003 The Awakening Ceremony Part (2)

"Calm down, Mother," Raka whispered in his mother's ear as he firmly held her shoulders, stopping her from trembling. 

Marana, Raka's mother, bit her lip as she stopped herself from trembling. "I am worried," she whispered. Her heart was beating fast as she prayed to the spirits to grant her son a powerful element. 

A small smile formed on Raka's face as he hugged his mother from behind. "Don't worry, Mother. Nothing will happen to me or you." 

Marana calmed down visibly while her heartbeat slowed to normal; her son's reassurance worked like a charm, and she guided her son into the heart of the hut, where the awakening ceremony would be held. 

Raka's gaze darted around the hut; there were many small rooms in the hut, some filled with parchment paper that held the history of each chief, and some that had sacrifices for their ancestors. 

In a few moments, Raka and Marana reached the heart of the hut, where there were three other women along with an old woman standing in a circle with an orb in the middle. 

The three other women had the same feather crown as Marana; one of them had red hair, while the other two had black and blonde hair. 

They were the other wives of Raka's father, the ex-chief. 

"Greetings, mothers." Raka bowed a little as he greeted his stepmothers. 

The three women nodded their heads in response, and Raka turned toward the old woman. 

She had grey hair with black stripes running down to her waist. Her face, full of wrinkles, looked at him with an indifferent gaze while her black eyes scrutinized him. 

"Greetings, Elder Dora," Raka said as he bowed his head, a little deeper than he had to his mothers. 

Elder Dora is the elder of the village and is responsible for awakening the youth of the tribe. She is also responsible for treating the wounded, as her element, light, is the best among all the elements for healing injuries. 

Elder Dora turned around without replying to Raka and said, "Pray to the spirits and the ancestors and place your hand on the orb." She said as she pointed her hand toward the orb. 

The orb was the translucent sphere that was placed in the middle of the room, waiting for Raka to place his hand on it. 

Raka nodded his head in acknowledgment and closed his eyes, pretending to pray to the spirits and his ancestors. 

And after a while, he opened his eyes, his golden irises gleaming in the torchlight placed on the walls. 

TAP 

He took a step toward the orb, his heart thumping against his chest. 

The four wives of Raka's father looked at him while gulping nervously. Raka's mother, Marana, looked at her son reaching for the orb. "O Spirits, guide my son and grant him the strongest element!" she whispered her prayer and turned to look at him. 

His stepmothers too, prayed for his success as their futures depended on it. "Our future, your siblings' future, depends on you, Raka." The red-haired woman whispered as she watched Raka place his hand on the orb. 

Raka had four siblings, with two of them being brothers, but they were too young to awaken and rule the tribe. 

WHOOSH 

As soon as Raka placed his hand on the orb, the orb shined brightly as myriads of colors flashed in the room-- red, gold, blue, black, green, brown.... 

Raka felt something invading his body through the orb. 'It feels like warm water being injected into my body.' He commented as he observed the changes in the orb. 

The four women, along with the old one, watched intently as the myriads of colors died down, and slowly a single color began to dominate the orb. 

Raka watched intently while his golden eyes shone with intense curiosity; his heart thumped against his chest as he clenched his jaws. 

......... 

Outside, Ulug and his men, along with the rest of the tribe, patiently waited for the news of his awakened element. 

"Ulug, what if Raka awakens the Dark Element?" one of the men behind him asked. 

Ulug's face turned grim at the mention of the Dark element. He turned toward the man who asked him the question and spat at him angrily, "Do you want to curse Raka!? Of course, he will not awaken that accursed element! He is the son of the chief!" 

The man who asked the question hung his head low; he knew that this was a sensitive topic but couldn't help but ask. 

Ulug, turning around and staring at the entrance of the hut, said, "But if Raka awakens the dark element..." He muttered while clenching his fists until they turned white, "We have no choice." Ulug mumbled, with his eyes blazing with hatred and rage; he continued, "We have no choice but to kill him!" 

........... 

Back in the hut, 

VOOM 

Raka watched with wide eyes as the orb pulsated in a rhythm while it emitted a single color of light. 

"Oh no," Maran mumbled as tears fell from her eyes. Her hands trembled as she looked at her son with sorrow. 

Beside her, his three stepmothers also had disappointed looks on their faces. They clenched their fists while looking at Raka in disappointment. 

The old woman, however, had a glint pass through her eyes as she looked at Raka with curious eyes: "Finally, we have another user of that element." 

The light brightened until it filled the hut before spilling out of it, illuminating the surroundings. 

Ulug and his men watched the light with disappointed looks on their faces; Ulug clenched his fists while he bit his lip. "Sorry, Raka. But you left me no choice." Turning toward one of the men behind him, he said, "Call Darak!" 

The crowd behind Ulug too had disappointed looks on their faces, while some were elated that Raka had awakened that element. 

"Inform Kadae, Raka cannot become the chief." One of the men whispered to the woman beside him. 

While tribesmen had different reactions, cutting through their thoughts like a knife against butter, the old woman's voice echoed through the tribe, informing every tribesman. "Hear, O people of the tribe Zorani, Raka, son of Chief Maluk, has awakened one of the rarest elements, the one that can heal any injury—the element of Light!"