Today is the big day thinks Ben Allisten, who is lying in his bed, because today is his birthday and he turns 15. A special day for the inhabitants of Gaia, because on this birthday the awakening of the deck of cards, which each inhabitant possesses, takes place.
After the awakening, everyone receives a special card, which highlights the characteristics of said person. For example, Ben's mother has a cooking card specializing in baking and his father has a blacksmithing card. These cards are the heart cards and cannot be stolen or otherwise removed. Everyone can own several cards as well as decks, but the heart cards remain unchangeable.
Ben himself is lying in bed looking at the ceiling, lost in thought. ´Hopefully it will be a card specializing in combat no matter which one´ he thinks to himself. Without a combat card, the likelihood of joining the adventuring guild is very low, because the advantage of a combat card is just too great compared to the normal cards that most people in the village have. Only a few guards have combat cards.
The village of Werchester is located on the edge of the kingdom of Synthri on the impassable Thira Mountains. These mountains are impossible to cross due to the steep slopes and the everlasting winter.
Werchester itself mainly produces ores and weapons brought from the mountains. Even a small delegation of the Adventure Guild is there to deal with the wild monsters around and in the mountains.
Ben jumps up from the bed and goes to the bathroom full of anticipation and a big grin on his face. There he looks at himself in the mirror. His opposite in the mirror has short black hair and a slightly angular face. The light blue eyes are particularly striking and stand out. After a quick wash, Ben puts on his best clothes.
He literally flies down the stairs and sees his parents standing there. Ardan, his father, is a giant of a man. With his almost 2 meters he is the tallest in the village and it is rumored that he has giant blood in him. But these are only rumors. He has the same black hair as his son. His mother Melani is a petite woman with well-rounded curves and a soft, warm face, but this can be deceiving. Anyone who has seen Melani angry can say without a doubt that she is a walking calamity in disguise.
Melani says" Slow down Ben or do want to break your legs today? If you hurt yourself, the priest will have to patch you up and then you'll have to wait even longer for your awakening." This takes the wind out of his sails and Ben slowly walks to the table. Ardan replies, "Honey, don't be so hard on him, we were no different than him and if I remember, you were even more excited then him." Smirking, Melani looks at her husband and shakes her head. "Sit down at the table and eat. After that, we'll go to the church before Ben charges alone to church."
Through Werchster you see the Allisten family walking. In their best clothes and everyone knows what that means. When they arrive at the church, they go through the large archway into the church. There they find the priest Maxwell. The old priest with white, disheveled hair sees the family coming and says" Ahh just in time. I just finished the ritual circle. Come along then we can begin the awakening and welcome little Ben into our ranks as an Awakened."
Ben replies flippantly" I'm not a little kid anymore, especially after my awakening I'm an adult." Maxwell laughs and with a grin he replies " boy I brought your parents into the world and awakened them and you I brought into the world and awaken you. The whole village are my children." Puzzled, Ben looks at his parents and they nod. `How old is Priest Maxwell anyway,' Ben thinks to himself. walking through the building and doing some polite talk with Maxwell they arrive at the ritual chamber.
In the chamber is a circle of chalk on the ground. There a lot of runes incorporated into the circle. This looks complicated, Ben thinks, and studies the circle more closely. "What are all these runes? Do they work similar like the ones in our house?" asks Ben. "Not quite my child. These are runes we received from the gods to perform the awakening. Each rune stands for a specific word. They are the basic framework for the mana that is all around us and will flow into your body and release your inner power and talent in form of a card. As you should already know, the heart cards are special because they reflect a person. Your parents will have to wait outside, as only you and I are allowed to be present so that the mana is not disturbed by a third party." Responds Maxwell. Ardan and Melani give Ben another hug and walk out of the room and Maxwell closes the door.
"So now we can begin. You can put your clothes on the chair next to you." Ben looks at the priest suspiciously. Maxwell raises an eyebrow "Boy I've been through this so many times. There's nothing to be embarrassed about. I've caught sight of your little friend more times than I care to remember. Hell, I've seen the whole village naked. Awakening can have unpleasant consequences if you don't do it naked and it's extremely damaging to your clothes, we don't want your parents to be mad because you destroyed your best clothes, do we? "
Ben shudders at the thought of his parents and relatives all standing naked in that some chamber, but nevertheless he does as instructed and strips. " So now stand in the ritual circle and make sure you don't smudge anything. Otherwise, I'll have to start all over again."