"Tai Leong, number five hundred and two."
A bald fire mage called out from his list.
This man was the head of the affiliation agency. Nearly everyone sharply turned their heads to see the pale red haired youth who gloomily stood up and joined the line.
It was the day before The Academy opened, after all, and people were excited to see the next generation of Protectors.
***
A thousand, thousand years ago, the gods and daemons clashed in a furious apocalypse called the War of Doomsday.
That perilous war spawned the creation of Time Storms, Teleportals, and recently, Sorcerers. A Sorcerer was a person born with the ability to manipulate the energy of the gods, with their amazing abilities, they protected the world from FlashBacks, beasts, and other perilous vices out to slay humanity.
Once every ten years, hundreds of people would develop an Energy Core and thus, would become a sorcerer.
They would then spend some time at The P.A and come out as Protectors.
This was one of those decades.
Five hundred and three people had all been discovered to have unlocked their energy core and this was the grand affiliation process where they would unlock their affinity.
***
"Nikolah white, number five hundred and three."
The bald man continued after Tai had taken his place at the back of the line, this time, a delicate figure with long blue hair stepped out of the crowd.
She was clad in a red leather jacket, her hair tucked under a black beanie.
The crowd began to cheer loudly as a very frail old man stood up from his seat at the high table.
This was Sir Carnuni, the head of mages.
"Alright. It's time for the Affiliation!"
Affiliation was the process of determining a person's affinity.
At the back of the line, the red haired teenager fidgeted slightly.
He did not like too much attention, after all.
Tai had been born in the other parts of the Floating Isles. Abandoned by his birth parents, he had been raised by a nice couple who took him in.
However, they had died soon after when a Grade-2 Flashback had occurred near their house, luckily for the red haired teenager, he had been saved in the nick of time by a Protector who happened to be in the area.
Never had he ever thought that he would become one of them.
Thus, it was a pleasant surprise for him when he woke up one morning being able to manipulate pure energy.
Now, he was hours away from awakening his affinity.
Finally, the affiliation process had begun as a very large oblong rock was placed on a table as the old man turned to address the line.
"This, young ones, is an Affiliation Stone.
It's duty is to analyze the type of energy you can control, and link you up with a suitable affinity.
Any questions?"
The hall remained silent for a bit, until the old man sighed.
"Let's begin, then."
The first person, a blonde teenager with a crazy sort of gleam in his eyes, walked forward and put his hand on the stone.
Then closing his eyes, he circulated energy through his body.
As soon as his energy touched the stone, it burst into flames.
Sir Carnuni smiled lightly.
"Very, very good!
Young Hal Burnne, has unlocked an affinity to fire!!"
The crowd exploded in a cacophony of claps.
Fire was one of the strongest Affinities a Protector could ever dream of obtaining.
The next, a petite figure with auburn hair and hazel brown eyes wearing a green hoodie, walked forward and put her hands on the stone. Then she followed the same procedure as her precedessor, and the stone let out a violent gust of wind.
Sir Carnuni smiled once again.
"Splendid!
Young Carmen has unlocked an affinity to wind!"
The crowd erupted in cheers once again, but this time it was lesser than before.
Wind wasn't as strong as fire.
The next stepped forward, a delicate figure with short blonde hair and azure blue eyes.
Touching the stone, it began to glow in an ethereal white glow.
Sir Carnuni frowned a bit, studying the stone, then a broad smile found it's way to his face.
"Marvelous!
Young Claire Voyante has unlocked an affinity to revelations!"
This time, there was even less clapping.
Revelation was a very weak affinity as it had no offensive capabilities.
The next soon stepped forward...
"Amazing!
... Affinity to fire!"
And the next,...
"Wonderous!
... Affinity to water!"
And the next,...
"Egads!
... Affinity to earth!"
And the next,...
"Great!
... Affinity to wind!"
And the next,...
"Wonderous!
... Affinity to earth!"
And the next,...
"Egads!
... Affinity to fire!"
And the next,...
"Great!
... Affinity to water!"
And the next,...
"Amazing!
... Affinity to fire!"
Soon, all the students had been affiliated and only two were left.
One was a slightly paranoid red haired boy whose eyes darted all around the place, and the other was a calm, cool and collected blue haired girl who confidently stood at the back of the line with her hands crossed.
"Next..."
Tai took a step forward. His heart was pounding so hard that he was scared that other people could hear it too, Well, he had good reason to.
A weak Affinity kept someone at the bottom of the barrel, and a strong one got someone to the top.
Tai had tasted the bitter life of a barrel bottom, and he did not like it one bit, so, for the red haired teenager, a weak Affinity could very well be the decider of his fate.
Either he dies in poverty, or as a filthy rich person.
Walking up to the oblong rock, Tai closed his eyes tightly as he circulated his energy.
Soon, the stone began to glow in an ethereal yellow glow.
Carnuni frowned slightly, once again studying the stone, then he smiled widely.
"Exceptional!
Young Tai Leong has unlocked an affinity to summoning!"
This time, the crowd did not even bother to clap.
Summoning was a very weak affinity.
The only thing it could do was making things the summoner called to reappear and disappear at the summoner's wish.
Tai sighed as he walked over to the other door.
"I guess I'm dying poor, then."