Named the Ascension, this coming of age event affected everyone once they hit the latter half of puberty. At this point, the blood vessels of the body were sturdy enough to handle Mana, the energy of life itself, and so any child was primed for the benefits that Mana could bring. In the world of Onas mana was a defining feature; talent and type could very well dictate the rise or fall of entire empires. Much could be said of how Onas Empire fell for that exact reason...
The obelisk that stood before the group of youths including Mona seemed to have a calling signal. As Mona stood before it, he could feel something grasping at his focus, beckoning him to come closer. While he didn't yet have mana, he could feel his center of gravity being gently tugged by the ancient structure.
"Before us is one of the relics from the empires preceding the Steel, the Faulkner, the Onas, the empires even before them. This creation was made long ago, a tool created for drawing out the inherent abilities of whoever stood before it. According to what few scripts we found, humans didn't always have mana. It was a rare occurrence that led to the rise and fall of many tribes. Our forefathers had to risk life and limb to awaken their powers. Sometime between then and now, humans developed these Medivers to bypass this dangerous process. While the original method of making Medivers have been lost, many substitutes have been made since with similar enough capabilities. Let us watch the next generation of our land show us a glimpse of the future."
The Lord of Aurum had given an explanation for the commoners outside of awareness. The pentagonal tower before them stood harshly against the environment. It's sandy gray exterior glowed ominously in Maget's light, as if it would suck in the room itself if given the chance. Only after hearing the lords words did those new arrivals look more relieved. Their precious children would live to see the next High.
No one in the group moved at first. Everyone was mesmerized by the shape in front of them. Mona was as well; every time they hosted the coming of age event he was allowed to stay in his bedroom instead, as he disliked the pressures of nobility. Once he began making himself present, the expectations would rise, and he wouldn't be able to get away anymore. He wanted to avoid it as much as he could, while he could.
Little to say he was caught by the Mediver as well. Although the device was a substitute, he wondered what was tugging at him, and if the originals, if they still existed, had that same grasp on one's consciousness as well. Several moments passed like this, the kids standing blankly staring at this tower of sorts, the crowd in anticipation.
This couldn't go on forever. Mona's father looked around the room, making eye contact with one of the servants nearby, gesturing for the young man to go forward. The servant nodded, moving away from the back of the hall and towards the crowd. The silence was broken.
"Please step forward one at a time to the obelisk. Stand beneath it and sense out the mana where you can inside you, and the obelisk should gradually pull out your inner ability. It won't harm you, so please come forth--you first."
The servant pointed at a nearby youth, the daughter of a lesser noble who had come for the event. She was displeased at being first served to the obelisk, but looking back at her parent didn't do anything but get her a glance to move forward. Sighing audibly, she moved ahead ever so slowly. Each of her steps took twice as long as the last, and covered half the distance. Her eyes were filled with worry, her shoes making delicate taps towards this anomaly.
The servant didn't let her take her time. Giving a short pardon, he held the hand of the young woman and began pulling her closer to the obelisk. Surprised, the young woman tried to pull back her hand, but the servant clearly reinforced himself with mana. She wanted to shout but the Mediver took away her will to speak, and at long last she was standing right in front of it.
The first to go were her eyelids, they shut like a doll's, and the worry emptied from her face, leaving her a blank expression. Her knees buckled on their own, her hands fell aside on the floor. Her breathing grew monotone, and for a while no one could see anything happening.
Finally something made itself appear. From the obelisk a blurry picture began to make itself visible. A five sided pentagon appeared right above the young lady, each corner glimmering a different color. Upper left had a seizing red, upper right a deep blue, bottom right a clean yellow, middle bottom a lively green, and lastly bottom left a glimmering gray. From the surface of the Mediver several runes seemed to glimmer and fade, creating a vague cyclone around the young woman. Some of the runes grew brighter and joined the pentagon, others grew dimmer and disappeared. Atop this illusory pentagon, the five points seemed to bleed color into the shape, each rune adding that specific color to the mix.
As time moved forward, the cyclone grew faster and faster, the pentagon steadily filling up with color. The shade of glimmering gray became visible before everyone, the Mediver glowing silver in return at this last step. Right where the mana core would appear on any diagram, everyone could watch and see as tiny wisps of silvery mana entered her body from the obelisk.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Schwa! Rong! Rong!
Sounds came from the Mediver, and soon all became silent once more. It's color returned to before, the sigils and pentagon disappeared, leaving the young lady in a knelt position, unconscious. Once the last wisp of silvery mana entered her body, she finally awoke. Her steps were uneasy, as if she had been in a deep sleep for too long. Before she could get up completely, her mother and father had already made their way to her.
Everyone watched as the pair brought their child up to her feet, before quietly consoling the young woman.
"Congratulations, Derriden. It seems your daughter awakened to Metal aura. May your family's future be bright."
Mona's father gave the couple a few words, to which the pair bowed. The daughter clumsily followed, before being guided away by her parents. Arriving at the table, the surroundings were alight with hushed conversations as the young lady tried to make sense of what happened when she went under.
"Next please..."
The servant beckoned a young man, a commoner's son in decent clothing, to come next. Seeing the display from before, his fears were largely cast aside. It seemed like many in the crowd of adolescents became relaxed seeing nothing untoward happened to that lady.
Metal mana.
Metal mana.
Metal mana.
Earth mana.
Metal mana.
Metal mana.
*****
The colors before Mona's eyes seemed to concentrate on a silvery gray hue. It was not very surprising. This was the Steel Kingdom, in the Duchy of Aurum. If Metal energy wasn't the most common in the region, that itself would be surprising. Many alive were descended from knights, brigands, and mercenaries. Naturally Metal energy would make blades sharper, armor sturdier, and their lives longer. In war, the sharpest blades tend to stick around.
At long last, the servant beckoned his last guest.
"Young lord."
The man couldn't hide a trace of gentleness in his words. In this collapsing estate of theirs, the servants were closer to family than simply staff. The young man they remembered waddling about was right before them.
Mona gave an awkward nod, before taking one last glance at his father before going under. The man grinned and ushered Mona to go forth with a hand gesture.
The youth walked forward, a tad unsteadily. He could see the pins holding the dress together, one of them becoming slightly loose. He questioned himself why he didn't seek a quick chance to have one of the servants nearby to rearrange it. His steps were heavy with uneasiness comparable to the first who knelt before this stone structure.
Maget's rays were starting to slightly dip. That only meant the arrival of Heron, and coming with it a steady coolness. Mona appreciated this chill; the bizarre dress he had to wear was starting to stick.
In the light of the suns, the black cloth seemed to attain iridescence, a motley of colors slightly shimmering above the surface. Patterns previously unseen began to alight on the suit robes, seeming to mimic a more ancient version of the Aurum insignia. A slight pressure came off of Mona, scattering the few bits of dust in the air away from his direction. Mona could feel a hidden unity with these robes something transcendent of this place and time. Perhaps these pieces had more value than he thought.
Standing before the Mediver, Mona took the initiative to kneel first. If he was going to fall, he thought it would be better he was already in this position first.
The obelisk let began to glow once more. Standing next to these ancient device, Mona could hear something.
Hum.
Hum.
Humum.
An ever so faint sound came from the base of the Mediver, a sound he could only hear kneeling. He soon felt the tugging of the obelisk, his consciousness dragged into the hidden space somewhere far away. His eyes closed like a doll, his arms also fell to their sides. All eyes were on the young lord of Aurum, wishing to see what talents he would alight.
*****
It sounded like skimming at first. The sound of something skimming sand. It quietly came and went, than began again. The sound came ever so closely to Mona's ear, nuzzling his lobes like it was his name being called, but just before the syllables could be made out, the sound would vanish.
Regaining his consciousness, Mona awoke. There he was, kneeling, kneeling on the ground, his body covered in an armor set. The robe seemed to have transformed into a set of jet black armor, the Aurum insignia softly carved into the chestpiece. He could feel the wind flutter the cape attached to his back. His eyes scanned the landscape, a cryptic land of obelisk stones and pure white sand. Not just his robes transformed, but also his position. Or was this a teleportation? He couldn't make sense if this was real or a mirage.
The most peculiar aspect was how well-defined everything in his vision looked. He could see every grain of sand, from here all the way to the horizon, without much effort. Every crack or mark on those Mediver stones in the distance, the gradual rise and decline of scattered white sand dunes, even the little bits of dust flying through the air, he could make it all out.
"Strange. Did the other kids see this too?"
Mona let these words slightly escape his lips, only to watch as the sand nearby scattered at the sound of his voice. Almost 5 meters away he could see the words ripple across the lands, the sand shifting to make way for his words. Even more bizarre, his words materialized. He could see his words take physical shape, before evaporating just above the sand. Just what was this place.
The only aspect of his senses that seem sealed away was his sense of smell. Or was it that this place didn't have a scent in the first place.
"Forget it. Let me try walking in... that direction."
Before letting the weirdness get over him, Mona began to take steps forward to his right. But with each step he began to notice something. He wasn't actually moving at all. He was covering distance, but the surroundings refused to change with each of his steps.
