EPISODE 6: TRIALS OF THE CHOOSEN
957 Words
The great bell atop the North Tower rang out across the Academy grounds. Its sharp tone echoed through the Courtyard of Echoes, where students gathered in hushed anticipation. Eliana stood beside Nia, arms crossed against the chill.
Headmistress Calvina appeared in a swirl of violet mist, flanked by two cloaked figures. Her voice cut clean through the murmur.
“As tradition dictates, the time has come for The Trials of the Chosen. These magical challenges are meant to awaken the gifts buried deep within you. Not all powers are born — some must be earned through adversity.”
A shiver crawled down Eliana’s spine. She hadn’t told anyone about the hidden room beneath the East Tower, the name Aeryn Rivers in the dust, or the heat in her blood. She didn’t want trials. She wanted truth.
“The Trials will last three days,” Calvina continued. “You will be tested in skill, in spirit, and in character. Some will awaken. Others may be found wanting.”
The cobblestones beneath them shifted, rearranging into a glowing circle of runes. One by one, students vanished in bursts of light. Nia disappeared in a gleam of silver. Eliana barely had time to react before her pendant flared hot—
—and she vanished in a blaze of crimson flame.
---
She landed hard on black stone. Torches lit themselves along the obsidian chamber walls, shadows slithering across them.
“Eliana Rivers,” a voice echoed. “Trial One: Endurance. Survive the heat. Do not scream.”
Heat bloomed instantly. The air thickened. Her skin stung. The obsidian beneath her feet glowed red. Sweat poured from her body as the temperature climbed.
She stayed upright, trembling. The pendant at her neck pulsed wildly. She thought of her mother’s name in the hidden room... and suddenly, the heat shifted.
The fire obeyed.
It swirled around her, encircling her. Her hands glowed — then burst into flame. The fire didn’t hurt.
Then silence. The flames vanished. The chamber went dark.
“You have passed,” whispered the voice.
---
That evening in the dining hall, the air was heavy with fatigue. Nia returned pale and soaked.
“I had to cross a bridge made of wind,” she whispered. “One wrong step and I’d be lost.”
Eliana nodded. “What kind of twisted school is this?”
But Nia studied her. “Lia... your eyes were glowing. Like embers.”
Eliana stayed quiet. She hadn’t told Nia that she still felt the fire pulsing under her skin — not burning but alive. And the strange visions — Calvina screaming, a shattered mirror, a hand reaching through fire — what were they?
Memories? Or something worse?
---
The second trial took place in the Moonlit Garden. Except there was no moon — only thick, choking fog.
“Trial Two: Truth,” came the voice. “Face what you deny.”
From the mist, a woman appeared. Eliana gasped.
“Mother?”
The figure looked like Aeryn Rivers — but the eyes were hollow. “You’re not ready,” it said.
Suddenly, thorns shot from the earth, coiling around her legs. She struggled, but the more she fought, the tighter they squeezed.
“No one’s coming to save you,” the voice sneered. “Not Nia. Not your mother. You’re alone.”
Eliana clenched her fists. She closed her eyes and focused — not on the fear but on the truth. She wasn’t alone. She had Nia. She had strength.
The pendant burst into light. The thorns turned to ash.
When she opened her eyes, the moonlight had returned. The figure was gone.
---
By day three, rumours spread like wildfire — sabotage. Two students had been injured. Another swore her trial route had been changed to a deadly illusion.
At dawn, they were summoned to the Spire — the highest point in the Academy.
“Final Trial: Unity,” Calvina said. “You must work together. Beware — not all among you can be trusted.”
Twelve students, including Eliana and Nia, stood on a floating stone platform suspended above the clouds. The edges were etched with unstable runes, pulsing dangerously. They had to balance the platform and solve a magical shifting puzzle in the center.
At first, there was teamwork — magic, shouted instructions. Then a rune flickered. The platform tilted.
Eliana steadied herself and noticed Kieran — smirking as he swapped puzzle pieces incorrectly.
“He’s sabotaging us,” she whispered to Nia.
Before Nia could respond, Kieran yelled, “It’s Eliana! I saw her tampering!”
Eyes turned. Panic spread. The platform trembled violently.
“Don’t believe him!” Eliana shouted.
Then — a flash of vision. Kieran, in a dark room, speaking to someone cloaked in violet shadows.
Calvina.
She gasped. “He’s working for her!”
The others faltered. The platform dipped dangerously. Nia stepped forward.
“I trust her. Help me finish the puzzle!”
Eliana channeled her fire into the runes, steadying the platform. Nia locked the final piece into place.
The platform stilled. They had passed.
---
Back on the ground, Calvina’s expression was unreadable.
“Well done,” she said. “Some of you revealed strength. Others... defiance.”
Eliana stepped forward. “Why did you send him to sabotage us?”
Calvina gave a cold smile. “Not all truths are earned in three days, Miss Rivers.”
But Eliana felt something shift inside her. She was no longer just a student.
As she turned to leave with Nia, the pendant at her neck grew warm. A whisper echoed in her mind:
You are one of the Chosen.
And your real trials have only just begun.
---
To be continued...
🆔️Zeeworld
- Writer
