18. Ceremony

Seraph was currently sitting in front of the lake in Rubin's Forest while everyone in the castle freaked out looking for him. Today was the day. He wasn't talking about the ceremony though. His eyes were almost fully red. Soon, Cal would take him for a spin. It had only been a week since the last time but it looked like Cal was saving up for today.

Abby appeared in the clearing, riding on one of the Gust Horses. She came and sat by him. He nodded at her and went back to staring at the water. He was shaking slightly.

"What's with all the nerves now. You were so relaxed before." Abby finally chimed in after a minute of silence.

Seraph couldn't say anything. He had made friends over the past week and now he was going to lose them. He didn't realize how lonely he had become until now. Everything was going to fade away and he would go back to being the crazy kid.

"Hey I'm talking to you crazy."

He flinched at being called crazy.

Abby finally noticed something might seriously be bothering the easygoing Seraph. They sat there for a few minutes in silence.

Seraph got up and jumped on Artax's back.

"I need to go."

Abby watched him leave, and then left too. She paused briefly though when she noticed the tree from when she first Seraph wasn't there and all that was left was a hole.

'Huh? Is that maybe what had him so upset? The tree he put in so much in to saving was dug up by someone?'

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Seraph sneaked into his courtyard. He had to lock himself up. When the servants heard the screaming they would understand. When he approached the basement under the west wing he found Elder Bratus in there looking at the wall where Seraph locked himself up. It was a gruesome sight with claw marks and dried blood. Seraph had to constantly change out the chains. When Cal had control of his body, it seemed Seraph was a lot stronger. Even Spirit Knights had trouble constraining him.

Seraph paused for a second before walking to the wall and started locking himself in place. The key to the locks was on the opposite wall where he could see it. It was a way that Seraph mocked Cal. It had painful repercussions, making Cal more angry left Seraph with more scars, but Seraph held onto it as his little bit of control in his hopeless situation. Elder Bratus stood to the side and watched.

Seraph hung his head and waited for the time to come around. Half an hour later his mother and Sarah came by. His mother burst into tears when she saw he had chained himself up again. Sarah seemed upset too and gave him a hug before running out. Elder Bratus just watched as if it was drama at a theatre.

A few minutes later Elder Bratus finally spoke up. "So when your iris turns completely red is when the incidents happen? It was never truly you who did all those things."

Seraph was shocked. He could see it!

"Correct, but this is the first time someone else could see the red."

"Hmm, is it a devil totem?"

"No. It's not a totem at all." His father had already investigated if Seraph had a devil totem. Devil totems were very powerful but had strong rebound effects and drove most of their summoners insane. Plus you had to have violent tendencies to begin with to connect to one so they were very taboo everywhere.

"Then what is it."

"I don't know." And that was the honest truth. Not even the Keepers of Calamity were sure what exactly Cal was.

"Hmm, you seem to be telling the truth. Unlock you when the red disappears?"

"Yes, please. Normally they come back the next day to get me."

Elder Bratus nodded his head and left. He came back with a chair, fruits, and a few books. Seraph's eyebrow twitched slightly when he saw that.

At noon, the screaming started. Cal had his turn.

"F********ck! These d*mn chains!"

Cal howled and spewed vulgarities till he was coughing up blood. Everywhere there was a brace holding him had torn into Seraph's flesh. Cal had no care for Seraph's body and he always left it run ragged.

Cal threatened Elder Bratus and spoke of what he would do to Abby, Ari and every girl at the Institute. He claimed he'd turn Sky Summit into Blood Summit.

4 hours later Cal was finished. Elder Bratus picked up Seraph's head and open his eyes. The red was gone. He unlocked the braces and summoned a totem that look like a flower. A passionflower to be exact. Different from when Seraph summoned his spirits, this was a real summoning in a physical form, not a hazy light projection.

Dew collected on on of the petals and fell onto the middle of Seraph's chest. The dew disappeared when it touched his skin. All of the wounds on his body started to rapidly heal. A few seconds later Seraph opened his eyes.

He groaned and sat up. He looked at his body and saw the usual scars were gone. He may look fine but he was still very sore.

"Thank you elder."

"Hurry and get dressed, the ceremony starts in 20 minutes."

"B-but..."

"I used my qi to block the sound. Only your mother, little Sarah, and Abby know what happened."

Seraph's felt heartbroken when he heard the last name. He finally made a friend, even if saw her as more of a friendly child, and now he probably scared her away.

He sulked away to his dressing room to get dressed. Laying over a chair was the gown his father prepared. Seraph refused to wear a toga. He pulled out his own suit. Grey pants, white shirt, grey vest, and a grey jacket. The jacket was covered in a silver floral pattern that only showed when the light hit it right.

His dad would be very angry seeing this outfit but Seraph thought he looked quite handsome. His fashion was unique in Ageaen but he saw the store where he gets tailored was displaying this style of clothing and it was gaining traction. Seraph was a teacher on earth so he couldn't afford fancy suits like this so this was his own little fun he had to himself. Every little happiness went a long way.

Without a second to spare, Seraph appeared at the doorway into the banquet hall. The door was closed at the moment, and since Seraph didn't hide his presence this time, the servant saw him. Seraph's only explanation he could come up with for this innate ability of his was his apparently freakishly large soul. He jokes to himself that was his "new species" innate talent. Of course he didn't have a species totem so it didn't make since for that to be true.

The servant sent a quick nock on the door and the banquet hall quieted down. 2 seconds later he heard chairs scoot as the guests stood up. Music started to play and the door slowly opened. Seraph then walked in.

The first thing they noticed was he wasn't wearing a toga like the other officials. Seraph smiled and walked to the center of the floor. Even steps that were neither fast nor slow, but were graceful. It wasn't his natural gait but what we had to practice repeatedly before the ceremony. As the reason for the occasion, he had to perform the first dance as part of the ceremony. He didn't have a fiance yet so he danced with his mother. She was smiling with tears in her eyes. Though whether it was because of the special occasion or what happened earlier, he didn't know.

The song was graceful and so was the dance he performed for everyone. Once it ended, everyone clapped and the banquet officially began. Seraph greeted Damien and Sam, his two oldest brothers. They were in Ariadel's military and spent most of their time away from home.

Damien was the oldest and a spitting image of their father. Sam didn't favor mother or father and was a person who always smiling. He got along with their Uncle very well.

Damien greeted him first with a scowl. "What are you wearing? Do you not care for tradition?"

"C'mon D, it's his day don't beat him up. How's it going squirt? This is your day so drink all you want." Sam followed that by handing a cup to Seraph and they both threw it back. Sam gave a cough and Seraph just smiled at him.

"Oi, I heard you drink like a fish. Seems it's true haha!"

Sam didn't have a care in the world and he took that attitude to the battle field too. Sam was regarded as crazy in his own right as well.

He greeted Donovan and his fiance Zoey. She had light brown hair and an oval face. She was the Marquee of Gernas' second daughter, another noble in Ariadel. They would get married when Donovan became a soul knight.

Lillian just gave a nod and he moved on.

Sarah was staring at him with a little bit of fear in her eyes. He smiled at her and took her hand.

"Can I ask for a dance m'lady."

She blushed at m'lady and softly nodded.

He danced one song with her and sat down.

The music and dancing continued for an hour before his father, who was sitting in the same arrangement from the welcome banquet, stood up.

"We'll begin the ceremony now."

The music dragged off and everyone took their seats. Seraph followed his father to the floor below.

They arrived in the center of the floor and Seraph got down on one knee. The coming of age ceremony was kind of like the knighting ceremony. His father drew the family sword and tapped it on each shoulder. Seraph then stood up and accepted a replica of the family sword and hung it on his left hip. The same side as his heart. Everyone stood up and cheered. Seraph was now considered an adult and the family sword replica meant he was now charged with fighting for the family. The coming of age ceremony was very cut and dry. The Esprit house wasn't known for their extravagance.

His father went back to his seat. Next was all up to Seraph. He would demonstrate his totems in an act.

"Any volunteers for a spar" Seraph called out. He didn't have any tricks he could perform with his so he had to take the other route. His casual attitude irked a few in the hall.

"I volunteer." It was Julien. He was wearing a suit as well, though his was red. It seemed the style would start to catch on. Julien had a big smile on his face. Seraph guessed he was waiting for this moment.