"Imbecile!" The shout resounded in the early morning air, the stone walls only contributing a cacophany of echoes to the otherwise silent hall. Before they could begin to fade away, new sounds joined them-first, of glass shattering, then, a slightly muted scream, which abruptly cut off.

There was a moment of silence. Then-"You."

I stepped forward, squaring my back to the broken window. A cool breeze brushed against my back, an eerie reminder of my predecessor's fate. The prince gave a slight huff, readjusted his garments, and walked away, with me following a step behind. A perfectly splendid way to begin my 18th birthday.

The rest of the morning passed by in a blur, helping the young lord prepare for the festivities that would begin the following day. Despite the amount of running involved: gathering suits, delivering and returning messages, fetching minor items-it was more tedious than strenuous; working in the fields since one could walk made putting some meat on the bones unavoidable.

At noon, he was released, all of the servants were, so that they could prepare themselves for the ceremony that evening-the coming of age ceremony. The most important event they would experience in their lifetime, where they brush with a spark of Magic.

"Vaxel!" His thoughts were interrupted by a sudden shout, nothing from the throng of people exiting the castle, but from a tree beside the path. When he looked, a girl was leaning against the tree, an impish grin on her face. "How long has it been since I've beaten you out of the castle? What happened to that luck of yours on such an important day?"

Despite the playful jab, there was a note of worry in her voice. His luck had helped him escape too many life-or-death situations to count, but it always seemed to be strangely absent when it came to preventing them from happening, so his family always worried. Plus, being forced to linger in the castle was never a good thing, as the graveyard behind the castle could attest to.

"I'm just saving my luck for tonight. If you use all yours winning races, you're going to end up with no magic at all." He aimed a flick at her forehead, but she batted his hand away before it could connect. He resumed walking down the path, and she joined him, the two of them trailing behind the throng. "And for your information, I was running late because I was running an errand for Belsus."

There was a sharp hiss of air next to him, both of sympathy and displeasure. "That explains things. At least you won't have to serve him for long, once you're off to the capital."

"Vaxel! Estrelia!" A familiar sound halted their conversation. A man stood in the middle of the path, muscled and broad from years of tireless work. His dark brown hair formed a majestic mane, framing the figure they called-

"Father!" Estrelia's shrill scream pierced the air, causing Vaxel and the man to wince. Not even half a second later, a hurricane blew past him, trampling their dad into the dirt. As abruptly as it came, it stopped, re-forming into his twin sister. Her hand shading her eyes, she twisted left and right, searching for the figure who now lay in a crumpled heap among the dust.

It twitched:

"Help ..."

"Daddy?" The hurricane returned, stronger than before, crushing the figure once more.

"Me ..."

"Daddy?"

Vaxel sighed, then let out a chuckle. Strong as he may be, their father was getting older. Streaks of gray were beginning to show in his hair, and he had been getting run over like this more recently. Although, to be fair, Estrelia was just as strong, if not stronger than their dad at this point, despite her skinny frame.

He helped his dad stagger to his feet, calmed down the raging storm of energy, and led the group back to the house to eat.

After they ate lunch, it was time for the vigil-when everyone participating in the ceremony would sit and contemplate their future inside a room, soundproofed with magic. Even before he was ushered into the room however, it was dead silent, the people of the town all staring at the participants in a silent vigil of their own. Their faces were masked in some kind of emotion-sadness, perhaps-that he could not quite recognize. Then the door closed, and he was alone in the darkness.

From the moment it closed, his mind was a storm of thoughts, each conflicting with the one before it. What kind of power would he gain? There was so much variety that even after hundreds of years no one could figure out them all. If he got a new one that was unknown, how would he know how to efficiently make use of his class?

Then again, gaining a class wasn't a guarantee of unlimited power. Sometimes people got skills that made crops grow faster, or made them immune to disease. Useful, for sure, but not life-changing. On the other hand, some people got truly incredible powers, such as manipulating elements.

What would getting his power be like? The most he had ever heard a description for it was 'electrifying'. There was no specific term that really described it. Would it hurt?

Before he knew it, the time had come for him to exit. The door opened with a comparable torrent of sound, assaulting his ears. Yet the assembled crowd was still as silent as ever. The courtyard was decorated with lanterns, held aloft by a rare gravitic mage, hired especially for the occasion, and streamers bedecking every turret of the castle, but the true centerpiece was a floating black crystal, about 10 feet tall. Normally, to obtain a shard of such size, one would have to pay many generations' worth of fortunes, but the Riveners had managed to acquire it by saving the royal family from an ambush. People from all over the continent came to their territory to awaken here, as the bigger the shard, the more magic it contained-and therefore a bigger chance for a better class.

A tall, thin man walked to a podium next to the crystal, his voice ringing clear, yet quiet, in the courtyard. A sigil upon his chest marked him as a herald, known for their excellent ability to speak to large crowds. "When your name is called, step towards the Shard and place your hand upon it. Once you have received your class, retake your place in line." He paused for a moment, before continuing, "Aria Redalf." A girl, shaking badly with nerves, walked up and stretched her hand towards the crystal. After a moment, she recoiled her hand, as if badly burned. She then slowly walked back into place in line.

As the herald continued down the line of participants, Vaxel caught a movement out of the corner of his eye. It was Belsus, beckoning him closer. He obediently stepped toward him, leaving the line. Ceremony or not, the prince came first. "Yes, sir?"

"I'm positively parched. If you could fetch me a draught of water? Vaxel paled for a moment, then regained his composure. Even for Belsus, going all the way to the kitchens during a ceremony was a bit much. "I'll have someone notify the herald, there's no need to worry."

"Very well." Vaxel rushed off towards the castle, ready to complete his mission.

When Vaxel reached the kitchens, he was expecting an orderly, organized space, not a hurricane of mess. Standing in the middle of it, the perpetrators of it all, Belsus's younger brothers, Vider and Letus. They had probably snuck off at some point because the ceremony was boring to them.

"What are you two doing? Don't you two get enough food already?" Vaxel asked as he picked his way across the floor.

"But dad said we would get a special type of food!" Vider replied.

"A yummy food!" Letus supplied, despite receiving a quick glare from his brother.

"And what kind of food was that?" Vaxel reached into the cupboards, spared from the boys' messy creation, and pulled out the cleanest glass he could find. Then he put it under the faucet and began to fill it up.

"I don't remember ..." Letus said, followed by yet another glare from Vider. 

"It was Human, you dolt." Vider gave Letus a small slap. "Don't mind him, he's just an idiot." Vaxel  froze, the glass beginning to overflow in his hand. After a moment, Letus looked up at him.

"Are you okay?" Immediately following was another slap by Vider, harder this time.

"They're the servants, Letus. They're always okay. Stop asking such idiotic questions."

"Sorry ..." Letus said, not truly looking the part.

Vaxel hurriedly left the room without looking back, the glass shaking violently in his hand, water breaching the edges. By the time he got back to Belsus, his hand was soaked, and the glass was only half-full. Luckily for him, Belsus didn't notice, and he quaffed it down without difficulty.

"Ah, that was refreshing. Truly, you are one of the best servants I've had yet." Then, Belsus noticed Vaxel's quivering. "You're nervous, I presume?" Vaxel could barely make out a nod. "Don't worry, it'll all be over soon." Belsus gave him a friendly smile, warm as the sun. But all Vaxel could see was a wolf, teeth poised to devour.