Chapter 8

While Alvar tried to get a grip on himself more and more of the children reappeared outside of the cave. Now that he thought about it none had been there after he had come out which must mean that the rest had gone into the cave in the end.

As he was watching the other children some seemed to be confused while others appeared to be quite excited by the looks of it and Alvar couldn't really fault them. Hell, he himself was still pretty happy since he would soon have finished the rite and would be considered a young adult by his people.

Once his friend Veli appeared outside Alvar couldn't surpress the grin that sprang onto his face, mirrored by Veli who swiftly walked over to his friend followed by the two of them grabbing each others forearms like the proper young adults that they were now, mostly at least but they didn't care about the small stuff. After all they had overcome the biggest hurdle and only the ceremony was missing to welcome them into the ranks of the young adults.

Not long after Veli had appeared outside it was Gerdi's turn and she promptly walked over and embraced both Alvar and Veli though Alvar couldn't help but notice that her hug for Veli was quite a bit longer than his own which brought a slight smile to his face.

Once all the children had appeared outside the Havroune motioned for them to follow after him once more and the group began their walk back into the great hall of Hoelbrak. Shortly before they entered the thick foliage of the nearby trees Alvar craned his neck to get a glimps of the position of the moon and stars as he wondered how long they had been inside the cave. Turns out it had been around two whole hours which baffled him a lot as the time must have gone by a lot faster in the mists or whatever that pre-thingy had been.

Minutes passed and silence fell over the excited group of children as the happiness of having passed most of the rite disappeared into the backs of their minds while finally the tiredness of the day made itself known with a few of the children beginning to yawn in exhaustion.

Though before they could fall asleep on their feet the procession had reached the hall and were greeted by silence and every adult resting their eyes on the children causing many of them to fidget under the attention though Alvar could spot the pride and excitement in some of the adults faces while looking at what must have been their children.

Promptly Alvars eyes began to seek his grandparents and uncle which he found after a few seconds of searching. Once their eyes met he couldn't help but grin in their direction which caused a few grins to appear on their faces as well after which Alvar returned his gaze to the Havroune before him that lead him and the others back into the middle of the hall where the children were told to turn around once and face the crowd before them that promptly stood up as if they were one.

"The raven told me that he was proud of our generation of descendants and he is looking forward to welcome you back into his domain once the time has come for you to become adults. Long may you live and your lives be fruitfull. Hail!" The Havroune spoke with a strong voice after which the whole crowd raised their horns filled with mead and under a unified voice that shook the foundations of Hoelbrak called out "Hail!" after which every and all people inside the hall erupted into cheerful jubilations and congratulations while all the children grinned like loons before they rushed over to their families where they all were engulfed in warm hugs and told to drink some mead in celebration which they did without protest. Thus the happy Norn, along with their newly crowned young adults, celebrated, partied until the dawn knocked softly at the gates of Hoelbrak while many of the children had fallen asleep amidst their families and friends all the while wearing a bright smile that seemed to resemble the sun that was rising in the east and welcoming the children into a new world on its own as well as it was going to watch over them and guide them to a bright future, or so they say.