Logan and his mother were standing in front of the memorial stones, but unlike always, it was filled with chattering, and people looked happier and excited compared to yesterday.
Today was the awakening ceremony. Many people were waiting patiently for the Chief and Elders.
The Chief rarely appeared in the village after his battle with the lightning gale wolves.
Logan heard that he was mortally wounded in the battle with the king of the wolf pack, but knowing that he would attend the ceremony himself, it appeared to be just a rumour.
There was even a rumour that he had a daughter who would participate this year in the awakening ceremony.
''Who knows! If it's just one of the countless rumours,'' Logan sighed, thinking that powerful people sure got so many rumours going around themselves.
He heard a commotion back in the circle that had been formed around the area.
"Chief and Elders are here!" He heard people shouting, as he saw them making a path for a tall and handsome man wearing black leather armour with white wolf fur around his neck. His brown, long hair reached his waist, and his sharp black eyes were calm like that of a lake surface.
He was carrying a massive spear on his back. With just a glance, Logan could say that he was the Chief and the strongest warrior in the village, or debatably in the whole Dark Forest.
He saw four men clad in white leather armour following the Chief. They were the Elders, the strongest warriors after the Chief. They too carried a sense of oppression and an air of authority around them, but compared to the Chief, they looked quite ordinary.
"Everyone sit down! We are starting the awakening ceremony. If you hear your name from Elder Han, come near the jade stone and touch it with your forehead."
" If you are talented and fated, you will be able to awaken an elemental spirit…."
"And if not, then just accept your fate and move on," the Chief said as he looked around at the people, especially those excited teenagers who were going to participate in the ceremony.
The excitement from the faces of a few kids faded as they heard the harsh truth about the awakening—that not everyone could become a spiritmancer. Only those with great talent and luck could awaken a spirit.
Even Logan tensed a little bit. He too wanted to awaken a spirit, but knowing his weak physique, he didn't have that much confidence.
"Don't worry, son. You will be just fine!" his mother calmed him down as she patted his shoulder.
If ten out of a hundred people could awaken a spirit, it would be considered a pretty talented generation.
"It is the truth that only a few of you can awaken a spirit, but that doesn't matter. If you fail to awaken a spirit, you can train in martial arts or become a hunter and provide the village with resources," he continued, and sat on the stone chair below the memorial stones.
The Elders nodded in unison, except Elder Han.
Who was sitting leisurely on the ground, looked frustrated at first, and finally, after a long pause, he moved and took out a black stone with strange white patterns from a box.
It was the jade stone.
Logan had never seen a stone this strange. It felt almost alive and divine. The white patterns were moving around the black stone as if they wanted to break free from it.
"Quinn, son of Hawk!" The awakening had started as he heard Elder Han calling people one by one.
A boy reached the jade stone as he looked at it with nervousness, his green eyes filled with ambition and fear.
"Bow to the memorial stones and lay your forehead on the jade stone," Elder Han explained the process slowly.
Quinn did as he was told by the Elder. He kneeled and placed his forehead on the jade stone.
Logan saw a green light shining above his head as he was still in a bowing position.
After some time, Quinn opened his eyes and stood up, looking in front of the people, a ball of green light dancing around him.
"Congratulations! You have awakened a wind spirit," Elder Han said in an excited tone.
"To think the first participant would awaken a wind spirit—go and sit in your original place," Elder Han said, patting the boy's back.
There were some tears in his eyes. Quinn hugged his parents and came back to his original position and became quiet again, but his face was brimming with joy and happiness.
Wind spirit was one of the rare spirit types one could awaken, while earth spirit was the most common awakened spirit.
Adlar, son of Beckman!
Failed in awakening…
Asher, son of Addam!
Congratulations! You have awakened an earth spirit.
Hannah, daughter of Zura!
Congratulations! You have awakened a wind spirit.
Another wind spirit user. A smile appeared on the faces of the Elders, but the Chief remained unaffected.
Zanna, daughter of Hyena!
Failed…
Leo, son of Black!
Failed…
…
Logan was silently waiting for his name to be called, but seeing how few people had awakened among the hundreds of participants, his hope was at its lowest. He just sighed and took a big breath.
The awakening ceremony continued as Elder Han kept shouting names of people he had never heard of.
"Ares, son of Ragnar!"
Elder Han shouted as a young man with white hair and blue eyes moved and reached the jade stone.
"Isn't he the orphan the Chief took in years ago?" a man whispered.
"Do you know him?" another man asked.
"No! But I heard his tribe was destroyed seven years ago. Fortunately, the village Chief was passing through the tribe's area, and he saved this poor kid," the man answered, making a few people sad, while most remained unaffected by the tragic tale.
Logan looked at Ares. "He sure looks somewhat different, his blue eyes and white hair, unlike anyone in Stonewall Village," Logan sighed, as he himself was a kind of exception.
His crimson eyes! He had never seen anyone with the same eyes either.
He discarded his useless thoughts, seeing Ares kneeling down at the jade stone. A purple light shone brightly over his head, buzzing as arcs of purple strings revolved around the ball of light.
"A purple light! What is that? What type of spirit did he awaken?'' People grew curious as they had never seen a purple light during anyone's awakening ceremony.
Logan saw excitement appear on the Chief's face as his lips reached his ears.
"Congratulations! You have awakened a lightning spirit," Elder Han shouted. His voice carried an excitement that one would find in a man who had just become a father!
A lightning spirit?
There were earth, water, wind, and fire spirits—but a lightning spirit? Logan had never heard of it.
Ares's blue eyes had become purple after awakening the lightning sprite, the purple ball of light buzzing around him like a bumblebee.