The Tower

Eizan's eyes scanned the clearing uneasily; his experience in the forest had turned him exceedingly jumpy, although the fear had subsided. Between them and the Tower was a small span of water, and he could only see eleven boats on the shore. The Tower had already decided on the number of apprentices they would accept, he figured. His eyes found their resting place on a cross-legged figure two meters away from him. No one was there when they appeared. The other person's clothes pointed out his wealth; however, everything else about him was lacklustre, and he soon got bored watching him.

One by one, the children exited the forest, and the twins exited in the third wave, barely making it in time. An instructor joined them after some time. He began by congratulating them as he led them to the boats. Eizan quickly found a suitable boat and laid Agnes carefully inside before getting in. She chose the best time to be a dead weight. The boats were soon filled up, and the other children who didn't get a boat could only watch enviously as their boats went to sea.

"Welcome to the Tower," the instructor said. "A welcome banquet has been prepared for you, but before that, you will have to go through another test. This is very important, as it will determine how well you will do in the Tower.

"The Tower has three major mage factions, which are Goldreach, Eastwind, and Fleetwood. Each faction has its own history and has produced tons of excellent witches and wizards. While you are at the Tower, be on your best behaviour; one cannot tell what lies within and without those walls." His eyes lingered on Agnes, who was still out. Eizan clasped the ends of her sleeves nervously. Thankfully, another fidgety bit caught his attention and stabilized it perfectly.

The instructor turned away from them when they were close to the other shore. He waved his hand gently, and the boats slowed down and docked nicely. Another test? Eizan thought as they were arranged into two lines; he had no partner because Agnes was on his back. Everyone else was whispering about which mage faction was the greatest and which elder belonged to which faction, while others were hoping to shine in this test to catch the eye of their preferred elder, but no one was talking about THE test. And he couldn't bring himself to ask; he was afraid to look too much like a fool.

Before them stood the Tower. It wasn't a tower, but a set of buildings with several stories amidst them. What a shame. His disappointment must have shown on his face because one of the children launched into an impassioned speech about the regality of the Tower and its history. He was too lazy to listen to him, and soon the kid was silenced by the instructor's furious glare. A physician came forward to take Agnes from him; due to her state, she was allowed to skip the hazing ritual. He was not so lucky, though. Should he just knock himself out?

In the middle of these buildings was a platform with three drums of different sizes. They stopped in front of the platform, and the attendants gave each person a drumstick. The test was pretty clear: strike a drum. But Eizan thought it wasn't that simple since the instructor wasn't explaining the news, which was probably public knowledge or had already been told, and he was too lazy to repeat it. In any case, he was not in a hurry.

The boy who exited the forest before them was the first to go up. He first felt the drum skin with his fingers before striking a pose. Yes, a pose. He looked like he was about to release some air from behind. He struck the smallest drum with all his strength, and the reverberations hit the second drum, making it release a sound, albeit not as deep.

"Pass!" an attendant yelled, and the boy left the platform dissatisfied with his performance. Another went up with confidence, but his strike didn't even move the smallest drum. From the whispers around him, Eizan gathered that although the boy would still be apprenticed to the Tower, his performance showed he had no talent, so none of the elders would want him. The twins went up as a pair and struck the drum together. The first drum sounded, then the second, and finally, the last drum stirred, eliciting gasps of surprise from the others. The first boy had a peculiar expression on his face.

"PASS!" The attendant was excited, and the instructor gave them nods of approval as they stepped down. Eizan sighed; he would not hear the end of this for days to come. The numbers dwindled until he was the last person to take the test. His palms turned sweaty as everyone's attention centred on him. Look away! He screamed anxiously in his head, but outwardly he was as still as the waters.

What was the secret behind getting all three drums to sound when only one was struck? He didn't have magic or strength to boast of. Seeing him hesitate irritated the instructor to no end as he lifted him in the air and directly threw him onto the drums, so he became the drumstick as well as the drummer. The results, however, were unexpected.

"Boom." A rich, deep sound came out of the drum he landed on, and then another 'boom' came from the second, but it didn't stop there. "Boom! Boom!" The last and biggest drum actually sounded twice. The entire place was shrouded in silence as they scrutinized his sorry figure lying awkwardly on the drum. Even the attendant forgot to announce his score. Tears threatened to spill from his eyes. He really didn't mean to outshine anyone! He didn't even know he could do it!

On the second floor of the three-story building overseeing the platform sat the elders of the three mage factions, sipping tea while trying to maintain the strained cordiality between them. They were out hunting for talented apprentices, and none of them missed the commotion outside. Amidst them sat a bald man, playing with an empty cup of tea. The other elders paid him no attention; he was naturally beneath them in their eyes. He wouldn't compete over talents with them; where would he get the guts? His eyes glinted in them as he watched Eizan's sorry but brilliant performance. Surely enough, the elders of the factions would scramble for him, but who was to say they would have him? A piece of paper suddenly burned to ashes, but in their heated debate, the other elders failed to notice.