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Akilae shivered as he stepped into the ritual room of the Order of the Onyx. It was not, despite it's name, used for magical practices but instead was where the order held the graduations for it's members as they climbed the ranks and found their place. Still there was as with all things in the order a certain way things were expected to proceed and so the place had been named the ritual room.

Akilae along with a little over a dozen of his peers wore robes made of a black silk that shimmered in the light from the magically lit sconces that lined the walls. The silk itself was the product of the metalweavers, a strange little insect that consumed bits of metal before spinning their cocoons. The strength of the digested metal ended up in the strands of silk making metalweaver silk much stronger that the normal already fairly durable materials was. Ritual robes were made of this silk to represent the hidden strength of the group, and to remind it's members that power came from the core. Some of the strongest people Akilae knew looked fairly normal or seemed to have mild temperments. Then when trouble came they wielded powerful magic or showed an incredible strength of will and presence.

Bare feet padded quietly along a cold marble floor as the group of children was shepherded forward and made to kneel before a large stone alter. One by one they were told to get up and walk forward. There they would stand in front of the alter, opposite Kisael the ritual leader.

Kisael would lead them in the pledge of loyalty and then reach into the large onyx chalice that rested upon the alter. It held a special mixture that was used to mark an order member with the symbol of their division. Most children knew where they were likely to end up but it was tradition anyways. A child would receive their markings, bow to Kisael and then move to sit amongst the crowd which was in and of itself sectioned off similarly.

Markings were unique to each division and even if you weren't sure where you would be placed if you could trace the image in your mind as it happened to you you would know. Akilae had only ever heard of a few people every making a mistake and even then it was not a punishable offense , you were simply mocked for a short while afterwards.

Markings were also not required to be permanent, an order remember could reapply them or let them fade at will. Onyx eyes almost never wore markings outside of the compound. Akilae planned to keep his visible though as Onyx fangs had no such restrictions and their markings were nice enough looking so far as he was concerned.

Akilae watched as Velari unsurprisingly became a blade and strode confidently away to take her place amongst the others. Aurigan was the next amongst his friendly to officially become a novice and an Onyx eye, there was a slight bounce in the other boy's step after he bowed to Kisael and walked away.

Soon it was Akilae's turn, he rose carefully to his feet and stepped forward, the hybrid boy's purple irises stared into the blank sockets of Kisael's face. Slowly and carefully he repeated the pledge of loyalty, reaffirming his dedication to the order and dipped her fingers into the chalice. No one but Kisael knew exactly what the marking mixture contained, everyone knew some of the council members blood was in it but the rest of the ingredient were a secret to all but the old sigil.

Akilae struggled not to grin as he felt Kisael's fingers begin to trace the marking of the onyx fang upon his face. Today he took one step closer to achieving what he had been born to do.

we meet again


Purebloods will never truly understand what it means to be a hybrid. I never realized just how quickly I could get angry by this until today.

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I will save Jun and not just because I like his feathers.

Akilae shivered in the cool night air as he stalked towards the entrance of the Ayr cave system. He had an important task ahead of him, if he was to get any closer to achieving his goals. He was meant to choose his clan today, if he could could get to the appointed meeting place anyways. His violet eyes peered into the inky black darkness, somewhere at the other end of the caves ahead was supposed to be a meadow his mother's family had used during clan selecting since as far back as any of them remembered. It made the boy feel a little funny to know he was to be part of a tradition that the side of his family he never saw held so dear.

Clearing his mind Akilae proceeded into the cave, leading with his left arm and the lantern that hung from it. The lantern projected a muted golden circle of light out onto the dusty stone floor. There were hundred of footprints preserved in the dirt and dust that lightly coated the floor and it was impossible to tell which ones were made when and by who. Bitter smelling air, grime and cold grey rock was all that the hybrid boy had to looked forward to as he trekked deeper into the caves.

On occasion the light illuminated the form of some cave dwelling creature or another startling it and Akilae. Fortunately all of them were small and meant him no harm. Regardless the stale air, creepy echoes and overwhelming darkness beyond what the lantern illuminated made for a nerve wracking atmosphere given how unequipped Akilae was to fight in a place like this. He was starting to think his mother's whole 'you'll appreciate the meadow more after time in the caves' speech was nonsense.

As he traveled through the long winding tunnel occasionally Akilae would reach up and brushed falling dust and debris from his hair or cloths. He hated being dirty and made a resolution to avoid caves as much as possible in the future. It didn't help that it was hard to navigate the area with any speed what with the odd stalagmite and stalactite threatening you from below and above respectively if you ran into them or even brushed up against the sharp rocky formations .

Eventually Akilae found the correct sequence of branching tunnels to lead him back outside where the air was fresh and the normally aggravating sunlight warmed his skin pleasantly. His mother had not lied, the meadow he had walked out into seemed like a small personal Oasis. Ringed by mountainside it was protected from the fierce howling winds that were so common on Ayr. Here there was only quiet, sweet smelling grass, trees, flower clusters and a small pond, it was as if a tiny piece of another continent had migrated to Ayr although the vegetation looked unique to the continent. Truly it was a special sort of place and even Akilae was amazed but how good it felt to be there instead of the dank depressing caves.

There was little time to admire the scenery however as his mother sat over in the middle of the field, grinning and waving Akilae forward. In her lap a large vibrant green orb containing the power of many merged Ysali dragon souls. It was time, Akilae was finally ready to embrace the Ysali clan as his own.


~
A short while later Akilae found himself lying, eyes closed, in the meadow as he tried to adjust to the way he now felt. He was now far more attuned to magic than he had been previously and the field in which he lay was not just a collection of plants anymore, it truly felt like a living breathing entity to him. In a way the boy felt more whole now, like a part of him had been missing and was now filled. It was just a little unsettling though for he had always prided himself on how much more he resonated with being an Oblivionite.


For the moment though, the hybrid boy let himself bask in what it meant to be dovaa and having just chosen one's clan. After all he would be using his Ysali skills to aid his Oblivionite brethren in battle from now on. It was ok, just for now, to indulge in the simple joy of feeling more like the person he was meant to be than ever before.

For the past few years Akilae had been undergoing weapons training. He had been taught the basics of swordplay, dagger usage, how to aim and fire bows as well as the beginner info of several other weapons. The Order understood that just because they separated people into certain classes based on their use it did not mean their imprinted weapon would follow. Almost all novice sigils were became Mages but a few seemed to suit other weapon types better and they themselves tended to lean towards enchanting magic. Similarly not all onyx blades received a bladed or blunt style imprinted weapon, they learned to adapt to what they had and most picked up a secondary weapon.

It was due to this that all novices received training in all forms of weapons prior to the imprinting ceremony. No one would be at a loss should their imprinted weapon be something they weren't expecting. On top of that it would be easier later to pick up a secondary weapon if need be. As it was Akilae was already skilled in the use of blowguns which to his knowledge had never occurred as a formal imprinted weapon. Similarly some of his friends were quite deadly with a sling but that was not the type of weapon one generally saw in battle.

"I am curious to see what weapon suits you best,"

Akilae turned his head and looked up to his father, he sat beside the older Oblivionite in the waiting room. Unlike with becoming novices, people found themselves ready for accepting their imprinted weapons at different stages. However today there had been another novice who was also ready and she had been schedule to go first.

"What do you think, when you look at me, what kind of fighter am I to you," he asked with curiosity. Rarely did Akilae get a chance to outright seek approval or opinions from his father.

"It is too hard to tell," the older male admitted, blank eyes peering down at the hybrid boy. "You seem to favour ranged weapons but whether that is what Soudana wants for you I cannot be sure. I myself preferred hand to hand combat but my imprinted weapon declared me more suited to something else."

Akilae nodded, there was something in strange magical metal like material that seemed to know a person better than even they knew themselves. Oblivionites might lack souls but they still held a sort of essence that imprinting material latched onto.

~
Once it was his turn Akilae walked into the room and over to the Onyx table upon which rested a large square of dark coloured imprinting material. Some people had the material shaped into the classic weapons type before having a child choose their weapon but the Order found it best to let the material make it's own choices. Over the past 50 years it had lead to some rather interesting results and also allowed their members a much better idea of exactly what they were best suited to.

Akilae bowed to Kisael and then reached out to lay his hands upon the block. The moment his skin touched it the block began to morph under his hands. It seemed to be shrinking in some places and growing in others. Akilae watched in rapt fascination as his weapon took shape becoming a bow, but not one of a type he recalled having used before.

"Composite bow variation," his father noted. " Should suit an Onyx fang well. We'll have to see about getting you trained for mounted combat as well then."

Akilae nodded slowly, only half paying attention to his father, he was far too busy running his hands over the body of the the bow and feeling the connection between them. This bow, above all else, would be his ally in fulfilling the missions he had been born for. Now he was really ready to show the order what he was capable of.

click

my skills improve day by day.

Breathe, focus, aim carefully and seek the weak point of your target…

*Thwwip*

An arrow flew out from Akilae's bow and embedded itself not into the target but into the shaft of the previously fired arrow. The original arrow was not cleaved cleanly in two as occasionally happened but instead was split about halfway up it's shaft. It was still an impressive shot and the that gathered to watch murmured their approval. Somewhere amongst the attendees was his father and Akilae could only hope that the older male had been impressed by his attempt at the risky shot.

The dark skinned hybrid boy turned and faced his judges; his body was held as still as possible and the dark green sparks in his eyes gave away nothing as Akilae waited for a response. A panel of two men and two women calmly looked at each other and nodded.

''Continue with the trial,” said the eldest man, his voice just slightly deteriorated with age.

Akilae nodded and pushed a strand of dark blue hair out of his face before turning to his next task. Although he exuded a calm appearance, there were multitudes of thought racing though the young mans mind. Today was his advancement trial. The Order did not simply allow their novices to start climbing the ranks from apprentice to adept after a few dragon battles and gathering some souls. They observed them carefully during this process and designed a trial so that when a novice felt ready to advance they had to pass the tests in order to truly graduate.

The tests were not unfair they were based on what those teaching them felt they should be able to accomplish by the the time they had judged themselves ready to move on. Thus far today Akilae had brewed a potent toxin and then been made to create it's antidote while stressed when it had been given to Velari. He had demonstrated his knowledge of the areas he had been assigned to survey over the past years and completed several other small tasks meant to test his current knowledge and skillset. A weapon demonstration was usually one of the last tests given to a novice so Akilae was curious to see what else was in store for him.

"The last task will be a test of memory,” Kashmira announced. Kashmira was an order elder whom he had little experience with. Akilae only knew that she was an onyx eye and his father mentioned her from time to time. Well and he knew she judged novices from time to time as well.

Akilae nodded even as his spirits sank a little. Part of his training had been to be mindful of his surroundings without having to intensely study them and to remember surroundings you had only seen briefly as accurately as possible. It was an important skill for both onyx fangs and eyes to master over time. It was not however Akilae's strong point, he always seemed to misremember something.

“I am ready," he said, taking great care to not let his uncertainty show in his voice. He was not the little boy he had been when he first became a novice, he was stronger than that and to show publicly weakness at potential failure was to admit defeat before the test even began. He would never live down the shame if he failed now.

"When you were in the preparation room before testing began, what did you see?"

Akilae breathed deep and focused, allowing his mind to piece together the memories of that room, he'd been somewhat distracted then, fussing with his clothes so he looked as perfect as possible.

"The walls were wooden and stained a dark red like hot coals. The walls were eight feet high, there was a long wooden table with a small glass circle in the center”

"How big was the circle?"

"Six and a half inches, um there was potted ivy on a shelf opposite the couch, the vine hung of the shelf for three feet ”

"It was four feet," Kashmira corrected.

"Pardon. Four feet, next to the door was a small marble table with a pewter wash dish on it.” Akilae paused and looked cautious at Kashmira. He had nothing more to say, there had been other objects in the room with him but he couldn't be sure of their dimensions or exact placement and if he mentioned them screwed up it would count against him. Better to say nothing at all. "That is all I recall." In his peripheral vision he could make out his father pursing his lips unhappily.


"You need to work on your subconscious focus; there is still too much that you do not see. However, your skills are adequate for now."

Akilae nodded and bowed respectfully relief flooding through him. He had passed all the judges tests and his dragon orbs had been accepted as worthy hunt trophies. He would remain a novice for the time being, internal order ranks being different from external traditional ones, but he would move from being a mere apprentice to an adept tonight during the celebration ceremony.

Akilae might not have passed his trials with flying colours but there was always next time for that. For now he was simply glad to have the results of all his hard work acknowledged by so many people.

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