Fragments

I sat on the hill, overlooking my home city. Araina is beautiful, as small as it is. I shifted my body to face the town hall, and saw the bells ringing. This, meant only one thing. The ceremony to reveal The Five was drawing near. This is a ritual that has happened for the last thousand years, the modern collateral damage from a not so urban myth. A thousand year ago there were weapons called Fragments, there were many of them located all across the lands, among every territory. When put together, a machine that could destroy all life is created. 5 students who possessed immense power went on a journey for the annual meeting of Taro, but they were ambushed in an uncontrollable magic zone called Tasarak. Four of the students absorbed great power from Tasarak, beyond what was thought humanly possible. However, one of the students, Lai Myles, was possessed by what was believed to be a demon. She went insane, and began to track down all Fragments in order to create the death machine Obsidian. The four remaining students fought Lai wherever she went, and were finally able to defeat her. Those people were hero's. That was a thousand years ago, a story now know by all, and celebrated. To the present day, all five of those students have reincarnated, without the memories of the events of their past life, but with the power of their past lives. They are always reborn in this city, though over the centuries the population has exploded for that reason. Out if those Five there has always been a demon inside one, and when it is identified, they must die for the safety of their world. People believe this is a noble and honourable thing to do, for someone to die for their people. I myself, am scared about this. Almost everyone thinks they may have this darkness in them, that they are the unlucky soul whose demise is already fated from the moment they are born. We spend our entire lifetime if we are in the generation of the undetermined Five dreading of our untimely death. Why try to build anything, find love with anyone, when that could all be taken away in an instant. I'm suprised if anyone my age would want to die like this, I mean, I'm only eighteen. The youngest the generation of the undetermined Five had to be eighteen at the time of the ritual. I assume it’s so the council aren’t labelled as monsters. I sighed and got up, getting ready to go to the town hall, but decided to take a shortcut home and get changed first. One thing I was worried about was the rumor of The Five. It was believed that they were able to use magic without the use of their Fragment. I pulled out my Fragment, and stroked it gently. Fragments are odd objects, which seem to have a life of their own. It does you no good choosing a Fragment, as they are the ones that choose you. I sighed and put my Fragment down beside me on my bed, and stood up to look out of the window. The rest of the town are rushing towards the town hall. There’s an air of excitement, parents walking with their children in their arms. The children, wanting to see the new hero’s. Even the adults are excited. Everyone is. They are all wondering, are they one of the heroes, are they going to unlock power beyond their beliefs? And if not them, a family member? A friend? Even a neighbour? People are praying, for some kind of social elevation through association with one of the heroes. I pulled my jacket over my shoulders. I had chosen to wear all black. Rather fitting, seeing as today may be the day that I find out my days are numbered. I tap my fragment and it shrinks in size, small enough to place in my jacket pocket. I feel more at ease when it’s with me, though it’s not like I can use it at an event like the ritual. I took a deep breath and stepped outside my home. I turned around and took in the house. All the minor imperfects which made it the home I had lived in with my mother for the past eighteen years. My father died when I was young, before I could really remember him. So for as long as I could remember, it had just been my mother and I. I assume she’s in the town hall already, she’s the kind of person who avoids being fashionably late at all costs. I know I need to start making my way soon if I didn’t want to make a scene of myself. After taking one last look at my home, I turn around, and start to join the remnants of the crowd making its way to the centre of the town. This event would be the biggest gathering I had attended. It wasn’t only the law that caused those in this city to attend, most of the population wanted to. Hundreds of thousands of people lived in this city, though with the population it was arguably more at the level of a full blown kingdom. Even royalty attended the ritual. The royal family of Araina, once settled on the outskirts of the city, had relocated to the inner city once they discovered the patterns of the reincarnations. They abandoned their true name, the royal family of Agalaid (the name of the kingdom Araina falls into), and changed it to Araina. This attempt of worship did seem to bare its fruits, that, or the royal family’s bloodline. Of all the rituals that took place thereafter, it did not become a rare sight for a member of royalty to be blessed with the power of a hero. If anything, it became more unlikely that a hero was not found in royal blood during these rituals. After being momentarily lost in thought, I realised I had almost reached my destination. The town hall was unbelievably large, and surprisingly organised given the crowd. Those who came who wished to witness this day were allocated their own space to take seat. This was at the levels above, the best places to witness the ritual. The generation of the undetermined Five were meant to stay on the first floor, and had it check in with the council to make their presence known. It was after this that the ritual could really begin.