When everyone stopped moving, Mordecai nodded before he raised his hands and began to chant. As the strange arcane language passed his lips a glowing sigil appeared beneath each child that had stepped forward. Looking down at the glowing magic circle Fenrir could feel the magic in the air churn like thick oatmeal slowly being stirred.
"Thrum Var Xixnil Tesh!"
As he finished chanting Mordecai's hands flash a bright orange light as every magical circle solidified and began to softly glow with a blue light.
At the same time, Fenrir could feel the mana around him being whipped into a furry as each magic circle rapidly absorbed it. Then Fenrir felt the energy held by the magical formation being forced into his body.
Instead of resisting it Fenrir grabbed onto the tendril of energy and pulled. The sigil beneath him began to glow even brighter as mana flooded in like a rogue wave.
Freya's eyes widened as she watched Fenrir, although she couldn't sense the mana in the air she knew from previous years that having a brighter circle was a sign of greater magical talent.
As more mana flooded towards Fenrir, Freya heard a voice whispering in her ears. At first, she thought she was imagining it, but as the seconds passed the voice grew louder and louder.
Instead of speaking any language, it was almost as if the voice directly conveyed its intentions into her mind. Reaching out Freya followed the voice to the cobblestones beneath her feet or, more accurately, the small blades of crabgrass that stuck up in between the stones.
The plants were in celebration as some of the mana that wasn't absorbed by Fenrir's sigil poured off into the ground. Like magically charged fertilizer, the plants began to grow, experiencing days of growth in only a few seconds.
Instinctually, Freya felt the desire to help the resilient plants, and in response to her wishes, the mana around her moved, funneling into the ground and the roots of the plants.
Slowly Freya's magic circle turned from a bright blue into a deep verdant green as the cobblestones around her were covered in a thick layer of moss.
Watching the scene from his vantage point, Mordecai pushed up his glasses, 'A boy with a unique physique and a girl with a rare nature affinity. A trip to this fringe town seems to be a bit exciting for once.'
A small smile spread across Mordecai's lips as he watched, 'It seems like I'm going to need those travel supplies after all.'
The ritual only lasted around ten minutes and once time passed the glowing circles disappeared, and people began to cheer as parents and siblings rushed to embrace their now adult children.
Looking down at the moss covering the ground around Freya, Fenrir smiled, 'She has the same magic as Mom, I wonder if she would be willing to teach Freya?'
Before Fenrir could say a word to Freya she was pulled into a hug by Martha who didn't bother trying to hide her excitement, "I can't believe it, my little girl is a mage!"
Cowed by her mother's enthusiasm, Freya blushed, "Mom, not in front of everybody, you are embarrassing me."
"Oh, no one's watching, I'm so proud of you." Martha gushed over her daughter, only furthering her embarrassment as Freya began to try and extract herself from her mother's unyielding grasp.
Watching from the side, Fenrir smiled at the familiar display of affection when a tall, imposing shadow covered him. Turning around, Fenrir stared up at Captain Lee, his familiar bright red hair catching the sun.
"I hope that it's a coincidence that you're standing next to my daughter and wife." Lee asked with a raised eyebrow and a slightly threatening tone.
"How was I supposed to know," Fenrir said with a shrug.
Sighing, Lee ignored Fenrir for the moment and instead went to his family, "Congratulations, my little Bunbun."
Freya's eyes widened in sheer terror as she looked from her dad to Fenrir, whose eyes were just as wide.
A slow grin spread across Fenrir's face as Freya's head slumped in defeat, 'My life is over.'
Stepping away from the family, Fenrir walked towards the stone pavilion where the Examiner Mordecai stood next to the woman that had greeted him when he first arrived.
The woman that Fenrir assumed was the Mayor of Demit was talking with Mordecai or, more accurately at the Examiner who only stiffly nodded his head periodically.
Walking up to the pair Fenrir stopped a few feet away and waited. After a second Mordecai's eyes flicked over to Fenrir and he held up a hand to stall the seemingly endless chatter of the Mayor. Taken aback by the rude gesture, the Mayor looked like she had swallowed something sour as she reluctantly fell silent.
Turning to face Fenrir Mordecai's orange eyes peered down at his curiosity, easy to read in the colorful orbs, "Don't you know that it's rude to interrupt people when they're talking? Do you have no respect?"
"I only respect those who are stronger than me," Fenrir said simply as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
"How dare-!" The mayor started before Mordecai glanced at her his eyes frosty, "My advice goes for you as well Mrs. Trepit."
The mayor's jaw shut with an audible clack as her knees began to tremble. Watching the interaction Fenrir didn't miss the strange energy that Mordecai used to quiet the woman.
Looking back at Fenrir, Mordecai's eyes returned to their normal but still unusual orange color, "You say you only respect those stronger than yourself. While you may be stronger than Mrs. Trepit, do you believe you are stronger than me?"
Fenrir felt the air chill around him as his instincts screamed of danger from the physically unimposing man before him. His answer was the difference between life and death, but Fenrir's confidence didn't falter.
"No, but I didn't interrupt you. I interrupted the Mayor," Fenrir responded before glancing over at Mrs. Trepit, who looked both furious and terrified.
Mordecai stared at Fenrir for a long moment before his lips twitched up in a smile, "What is your name?"
"Fenrir Gray," Fenrir responded with a firm tone as the air returned to its average temperature.
"What an unusual name for a peasant commoner," Mordecai thought out loud, clearly giving no regard for Fenrir's feelings, "Are you from this village?"
Fenrir shook his head, "No, and I'm not from any of the neighboring villages."
"Oh really, then where do you come from?" Mordecai said with an unreadable expression.
Reaching into his traveler's cloak Fenrir pulled out a scroll bound with a leather strap, "This should explain everything."
Mordecai ignored Fenrir's seemingly inane ramblings as he snatched the scroll from his hands and unfurled it. After a second, Mordecai's body stiffened as his hands tightened into fists around the letter, "I see."
Looking up from the letter Mordecai locked eyes with Fenrir, "We'll talk about this later on our trip back to the Academy."
"About that," Fenrir stretched out the two words as he hesitated, "I don't have any money for a portal."
Mordecai let out a deep chuckle, "No need, we're going back the old-fashioned way."
"But won't that take a whole week?" Fenrir questioned cocking his head to the side, trying to figure out why Mordecai would choose such a convoluted travel method.
Mordecai shook his head, "It won't take a week, that's only if you have horses. We will be traveling on foot. It's rare that the Academy ever accepts students from a commoner background and even rarer that their knowledge of basic magic and adventurer protocol is up to the Academy's standard. The travel period gives the examiner time to tutor those outside the capital. Normally it's a week or two, but it's a month for you."
Fenrir's face paled as he imagined eating nothing but dried fruit for the next two months and sitting through hours of lessons, "I should have stayed in the grove."
Fenrir had muttered the words, but Mordecai still smiled at his anguish, "I suggest you enjoy your last night with a roof over your head and a hot meal in your stomach."
Grumbling, Fenrir cursed underneath his breath as he paced back and forth throwing up his hands, "Spent all my money…stupid dried fruit… maybe I can hunt…"
Mordecai smiled as he watched Fenrir storm off, disappearing in the crowd, 'He is definitely Lilith's son.'