Claire

“Colonists arrived on Rein after a misled warp-drive send them crash landing onto the planet’s surface. While mostly an aquatic planet, the pilot was able to land the ship on a large island continent with minimal casualties. The ship was destroyed in the process, and geologists of Rein have yet to find any metals or ores that can be refined to re-create the technology required for another trip into space.

“The nearby planet of Rune was deteriorating for an unknown reason, which eventually sent its three moons (Torium, Usarium and Elysium) out of orbit. They became meteors which crashed to the nearest planet; Rein. While most of the meteorites were burned when approaching Rein, one meteorite from each moon crashed into the island surface where the newly-arrived humans had begun colonizing.

“Knowing these meteorites possessed strong magical properties, the surviving material from the Torium and Usarium meteorites were smelted into small trinkets, each with unique properties. The Elysium meteorite, however, did not leave behind any material. Instead, its remaining particles were spread into the air near its crash site, reportedly infecting a nearby colonist. This man, Matthew Marx, was then capable of bending powerful magic along with anyone who possessed the trinkets of Torium and Usarium.”

“Jackson, you're going to be late!” my mother shouted from downstairs. I looked up, disturbed from my last-minute studying.

“I know Mom; I just can't find my textbook!” Jackson replied. I quickly closed the book and bent down to slide it under my bed, but I was too slow. Jackson burst through the door and his expression soured when he saw his textbook in my hands. This wasn't the first time he had caught me with his books, so that expression was familiar to me.

“Seriously, Claire?”

“I was just doing some studying,” I replied quietly, glaring up at him through my eyelashes.

“Well, you can study all you want Claire, it won't matter after today. You're not the right age, so you can't get the Elementorium, and that's that.” I clenched my jaw as anger flared up in me.

“Yeah well, you're not going to get it either! Zac is faster and stronger than you, and he's the top of his class. Everyone's going to be cheering for him today, not you—myself included,” I added defiantly. Although, I wouldn't be cheering for anyone today but myself, hopefully.

Jackson's face paled for a moment before he snatched the book from my grasp and stalked out of my room. I fell back onto my bed in a huff, closing my eyes. Let it go, Claire. You need to be at your best today.

“Claire, what are you doing up there? You don't want to miss Jackson's test!” Mom shouted from downstairs. I walked over to my closet and saw the dress Mom had bought for me to wear today—a soft grey dress with a bright blue ribbon around the waist and white lace trailing up the collar. Pretty, but not something the bearer of the Elementorium would wear, I thought to myself. I slipped the dress and a pair of sandals on, then grabbed my bag and dumped everything out of it.

“Claire, don't make me come up there,” my mother threatened. Not that it was much of a threat, she had only set foot on the stairs twice since Dad died.

“Yeah, yeah, I'm coming!” I called back to her. I quickly stuffed the clothes I would really be wearing into the bag and plucked the black hair tie off my desk, fastening it around my wrist.

Pounding my way down the stairs, Mom was in the kitchen with our packed lunches and snacks. She was a good cook; it was the only thing she did for months after Dad died. A coping mechanism, the doctors called it.

“Where's Jackson?” I asked, looking around.

“He already left, he was gonna be late.”

“Why didn't you tell me?” I gaped at her, angry.

“The ceremony doesn't start for another half an hour or so, that's enough time for us to get there, Clary,” she replied, obviously confused.

“Oh whatever, let's go.” I clutched my bag and bounded through the door, weaving between the crowds of families heading to the crater.

The city of Rune was built around the crater made by Torium, and that crater was where festivals and, more importantly, the Ceremony of Elements was held. The bottom of the crater was flattened out for performances and gatherings, and the sides of the crater were made into seating and stairs leading to the center. Rune was one of the larger cities of Rein, home to about 4,000 people. People from all over the planet flocked to Rune when the Ceremony of Elements started, since only the class trained in the school here could participate. So many people moved in over the years that the houses were built small and close together to make space for everyone.

Of course, only one class of 100 students would participate in the ceremony in the end. Families sometimes lied about their children's ages, holding them back from school for a year or sending them to school early so that they could get a chance at being the bearer of the Elementorium. This was against the law of course, but the class size every twenty years still nearly doubled the size of classes born in the “off years”.

I approached the crater, slowing my pace to a walk as I took in the sheer amount of people there. Every seat in the crater was filled, and there were still people streaming in from the city. Never had I seen this many people in one place, all gathered to watch the spectacle that was the Ceremony of Elements. The competing class was milling in the center, a mass of red speckled with the grey and black of the officials who would oversee the ceremony.

Traditionally, the bearer of the Elementorium would have it for twenty years before passing it to a new bearer. Those twenty years would be filled with riches, adoring fans, attempts on the bearer's life, and several trips around the world. That also meant that any babies born this year would be admitted into the “special” class, and trained extensively in the history and use of the Elementorium—everything from tactical skills to endurance and strength.

You've worked harder than any of those students down there, my inner voice seethed. The Elementorium will be yours this year. It has to be! My mother's voice broke me from my thoughts.

“Clary!” She exclaimed breathlessly, finally catching up to me. “You've got to quit running off like that, you know I can't keep up!”

“That's the point, Mom,” I replied defiantly. She ignored me and looked around at the growing crowd.

“I was too young to remember my first Ceremony of Elements, and I was pregnant for the second one,” she explained absent mindedly as she laid out a small blanket on the grass near the edge of the crater. “Looks like we got here early enough for a good spot, thanks to all your running.” I sat down next to her, my heart pounding. How was I going to get away from her? How did I know when the ceremony was going to start?

“I wish your father could have been here, he would have loved to see this,” Mom said, distracting me from my worry.

“No he wouldn't have, Dad hated this ceremony,” I replied. My father had always supported my studying with my brother. He thought anyone who worked as hard as I did deserved a chance at the Elementorium. Some part of me took solace knowing he would be proud of me today, even if nobody else was.

We watched the entire city file in to gather around the crater, some sitting near the edge like we were, but most were standing so that they could see into the center where the students were gathered. After a few minutes, the officials started moving and lining the students up. Time to go.

“Mom, I'll be right back!” I called as I grabbed my bag and disappeared into the crowd behind us. I could hear her protests as I left, but it didn't matter. It was almost time for the test, and I had to be there. I'm meant to do this, I told myself as I reached the houses of the city.

I darted into a small alley between two houses and dumped out my bag. My hands shaking, I took off my dress and sandals and put on a red shirt, dark denim shorts, and laced tennis shoes. I frantically stuffed the dress and sandals into the bag, and my heart stopped. What do I do with this stuff now? I couldn't take it back to Mom, and I couldn't keep it with me either... I stuffed it behind a trash can and ran towards the crater again, tying up my long blonde hair into a ponytail as I went.

Careful to avoid eye contact with anyone who might recognize me, I raced through the crowd and down the stairs into the center of the crater, jumping into the end of a line of other students. Nobody would notice what looked like a late student arriving to the ceremony, hopefully. A whistle sounded and all the chatting students around me suddenly straightened up and looked forward. I imitated them, not entirely sure what was going to happen next. I felt a chill down my spine as a gray-shirted official walked past the line I was in, eyeing each student. I held my breath as he passed me, hoping he wouldn't notice I was two years too young to be here. He passed me, not looking twice.

I let out a sigh of relief and closed my eyes, savoring the feeling of my early victory. The whistle sounded again, shocking me out of my thoughts. The sound of the head official's voice filled the crater.

“Welcome everyone, to the Ceremony of Elements!” I grinned. I had made it into the ceremony to compete for the Elementorium.