The bells of Elarion rang at dawn.
Their deep,echoing sound spread across the capital, announcing a day that every child feared and desired at the same time.
The Awakening day
Robin stood among the crowd, his thin cloak fluttering in the cold morning wind. Around him were boys and girls of his age 17 each one trying to look brave, through fear hid behind their eyes.
Today they would discover what kind of magic lived inside them.
Or weather they had any at all.
Robin swallowed hard.
"Don't mess this up," he muttered to himself.
He had heard the whispers all his life.
Weak.
Useless.
Born without talent.
In Elarion, magic was everything. Those with strong magic became knights, scholars, nobles even Kings. Those without it lived in shadows, forgotten by the world.
Robin had no noble blood. No powerful family. Only a sick mother waiting at home and a future that depended entirely on what would happen today.
At the centre of the grand square stood the Awakening crystal -a massive floating stone, blowing with shifting colors. Red for fire.Blue for water. Green for wind. Brown for Earth. And-
Robin quikly looked away.
Black.
Shadow.
Forbidden magic.
The Royal knights stood nearby, their silver armor shining under the sun. Their hands rested on their swords, eyes sharp and cold. Everyone knew why they were here.
Shadow magic was a curse.
A country ago, shadow mages had nearly destroyed The Kingdom. Since then, a single law ruled eilerion:
Any shadow mages must be executed immediately.
"Next!" a Mage shouted.
One by one, the youths stepped forward.
A boy touched the crystal. It glowed red.
"Fire affinity! Mid-grade !"
Cheers erupted.
A girl followed. Blue shimmered.
"Water affinity!"
More applause.
Robin's heart beat faster with every name called.
Finally-
"Robin vale."
Silence fell.
Hello felt hundreds of eyes on him as he stepped forward. His legs trembled, but he didn't stop. Slowed, he raised his hand toward the crystal.
Please, he prayed.
Any element... Just not shadow.
The moment his fingers touched the crystal,
The world seemed to freeze.
At first, nothing happened.
A few people laughed.
"Figures,"someone whispered.
Then-
The crystal pulsed.
Once.
Twice.
The colors vanished.
Darkness spread across its surface like living ink.
Black light exploded into the sky.
The square gasped.
"No..." The mage whispered, stumbling backward.
The royal knights moved instantly.
"S-shadow magic!" someone screammed.
Robin stranger as an overlapping called flooded his body. His vision blurred. He felt something ancient awaken Deep inside him silent-silent, vast, and terrifying.
The crystal cracked.
Black energy wrapped around his arm like chains.
"Seize him!" The knights commander raored."kill him before it spreads!"
Fear snapped Robin back to reality.
Kill?
He turned and run.
Shouts echoed behind him. Steel clashed. magic flared.
As Robin printed through the narrow streets, one thought Burned in his mind.
If I stop... I die.
Behind him, shadows stretched unnaturally long.
And they followed his comand.