"Hey, Ethani."
Ethani looked up from the mound he was preparing with his hoe to see a friend of his smiling awkwardly down at him.
"Rese! What're you doing here? Don't you have your apprenticeship with the baker?"
Rese shrugged and looked away. "I had something to deliver here."
As usual, the smell of freshly baked bread wafted from him, making Ethani's hunger spike.
The silence stretched thin between them, and Ethani raced to find something, anything to say.
Why did it feel strange talking to him? They'd been friends for a long time and had grown up together. But now, it was like there was an invisible wall.
Now that he thought of it, when was the last time they had really spoken? For a few months now, he had always been busy with one thing or another.
Ever since the test.
And Ethani had focused on his work, trying to ignore both the stares from the people around him and what he had seen...
##
It was early morning at the yellow church just outside of town. Normally, some worshippers would already have gathered for morning mass, but they were absent today.
The people present, however, more than made up for them. A gaggle of youth, both male and female, clustered in the little yard away from the church doors.
Excitedly chattering, whispers flew back and forth.
"What do you think it looks like?"
"Maybe it glows, like fireflies."
"I heard it was a sphere."
"No way, it has to look like a regular rock."
"Vivain loved purity, didn't She? Of course, it has to be white."
"Just shut up, all of you! The devotee's about to come out."
CREAAAK
The church doors opened to reveal Devotee Carrice, dressed in right yellow robes with the visage of a woman embroidered on its chest.
Instantly, everyone grew quiet. No one dared even to cough.
"Praise Vivain, full of mercy!"
The devotee let out a solemn cry and raised two fingers to his lips, then placed them on his forehead.
The youth followed suit, collectively responding.
"Hail Vivain, savior of us all."
Devotee Carrice began to mutter in a strange guttural tongue, using the back of his throat to project his words.
"Disda repases remon, ader hier tyine. Porpaser demonda kerh, aler Vivain!"
He repeated the same phrase, over and over again. His voice rose in pitch every time, until he was practically screeching.
The adolescents stood still, their heads bowed and their hands clasped in silent prayer, until the devotee uttered the final word.
Then they repeated the motion, touching their lips, then their forehead, and lastly, they ran those same two fingers along their hair.
"Welcome, my children. Today is a momentous day, for you will learn of the position Vivain has determined for your life. Take pride in it, whether small or large, for you are as important as a king or an emperor."
"In the Book of Vivain chapter 40, She banished Fear into the Abyss. You must all know this, but it is widely considered the most important part of Her word."
"Do you know why that is? No? Well, listen closely.
"From verse 10 to verse 13, it is written..."
With Her hands of light and throat of gold, She destroyed the Chain of Binding and the Parasite of Mind. Fear could no longer drag humanity into the abyss with him.
It was bitter, and cursed Vivain with every second that passed, even as it was drawn into the void.
But She said nothing. There was nothing She could say. Even now, She still had mercy for Fear. How could She not?
It was merely a beast, a slave to its instincts, an animal to be felled.
Devotee Carrice beamed a wide smile at his congregation.
"If She is so merciful towards the most vile, disgusting creature, how much more would She be towards Her own people?"
"So rejoice and be glad on this day, for you are experiencing her mercy firsthand!"
He stretched his arms outwards, as if embracing the crowd.
"Bring out the blessed mineral!"
A hooded figure in similarly-colored robes walked out from behind Carrice. In their hands was a small box, and once he stood alongside the devotee, he opened it to reveal...
A bar of metal.
It was simply a dull metal bar.
A wave of murmurs spread out across the youths, but they were quickly silenced once Carrice raised his hand.
"I will call you all one by one, and you will place your hand on the bar. You may feel strength leaving your body, but do not be alarmed."
"Once you start to feel weak, you must let me know. That will be the end of your test, and I will tell you your Threshold."
"Is that understood?"
Rows of heads nodded, and some voices called out yes.
"Wonderful then. Let's begin." Carrice pulled out a rolled-up piece of parchment from his pocket, opened it up, and began to call out names.
One by one, someone made their way to the hooded man and placed their hand on the stone. Like they had been pricked, they all jumped before settling down.
Person after person came forth, only to last a few seconds. And as each person walked back, the devotee would call out:
"Sixth Threshold!"
Of course, that was until a well-built young man with black hair and a distinctive scar beneath his left eye made his way up.
He looked nervous, reaching out gingerly like he was approaching a snake. But once his hand touched it, his posture changed.
His eyes widened, his jaw slackened, and his shoulders relaxed. It was like he was in a trance, like he was seeing something they couldn't, feeling something that didn't exist for them.
Carrice was calm for the first ten seconds, then his brows furrowed by the thirty-second mark, and by one full minute, he was shaking.
His voice was quiet, his face as pale as a ghost's.
And his words were a revelation that sent the crowd into a frenzy.
"...First Threshold."