Chapter 4:The Awakening Ceremony.

The morning sun arrived to meet Lith wide awake on his bed. Lith got up very early that morning; actually, he couldn't sleep at all. A week has passed since Vorden awakened. Lith was yet to awaken but he didn't expect it to come that early. Through out the week, Vorden has been able to stabilize his artflow. Vorden was one step from either creating a spell or gaining a skill compatible with his god-art. It was a common thing for a guda to create his or her own spell after awakening or gain a common skill related to the god-art. Vorden managed to gain four abilities;a common skill and an innate spell for both the Shadow and Transfiguration arts which he kept it a secret from his family.

Today was the day of awakening for most young people all over Gassendi. Lith had been very nervous starting from the other day till today. He was imagining all kinds of things he will be doing with his first art. "Big bro is already close to gaining a skill. If I awaken, he definitely help me stabilize my artflow."he couldn't wait to awaken his first god-art. After five minutes of silly thinking, Lith got up from his bed and exited his bedroom. He went straight to Vorden's room to wake him up.

Vorden was sleeping like a bear in hibernation mode. He had overworked himself when he cultivating. He had broken through to second stage of artflow accumulation which granted him the two common skills and the two innate spells for his god-arts. The reason for this is that he had two god-arts and the star in his Spirit Realm had a mystery that even Lord Gorack of the Yages couldn't understand.

Lith had to spank with a flame bamboo for thirty minutes before he woke up. Infact, being a guda isn't simple. Vorden actually meditated in his sleep;a skill his father helped him master. Because of that his body was already awake but his Spirit was still cultivating in the Spirit Realm. Even with all that,he couldn't get enough sleep.

"Mmmmmmm....Liiiiithhh, let me sleep a little...mmm.I'm sooo tired."Vorden said sleepily.

" You've been asleep for 10 hours already. You didn't even eat supper yesterday and you still want to sleep."Lith said mockingly.

"I broke through to stage 2 of the artflow accumulation and gained some skills. I should be tired."Vorden said with a grim face. He was really tired.

They continued on like this; Vorden trying to sleep and Lith preventing him for almost an hour until their mother came to scold them and commanded them to prepare for the journey to Zandris. They were to have the Awakening Ceremony at the city square in Zandris.

After taking their baths, they packed up some clothes and dressed up for the journey. Vorden wore a white cardigan on a black T-shirt with a pair of black jeans and black and white leather boots.

Lith also wore a red cardigan on a white T-shirt, yellow jeans and black boots. Lith combed his hair and put on his circle gold rimmed transparent glasses. Vorden of course tried to comb his hair but as usual,not even a strand of hair fell flat.

They ate their breakfast and headed out for the capital, Zandris. The Awakening Ceremony was to take place in the Great Hall located at the center of Zandris, that is, the city square. The reason for their packing was that,they would likely be staying in Zandris for about four days. The awakening could take about three days for all the to-be-gudas to awaken their god-arts. They also had to enjoy a little when they were there and also wait for Lith to stabilize his artflow accumulation.

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Zandris was a three mile journey from Hadzou. They hopped into the Toyota Tacoma of Davies. Davies kicked the engine start and they were on their way to the capital. In the car, they talked about the variety of god-arts Lith could awaken. There were even cases of people who failed to awaken but it was very rare. At the raise of this topic,Lith started feeling even more nervous,"what if I don't awaken?"

Davies noticed Lith's anxiousness and assured him that it hasn't happened for a century and never even their era. Lith felt a little more relaxed after the assurance from his father.

This was going to be their 8th journey to Zandris but it looked like the first for Lith.

PS: Even though the story sounds like the modern world,there are somethings which do not depict modern world but most of the medieval times. So don't feel suprised if you see these things. I'm trying to create my own story world.

They passed creeks, springs and mud traps. They passed pine grooves,tall buildings, mostly used by big businesses or the renowned clans and some huge mountains called the dragon cliffs. The road was smooth and easy to drive on. There were cases where once or twice, they saw people on delomaurs; earth type horses. They had brown fur the color of the earth with spots indicating the category of earth they were compatible with. Others had them pull huge carts or carriages. These animals were not your average animals,they were known as Dext beasts. The delomaurs we're as tall as full grown camels with long shiny manes and huge pupiless,blue black eyes.

After some couple of hours,they finally crossed the Great Fusion Gates of Zandris. The reason for their quick arrival was that,the vehicle they were in was powered by a beast crystal which was referred to as the engine and looking at the kind of car,it was a high level beast, mainly Fexa Class Dext beast.

History has made it known that, the gates were created as a result of the Bersk demons constantly attacking Zandris. This led to the fusion of the Earth and Plant arts of two Supreme level gudas to create the gates. The fusion managed to make the gates immune to Fire, Lightning, Devastation and Water arts even at the Ultium level. Other god-arts apart from these could only do a handful of damage if they are at the Colossal level.

As they passed the gates, they saw guards in full armor standing on the walls beside the gates. Some were in red, others in white. The ones in white were very few, about 4 while the ones in red were many as they were seen everywhere including the gates.

"Sir, please are you here for the Awakening Ceremony?" a guard in red armor asked Davies politely. He was a Warrior,one of the divisions in Knighthood.

"Yes. can you direct us to the registration area?" Davies also replied politely.

The guard directed them towards a cabin-like building,white in color with delicate black and red designs near the large,three storey Hunters guild building. As they neared the building, Davies requested Gamora to rent an apartment for them whiles he goes on to register Lith for the Awakening Ceremony and also place Lith and Vorden's names in the Alpa list. They got to a car park just near the building. There was a sign on the building which read, Registration Center For Awakening And Alpa(Alpa Forms Available). They got down and split up, Gamora heading towards a cluster of two storey buildings with a cabin in front which looked like the reception and Davies with the boys, headed towards the Registration Center. Once they entered,they were greeted with an amazing, breathtaking sight. The walls of the building were designed with pictures of Marcea and images of different awakenings. Just looking for them,one could see and understand what exactly happened in those memorials like a video was being played on the screens. The ceiling was made with polished,Brightwood:a kind of timber-like wood found in the Pine grooves near the Facu Cliffs. The were delicate patterns of dragons, galaxies and people, basically the forefathers of the land. The floors were lined up with tiles,so shiny and clear that one could see their image in it. The walls were painted white. There were cushioned benches placed on the sides of the walls. On the outside, the building looked small compared to a normal cabin but on the inside,the bus was so much spacious than one could imagine. Vorden and Lith were shocked to see such space. "That is the work of the skill Space Compartment of the Space art." Davies replied upon seeing the faces of his sons. They duo nodded their heads in unison, showing that they understood their father's words.

Davies beckoned them to take the lead towards a long desk made of Birchwood. There was huge framework of a detailed Spirit Realm behind the counter. There were two ladies behind the desk; basically the registrars. There were many people there, about a hundred including the trio. Most of them seemed to be done with the Awakening registration and were on the other side signing up for the Alpa forms. As they approached the counter,the people couldn't help but stare at the trio. They were too eye catching. The father was very handsome and the two boys, their handsomeness was just out of the world. In the eyes of the young girls,the old one which was basically Vorden of course looked devilishly handsome with his deep blue eyes and winter grey messy hair whiles the younger one,Lith looked so handsomely cute with that long,dirty blonde hair and tiger brown eyes. Who on earth could be this beautiful. The father wasn't bad either. As they slowly making their way to the counter,they heard a delicate, soothing voice which could remove all your worries. They turned around to see a beautiful woman, skin like jade,long blonde hair,an hourglass figure making her way up to them. The men around felt their noses running and the heartbeats accelerating. That was an actual angel.

"Honey,you finished pretty quick." Davies said to Gamora once she was in range with slight suprised tone.

"It seems you catching everyone's attention" Gamora replied, giving Davies a kiss on the lips and beckoning them to continue their ascent towards the counter.

The men looked at the family of four with wide eyes whiles the young ladies looked with jaw dropping gazes at the four people. Everyone in the family was beautiful beyond their imagination. Some even started to daydream about being married to either of the two boys, living under the same roof with that angel and handsome beast of a man. Some couldn't help but giggle uncontrollably trying to draw the attention of the four-man family. Vorden obviously ignored whiles Lith went on smiling like a devil amidst the gazes of the people making some of the girls get nosebleeds.

Finally, they got to counter and were just behind the last person. As the person finished,they got to see the person more closely. A young lady about 20 years was seated on a chair with a kind of records book in front of her. Her petite,curvy figure made too cute and smallish for her age. Vorden could feel his body heating by just looking at her. The mature temperament around her made her beauty too mysterious. She had a professional smile plastered on her face.

"Sir. Please you are welcome to Marcea's Awakening Registration Center. How could I be of help to you?"she asked in a little,birdy voice.

" I am here to sign up for the registration for my son, here"Davies replied pointing to Lith.

"Name please"

" Lithium Brimstone"

" What about the other one,sir?" the petite lady asked with a bit of curiosity.

" Oh. He's a Pro-guda so he won't be taking part" Davies answered casually.

"Name please"she asked for Vorden's name as she took out another book with a green cover. There were less names as compared to the other book.

"Vorden Brimstone" Davies replied.

"Thanks sir. Please head to the square tommorow around 9:30 in the morning. Your awakening is scheduled for tomorrow." she told them whiles handing a crest to Vorden. She told them that,all Pro-gudas were readily accepted at Alpa Institute without filling out forms.

They went over to next lady and filled out the forms for Lith's admission to Alpa. The young girls and boys looked at Vorden with admiration as it was their first time seeing an actual Pro-guda. To tell you the truth,the aura emanating from Vorden was of an already awakened who did not lack in cultivation experience.

As they exited the registration center and headed for their apartment on the third second floor, Vorden couldn't help but wonder at the intricate patterns on the crest. There was a delicately designed letter A with five other symbols around it. One was a crescent, whiles the others were respectively;a sun,an eagle,a fist and hammer hitting metal. They were all in silver color whiles the crest itself was a kind of gold color including the letter A.

After about 30 minutes,they got to their apartment. The door to the apartment was made with polished Brightwood with a gold handle. Gamora opened the door and they saw another masterpiece of architecture. The ceiling was made of tiled Brightwood and the center where the chandelier like bulb hung,was designed with some white colored wood in a star figure. Just by looking up at the star,one would find themselves being drawn into it. It was so beautiful. The apartment had five rooms;a living room, two bedrooms,a kitchen and a dining room. The bathrooms were part of the bedrooms. There were sculptures and artworks of prehistoric beasts,mysticals, some of which Vorden has never seen before,races and the founders of Gassendi. They all had detailed descriptions on them. There were cushioned sofas placed in a orderly manner in the room with a small glass table in the middle. There were also ACs placed on the walls of the room giving the room a chilly but comfortable demeanor. There was a big plasma TV set on the far left side of the living room wall. The curtains in the room were swaying happily like a woman dancing in the moonlight. It was infact one of the best things they've seen since coming to Zandris. They settled down and went with their "works". In the evening, during supper, Vorden shocked the family with his cultivation news.

"Errm,dad. I happened to gain some skills and innate spells for my god-arts. For the Shadow art, I got something called Shadow Steps which is a skill and the innate, I named it Shadow Acyrve(archive). The Transfiguration art,I got something called Scream Of Chorine which is a skill and the innate is

Angelic Descent. So in all,I got four skills and the wisps that would later form my bloodline have started growing longer and thicker." Vorden told them.

Lith was completely dumbfounded. Gamora was on the verge of tears and Davies,was way beyond suprised. His eyes were nearly out of their sockets and jaw was so dropped to the extent that,the dinning table could fit in. This was way beyond their imagination.

"That.....is..... great. This... is wayyy beyond my..... understanding. Keep on the good work." Davies struggled to speak.

" Bro. I'm angry at you. Why didn't you wait for me. But still I will catch up. I hope to achieve great skills like yours."Lith said in an angry but happy tone.

" I....I.....I. Huh. I don't even know what to say." Gamora was lost for words. This was too much to take in. So that was the strength of a Pro-guda. Even Davies who was also a Pro-guda was shocked beyond redemption.

After some few minutes of complete silence, Gamora finally spoke.

"Vorden, you did well. Those are some strong skills you got up your sleeves but there is one problem, your god-arts."

She didn't wait for Vorden to ask why and continued, cutting him short,"You will have to keep one a secret and cultivate it secretly. If anyone finds out about your double arts,you might be in grave danger. You will definitely be targeted by the top sects, renowned clans, great families or the Royals. What I am saying is,some of them would try to recruit you whiles others will try by all means necessary to erase you from the face of the Earth as you may be a great threat to them in the future. You must work very hard to get stronger to make good use of that blessing of yours. I mean the ability to awaken two god-arts,you are the first person I know to possess that innate talent. I will be very happy to see you get stronger so that you can help your brother in the future. Vorden Brimstone, I put my trust and hope in you." Gamora said, with emotion.

Vorden was very moved by what his mother told him and he vowed that he will do as she wants. After supper, they watched a little bit of TV and went to bed as they had a big day ahead of them.

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The Awakening Ceremony

"The Great King Raphah,Lords,Gudas and Non-gudas, Ladies and Gentlemen, to-be-gudas,I welcome you to the great, fascinating,mind blowing, awesome Awakening Ceremony of Zandris and Marcea as a whole. You all know of the war between the gods and the demons which we the humans have been involved. The demons show no sign of backing down and so we are constantly blessed by the gods so that our young ones can also awaken their god-arts and help in battle against the demons. The gods granted us these powers so we won't be inferior to these demons. There has been prophecies of a new set of Chosen and today,the Legendary Yages have confirmed it. We hope to meet them very soon and there's a high possibility that they may come out of this generation. Let's leave it to the future. Let the awakening begin." Pius Breve, The Human Trumpet announced.

There were cheers and applauses as the people were ready to welcome the newly awakened.

Pius was a Sound guda,the only Sound guda on the kingdom. Even though he didn't have a twin,he happened to one of the special cases who awakened a twin art. The twin arts were known to be only awakened by twins and so was very rare but in extremely rare cases,a person can awaken one of the twin arts. For instance, Sound art was compatible with Music art.

"Hurry up we are almost there". The Brimestones ran like hell to get to the amphitheatre. They were scheduled for the morning and the ceremony started 3 minutes before they realised they were late. Their only advantage was that,the apartment was close to amphitheatre.

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"Maurie Caurwell" Pius called out.

The girl called Maurie Caurwell walked into the stage, trembling. The stage looked like it was afloat. The stairs that ligned up to the stage were all floating. In the middle was a transparent, glowing orb. It was previously floating at hand level but as the azure haired girl got onto the stage,it changed its position and floated stop the girl. Maurie was the twentieth person so far. She wore a knee length phoenix-feather dress and white stockings. The dress was a bit tight, displaying her alluring curves. She was a beauty. She had blue eyes and pink lips. Her hair was made in a bob style.

As she stood there,a blinding light enshrouded her. The light slowly dimmed and shined again this time, blue in color with a chilly aura. Maurie was even covered in frost as she stood there, dumbfounded.

"Ice art" Pius brought her out of her shock.

Pius called two other to-be-awakened,Blaize Roski,a short, chubby boy with brown combed hair and Slenzius Slyther,a tall, extremely slim boy, with white skin. He had a greasy white hair. Blaize awakened the Earth art and Slenzius awakened the Poison art.

"Lithium Brimstone... Lithium Brimstone" Pius called out. There was murmur everywhere. "Who is this Lithium Brimstone?

Some started pointing at a figure far away from the stage. As it got closer,the people could see an extremely handsome boy with dirty blonde hair tied in a ponytail with two fringes. Finally he got to the stage and stopped to catch his breath.

"It looks like we have a late comer." Pius said. "Are you Lithium Brimstone?

Lith responded by nodding his head.

" Get onto the stage"

Lith ascended the stairs to the stage. He looked at the floating orb which would determine his destiny and couldn't help but sigh.

The ball as usual, took its original position,atop a person. The same thing happened but the color this time changed into pale red with a burning aura.

"Fire art." Pius said.

Lith has awakened.

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Lith was happy beyond cloud nine. He had seen something no one has seen when he awakened;a small star and a gold colored fire. The family got home and made preparations in advance for their children who would be leaving for Alpa Institute in two months time.

Meanwhile,in the other kingdoms,young people were also awakening.

An elf with white plaited hair had awakened. She had the star. A tall muscular boy with blonde crew cut,had also awakened as a Pro-guda with the strange star. A fairy princess with blue hair,A lady noble with long black wavy hair,two red haired vampires;boy with fiery red, undercut hair and girl with fiery red pigtails, a green haired dwarf,they had all seen the stars.

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After the awakening,the Brimestones went back home,where Vorden and Lith cultivated to get stronger.

After two months,the time was up for them to attend Alpa. This where their lives start over.