A minute passed, and then another. I could see the evaluators in the observation deck behind the window speaking with one another, several of them looking quite frazzled. Ori, appearing somewhat harassed, stood in the middle of a handful of other evaluators, all of whom were animatedly gesturing toward the arena with their flashlights. The lead proctor was ignoring the others, feverishly scribbling on the clipboard in front of him while several others compared notes beside him.
Just then the ceiling lights – save for the handful of charred, burnt-out lamps directly above the lightning rod – buzzed back on, along with the rest of the electricity. The dry, wary voice of Ben the Proctor crackled over the intercom.
“Final assessment, L-1, completed. Please stand by for aggregated assessment results.”
Unsure of what to do in the meantime, I stood waiting awkwardly in the Electromantic quadrant, my hands stuffed in my jacket. Feeling a buzz in my pocket, I fumbled around until I found the phone Aiden had given me. There was a new text message from him.
How did everything go? Care to share your substandard results? I hope they were mediocre at best!
About to get them now, I quickly answered. ‘Mediocre’ might be wishful thinking.
Aiden’s reply came practically half a second later…Meaning you did poorer than anticipated? That is what you meant, right?
Before I could send a clarifying response, the stone door on the Hydromantic quadrant’s back wall swung open at its nearly-invisible seam as the chattering evaluators piled out, one by one. I hurriedly shoved my phone back in my pocket and regarded them warily as they strode across to the center of the arena, where the five colored points of the triangles met. Eileen and one other female evaluator continued past the center to go peer inside the steel container in the Terramancy quadrant. She shook her head as she jogged over to rejoin the others, though the corners of her mouth were notably turned upward.
The expressions on the evaluators’ faces varied considerably, from concern and disapproval to amusement and disbelief. Several of them were regarding the broken lights in the ceiling above the yellow triangle, pointing and gesturing in hushed whispers to the shattered glass on the rubber ground below. Savannah’s face was indecipherable, though her arms were tightly crossed in front of her snug blouse. Ori stood slightly apart from the group, arms also crossed, pensively surveying the charred halide lamps above.
Without any further instruction or information from the lead evaluator advising me of the next steps, I did the only thing that seemed appropriate and approached the assembly of evaluators, tentatively stopping about five feet away. Dr. Stenson stood at the front of the group scrutinizing his clipboard. Up close, he was slightly older and thinner than I had realized. When he finally addressed me a few moments later, he was still looking down at his notes. His voice was rather soft and unimposing without his microphone. I took a step closer to hear him better.
“Miss, uh… Aspen. Before we read your individual results, we will provide a brief explanation of the Elementalist ranking system. Elementalist levels are universally determined throughout the Asterian Order and are summarized as follows—” He cleared his voice lightly. “Level One – The subject exhibits some insignificant and/or inconsistent effect on physical properties of favored Element such as form, shape, motion, or state; Level Two – the subject can consistently and substantially manipulate structure, movement, form, as well as alter the external physical state of the Element in limited capacity; Level Three, highest achievable level – subject is also able to perform state changes, meaningfully impact temperature and/or energy of Element, as well as directly manipulate molecular activity while exhibiting good control of Elemental fluxes, though the specifics vary by Element.”
At the very least, I thought to myself, my Auromantic results will be lower since I couldn’t even move the tree. And I definitely bombed the Electromantic segment. I doubt causing significant collateral damage to their property is going to win me any favor.
“Auromantic Assessment Results are as follows,” he recited from his clipboard drily. “Tests A-1 and A-2 demonstrate the subject’s ability to affect motion and direction of Wind, resulting in a clear passing score. While test A-3 was inconclusive within the testing arena, on Wednesday, April fifth of this year, the subject was detected, and later confirmed, to have produced Wind gusts with such velocity and dexterity that a rapidly-moving, runaway semi-truck, weighing approximately sixty to seventy-five thousand pounds, was halted and overturned on its side in the road.”
My eyebrows raised at that. Seventy-five thousand pounds? I marveled to myself. That can’t be right.
The proctor went on. “The evaluation team has therefore concluded that this act of displacement will count towards the third portion of the assessment. Furthermore, while prematurely and inadvertently enacted, test A-4 was also successfully completed, as the subject clearly demonstrated direct influence over air temperature; this too was considered with respect to the confounding variables that disrupted test A-3. Taking all of the results into account, the evaluation team therefore stipulates that the subject has satisfactorily earned the rank of Auromancer, Level Three.”
My chest tightened. Now that my adrenaline had worn off and my emotions were once again in check, I was able to register once more that this was not, in fact, a favorable result.
If they discover the full range of what you can do, the potential you have…
I forced myself back to the present situation as the lead evaluator brusquely continued on to the next section.
“Terramantic Assessment results: Tests T-1 and T-2 were omitted due to time constraints from the uncommon practice of administering three separate exams, given the subject’s prior detection and admission to performing substantial Terramantic activity last Thursday, the twelfth of April. Moving forward, assessment segment T-3 showed the subject’s note-worthy skill in relocating, as well as successfully redistributing, various layers of Earth despite no previous training.”
Standing just to the left of the lead evaluator, Eileen was beaming at me widely, giving a little wave as she did. I couldn’t help but return her smile. I did appreciate the fact that she had stepped in to help so graciously.
“And lastly,” the bespectacled man droned on from behind his clipboard, “Test T-4 showed superlative use of molecular excitation to successfully produce a state change in igneous rock. The evaluation team therefore determined that along with the honorable rank of Terramancer, Level Three, the subject will also receive the special distinction of placing in the top fifth percentile of Terramantic Elementalists.”
Savannah’s eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly, but when she caught my eye, she broke into a wide grin, flashing me an enthusiastic thumb’s up. I smiled tightly in her direction. The rest of the evaluators fell into polite applause.
Dr. Stenson adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose, pausing a moment for the clapping to subside. When the room was quiet again, he continued reading from his clipboard. The rest of the evaluators shifted slightly as he did.
“Electromantic Assessment results are as follows…” He cleared his throat, then: “Subject shows extraordinary ability in wielding the most unwieldly of Elements, demonstrating remarkable skill in controlling, enhancing, and manipulating electrical charges, as well as successfully guiding electrical arcs through a normally-nonconductive medium.”
A woman leaned over to whisper in Ori’s ear. He shook his head slightly.
“While the subject appeared to have lost control in the final moments of the exam, resulting in significant damage to surrounding light fixtures…” He gave me a pointed look.
Though I certainly felt no remorse, my face nonetheless flushed hot under the scrutinizing eyes of the evaluators. I looked at the ground in an attempt to avoid their eyes while also trying to appear apologetic.
Ben continued, “Her demonstration of potency and agility with Lightning has earned the subject the highly-coveted ranking of Electromancer, Level Three, making Aspen the only Polymancer in the world to achieve the highest-possible level in three separate Elemental categories, apart from the Magistrate himself.”
My head shot up in alarm. The entire team of evaluators broke into enthusiastic applause as several exchanged whispered words with one another. My stomach lodged itself in my throat.
Now you’ve done it.
Savannah was the first to approach me, her smile stretching from ear to ear.
“I am so proud of you, Aspen!” she said, taking me into a tight embrace. “I knew you’d blow those tests out of the water!”
Right after Savannah, a pretty Hispanic woman, perhaps in her early forties, approached me. Her dark hair was pulled into a tight bun at the nape of her neck. She wore a short-sleeved peach blouse, and when she reached out to take my hand, the tattoo on her forearm indicated she was a Level-Three Hydromancer.
“It’s very nice to meet you, Aspen,” she said formally. “My name is Jeanette. Yours was the most impressive display I have ever seen in this arena from a beginner Elementalist.” Her mauve-colored lips pulled into a wide smile, showing ultra-white teeth. “I am completely confident that your membership dues will be waived in their entirety… Congratulations,” she added, somewhat stiffly.
Eileen came up to me then, flashing me a huge, genuine smile. She was younger than I realized, perhaps in her late twenties, and had a thick streak of green dye at the front of her short, platinum blonde hair. “Aspen! You were just phenomenal! You have to come see me on Monday and Wednesday mornings for some training sessions!”
I was surrounded then by about two dozen instructors, out-of-town Chapter heads, and Elemental specialists, all of whom were enthusiastically congratulating me.
“I’ve never seen anything like it!”
“…incredible Electromantic display…”
“Level Three in all three Elements… Simply remarkable…”
Even the unsmiling proctor, who took a moment to formally introduce himself, shook my hand and offered a few stark words of praise. When Dr. Stenson walked away, Ori, the Electromantic specialist from Tel Aviv, approached me, gripping my hand tightly. I guessed he was somewhere in his early thirties, but his mischievously-twinkling eyes made him appear younger. He had removed his suit jacket and rolled up his shirt sleeves. I eyed the yellow tattoo, striking against his dark skin, curiously. It was the only Electromancy tattoo I’d seen. Ori noticed me staring and chuckled.
“Do you know it took me a solid minute to gain control of the lightning you produced? I would be embarrassed if I was not so impressed!” he laughed good-naturedly. Like Eileen, I couldn’t help but be fond of him as well.
He might not know, I reasoned with myself. He might have no idea about my past. Who knows who might be involved and who isn’t?
But there’s no way to tell, another voice in my head answered the first. I shook my head to clear them.
“I’m really sorry about that,” I offered a contrite smile to him. “I certainly didn’t mean to cause you any trouble.” Not you personally, at least.
Savannah stepped in then, putting her arm around me while laughing loudly. I stiffened as she did, though I did my best to keep my face relaxed.
“Aspen, I have half a mind to send you into the Hydromancy and Pyromancy arenas as well,” she said, her wide smile not quite reaching the corners of her eyes. “If you can perform there half as well as you did in the other three assessments, we’ll have the world’s first Pentamancer in over 300 years.” Her grip on my shoulder tightened slightly. I forced a laugh, praying it didn’t sound as unnatural as it felt.
“Oh, believe me, I’ve tried and tried,” I replied, making my voice sound light. “The most I can do with water is fill a bucket with my faucet, and if I attempted any part of the Pyromantic assessment, I’d probably get the Chapter’s first negative ranking.” That produced appreciative chortles from the group, including Savannah – though something about her sideways glance made me uneasy.
A very tall, stately man approached me then, with gray-streaked brown hair and a neatly-trimmed gray beard. His expensive slate-gray three-piece suit was custom-tailored and pressed. As he approached me with an unsmiling expression, he reminded me of a perfectly tailored rain cloud.
“Aspen, I’m Tom Richardson of the Security and Containment Division. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Oh, really?
“It’s a pleasure to put a face to your name.” He reached for my hand and I took his, fighting the urge to recoil. His hand was cool and rough.
“It’s very nice to meet you,” I said, carefully meeting his eye. Something about him made me anxious. I let go of his hand quickly, not wanting him to notice my sweaty palm.
“I’m sure we’ll see each other around, though certainly not because of further unauthorized Elemental use?” Tom winked as he said the words, but the tightness in my chest didn’t subside. I shook my head quickly and he chuckled.
“Savannah will get you a copy of the guidelines once she goes over the initiation schedule. Welcome to the Asterian Order, Aspen.” His face broke into a friendly smile, which was starkly juxtaposed by his cold, steel-gray eyes.
“Glad to be here, sir.” I replied tightly.
“Come, Aspen,” Savannah said brightly. “We have a lot to go over before your formal induction at the end of the month.”
As she ushered me away from the crowd of evaluators and out of the arena, nattering something about tattoos and initiations, I took one last look over my shoulder. The group of evaluators was still lingering in the center of the basement amphitheater, most everyone deep in enthusiastic discussion. Several inquisitive eyes followed me as I left, including Tom’s.
I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly very tight.