The Placement Test

It was Placement Day, and the uncertainty of what that meant twisted Vierra’s gut. One look at her terrified expression in the mirror, and she quickly turned away from it without fixing her braided hair and yellow dress. Vierra, like every other 16-year-old taking the Placement test, had no idea how they would be tested. Discussion of the Placement after you went through it was strictly prohibited, making it the best-kept secret in all of Elemcast.

Vierra walked out of her childhood bedroom, down the familiar hall of yellow and grey with the slightly broken windowsill where she’d tried to sneak out last year only to be thwarted when the corner cracked and sent her tumbling loudly back into the hall. She walked quietly down her home's creaking stairs to the kitchen, knowing where to put each toe to keep the steps from announcing her arrival. Vierra’s father, Zeph, was in the kitchen wearing his finest clothes and sipping on a mug of warm tea. The light coming through the window caught the silver threads on his green vest, lending a shimmering appearance to the stitched pattern of wings. 

Zeph smiled and sighed, already watching for her to walk into the room as if he’d still heard her steps. “You do look old enough to be going through the Placement.”

Obviously, he’s been pondering that for a while. Vierra thought.

She worried often about still looking like a child after becoming an adult old enough for induction into their society. Depending on how the test went, she may not return home to the Osanti tonight with her father. She could be placed with the Aumautan, Isran, or Utoro instead.

Zeph walked over to her and adjusted some stray hair poking from her brown braid “No matter where your future takes you today, remember that this will always be your home. You are my daughter, and I’ll proud of you no matter what power you receive or which village you become a member of. We are all one people.”

“I wouldn’t be so nervous if I knew what was going to happen to me today. Papa can you please just give me an idea? How can they test which element I will control? How does the Elemki where I belong?”

The Osanti people were her home. She’d been raised among those who controlled wind. All she had ever known was this life. The quiet contemplation, deep thinking, calming structure of the temples and schools. But, despite the people she loved, there was an adventure in the other villages she felt she was missing out on. There was more to Elemcast then it’s spiritual routes and she wanted to see it’s wild side. But was it worth losing mornings in the cramped kitchen with her father handing her a steaming cup of tea?

“If I tell you,” He placed the cup in her hand. The steam smelled of Jasmine, “then you risk trying to alter the test to get what you want, instead of what belongs to you. The Elemki created all things. It knows how you will best serve our people. So finish you tea, and we see this trial through to the other side.”

--

Vierra’s father was tying their horse and small cart near the entrance of the massive cave where the Placement would be held when a lilting voice snuck up on her.

“Vierra? You’re late! I thought I wouldn’t get to see you before the test!”

Vierra’s dearest friend walked quickly through the crowd, her voice carrying despite even her ‘shouts’ being airy and soft. The little blonde girl wrapped arms around Vierra’s neck so tight it nearly hurt.

“Vierra, promise we will still be friends, even if we don’t end up with the same gift?”

“Of course we will be Talon.” Vierra chuckled, feeling her mood lighten. “We’ll just be an even more powerful pair if we control two different elements!”

Trying not to let Talon read the growing list of fears running through her head, Vierra began to mimic fire coming out of her hands, making whooshing sounds to accompany it. Talon whacked her arm for not being more serious about the day’s events. The familiarity made them both smile, each trying to chase away their fears. They had both grown up among the Osanti. Despite what she said, Vierra felt the urge to clasp Talon's hand and insist they go through the test together. 

“Maybe you will be gifted with fire Talon? Imagine how fun it would be to tell a story with flames like the festival performers. Or to scorch one of those boring school books.”

“Burning books is not my idea of fun! You’re the one who hated classes with Misses Lurch you “dropped” her book in the pond and nearly gave her a heart attack!”

“She made the history of the Placement sound so boring! Though now I wish I’d paid a little more attention”

The pair moved forward with Vierra’s father close behind to where travelers and children from everywhere in Elemcast stood facing the cave. The twelve Elders were in a line at the entrance, and just as the sun hit its peak in the murky sky, they called out the first name.

“Talon! Daughter of Dain!”

Talon looked at her own parents standing to her right with shocked eyes at being first. Vierra gave her a tight, fast hug, then wrung her hands as she watched Talon hug her mother. She knew being separated from them and the Osanti would hurt Talon deeply. Vierra’s father took her hands to stop her squeezing the fingers till they were white. He smiled gently and kissed the top of her head.

Talon gave Vierra one more woeful glance as she reached the Elder leader who put his wrinkled hand around her shoulder as they entered the cave.

People who say I'm stronger than Talon are wrong. The thought surprised Vierra with its truth. I can only hope I face uncertainty with that much grace.

After what felt like an age she turned to her father and said “It’s been so long. Is she ok? Should it take this long?”

“It has only been a minute. Do not worry Vierra, you will not lose a friend this day.”

“What if the Placement goes wrong? What if she is not given air and doesn’t stay with her family?”

“Trust Vierra. Elemcast is built on trust in the Elemki’s plan. Talon will be loved no matter what her destiny is.”

Vierra faced the cave again, partially listening as her father whispered platitudes to Talon’s parents. After agonizingly long moments, Talon walked out of the cave followed by the Elders. They looked….impressed? Talon walked with her hands palm-up at her waist and her head held high with a pride Vierra had never seen in her before. She was creating a strong breeze that carried feathers around her, lifting her blonde curled hair and fluttering the edges of her dress. The air around Talon was alive.

“OSANTI!” announced an elder with a broad grin.

Unable to hold in her excitement, Vierra beamed and whooped at Talon over the clapping crowd. Talon walked back to her family and they embraced her tightly as the breeze died out. There were hugs and congratulations pouring over her, but before Vierra could get through the crowd to embrace her friend, The Elders called another name.

“Vierra! Daughter of Zeph!”

Her stomach hollowed and her heart dropped, nauseating her for a brief moment. Vierra looked up at the group of Elder men and women, then back to her father. Zeph closed the distance between them and pulled her into a tight hug. When they parted, Vierra thought for the first time that she saw reservation in her father’s eyes. 

We’ll be alright. Vierra tried to steel her resolve. It’s like he said with Talon. No matter what, we’ll be alright. The Elemki won’t separate us yet. Not if father isn't ready.

Vierra turned and walked up to the cave entrance, trying not to look at the Elders and reveal the nervous quivering of her lips. 

Grass transitioned to stones under her feet as she passed the line of Elders and disappeared into the cave. A blue glow welcomed her. The funnel-shaped entrance opened into a large, domed space that was empty aside from a few benches. Vierra looked upward searching for the source of light, and saw a ceiling full of crystals! She had never seen anything so beautiful and captivating! The intricate, blue and white treasures were unlike anything that existed in her home among the Osanti. It looked as if the Elemki itself had crafted the ceiling from fragmented stars. Vierra wondered at what else she might find in the cave.

While the crystals distracted her, the Elders moved into the room between her and a downward slopping tunnel. Vierra did not hide her confusion from the Elder who stepped closer as she looked between the bald woman in robes and the tunnel. The assumption among her friends was that you entered a room with something from each element and would be asked to do a simple task, like see if you could touch a fire and not be burned, or place your palms above water and make it rise. That, or Vierra had thought they might just use magic to read her soul and see what the Elemki had in store for her. But the Elders just stood there, showing no sign of doing anything. Vierra began wringing her fingers before the female Elder spoke up.

“This cave is called ‘The Entrance to Elemcast.’ It’s hinted at by some of our ancient illustrations that the Elemki resided here during its time in our world. You will continue on, and we will wait here for your return.” The Elder's musical voice was both mesmerizing and vibrant, but Vierra still did not understand her words. She stared again at the sparkling ceiling and the smooth cave walls. She did not want to leave the beauty of the cave to dive deeper into the pitch-black tunnel.

“How will I see where I’m going? Or know how to get back?”

“Follow your instincts – they will not lead you astray, and when you find what you seek, bring it back with you.” The Elder woman wore the air of someone who’d said the words before, but she was still understanding of Vierra’s uncertainty. Vierra’s feet slid meekly forward, hesitating. She was still clueless as to how this test worked! 

“Do not be frightened, Vierra. No harm will come to you here, only enlightenment.” The Elder’s words soothed her, if only slightly.

Taking a deep breath and holding it in, she strode forward with feigned confidence, driven by a desire to know her element, who she belonged to, and where she would call home the rest of her life. At first, it was not so bad. The crystal-lit room gave a faint glow at her back. That glimmer disappeared all too quickly though. All she could hear was the padding of her own feet on the stone floor and the occasional crunch of pebbles that resounded loudly off the walls. Then, another noise began to grow in her ears. 

At first she tried to clean her ears thinking they were ringing in the silence. However, this sound had a chime to it that resonated. Not off the cave walls, but in her mind. It reeled her in like a fish on a line, and Vierra followed the eerie tune.

She did not even realize at first that the sounds were multiplying, growing louder and louder the deeper into the cave she went. The slight slope down leveled out and Vierra was walking on even ground once more. Still though, she teetered on unbalanced feet as her body responded to the noise of the caves and her resolve frayed. Every step she took toward her element could also be walking farther from her family, her childhood home, all that she’d known. It all depended on what element she would find at the end of the tunnel. There was a faint light again and she could make out a split in the walls up ahead. 

Four directions that could be taken, four tunnels branching off from the main, four elements they could lead to. While she tried to decide which way to go, the noise became a grating pressure. The beckoning chimes turned to a hammering demand. Vierra’s head whipped in a circle trying to decipher where it was coming from, not knowing what to do next and cursing the lack of instruction. She scrunched her eyes shut against the pounding in her mind. “Follow your instincts.”

This must have been what the Elder meant, but how could she possibly separate ‘instincts’ from the desire to flee from the growing pressure reverberating through her entire body? She looked at each stone arch; they were identical with nothing to draw attention to a particular entrance. Nothing to indicate which would lead her to the Osanti and the home she knew. Would she take that tunnel if she could recognize it?

The noise thrummed, as if every instrument, song, and chord were hitting her ears at once. High notes, low notes, bass and tenor. Finally throwing her hands down Vierra picked the most pleasing too in the cacophony. A rumbling, throbbing sound separate from the chimes that had become shrill and grating. The thrum of a drum beat seemed to call out a pattern in the madness. She ran into the second tunnel. Vierra followed the ancient-sounding drum beat that filled the tunnels with each footfall, letting it guide her as the pressure in her mind dissipated. The sounds honed into one deep, steady note. Then, the glow brightened ahead of her as a tiny room lit by a crystal pillar at its center came into view.

Vierra slowed to a walk and approached the pillar to find a collection of small, iridescent stones resting in a bowl there. The blue-purple spheres seemed like a riddle and piqued her curiosity. Cautiously, Vierra reached out. As her fingers brushed the stones, the crystals in the ceiling awakened and the entire cave erupted in light. Her head flew up in surprise, but her hand remained above the pile of stones. One small, purple pebble floated up into the air and hovered under her outstretched palm. Gazing into the swirling pattern and beautiful colors, Vierra lost herself in the design.

It felt alive. The realization and the significance of what had just happened, and what she had just discovered within herself, was not as frightening as Vierra expected. The whole world clicked into place. 

Something was different now; her confidence grew with each rotation of the stone above her palm. She knew more about herself now than she ever had. An unseen energy filled her bones and mind as a newfound power awoke within her, and Vierra saw a direction for her new life. Unexpected sensations flooded every part of her body. The rock continued to float above her hand as she turned it palm up. Vierra was sure she felt a heartbeat within the stone. With a tear threatening the corner of her eye, she turned away from the pillar and followed the light of the crystals out of the winding tunnels to the world above.

Vierra’s hand shook in anticipation and she strode out of the cave and into the light of day behind the line of Elders. The stone allowed itself to be coaxed into floating a circular pattern above her hand. She was still unsure how exactly she’d managed that. The Elders came to a halt, parting to reveal her. Then with a booming voice, one Elder said the word that would shape her adult life.

“UTORO!”

The Utoro, those men and women of Elemcast who controlled earth, cheered in welcoming joy that warmed her heart. But she struggled to focus on that joyous future when her eyes found her father standing among the Osanti she would be leaving behind. A mixture of pride and despair coated Zeph's expression. Vierra knew her father would say kind words and encourage her to follow her own path, but would he miss her as much as she would miss him? Her gaze fell once again to the spinning pale stone. 

This is what I am meant to be. With this power I can craft things. Create. I was made to shape the earth. 

Even if excitement was hard to find in the moment, Vierra felt a new energy surge within her. 

Father will understand.