Aeron's footsteps echoed well through the vast and dark halls of Flameheart Citadel. The air was warm, and the walls carried bright lines of lava that shone with an odd dancing light on the black stone floors. Elysia walked ahead, unhurried, her form as loose and unflinching as ever.
He remembered how heavier all his words sounded thereafter: No one here is your friend. It was all a question of power: the town, the palace, and the people. More than his new Aether power, what would be required for survival and flourishing was a plan, clever thinking, and willpower.
They walked down great halls tapestried with battles their ancestor, the Fire King, had fought or provoked, the tongues of painted fire seeming almost to ripple and dance in the flickering light, every stroke of the artist's pencil tinged with ancient magic. In Aeron's breast, wonder and fear swelled together. This was a place of ancient, strong, and mighty power.
At the end of a long hallway, they reached a large pair of double doors made of dark steel and decorated with detailed, flame-like designs. Elysia opened them silently, and they both walked into a huge room that felt very hot. The room was round, and in the middle of it, on a raised platform, there was a big shiny crystal hovering in place, supported by some unseen force. Around it were a number of people-fighters, wizards, and what seemed to be nobles-all in fancy armor; their faces grave.
Elysia pointed into the middle of the room. "This is where your challenges start, Aeron. It is not in comfort that the Aetherian King is made. One has to deserve to wield the power of Aether.
Aeron scanned his surroundings to take in all those surrounding him, cold, critical eyes passing judgment. He then and there decided-this was not only a trial of power but one that tested his will to survive in a world where power was perceived as everything.
The crystal floating in the air let out a bright light then, casting long shadows across the room. A deep voice sounded through the room, shaking Aeron's bones with the depth of its power.
"Step forward, Aeron," it rumbled. "Prove your worth, or be consumed by the flame."
Aeron's heart was pounding in his chest, but he did not stop himself. With every step he took toward it, the ground stirred, and the heat started to increase, the air beginning to hum with some energy so beyond his comprehension.
Elysia dispelled the tension in the air with her words: "You have to unlock the Aether inside your body. Only then will you truly unlock the power of sleeping that will test whether the flame has strong strength or not.
The more he approached the crystal, the wilder the fire in the room flared, threatening to lave around the base of the platform as if to burn him with fingers of fire. Aeron stood firm, his attention fully caught by the strong power boiling in his veins-the Aether. He could feel it, this massive energy running inside his body, threatening to consume him; exciting and scary at the same time.
He closed his eyes and let the fire consume him. He felt the strong heat touch his skin, never burning. The Aether churned within him, like a sleeping monster, its power penned behind a barrier he couldn't see.
"Open to the flame, Aeron," she had said. "Open to the fire within."
Aeron took a deep breath. The heat pressed against his chest, yet he could feel something inside of him stir-a power at least as hot as the flames. He extended his senses, aware of that raw energy. In doing so, the barrier began to break, and the power inside of him kicked into life.
Aeron yelled and leaned towards the crystal floating in the air. Instantly, flames tumbled furiously around him in a torrent of fire and light, as if soon to taper into nothing, yet hungry to burn all in their way. Instead of charring his skin, however, the fire joined his body, coursing into him like a rivulet of purer energy.
Aeron's body went taut, the muscles strained as power began to course through him. He felt the Aether open within him, wild energy filling him to the brim; it was intoxicatingly exhilarating-he could feel the fire, the earth, the winds, all the elements around him boosting his strength.
For a while, the world seemed uncertain-even the boundary between his body and the elements appeared to dissolve. He was no longer a man but a force of nature, full of the power to command the elements at his will.
The fire flared to life within him, crackling about him as if it had a life all its own. In the next instant, the flames died out, leaving Aeron standing at the center of the platform, gasping. His garments were scorched, and his body convulsed with the mighty force of the trial.
Silent as it was, it was a tomb, and the crystal hung in mid-air, sending its soft, steady glow to stretch out. The flames that had surrounded him were gone.
Elysia leaned in closer, her face not really showing much. "You have passed the trial," she said, an edge of approval, a warning. "But this is only the beginning. There are many more trials to come. And not all of them will be as easy as this one."
Aeron wiped the sweat from his brow, his body still carrying the residual heat of the trial within him. His heart was pounding in his chest, but beneath the rush of excitement, another feeling stirred more profoundly: pride. He had unlocked the Aether, and with that he had started down the path toward the power he wanted. As he glanced at the quiet faces, there was an instinctive feeling that all of this-the victory-was but a part of everything that had gone on in that actual play: the real tests lay ahead. In the world he was in, failure could well come with a price much higher than he was willing to pay.