder.
When I stepped out of the carriage, I was suddenly greeted by a stunning grand cathedral. It seemed to be carved from ivory stone and was studded with gold adornments.
The elaborate adornments rose along the sides of the cathedral forming some sort of circular design above it. Under bright sunlight, it shined like a giant golden crown.
Stained glass depicting a figure bathed in light, with outstretched arms could be seen above the large ivory doors. The frame of the doors was engraved with flittering golden lines that danced like vines.
I stopped to try and get a better look at what was being displayed but was pushed along inside before I could see the portrait.
When I stepped inside, there was a beautiful hallway illuminated by shining crystals. Various portraits and depictions of astonishing events were displayed along the walls. The floor was lined with a crimson silk carpet and a golden chandelier hung high in the ceiling.
At the end of the hallway, there were three men dressed in long white robes, lined with gold threading that coiled around the wrists and feet. Running down the shoulders were gold and silver ribbons that floated listlessly a few centimeters above the ground.
The robed men led us toward two large doors that seemed to emanate an unforeseen pressure. As we approached the doors it became slightly harder to breathe.
When the doors opened the pressure suddenly vanished, revealing a perfectly average room. One of the men noticed the confused look on my face before speaking.
"The confirmation is a private matter, therefore, a high level of privacy is also provided. The doors will prevent any excess mana released from leaking out."
Before the man could continue speaking one or the other men turned and gave him a serious look. After that nothing more was said as the doors closed behind us.
The robed man in the middle was gently holding a translucent orb laying on a white cushion. The man to his right spoke out in a deep voice and said, "Place your hand on the orb child, It will shine with the affinity you are most attuned with."
My heart was racing with an indescribable force as I stared at the bio-luminescent orb. My hand was slightly trembling as I held my breath, closed my eyes, and slowly placed my hand on the orb.
Ephemeral runes seemed to fade in and out of existence as a small golden ember began to glow from deep within the orb. Suddenly, a blinding, golden-brown light, burst out.
I had to close my eyes because the light was so bright, but when I opened them the 3 men were frowning deeply. I turned around and saw that mother Alisha was also making the same ghastly expression.
"Your affinity lies with the earth element.", the man holding the orb slightly shook his head as he spoke with a somber tone. "Although not quite the most common, it is the weakest of all the elements", they went on to explain.
As we were quickly escorted out, one of the men had a peculiar expression, that was a mix of shock and confusion. I was more focused, however, on the fact that mother Alisha did not look in my direction or utter a single word from the moment, we stepped into the grand cathedral.
A few minutes into the carriage ride, mother Alisha stopped looking out the window and turned toward me with a frightening expression on her beautiful pale face.
She tucked her lush black hair behind her ear as she spoke, "It's truly a shame that you're one of the unlucky ones."
The look on her face reeked of pity as I felt my stomach clench and cold shivers run down my spine. Her ice-blue irises did not show a trace of compassion as her eyes narrowed into slits.
"Ju- just because my affinity is one of the weak ones doesn't mean I can't be great!" I could feel the tears begin to swell in my eyes as my heart began to race.
"It is not one of the weak ones Juzou. It is the weakest. You will be the weakest." Mother Alisha stared deep into my eyes and she spoke those words laced with venom.
I grabbed onto her hands and tried to explain to her that I could be more amazing than she imagined, but she just shook her head over and over.
Suddenly I could feel sharp winds blowing on my face as the carriage door was flung open.
Shock and exasperation were written on my face as I stared at mother Alisha with a grave expression.
Grabbing the collar of my shirt and pulling me close she whispered, "Blame yourself for your bad luck." With my eyes open in horror I could only wonder if the kids that never came back from their confirmation met a similar fate.
Before I could react I could feel the heel of her foot smashing into my torso. I crashed into the ground but the force of the blow sent me rolling across the ground and off the cliff.
I was falling through the air toward the forest below.