Short Story #1: "Ceremony" by J.T. Neely

ＭＳ明朝
CeremonyBy J.T. Neely    Nicholas sat on his bedroom windowsill kicking his legs freely as he whittled. The sill was the highest place he could reach to watch down the winding dirt road leading to Wolfram Village and his wood shavings could freely fall without making a mess. His current project was turning a block of rosewood into a Cimelian lancer in a lunging motion. His knife, forged by his big sister Teryn for his fifth birthday last year, made the process akin to carving snow. For all its use, the blade could still slice through solid rock. Teryn used such a demonstration to warn him to be very careful with it. Then for Nicholas’s entertainment she repeated the spectacle without the knife.   Teryn didn’t make the knife like a conventional blacksmith though for she had the magical gift of geomancy, the ability to manipulate solid matter. She had explained the whole process to him then. She made the steel for the blade by extracting iron and chromium from a meteor rock she found in the Starfall Mountains north of her school, Skyfire University of Sage Arts, and then fused them together to make steel. She then folded the steel and groomed the cutting edge flat and sharp enough to cut hair lengthwise. She had gotten really creative with the handle. She altered quartz with iron to make dark orange citrine and fashioned it around the lower half of the blade. She said it took her the whole school year to get it just right. It was the best birthday gift ever and he wondered what he would get tomorrow.   Nicholas had not received many toys because his parents didn’t have the money to buy him toys. The knife changed all that. Dad took it upon himself to teach the basics of whittling and Teryn stirred his imagination. Every night, before she left for school, Teryn would read him stories about legends and great battles and he decided to carve the characters. Nicholas now had a whole collection of soldiers, mages, dragons, and beasts waging war on the shelves of his room. His early works were blocky and disproportioned but his latest were works of art. They were even good enough to make his friends jealous. His aunt and uncle had even asked his parents if he would make a few figurines for his friend and cousin Marcus. There was no doubt Nicholas’s parents loved him, but that was perhaps the first time they showed him the pride they felt for Teryn. He was going to be just like her when he grew up.    Nicholas stopped whittling a moment to look and listen. Teryn was on her way back from university to attend his Crystalation, a ceremonial right of passage for all kids when they turned six, and he was excited to see her. The great big yellow, orange, and red leaved trees blocked his view a half-minute’s mad dash down the dirt road and the farm was quiet except for squirrels chattering, birds singing, the occasional mooing cow, and leaves rustling in a faint breeze. He strained to hear the clip clopping of a horse drawn carriage bringing her back just as it had taken her away but there was nothing. Mom was downstairs baking and the kitchen was right below his bedroom. The scents of black pepper flatbread and caramel apple pastries made his mouth water but they wouldn’t be ready until dinner. Dad was out in the potato fields working on bringing in the last of the harvest.    He took a moment to scratch his nose. The lancer’s spear was the most difficult to carve since he needed to shave it thin without accidentally snapping it or cutting through it. Nicholas began carefully whittling again, rotating the lancer in his hand to make the shaft of the spear uniform. It was a few minutes later that he was finished. He replaced his knife in the cowhide sheath on his belt and rolled back onto and then off his bed. He placed the lancer with his Cimelian brethren fighting Eberhardti cavalry.    A peculiar and scary sound rumbled outside. It was a mix of stones grinding and a fire crackling loudly. Nicholas went back to look out his window. The sound of stressed wood creaking was added to the cacophony coming up the drive. A carriage without horses leading it was moving along at a brisk pace and the driver had in his hands not reigns but a pegged wheel like a pirate ship from the stories Teryn told him. More important though, Nicholas knew, was the carriage had Teryn inside its cabin.    Nicholas bounded off his bed and out his room and down the stairs and out the front door in the span it took him to yell “Teryn’s home!” The carriage came to a skidding, graveling stop just as Nicholas did where the walk met the road. Painted on the side was an emblem featuring a great building with pillars and a grand arched entryway sitting at the base of a mountain. He momentarily wondered why the carriage didn’t need horses and then Teryn leaped out of it.     “Nicky,” beamed Teryn. She was tall and thin with the family’s big brown eyes and sandy brown hair and gowned in a shiny black robe with an orange waistband. She whisked him up in her arms and gave him a great big hug. “My how you’ve grown. Next time I’m home I won’t be able to pick you up any more.”    “Big sister!” Nicholas returned her embrace with great enthusiasm. “Will you show me some magic Teryn? Please?” asked Nicholas.    “Teryn,” Mom shouted as she walked out of the house limiting Teryn to simply say “Later.” Mom was wearing an apron over her brown wool tunic and slacks. “Oh, who are our guests?”    A man gowned in his own shiny black robe but with a purple waistband stepped out of the carriage. The driver was dressed similarly and his waistband was red.      “Mrs. Gardner? I am Sage Gowan,” said the man. “This is my assistant, Sage Stevens,” he said gesturing to the driver. “And you must be Nicholas,” he said extending his hand to Nicholas. Nicholas shook it. He wanted to play with his sister but he knew to behave and be courteous in the presence of guests. “Your sister has been telling me that your Crystalation ceremony is tomorrow. I was wondering if you and your family would permit me to attend,” said Gowan.   “I don’t know why not,” said Nicholas. “Mom?”   “Why would you want to attend Nicholas’s Crystalation?” asked Mom.    “Well, your daughter has performed most admirably at our university and shows exemplary promise as a Sage, especially, of course, in her increased aptitude for manipulating solid-state matter. As point of fact, she is nominated for the university’s Magnus award against some significant contenders including the Sage Magistrate’s son,” said Gowan. “In short, we are very curious to see if Nicholas will follow in his sister’s footsteps, but please, if it wouldn’t be a bother, could we continue our conversation inside. It has been a long journey and I could really do with a cup of tea.”   “Yes, certainly,” reacted Mom with excitement in her voice. “Nicholas go and fetch your father.”    “But…” he said. He wanted to play with Teryn.   “No ‘buts’ Nicholas. Do as I say,” said Mom.   Nicholas ran around the house, past the barn and stores, and out into the fields. Already, grasses grew in the harvested plots. Nicholas couldn’t wait to do magic just like his sister. He imagined being able to lift rocks with his mind and rip out that stubborn old stump with the ease of crinkling his nose. He wondered if Teryn had learned to do that stuff yet and if she would show him.   Dad was digging up potatoes when Nicholas reached him. He was a great big man, tan from working in the sun.   “Teryn’s home,” Nicholas yelled for the second time today.    “Just a moment,” Dad said, smiling. He freed one last spud and dropped it in the sack and slung the sack over his shoulder. “I’ll race you back to the house.”   Nicholas chased after Dad and lost by a good mile.    When Nicholas finally made it home Mom was busy in the kitchen cooking up dinner and Sage Gowan, Sage Stevens, Dad, and Teryn were sitting at the dining table drinking tea.    “It would be an honor for you to attend Nicholas’s Crystalation tomorrow,” said Dad. He was leaned far forward in his chair and Teryn was leaned back in hers, twiddling her fingers. “I still remember Teryn’s Crystalation as if it was yesterday. You were so cute back then, Teryn. No idea what happened to you.”   “Dad,” Teryn groaned. Dad reached over and mussed her hair.   “I only jest. You are beyond beautiful honey,” Dad said. He turned back to Gowan. “She was so confident too. Still is, but she stared down poor old Hand Jessup practically demanding her mana crystal.”   Nicholas noticed Teryn fiddle with something under her robe. She must be wearing her mana crystal as a necklace under it he thought. Nicholas remembered it vividly. It was shiny, no bigger than his pinky finger and a dark, rusty orange as if it was made from dirt mixed with orange juice.    “When she picked it up out of the box, I had never seen anything like it and I have been to many Crystalations. It colored the room orange it glowed so brightly. At the time, all I could think was the crystal was going to shatter or something, but by the time I stood up to get her, the room went dark before the sunlight crept back into our vision,” Dad said. “You should show him your crystal Teryn.”   “He’s seen it Dad,” Teryn said.    “A very good story, Mr. Gardner,” said Sage Gowan.     “Nicholas. Teryn. Could you set the table, please,” Mom called from the kitchen. Teryn looked relieved to have an excuse to do something else and Nicholas was just glad to do something with his sister. Mom also had them light the oil lamps around the house.   They had mashed potatoes smothered in beef, beet, and turnip stew and the day’s black pepper flatbread topped with sliced red onions and pan-seared roast beef for dinner. Dad talked and talked about all the amazing things Teryn did growing up and Sage Gowan listened and listened with continued curiosity. Sage Stevens looked restless, Teryn looked embarrassed, and Mom spent most the meal dancing about the table making sure cups were full, seconds were served, and plates were cleared. For dessert, they had Nicholas’s favorite: sweet golden delicious apple pastries topped with cream cheese and caramel. Nicholas ate contently.    Full and tired, Nicholas wanted to go to sleep and said so.    “Well it is getting late and we should probably head on over to the inn,” said Sage Gowan. Nicholas’s parents, Teryn, and the sages said their farewells as he walked back up the stairs, back into his room, and crawled onto his bed.    Nicholas watched through his window Sage Stevens open the carriage door for Sage Gowan and shut him in. Sage Stevens then climbed into the driver’s seat, pushed a lever, and for a moment, just sat there. Then the carriage vibrated and roared and finally, it moved.   “Sage Stevens modified it himself,” said Teryn who was standing behind him. Nicholas jumped and they laughed.    Once recovered, Nicholas asked why.   “Well, you see, there are these new carriages all over Skyfire from Cimelia that propel themselves and have a god’s charm over everyone. Seriously no magic, just something called a combustion engine,” she said. Nicholas was in awe. He wanted to go to Skyfire as much as he wanted to do magic. “But they’re mighty expensive, more than Sage Stevens could afford I’m sure, but he’s a pyromancer and sort of built a magical version of one that only he can operate.”     “Wow, wish I could do that,” said Nicholas.     “What are your dreams Nicholas?” she asked him, seemingly out of nowhere.    Nicholas knew his answer right away. “I want to do magic and go to Skyfire just like you,” he said. Teryn smiled weakly at that and crinkled her nose as she thought for a moment.   “Nicky, tomorrow is a big day for you, but I don’t want everyone’s conversations from earlier to get your hopes too high,” she said.   “What do you mean?” asked Nicholas.   “It’s just that not everyone’s Crystalation goes like mine did. Usually the crystal just sort of fades into another color and the person isn’t gifted. They are just, uh, attuned to a particular mana where I was gifted with earth mana. Does that make sense?”    “Yeah but I’m your brother.”   “And you’re Mom and Dad’s son and they can’t do magic.”   “Are you saying I’m not going to be gifted like you?”   “No, I’m not. I am just trying to tell you not to think it absolute that you will be,” Teryn said. Maybe she was jealous that he was getting a share of the attention now. He would be gifted.    “I just want to go asleep,” said Nicholas.   “What? No story?” she asked. Nicholas did always like the stories she told. He looked at all of his carvings, each a character from them.    “No, I want one,” he said.    She gave him a strong smile then and said “Okay.”    She told him the tale of Aden Verokin, the greatest champion the world had ever known. So great he was that his statue still stands watch over the Onyx Tomb within the Goddess Temple of Skyfire located in the foothills of the Starfall Mountains.  “Aden wasn’t born a hero. In fact, he was always overshadowed by the adventures of his older brother, Cyrus,” she said. Aden and Cyrus were princes and warriors in their father’s army that was said to walk on the whispers of the wind. Their power and that of many other armies were put to the test when a meteor fell in what were now called the Starfall Mountains. Within it dwelled a great evil that corrupted the simple-minded ogres and dragons of the mountains and changed them into something far more sinister. The armies of the world seemed powerless against them, but the Goddess Navita sent her scion, Ansonya, to help change the tides. She performed awesome deeds such as giving rise to intelligent and humanlike draken from the terrible and beastlike dragons and adopting a champion, the unsuspecting Aden Verokin. Together they all marched on the Corruption’s armies and Aden succeeded in imprisoning the evil in the Onyx Tomb.     Now Nicholas was really tired and he yawned.   “Get some sleep Nicky. See you in the morning. I love you,” Teryn said.   “I love you too,” Nicholas said sleepily. Teryn hugged him good night, turned off his oil lamp and went to her own room leaving his door open just a crack. Nicholas fell asleep and he dreamed he was all alone fighting a mean, red dragon using geomancy to throw boulders and a spectacular sword fit for a hero.      The next morning, Nicholas took his second bath this week in the bathing room adjoining the kitchen. He needed to be all clean and nice looking in front of his friends and family and Teryn’s teachers for his Crystalation. He dressed in his best gray, buttoned tunic and khaki slacks and he tucked his sheathed knife into his pocket. The family sat down for a nice breakfast of fresh scrambled eggs and leftovers from dinner. Dad was dressed similarly to Nicholas, Mom was wearing a pretty blue dress, and Teryn was in her black robe. Dad went out to hook up Wanda, their ox, to her cart while Mom, Teryn, and Nicholas cleaned and replaced the pans and plates. It was a peaceful start to an eventful day.   Once Wanda was ready, Dad called them out and they climbed on, dad in the driver’s seat, Mom on one side with Teryn and Nicholas on the other. The ox cart wasn’t much more than an open wooden box with four wheels. It was occurring to Nicholas that this was really happening. He was about to be crystalated. All those people watching when Hand Jessup presented him with his crystal box. Nicholas was suddenly feeling like ants were crawling all over his insides. Teryn placed her arm across his shoulder and pulled him in tight.    Dad drove them to town.    Their dirt road connected directly with the paved main street going to Wolfram Village. Once they cleared the woods surrounding their property and the other two farms in between them and Main Street, they could see the western reaches of the Starfall Mountains. It took them another ten minutes to pull into the village.  All of Wolfram was on Main Street: the blacksmith, the general store, the pub, the inspector’s office, and the sage’s lab. In the very center, Main Street split into a large circle and rejoined on the other side. Inside the circle were Wolfram Temple and the market grounds. Today there were no stalls and merchants. Instead, five carts, the Skyfire University carriage, and thirty people were gathered outside. Sage Gowan, Sage Stevens, and his cousin Marcus were among the crowd waiting for him. The crowd opened up to let them park and get off the cart. Teryn held Nicholas’s hand as they walked into the temple followed by his audience.   “Are you ready Nicky?” Teryn asked him in a whisper.   Nicholas looked up at her and simply nodded in response. Today he would learn that he had the gift, the same gift his sister had. He would go to Skyfire and become a famous and powerful sage. He knew it.    Hand Jessup was already standing behind his podium at the altar within the small assembly hall. Behind him, mounted on the wall, was the image of the Scion’s Keystone. It was a triangle divided up into four smaller triangles, one green, one blue, one red, and one orange representing the four mana of air, water, fire, and earth respectively. They were caressed in the brilliant white hands of the Scion Ansonya.    “You walk alone from here son,” said Dad.    “Goddess Navita be with my son this day,” whimpered Mom. She was crying. “Don’t forget the responses we taught you Nicholas.”   “Mom, they’re not hard,” said Nicholas.    “It’ll be okay,” Teryn said, “Nicholas.” Hearing his sister say his full name calmed him. She let go his hand and patted his shoulder.    Nicholas walked down the aisle alone but he looked back to see everyone following him and filing into the pews.   “Kneel Nicholas,” said Hand Jessup when he reached the base of the altar. “Friends, family, guests,” spoke Hand Jessup to all, “today, we gather to bare witness to the divining moment of Nicholas Gardner’s life. Three millennia ago, Scion Ansonya blessed mankind with power over the elements air, water, fire, and earth. Always before these elements were the crux of our existence: the air we breathe, the water we drink, the fire that warms us, and the earth that provides for us. They are our life, our mind, our soul, and our body. Control outside ourselves of these elements is a blessed path that few are chosen to walk.” Hand Jessup turned his attention back to Nicholas. “If so blessed, would you Nicholas humbly and willingly walk this path?”   “I would, Hand of the Goddess Navita,” said Nicholas.    “Then I present you with this untainted mana crystal,” spoke Hand Jessup. He picked up a jeweled box and walked around his podium to the front of the altar and knelt down, opening the box. Inside, caressed by red silk, was a crystal just like Teryn’s except it was blacker than night. “Take it and learn your path Nicholas.”   This was it. This was his moment. Nicholas would take the crystal in hand and it would glow as brightly as the sun. He would be chosen to wield the gift. All of the sudden he didn’t want to take it and he didn’t want to know. He looked behind him and met his sister’s eyes. She nodded as if to say go on and the other members of the crowd seemed to follow her lead. He turned back and took the crystal in his hand.    Teryn had said for most people the crystal would fade to the color of mana they were attuned to. Dad said that during Teryn’s Crystalation the crystal brilliantly shined the color of earth mana. Nicholas’s crystal neither faded nor shined. It did nothing. In his hand still was a crystal the color of looking into a bottomless hole, and he was falling into it.    The crowd murmured their concerns and Nicholas heard his dad shout his sister’s name and suddenly he was wrapped up in her warm embrace. She was crying.   “What went wrong?” asked Nicholas, now crying too.    Hand Jessup stepped down from the altar and touched the crystal gripped in Nicholas’s hands. Still nothing happened. “The crystal is no longer receptive,” he muttered.    Teryn touched the crystal too and still nothing happened. Nicholas had been crystalated. “It’s okay Nicky,” said Teryn. “It’s okay Nicholas,” she repeated. She started petting his hair a she hugged him.    “What went wrong?” echoed Nicholas.    “The crystal indicates that you have no mana, Nicholas,” said Hand Jessup. Mom and Dad were with them now and Mom was crying either still or again.    “What do you mean he has no mana?” demanded Dad. “Everyone has at least some mana.” The pitch in Dad’s voice heightened. Nicholas thought he sounded almost afraid. “Right?”   “Well, I…” started Hand Jessup.   “It’s rare, but not unheard of,” interrupted Sage Gowan with Sage Stevens at his side. “Perhaps the price of Teryn’s power is the power of your other progeny, Mr. and Mrs. Gardner.” Sage Gowan turned his gaze on Nicholas. “Take care, little one,” he said. “Teryn, we’re leaving in an hour; we’ll be waiting on the eastern edge of town,” he said to Teryn and Sage Gowan turned and walked away and Sage Stevens followed looking amiss. Nicholas had never seen the look on Teryn’s face that she was wearing as she glared at Sage Gowan and it scared him. Everyone was scaring him.    Mom and Dad were crying and looking at him strangely. Hand Jessup turned away, collected the jewelry box, and exited through the door behind the altar to his study. The crowd was leaving and Marcus, holding one of Nicholas’s Eberhardti knights, was giving him a blank stare before being pulled along by his mother. And Teryn was hugging him as if afraid she might lose him.    “I’m sorry Nicholas,” she whispered to him. “I’m so sorry.”    She gathered her strength and sat up straight before him. “I haven’t given you your birthday present yet. I’ve been practicing a lot trying to live up to your ability.” Nicholas was now confused and it distracted him from his sadness. She pulled up her orange crystal necklace up from under her robes and placed it along side his own black crystal in his hands. She closed his hands around them and she cupped her hands around his. “But, I don’t think I will be able to do it without you,” she said. “I want you to picture us together, Nicholas, and I want you to focus on that image in your mind.” He did. His hands felt very tingly and he could feel the crystals change in his hands. “Open them,” she said while releasing his hands.  He opened them to find the crystals intertwined. The black one looked just like him and the orange one looked just like her. The carved Nicholas and Teryn were embraced as they were just a minute ago. “This is your gift,” she said. Nicholas couldn’t help but smile at that.