Tales of Hex

Protection selection

Every 25 years a group of 5 teenagers gets picked out to become the next generation of protectors. Their duty is to protect their spring tree and the surrounding forest from any danger. They also have additional task like keeping the weather, nature, animals, magic and people in the forest stable.

The selection process is quite simple. The current protectors get 4 months to scout one person of each species. This person must be  around 15 years old and be the most magically gifted teenager of their species. At least that's how it's supposed to go. Nowadays the next generation just ends up being the children of the current protectors. The age rule is generally still respected though.

The chosen 5 will be trained as apprentices by their superiors for five years. After that their elders will retire and they will be the only protectors for the next 15 years. After those 15 years they will select a new generation, train them so on and so forth.

Today was selection day. It was a Saturday in October. Every humanal between the ages of 14-16 would gather at their nearby spring forest. The current protectors would pick out the most promising teens from the crowd and review their skills individually. But the results were always pretty predictable, they would usually just choose their children or cousins.

"Thank you all for coming", a loud voice echoed through the forest. Despite the absence of a microphone the bat humanal man could clearly be heard throughout the crowd. Must be some kind of spell Marcus figured as he stood somewhere at the front of the crowd. The other protectors were stood behind the man with their arms behind their backs. "The selection process will now begin. When I call your name please fly up to the podium and stand in front of the current protector of your species."

Marcus looked over to Maggie and Ouran who were standing besides him. He could see their white, feathery wings trembling with excitement waiting for the results, even if they were already obvious. Their mother was the current unicorn protector. She had been selected for her outstanding healing capabilities and her innate skill to manipulate light with immense precision. These were skills that she had clearly passed down to her daughter. Ouran on the other hand was ever so slightly less talented but still a valuable candidate non the less.

Despite them both being completely aware of this both twins were still immensely excited at the idea that it could be either one of their names that would be called out by the intimidating bat. "First off the unicorn protector", his loud voice boomed through the audience. "We have selected Maggie Inoue for her exceptional healing and light manipulation skills. Please take your rightful place on the stage".

"YES!", Maggie exclaimed as she gleefully spread her wings. A deafening applause serenaded her as she flew up to the stage and took place in front of her mother. Despite his inevitable loss Ouran still cheered for his sister.

"Next up is our owl protector". The bat said after the audience had settled. "We have selected Flora Of Athene for her outstanding abilities and the creation of an entirely new form of teleportation when she was only six years old. We look forward to seeing what you come up with next miss Of Athene".
Flora proudly took place on the stage. Her dark brown owl wings shimmering in the magically created sunlight.

This was somewhat of an unexpected development since Flora moved here when she was nine years old. The tall owl man with light brown speckled wings also in no way resembled her and could impossibly be her father. I guess it was just one of those times where someone actually got selected purely based of of their magical capabilities alone. But knowing how famously wealthy her family is, it could still be some sort of foul play. Everyone cheered non the less.

"Now, for our butterfly protector.", Marcus felt his pointy ears twitch. Even though the current protector was just a friend of his aunt he figured that connection still gave him a slightly bigger chance at being chosen than some of the other butterflies. But it was ten times more likely that the protector would have chosen one of her own nieces or nephews. Or maybe even Marcus' aunt's children.

"We have selected", the bat continued. Marcus felt himself relax, finding some type of comfort in the fact that he wouldn't be chosen for such an important job. While its an honor to become a protector its also a lot of work.

"Marcus Mariposa for his early mastering of multiple healing techniques and his promising growth over the past years". Marcus froze up. He could feel his wings trembling as the realization set in. How did this even happen? Where the things that bat man just said even true at all? Please let this be some kind of sick joke.

"Marcus Mariposa please fly up to the stage and take your rightful place in front of the current butterfly protector". Marcus flapped his wings a little but it seemed like the weight of a thousand eyes was keeping him nailed to the floor. Eventually he lifted of and a loud applause followed. "Congratulations", the butterfly protector whispered once Marcus landed in front of her. He could feel the sweat dripping from his face and his hands shaking. "You're gonna do great", the women added when she noticed how nervous the boy seemed.

"Moving on to the dragon protector". The bat continued speaking but Marcus could barely hear him over the sound of his own heart beat. "We have selected Ezra Wyvern for his immense fire power and his ability to quickly pick up nearly any skill". If his heart was beating fast before he was sure it had completely stopped now.

He could hear a pair of wings flapping up to the stage before they stopped right beside him. He glanced over to see Ezra standing next to him his bright blonde hair loosely hanging over his shoulders slightly covering the fresh bruises on his neck and his clear blue eyes staring into an almost identical pair in front of them. The current dragon protector was a tall blonde man with long straight hair and piercing blue eyes. If they were the same age he and Ezra could have been mistaken for twins. There was no doubt about it being Ezra's father.

Was this really happening?! Marcus felt his thoughts going at 100 miles an hour. Being a protector meant a lot of training as well, the thought of having to train and possibly spar with Ezra every week was enough to make the poor butterfly boy go crazy. But maybe this was a good thing. He knew Ezra had changed a lot but maybe they could be friends again.

The new bat protector was announced to be Ariko Zuze. A boy Marcus had never met before, but he seemed to be related to the current bat protector in some way.

The ceremony was ended with a dreadfully long speech and a quick "thank you all for coming". Thats not where it ended for Marcus though. They were all escorted to the big spring tree in the middle of the forest. Marcus had always admired the beautiful tree that gave them life. But his admiration was cut short when the butterfly protecter, who's name turned out to Amalia, waved her hand in front of the big tree. Her movement caused the ground to temporarily rumble as a hole opened itself in front of the giant.

Marcus had seen them do this before. The protectors would often enter into the hole to acces "the ancient power source". And despite him not remembering, he himself had been down there too. Whenever a new baby is born the protectors bring the parents and the child into the underground chamber for the "ceremony of life". During this ceremony the protectors take a pieces of "the ancient power source" and compress it into a magical life crystal that the child will carry with them everywhere they go, for the rest of their lives.

Every crystal is unique in both shape and colour. Marcus had a smal round green crystal that closely resembled a peridot gem. The crystal could be used to perform certain spells and enhance the strength of your magic. In unicorn culture it's common for parents to name their children after the colour of their crystal. So Maggie stands for magenta, Ouran for orange, Crimson (their older brother) for crimson (duh)  and their mother, who's name is Akasuki, was named after the colour red. Which in Japanese is aka.

Marcus found his mind wandering of again but was brought back into reality by a a hand on his shoulder. He glanced over to the side to see the hand belonged to no other then Ezra Wyvern. OMGOMGOMGOMG! Was it finally going to happen? Where they finally going to talk after all these years?

"Pay attention", Ezra whispered in a calm monotone voice. If it even was a possibility before, there was now no way in hell Marcus would be able to focus on anything around him other than Ezra.