Tower of Souls

”Today is the first day of your lives as adults.” The Representative spoke calmly into the silence, his voice deep and soothing. ”Some of you may be blessed by the Light of the Tower, Awakening a Class, and joining those that climb its heights...”

”But even if you do not, today is the day that you take your place among the citizens of Foundation City. It is the duty of all citizens to support and protect our great city, to do their parts in pushing towards a better and brighter future...”

Cameron tuned out the speech, having heard it several times before; it was the standard speech given at every Awakening Ceremony, reminding everyone of their duty... and extolling how great the city was, and how wise the Council, and how fortunate they were to be there...

But, with pain throbbing in his chest and arm, Cameron didn’t feel particularly fortunate- though he was at least alive... at this point, he wasn’t sure if that was fortunate or not...

The speech seemed to drag on for hours, though it was likely only minutes. But, eventually, the Representative- apparently his name was Owen- moved on to what everyone was here for: the actual Awakening.

A stone plinth was brought out by a pair of burly men-likely Classers, just like Owen, as the Representative and his guards were all expected to be, even if they only held Common Classes- and, embedded in the top of the plinth, was a plain looking spherical crystal, perfectly smooth and clear...

The loud thump of the plinth quickly reminded that, even if they were Common Classers, they were far stronger than anyone else nearby... and common Classes were the weakest...

The two metrics to measure a Classer: Level, and Class rarity. The higher the level, the more powerful the Classer... But Class rarity could skew that quite heavily: the rarer the Class, the more Stat Points they gained with each level, and the more Abilities they unlocked as they leveled...

According to what they had been taught, a Level 1 with a Legendary Class had already gained more Stats than a Level 4 with a Common Class... Of course, they hadn’t been told how many Stats that was, but if it was true...

Cameron shook off the stray thoughts as the first young person walked up on stage, someone he didn’t recognize- though that made sense; these were the young people from the entire District that were coming of age, not just from his school.

”Child, you come before us on this day, your Awakening Day, to take your place as an adult. Come with the welcome of the Council, so that you may be tested.” Owen smiled- though it never reached his eyes- and gestured to the plinth. ”Place your hand upon the Shard, and may the Light of the Tower shine upon you.”

The Shard: another relic from antiquity that no one knew the origin of, though its purpose was well know- helping those touched by the Tower to awaken their class...

With trembling hands, the girl placed her hands upon the crystal... and nothing happened.

”Though you have not been blessed by the Tower, we welcome you as an adult. Celebrate this day, as you take your place among friends and family.”

The girl stepped down from the stage, looking relieved at not awakening a Class- which wasn’t surprising to Cameron; few people truly wanted to risk their lives climbing the Tower. Though it wasn’t required to do so, a Classer that didn’t climb was... frowned upon...

One by one, the young people stepped on the stage and the Representative said the same line... then nothing happened, and the new adult was dismissed with the same rote words- not that anyone expected an Awakening; it had been decades since the last, and was far too rare in the Outer Ring for anyone to get their hopes up...

Cameron shuffled along absently at the end of the line as the process played out, expecting such an outcome. It was likely that this would be another year without an Awakening, and he was fine with that. Becoming a Classer was just an idle dream of children, after all...

The sudden scream, and bright light shining from the stage disrupted his thoughts.

The Awakening process had been explained rather simply to all of them: place your hands on the Shard and, if nothing happened, then you weren’t a Classer... But, if a bright light shined out... Your Class was being Awakened- and, as a result, you body was being changed somehow...

And such a change caused pain. A great deal of pain; hence the screaming that rang out through the square. Though the process was painful, it was rarely lethal...

But the most important aspect, at least according to the Council, was the color of the light.

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A plain white light for Common Classes.

Green for Uncommon.

Blue for Rare.

Purple for Epic.

Orange for Legendary.

And, according to stories passed down for centuries... there was a rarity beyond that: Mythic. Which, according to those stories, was shown with a Red light... though no one living had ever seen it, there were rumors that there had been one...

A thousand years ago.

Cameron’s breathe caught in his throat as the dazzling green light bathed the entire square; their first Classer in a decade and it was an Uncommon Class! People would be celebrating this for weeks, and talking about it for years...

And he nearly choked as the light faded and the screams petered out, finally letting him see whose hand lay upon the Shard...

Though he slumped weakly against the plinth, Markum’s head turned slowly and his eyes met Cameron’s... His lips twisted up in a vicious smirk before he silently mouthed something...

”I told you... what will happen... Freak.”

Cameron locked his knees so that he wouldn’t slump to the ground in defeat; losing his parents, living alone and poor and half starved for six years, the constant bullying and being an outcast even among the Outcasts... wasn’t enough suffering. Apparently, fate had to deliver one more kick to the gut...

Like having the person that use to be his best friend obtain the impossible... and then, in all likelihood, be the one to kill him- Cameron seriously doubted the threat had been an idle one; he was actually surprised that one of the assholes hadn’t already done it...

A clamor rose from the crowd, making the Representative frown, as the Guild Recruiters all exclaimed and began to jockey for position to speak with Markum and hopefully recruit him... and, while only the lowest of the Guilds would bother to send recruiters out this far, even they could make him the kinds of offers the people of the District only dreamed of: wealth and luxury beyond anything they had seen- even an Uncommon Class was worth more than entire blocks of the Outer Ring...

”You will restrain yourselves until we complete the Ceremony.” Owen warned, glaring at the recruiters

As silence descended once more, Markum descended from the stage with an arrogant swagger, his strength already recovered, and moved to join his family... and, as they eagerly congratulated him, his smile widened even more...

Cameron’s heart raced as the line moved inexorably forward, just a handful of people left between him and the stage... and despair tried to worm its way into his heart.

Was this really it? He struggled and survived alone for years just to die the day he reached adulthood? But what other possibility was there? He doubted Markum would relent- though he still had no clue as to why the man resented him so much...

But it wasn’t like there was anyone who would protect him; Mrs. Elsbeth would certainly want to, and perhaps his neighbor, Old man Davis, but... even if Davis had a Class, it was just a common... and he was low level, having lost a leg on the second Floor...

So what other option did Cameron have?

His eyes locked on to the Shard, and a soft sigh escaped him; unless he also Awakened, and with something better than an Uncommon Class...

But what were the odds of that? They had just seen their first Awakening in a decade, and the highest rarity of their District in close to fifty years...

Was there really any hope?

Cameron’s turn came faster than he expected as his mind raced. But, reluctant as he was, he didn’t hesitate to step up and take his place...

Though the grimace of disgust on the face of the Representative at his disheveled state sent another pang through his heart.

”Your parents couldn’t even bother to clean you up for such an important ceremony?’ Owen muttered under his breath in disdain- Cameron was the only one that heard his words.

Sighing, Cameron lowered his voice- and his head in shame- as he responded. ”I’m an orphan, sir, and I was mugged on the way here...”

Owen’s face softened; an orphan and he was mugged on the way to the Awakening Ceremony? Fate must have it in for the poor boy... though he also marveled at the audacity of the mugger; How bad were things in the District if someone was willing to rob a child on the way to the ceremony? It was... abominable...

Shaking his head sadly, he spoke his lines exactly as he had already done a hundred times today- and an uncountable number of times before- even if he knew that no one was paying attention anymore, them being focused on the newly Awakened Classer...

It was disrespectful of them, and he pitied the unfortunate young man before him... but that was life, and there was little he could do about it other than push forward with the job he was assigned- it wasn’t like a Common Classer like him would dare chastise them for fawning over someone with an Uncommon Class. He knew better.

But, when the boy placed his hands on the Shard, and the entire square was once again bathed in light, everything came to a stop...

Like the blood of a giant had been spilled, dyeing the square and all its occupants... a brilliant Red light shone out from beneath the boy’s hands...

The man’s hands, as he was now an adult.

And the first Mythic Classer in... no one truly knew how long.