Jordan walked up to the crystal ball with the ritual knife blade in his hand, his hands were shaking from the excitement he felt. Finally, his life was about to change. He would be able to gain his very own personal spirit companion and wield powers akin to magic as he set out on an adventure.
Jordan stabbed the knife into his hand without a second thought, completely ignoring the stinging pain that radiated from the wound. He uttered the incantation as his face held a broad smile that stretched from ear to ear.
As he completed the incantation silence reigned momentarily and then suddenly a black mist that expanded further than all the rest and thicker than all the others suddenly left the crystal ball.
Unlike the mist from all the other's ritual visibility was completely gone. There was no transparency as one could not even see their hands in front of their faces.
Murmurs were heard from the crowd as this was a phenomenon that had never happened before, and nobody knew what to expect.
Suddenly the mist began to settle and retreat into the crystal ball and to everyone's surprise Jordan's wound was still pouring blood and the crystal ball did not absorb his blood. Two events back-to-back that were completely unheard of.
Every person that participated in the ritual would usually always receive a spirit companion, even if it was deemed as a mostly useless spirit. It has never before been recorded where a person failed to receive a spirit.
Jordan's face paused as he started to sweat, he uttered the incantation once again, but this time nothing happened. He repeated the incantation multiple times more but to no avail.
Suddenly from the midst of the tent where the others had been directed after receiving their spirit companions, a voice sounded out "Hahahaha, this is just too funny! Even the spirits want nothing to do with some foreign trash.
This ceremony has been going on for many decades and yet you are the first that has failed to summon a spirit in history". Jordan looked back only to see a young man walking out of the tent with green eyes, a strikingly handsome face, and jet-black hair that fell just beneath his shoulders and was partly tied into a bun at the back.
He was around a height of 5'8 and with a well-toned body that look to be chiseled by a master craftsman.
This young man was Jacob, someone that always went out of his way to try and make Jordan's life miserable as he was a noble and disliked the idea of Jordan's father having more status than his father during his tenure in the village while he was married to some foreigner who should have been nothing but a slave.
Jordan's mother was the survivor of a village that had been pillaged and destroyed. Its surviving members were turned into slaves and sold.
Jordan's father had found his mother Rebecca outside of the village while on a hunting expedition. She was in poor condition, malnourished, dehydrated, and covered in wounds that she had sustained during her escape from those that held her captive.
His father took her in, gave her medical treatment, and provided for her. Eventually, they fell in love and he married her giving status to a foreigner and ex-slave in the village.
This had caused a lot of resentment in the villagers which was why he had moved his family away to the outskirts of the forest.
Jordan stood with his hand pouring blood hovering over the crystal ball as he continued chanting the incantation uselessly.
The guards that watched over the village and the festival had to physically remove him from the crystal ball where the village elder approached him, a man in his sixties with a long white beard, unfathomable deep black eyes that screamed untold wisdom, a hunched back and pointy hat on his head like a wizard.
He adorned a large purple robe with shimmering golden ornaments that covered him from his shoulders to his toes.
As the village elder approached Jordan he placed his hand on his shoulder and said in a compassionate voice "Don't worry son, you may have failed to summon a spirit but there are other jobs you can continue to make a living for yourself."
Jordan looked into the village elders' eyes and contrary to the tone of his voice, he could not see the slightest bit of compassion or pity in his dark eyes. All he saw was disdain and ridicule.
Everyone in attendance laughed and threw empty motivational quotes in the air.
Jordan felt his chest tightening as his throat went sore and tears started to stream down his face. He turned his head and ran off leaving the village heading back in the direction of his residence.
However, Jordan did not go home, he went deep into the recesses of the forest. It was a place he always went when he needed to be alone and clear his head. Jordan climbed into a hole that was carved into a large tree and covered the entrance masking it to be hidden and he cried his eyes out.
Wishing that his father were still here as he always seemed to have the answers regardless of the situation. Jordan lost track of time but he did not care. Before he knew it the moon had settled into the sky.