1 The Naming Ceremony

Jakob, like many others, was born with only his first name. This meant that, for his whole youth, he couldn't benefit from the Power that a last name held and he couldn't venture into the Tower. It was the same for his brother, Benedict. Because of this, and the fact that they were born orphans, life had been hard on them.

***

"The Naming Ceremony is going to happen tomorrow, we have to start preparing ourselves!" said Benedict.

"I know, Ben, this is our final chance to start climbing the Tower", Jakob replied, excited.

The two brothers started preparing for the major event. They both washed up in a public bath before choosing their clothes for the next day. Even though they didn't have any fancy clothes, over the years, Ben had developed some tailoring skills and had managed to make a few decent pieces of clothing. Jakob also prepared his favorite leather shoulder bag with things that he thought could prove useful. Both of them then went to sleep, teeming with excitement.

***

A Naming Ceremony always happened in front of a Tower, since it was the place most Named would go. This was to be expected, considering they couldn't use the Power associated with their Name outside of it. In their county, the Tower was situated near the center of the city. Since it was the only Tower in the country, people from all over would come to attend it. The Naming Ceremony itself happened once a year but was reserved for 16-year-olds, which was the age when children without Names could become Named.

The city where Jakob and Ben lived, Apythir, was the capital of Apytha and was nicknamed " The Shining City" by foreigners. The reason this nickname came to be was probably because of the white polished marble used to build houses and shops. This meant that the city had an almost blinding shine when seen from the sea. About their country, Apytha, it was a coastal country that mainly lived off the sea.

***

The two brothers had to wake up early if they wanted to get a good place in the plaza where the ceremony took place.

"Look how many people there are !" it was always a surprise to Ben seeing how many 16 years old would come to attend the Naming Ceremony, though this year, he would be part of this massive group.

"Well, it's no wonder. We all want to get the gory of climbing to the top of the Tower," Jakob replied, smiling.

The ceremony then started. "My fellow children, are you ready to get your Names ?" A voice thundered at the front, it was the current mayor of the city, the father of the latest Named to have passed the Tower. "You all have waited long enough already, so let's begin."

The ceremony was pretty simple. The teenagers who weren't named at birth would go, turn by turn, touch the Tower which would, in return, show a huge name on its dark wall, this would become the last name of the person who touched it. The Tower needed to be activated for the phenomenon to happen though, which only happened on the first day of September. While a 16-year-old could touch the Tower without being on the plaza, it had become a tradition to do it in front of the others, it was also proof of the pride one took in the Name you would be given and the Power it represented.

The teenagers proceeded to make a very long line; the first one went up to the Tower and touched it. He was given the Name 'Ignis'. A powerful Name. It was ranked amongst the highest in the leaderboard of 'Records of the Glorious' which was basically a book that recorded all the people who managed to climb to the top of the Tower. In the end, it included a leaderboard that indicated Names like 'Ignis', which had people with this specific Name who climbed to the top. The book then ranked them by the number of people who managed the feat

A lot of teenagers then passed, no other had any particularly strong or famous Names, which made sense considering the sheer amount of Names that existed. It was now Ben's turn. While he was nervous, he wasn't really anxious since having a Name couldn't make his already hard life any worse, it could only go up from here. He walked up to the Tower and gently pushed his hand on the black wall. It was cold and felt very polished, almost like metal.

'Panis'

There it was, his Name. Benedict Panis, this was his full name. He suddenly felt very hot and then a light headache assaulted him. This was a normal reaction to getting a Name. He felt exhilarated at finally knowing his full Name.

The way that Names worked and the Power they gave was not really known outside the Tower since neither worked outside of it. Getting a Name was still very exciting though because it meant you could finally venture inside the massive Tower in the center of the city, and get a shot at attaining the Glory of climbing to the top.

Next up was Jakob, he was also very excited and didn't hesitate one bit before running to the Tower and pressing on it firmly.

'Examinatus'.

He saw it, his Name. Just like Ben, he felt a slight headache and strange hotness which contrasted heavily with the coldness of the wall. Jakob Examinatus; it had a nice ring to it. He was very happy at the idea of finally being able to go in the Tower and having a chance to attain the Glory associated with it.

Some time passed, and, every teenager having earned a Name, the ceremony came to an end with a speech from the mayor.

"Now that all of you are Named, what do you wish for ? Is it to stay here in the peaceful Apythir like this old man, or do you wish to fight to the top to eventually bask in the full glory of a completed Tower ?! Go ! And bring fame to this natal town of yours !" he asked, hyping the crowd of hormonal teens even more.

At this point, the choice was clear for the two brothers. Their whole lives in the capital had been pitiful, going in the Tower was their only chance at a better life. So, with nothing to lose, Jakob ran to the Tower entrance and Ben followed behind him closely. Ben touched the shoulder of his brother before entering, since it was a known fact that it would send everybody to a different place, so being in contact with somebody was the only way to not get sent to entierly different places.