5 Lightsgale Trials
"Ahh!" a scream emanated out of Yusuf's carriage early in the morning. Lucian had awoken in Yusuf's arms. Somehow in the night, both Yusuf and Lucian had rolled of their seats onto the floor and at some point, found it necessary to hold each other. Lucian was the little spoon, and Yusuf the big. He immediately leaped off the floor.
At least no one will ever know about that. Never mind what anyone says about the guy being the little spoon, Lucian always liked it. It makes him feel safe. Lucian kicked at Tomas, "Tomas wake up! It's time for the trials." Lucian also turned to Yusuf and woke him with a nudge.
"I'm awake, I'm awake" Tomas said groggily. Yusuf woke himself up with a rough shake of his head.
"Yusuf are you going to the Lightsgale academy trials? If so then we should all hurry up and go. We're going to miss it." Lucian's voice was filled with a sense of urgency. The three of them stepped out and Yusuf put the carriage into what could only be a storage ring. He must be from a wealthy family.
Now that it was day, Lucian could finally get a good look at Yusuf. He was thin, black haired and brown skinned. He was slightly shorter than Lucian was so around 170 cm. His eyes were the most fascinating aspect of him. They were a mix of gold and brown and seemed to stick out from his face. "I'm Lucian by the way, and this is Tomas, we didn't get to introduce ourselves yesterday." Lucian gestured to himself and Tomas as he spoke.
"Yusuf, nice to meet you. I'm glad you didn't murder me in my sleep." Yusuf laughed. So he did know that his actions were preposterous.
"You shouldn't be so trusting you know. Others might have bad intentions I'm afraid." Tomas spoke with utmost sincerity.
"I know, it's something I'm working on. I've been very trusting since I was a child. My Parents also keep reminding me to change."
Without realising, the group had reached the academy gates. They had gotten to know each other quite well during their walk. There wasn't a moment with an awkward pause, a sign for Lucian that they made great friends.
Upon entry they were directed by students towards a large open courtyard where thousands of people were already present. Most had gathered into groups and were conversing with each other but there were many who stood alone minding their own. Calling the courtyard large was an understatement, for them to be directed here, it meant that the courtyard was large enough to accommodate all the trial takers, which was more than 15 000 people.
Lucian took a look at the courtyard. There was bright green grass all along the ground with brick pathways running down both sides and the middle of the courtyard. At the end, or the front, Was a huge statue of a Lion. On the Lion was a statue of a man holding a long spear. By Lucian's side, Yusuf told them that the statue was the academy's founder. Before the statue was a large elevated stage. Steps lead to the top of the stage from the three sides, not from behind the statue. There was a middle aged man dressed in white robes standing upon the stage. "The trials will begin in 5 minutes." He spoke loudly, but it didn't look like the man had exerted any force.
"Phew, we just made it." Tomas said while wiping his brow.
Lucian and the gang spent the five minutes talking about the academy and what it would be like. Finally they heard the voice again, "Close the gates." This command was directed at the school students. This signified that the trials would begin and that no one else would be permitted to take the trial.
"Welcome everyone. All of you are here because you want to be a part of Lightsgale academy, one of the top warrior institutions in Elfin. As you know, the academy accepts only 2500 students each year. This means that only one in every six people here will be accepted. Many of you have not begun cultivating as yet so a trial of physical strength is out of the question. So we have decided to test potential as the first trial and the second trial will be announced after the first is completed." As he spoke, 16 crystal columns appeared from the ground around the edges of the stage. "These crystals will measure your potential and rate it on a scale of 1 to 6. Those with a rating lower than 4 will have failed this test. Everyone else will proceed to the next trial. All you have to do is place your palm on the crystal. These crystals only go till rank 6, but 6 is not the limit of potential. You should all have a registration number. Number 1 to 1000, line before crystal 1, number 1001 to 2000 line at crystal 2 and so on. Let the trial begin."
"It shouldn't be fair to eliminate those with low potential. At least I don't think its right," Yusuf said with I frown.
"I don't think it is as well but it makes sense. The academies are competitive so it wouldn't benefit them to accept those without much talent. Yusuf what number are you? I'm 15 093." Lucian asked as he
"Uh, I'm 3012. I should go, I'm close to the front of my group," Yusuf said as he ran to join the line in front of crystal 4.
Lucian walked to his line while watching those on the stage. Tomas was right behind him as he moved swiftly. On the stage he could see the crystals lighting up with either red or green to signify a fail or pass respectively as numbers appeared at the top of each one seemingly by magic. He could see 1's and 2's all the way to 5, but a six had yet to appear. Lucian watched row 4 closely as he waited for Yusuf's turn. When it was time for Yusuf, Lucian and Tomas both watched intently. The Crystal shined a bright green and a 5 appeared above the crystal. Not bad.
It took a few seconds for a person to take the test so in less than 10 minutes, it was Lucian's turn. As he walked up the stairs, he could feel stares landing on his back. He felt anxious because he wouldn't know what to do if he didn't pass. The student next to the crystal looked at him with an encouraging look, as if he could tell that Lucian was nervous, and said, "Place your had on the circular area, it will only take a moment."
The crystal bumps and curves but around half way up was a smooth circular area. Lucian closed his eyes as he placed his palm on the crystal. It felt like a minute amount of energy had been taken from him and the next moment he felt a tickle in his left eye. He heard the student by his side exclaim. When Lucian opened his eyes he saw green. Yes, he thought. I passed. Lucian took a step back before looking up. "Woah! I'm a 6." Lucian hadn't expected to be a six. He remembered what the white robed man had said earlier about how someone with a six rating could actually be much higher than just a six if tested with a higher calibre crystal and couldn't help but wonder how strong his talent was.
The student looked at him with a smile, "You're the Second six so far. You can head inside. You can wait there till the second trial begins."
Lucian swaggered down the stairs and into the room feeling more proud of himself than ever before. As he entered the room he could feel the gaze of the others in the room. They were obviously sizing him up. Before sitting down, Lucian turned just in time to see the '5' appear above Tomas. He was more than happy that his childhood friend had qualified for round two. After finding himself a seat, Lucian watched the trial proceedings for the next hour until it was finished.
"Everyone, you can come back now." The voice of the white robed middle aged man travelled into all the rooms surrounding the courtyard. The courtyard was empty, because just as people who passed the first trial were directed to a waiting room, those who did not make the cut we directed to the exit.
"Everyone sit down. The second trial is a test of will. The students will give a pill to each of you. The pill will pull your mind into an illusion. Remember that nothing that happens is real. Your objective is to reach the light. Currently there are just under 7000 people left. The new freshman will be chosen from the results of the two trials. Good Luck." After speaking, he disappeared as if he was never there in the first place.
Lucian looked at the pill between his thumb and index finger. It was soft. He felt that it would be crushed under the tiniest of pressure. It was red, and slightly translucent. Looking around he saw others placing the pill into their mouths, so Lucian did the same. It tasted bland, and as he put it into his mouth it immediately dissolved. In the next moment Lucian felt his eyes close and when they reopened, he was somewhere else.
There was darkness all around him. Everywhere Lucian looked there was black. Everywhere but one direction, where there was a speck of light. The air felt musty and humid. It made it difficult to breathe. The ground beneath his feet was also dark. However it was just bright enough for him to see what he was walking on. That's the finish, he thought to himself while gazing at the dot of light in the distance. Reach the light the man had said. Lucian began to jog in that direction, not knowing how far he needed to go.
He ran, and ran, and ran. For the longest time he wanted to stop and give up. There was a voice in Lucian's head telling him that if he stopped moving forward, the nightmare would end, and he knew it was the truth. All the time he ran, he had not been able to escape the darkness. The speck of light increased in size ever so slowly to make you want to keep going and stop simultaneously. It was right to say it was a test of will. Lucian felt that he had been running for days on end.
He couldn't tell the time from the natural light of the sky but when time is the only thing to keep you company, you can make a relatively correct estimate. There was no water and no food, but somehow he was still living. It all felt extremely real but in some part deep inside his mind, he knew it was a test.
Lucian kept walking in the abyss, until suddenly the world around him converged into a small bead in front of him. Like a curtain being opened in the middle of the day, light rushed into his eyes and the trial courtyard came into view once again. Looking around, he saw that most people already had their eyes open. Many were staring in his direction. He then saw that gazes were directed at a few other people who appeared to have recently awoken as well.
He could hear murmurs of the crowd around him. Things like "He's one of the six star talents!" and "I didn't expect him to do this well on both trials". He wanted to ask someone why they were staring at him but before he could the white robed elder appeared once again.
"The pill you all just took is commonly used by low level martial artists to test and temper their mind and will power. You'll find that as your mental strength becomes stronger, you will be capable of eventually making your way to the end, and after that, the time taken will decrease further. The pill lasts for twenty minutes. Those who were abruptly woken have reached the end of the pill's time limit. Congratulations to the five of you who managed to endure."
"So that is why they were all looking at me. I was one of the five people who passed with flying colours," thought Lucian.
" The contestants whom passed are number 6, 87, 89, 143... 3012... 14074... 15093, 15094... And number 15973. Congratulations. You can now proudly call yourselves students of Lightsgale Academy. Tomorrow morning, you will find your classes at this courtyard by the back wall. Your fellow students have generously offered to show each of you to your dorms. Rest well, school starts tomorrow." With his last words that either made or broke the hearts and feelings of the people standing in the courtyard, the man left. 2 500 faces were standing with smiles, the others filled with dismay.
Lucian, who was anxious before, not for himself as he knew he would be accepted with his results, but rather for Tomas and Yusuf, was now inexplicably ecstatic. All three of them had passed and were now officially students. In the eyes of Lucian, his life had finally begun.
