Mother smiled down at me, "Hartson, you are too young to take the test."

Jean just smiled at me, and I began to hurry to the end of the line.

Mother was still holding my hand as I tried to get there quickly. "Hartson, enough child, you'll pull your mother's arm off."

I laughed at that and said, "Sorry, Mother." Then I began walking less fast, but still trying to pull her along quicker. She let us go when we neared the end of the line. Once there, I kept trying to see past everyone else into the tent and telling Jean how many people were in front of us.

When we finally got to the entrance, a mage spoke to me after Mother told him that Jean would be testing today. He had a very pale purple sash, so he was of the lowest rank for a mage and just above the last student rank, according to my books. With a smile, he asked, "Excited to see your sister test today, little man?"

"Nope! I'm excited because I'm testing today!" I proudly told him.

He looked at Mother, who shook her head no.

"Well, how old are you?" he asked.

"This is my fourth summer, and I have read more magic books than Jean." I happily told him.

He looked doubtful, "What books have you read?"

I grinned and showed him the five books in my pack.

Smiling politely, he said, "Okay, you've read them, but do you understand them?"

I jumped a bit, declaring, "Yes! I want to study more, but my father says they are too expensive."

An older mage came over to us with a dark purple sash, "Mam, if you would allow us to, we can test him to see how far he has gotten.

Mother frowned at him but nodded her head.

"Great, follow me then," he said as he motioned us further into the tent.

I said bye to the mage at the door and followed the master mage. Jean and our mother accompanied me.

Inside the tent, you could not see far. There were purple walls with cloth doors everywhere. Children and parents were either being led into dozens of rooms or out of the tent by other mages. What fascinated me was the mage lights hanging from ropes everywhere. Each one was brighter than a candle, but they did not flicker in the air currents like a candle would. I could almost hear the mages talking to parents and other children as we went to our testing room.

The mage sat down on one side of a table and waved at a bench. "Please be seated, and we'll start."

Jean and I sat down, but our mother remained standing behind us.

The mage introduced himself while pulling a sheet of paper from a box, "I am Mage Thomas. What are your names, please?"

I looked at Jean. Father said girls had to go first, so I waited, barely.

Jean spoke up proudly, "I'm Jean Perrin, daughter of Hubert and Audrey Perrin of Kohler city."

Mage Thomas wrote 'Jean Perrin' at the top of the page.

"How old are you, Jean?" he asked next.

Jean answered with a smile, "This is my sixth summer."

Turning to me, "And you?"

Proudly I said, "I'm Hartson Perrin, sir, and this is my fourth summer."

He smiled, printed my name and age too. Then he gave both of us a sheet of paper. "Please write down the following sentence with correct spelling. 'Evergreens grow proudly along a mountain lake of clear blue water which is cold and filled with fish I like to eat.'"

Mother had us practice this kind of thing many times. I carefully wrote out the entire sentence.

He looked at both of our papers quickly. "Good job. In your own words, write why is that question important today?"

I smiled as this was an easy game too. I wrote the answer after just a bit of thinking.

I answered, "First, you asked why it is 'important today' the answer is because it needs to be answered with this mage test in mind, not about anything in the sentence itself. Second, it is a simple memory test to see if my memory skill might be strong enough to be a mage."

Jean finished just after me.

Mage Thomas smiled after looking at our papers, "Nicely thought out." Next, he showed us a board with a lot of numbers on it, "Please write the next numbers."

The board had these numbers on it:

1, 3, 5, 2, 4, 6, 7, , , , , .

I knew this right away. There was not a lot of math in the books I had, but Father had me do lots of math in the workshop. I studied it carefully again before finally writing down my answer:

1, 3, 5, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 8, 10, 12.

Jean still had her face scrunched up when I finished. None of us did anything until she finished writing her answer.

We answered many questions like these and more, and each one grew harder.

Mage Thomas cleared the table of our papers. Then he placed a wooden circle on the table, saying, "You've both passed many memory and logic tests. Now we will see if you have mana."

With that, he took a ball of glass out of his pocket and placed it on the wooden circle so it would not roll away. Pushing the glass ball toward Jean, he said, "Touch the glass and try to move energy from your body into the ball."

I was wondering what it was supposed to do, Mother and Mage Thomas watched it silently while I wanted to ask questions so severely, I had to bite my lip.

After watching the glass ball for a long time, something changed. Slowly a dim light, like the white lights hanging from the ceiling, began to glow. It did not get very bright, but it did shine a bit.

"Well done, Jean," congratulated Mage Thomas.

Sliding the ball towards me, he stated, "Now you Hartson."

When I touched the glass ball, it felt cold. Like it did not know it was summer. I looked at it carefully, and I couldn't see any light in it at all. Then I tried to move energy into it. The glass ball got colder and colder, and then it flashed brightly. That caused me to shout and jump back, blinking my stinging eyes. I watched the very bright glass ball with light, slowly fade as my breathing calmed.

My mother turned me around and was worriedly looking at my face, "Hartson, are you all right?"

"Yes, Mother." Turning to look at Mage Thomas, I saw he had a broad smile and was softly laughing.

"What happened?"

Mage Thomas, still grinning, said, "You moved a great deal of energy into the testing sphere quite quickly. That caused it to flash before the rest drained away."

Mother jumped in, "Is he okay? Was he hurt?"

Mage Thomas told her, "Yes, he is fine, just surprised like the rest of us."

He looked at Jean with a smile, "Jean, you have a little magical talent. It qualifies you to become a mage, and with lots of hard work, you could do well if you should want to."

Turning back to me, he seemed excited, "Hartson, your talent is strong, but it will still take lots of hard work to become a mage."

Then he asked us both, "What would you like to do?"

"Yes, I want to be a Mage!"

Jean laughed at me and then told Mage Thomas, "I want to stay with Mother and be like her."

I looked at Mother. She was looking at Jean with joy, and then she looked at me with worry.

Mother turned to Mage Thomas with her worry, and told him, "He is too young to become a Mage."

Mage Thomas spoke up, "That is not correct, Mrs. Perrin. Anyone of any age can learn to be a Mage if they can manipulate mana and have the desire, which Hartson indeed has."

"Yes, I know, but he is too young to go away now," my mother pleaded with Mage Thomas.

Another, an older, mage stepped into their curtained room. "Thomas, what is this boy's age?"

Mage Thomas quickly answered, "This is his fourth summer. And sir, he just lit up the nexus point as bright as day."

The older wizard turned to Mother, "It is by King Hamilton II's decree that the boy can choose without interference. Please understand that we will keep him safe as well."

Mother nodded and looked sad, "Hartson, you must choose. Will you go, or will you stay here and grow more first as I wish?"

I looked at her sad face, but I also saw Jean's happy smile from behind her. "Mother, I will not be happy here like Jean will be, I will go."

"So be it then," she said with a bitter smile. Turning to the wizards, she asks, "When must he be ready to go?"

"Not until fair ends," the older wizard said with a smile.

"Good, we must go and tell your Father about both of you." She said, hugging us both.

"One moment before you go." Mage Thomas put a narrow light purple sash over my shoulder and across my body. "Now you are a Student Mage," he cheerfully said.