The smell of sulfur and ashes immediately caught Xylus' attention. He slowly spun around, noticing the desolate wasteland spread across in all directions. It was flat for miles.

  "Welcome to the Elemental Realm. I hope you're ready to prove yourself, Xylus Silverfang." The Father smiled. Xylus turned his attention back to the Father and the others.

  "W-what–" Before he could even ask his question, he could hear something roaring. He slowly turned, feeling the ground beneath him shake. The ground erupted five fingers out of the ground, all caving in on him. He began to panic, trying to flee as the Father's voice cut in.

  "Stay calm, child." The Father told him. "This shall test your capabilities as a Shade. If this is true, it shall react to you. If it isn't, it shall crush you."

  "W-w-wait a minute!" Xylus stuttered, spinning around to find an opening. "It's gonna crush me if I'm not a Shade?!?"

  "What's the problem?" The Priestess asked. "You claim you're a Shade, so the Hand of the Elements shouldn't crush you." Xylus gulped and watched as the fingers all pointed at him.

  "I shall now begin." The Father declared. He raised his arms up, grabbing onto the cane. "I come before you, o gods, to ask for your aid. Enter the Hand of the Elements and show us your ways." The Father's cane started to grow into a white staff.

  "Xylus Silverfang stands at the palm. Waiting for his god to come forth and claim him. We call upon to you, o Gods, come forth and make it known to us who Xylus Silverfang belongs to." The Father continued. The group started to repeat the last sentence. Xylus could feel the Hand resonating. Energy began to pulse throughout the hand, creating five different colors. White, red, blue, green, and yellow pulsed, growing faster and faster as time continued.

  Xylus watched as it grew faster and faster and then nothing.

  [Emergency Quest Received: Hand of the Elements.]

  [The Order of Palia's Light tests you. Reveal your partnership with the God of Darkness by touching the Palm.]

  [Reward: 100 XP, 2 Ranking Points]

  'An emergency Quest? Did you do this?' Xylus thought.

  There was no response.

  "Nothing happened?" Amara spoke aloud.

  "I knew it! He's just a Dark Spawn!" The Priestess blurted out, pointing at him.

  "Hold on." The Father put his hand out. "It hasn't crushed him, yet."

  'Touch the palm…?' Xylus kneeled down onto the palm and slowly moved his hand just above the palm. He pushed his hand onto the Palm of the Hand of the Elements and listened as it started to hum. Black energy poured out of the palm.

  "By the gods!" Tyrian muttered, mouth agape.

  "It can't be true…" The Priestess shook her head.

  [Emergency Quest: Hand of the Elements has been completed.]

  Xylus Silverfang has leveled up!

  Current level has been raised from 1>2!

  Ranking Points: 4

  The Hand of the Elements grew completely black. Xylus lifted himself up and turned to face the somewhat blocked view of Palia's followed. The fingers started to extend, shifting to become flat as it began to lower.

  "That gives us our answer. He is not just a Dark Spawn." Tyrian broke the silence between the Order members. "What should we do next, Father?"

  "We shall do as we were told." The Father reminded the Order members. He waved his hand as the white ornate staff shrunk back to its original form. He clicked it into the ground three times and the Realm began to shift.

  Xylus watched as everything grew bright. The sulfur and ash smell instantly disappeared, replaced by the scent of the sea. The wind quietly whistled in Xylus' ear and the warmth of the sun greeted him.

  "Must we really take him back with us?" The Priestess asked, sourly. "Why? Why can't we just have him go on his own?"

  "Must I remind you, Priestess Lillian, we are following orders from the Order, itself. If Goddess Palia has degreed to do so then we must follow her orders. Do not let your personal history get the better of you." The Father reminded her.

  "Yes, Father. I am sorry for stepping out of line." The Priestess shrank back, taking a step backwards and lowering her head. The Father and everyone else turned their attention onto Xylus. He had seemingly zoned out of the conversation due to his habit of not being seen when situations like this occurred.

  He admired a growing weed flower on the floor, kneeling to greet it. Xylus smiled at the weed flower. The Father watched the boy, a Shade of the Dark God, play with a weed flower. Father was about to continue saying something when Gwendolyn and Sir Caldwell caught his attention, first.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  "You have returned so fast. Any luck?" The Father asked.

  "No, Father." Sir Caldwell shook his head. His eyes immediately went into the boy who was crab walking over to another weed flower. "They said it's made of an unknown metal and inscriptions they have not heard of before."

  "It's unknown even to them? Which blacksmith and enchanter did you go to?"

  "Caine & Zephyr Smithy and Westerfell Enchantments." Gwendolyn answered. She held the large dagger in he grand. "The best in this city."

  "We should get it analyzed in Myst Crevice then. The boy is coming with us. We will proceed as planned." The Father ordered. Sir Caldwell gave a surprised look and met Tyrian's eyes. Tyrian gave a small shush while shaking his head.

  "When do we leave then?" Sir Caldwell asked.

  "The sun is probably setting in Kor'al about now. We will arrive in darkness so we should give them a heads-up about Xylus joining us." Tyrian told them.

  "Amara, let the Temple know we are heading back soon." Father ordered.

  "Yes, Father." Amara bowed and stepped away. The Father turned his attention to Xylus, who had seemingly wandered a little farther.

  "If I were passing him by, I would assumed him to have some sort of affinity with the Earth." The Father commented.

  "I've noticed that too. He said goodbye to a plotted pant in the tower earlier." Tyrian whispered to the Father. The Father smiled.

  "Our fates may be intertwined with something else, but it doesn't mean we can't appreciate such beauties of the world. The gods gifts us with so much to see. It is only right we take time to appreciate the small things such as these weed flowers." The Order members all nodded.

  "Well, shall we prepare for the Circle?" Gwendolyn asked.

  "Yes." The Father nodded. He turned to Xylus and spoke loudly to the boy, "Come here, child. We are leaving soon." Xylus looked up and nodded. He stood up, waving a goodbye to each weed flower he had stared at and wandered back towards the Order.

  "Yes, Father." Xylus spoke.

  "Are you curious where we're going?" Gwendolyn asked.

  "Are you supposed to ask that, Templar?" Sir Caldwell asked. Gwendolyn ignored him and moved past him.

  "Mmm, probably to be trained correctly?" Xylus answered. The Order members were all shocked by this. They held their poker faces well but the boy had just correctly answered what they intended to do with him, next.

  "Why do you say that?" Gwendolyn asked. "What if we have more tests for you?"

  "Mmm, just a hunch." Xylus smiled. Gwendolyn could tell the boy was catching on. He was definitely wiser and smarter than his years.

  'This one will definitely cause trouble at the Academy in Myst Crevice…' Gwendolyn thought.

  "Come, let's go to the Circle. Amara must be done contacting the others by now." The Father ordered.

  The Father led the way out of the courtyard, going back into the large tower. Xylus was told to stay near the Father while the others followed behind and around him. Priestess Lillian ignored him, staying far away from him while Sir Caldwell quietly trailed behind the group.

  Father led the group past the stairs and moved straight to a door knocking three times before entering.

  "Ah, Father, has your business ended here?" A woman asked.

  "Yes, ma'am. We are ready to leave."

  "Alright, I guess the child is coming with you to Myst Crevice?" The woman asked, raising her eyebrow. The Father nodded as the others moved into the room, telling Xylus where to stand.

  "This is your first time using a Circle, right?" Gwendolyn asked Xylus. Xylus nodded. "Alright, a couple of rules. Don't try to leave the Circle while the spell is active. Don't horse around while you're in the Circle either. You could potentially endanger others into leaving and/or falling. This could harm both of you. You must stay in your spot. It's okay if you fidget a bit but don't take a walk, alright?"

  Xylus nodded.

  "Alright, is this everyone?" The woman asked.

  "Yes, I believe so." Tyrian answered after finishing his head count.

  "Alright, let the teleportation Circle commence!" The woman's eyes started to glow as she started to read off from the tablet in front of her. She raised her hands and started to make a circling motion. Light particles erupted all around Xylus as he watched in amazement.

  'Magic is so cool!' Xylus exclaimed to himself as he felt his body suddenly pull upwards into nothingness.