"Whoa!" The twins looked around in awe.
They had walked through the gates of what could be considered a village within a town. A wall that ran in a circular manner housing magic casters in different buildings.
It was called the magic dome. Every kingdom had quite a few. Wizards were posted there to work hand in hand with knights to ensure the smooth running of the empire as well as maintain peace with the major powerhouses. At least, most people believe that's what they do.
They work directly for the emperor. The kingdoms they are placed in had very little power over them and they did as they wished.
Currently, the gates were open for young ones to walk in and take their entry exams into Darkmoon Academy.
"This place is beautiful!" Kiyan said, looking at the environment. Everything seemed to work on magic. Even the simplest of grown flowers emitted their own magic. Different kinds of beasts lived freely. Kiyan and Raten recognized some of them from what they encountered in the beast filled forest back in their home.
While most of them were excited and perhaps anxious, there was someone in their midst who was very afraid and lost.
Her chest rose and dropped rapidly as she breathed fast. She stood amidst the crowd of teenagers being led by wizards into the building at the centre of the dome.
Her clothes were a bit scrunched up and ripped in a few places revealing cut wounds that healed slowly. She wiped the sweat that formed on her forehead with the sleeves of her thin black dress. Her eyes were blindfolded with a black cloth. She wore a cloak that hid her features really well.
Constantly, the girl would turn her head from side to side and would look behind as well.
"Are they gone?" She wondered. She hadn't even realized where she was yet. "Are they still following me? I just followed this crowd to hide myself and..." She paused. "Where am I?"
Everyone had entered the dome already. In front of them were five wizards putting on their signature cloaks, each holding a staff with a crystal on its head.
"You all being here means you passed the first test, mana possession."
"Mana? Possession? What's happening?" The little girl wondered.
Three days before the main exams day, they all gathered at another venue where they checked to see if they had mana flowing in their body and their innate element. That was the first step.
The little girl clearly knew nothing of what was going on and was more focused on hiding herself. She shifted inside the crowd a bit more, not sure if she should try running away again or stay put for a while.
"Now, the exams will begin." One of the wizards said and pointed towards the open arena.
In front of their eyes, the terrain began to change shape and form. Parts of the ground rose forming different paths.
Everyone there was beyond amazed.
"Woah!"
"Magic is so cool!"
The kids said with gleaming eyes.
Once the place had taken form, they saw it had become a maze.
"We've been keeping close watch on the happenings in the kingdom and it seems most of you have some knowledge on magic. That should give you an edge in this test."
"At the centre of this maze lies a crystal. The objective is to retrieve it. Whoever gets it, qualifies." The wizard said.
"Wait, that's it?" A girl asked.
"Just a single crystal? We all have to find it?" Another questioned.
"This test is on a timer. You have less than thirty minutes to find the crystal. Once the time runs out, you all will be transported out and that will be an instant fail." The wizard spoke again.
"What?!"
"Also know this, you will have little encounters that you have to deal with to reach the crystal which is why you were advised to come with any weapon of your choice. Your time starts now." The wizard tapped his staff on the floor. With that, he and his colleagues disappeared.
With no hesitation, the children ran into the maze with one thought in mind.
"I will be the one to get that crystal!"
"Entrance exams? Mana? Magic?" The little girl stood at the entrance of the maze analysing the situation.
"That's right, magic! This means they won't step foot in here. I'm safe! I'm, I'm safe." Her lips formed a gleeful grin as she sighed in relief. Tears stung her blindfolded eyes.
"Do I leave now?" She looked around. "How am I supposed to get out of here?" She wondered.
"Wait, leaving will be foolish. They'll find me. I'll be better off going along with whatever is going on here." She thought and moved her head in the direction of the maze.
Although her eyes were covered by the blindfold she had on. She still had a clear vision of faint orange lines showing silhouette of objects and people. She could see everyone in the maze and as she looked deeper, she could see the crystal glowing in the centre.
Something else had caught her attention. There were still a few people standing there. Two out of them strangely had some sort of energy glowing in their chests.
She immediately looked away deciding to mind her business.
She didn't know they had also noticed her.
"Kiyan, you sense it too right?" Raten whispered to his brother.
"I do." Kiyan nodded looking in the direction of the little girl.
The others had gone in leaving just the three of them. They stepped into the maze together.
There were three paths as they stepped in. Two from the sides and then the straight one which spread into two more paths.
The twins took a guess and went in the left direction, so did the blindfolded little girl.
"She is clearly blinded but is moving perfectly fine on her own." Kiyan thought watching her walk past them. The twins had intentionally moved slowly. They were curious about something.
After walking down that path for a while, she took a right, so did they.
"It's as if she knows exactly where she's going." Raten whispered over to Kiyan. The small stones on the ground, she missed them all. She wasn't stumbling either and just moved confidently.
"Let's just follow her for a while and see where this leads." Kiyan decided and Raten agreed.
The girl had noticed the two of them were following closely behind her.
"Why are they following me?" She wondered. "Were they perhaps sent by tho men to capture me? No, that's not likely. They wouldn't associate themselves with anyone who practices magic." She remembered.
"But then again, I can never be too sure." She quickened her footsteps.
"Could it be they know? Is that why they are following me?" She began to panic.
The twins could read her movements and saw she had gotten uncomfortable and began moving faster.
Kiyan then walked faster leaving Raten behind. He reached the girl and started walking beside her, but at a good distance.
"Hey, you know the way to the crystal, don't you?" He asked while looking ahead. He didn't spare her a glance.
"How did you--?" She was about to ask but then thought her confident strides must have given it away considering the fact she was supposed to be blinded and find it difficult navigating a maze.
"We only want to get to the crystal as well." Kiyan said and turned to look at her. She barely reached his forearm in height. He was quite tall for his age and she was really small looking.
The girl said nothing and just covered her face with the cloak even more and then walked off.
Raten met up with Kiyan and placed an arm over his shoulder. "We haven't gotten to Darkmoon yet, and it's already interesting." He said.
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