Even in the darkest of times, one can still find light. They just have to look at the stars.
Humans have been blessed by the Divines. For centuries, civilization has flourished, and mankind has rapidly progressed with the use of innate magical power...
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The suspiciously beaming professors led the sixty Newbies down the tunnel and into the center of the arena. Riarshi's eyes, adjusting to the light of the fireworks exploding in the bright blue afternoon sky, were met by a packed and sold out Spiritfield Stadium - sixty thousand strong.
Hundreds of the country's Heroes, dressed in their official POH uniforms, sat in the stands with their arms crossed. Commissioner Aryl looked over the entire stadium from a box seat at the North end of the arena. Third semester students who had the day off filled a small, lower section of the seats, all jeering and hollering at the scared and tensed Newbies pacing gingerly behind their professors to center stage.
"What do you think we'll be doing?" Tabito asked. His head spun in circles, looking around at the roaring crowd. "Pretty wild that they're putting on a huge event like this."
"Uhm, not sure, to be honest."
Tabito chuckled, seemingly unbothered by the entire ordeal. "Eh, who knows? Going off of what Professor Khohn and the others said, whatever they have planned can't be too bad if every Hero did the same when they were students."
Despite these encouraging words, Riarshi resisted letting his guard down. Tension rose in each of his muscles and his pulse throbbed in his eardrums. He continued in line with the other students and stepped onto a raised platform that resembled a fighting stage.
Following the professors' directions and gestures, the Newbies formed into four long rows of fifteen. After a brief pause, a section of the center stage they stood on shifted in the shape of a circle, like two curtains being drawn open.
Suddenly, a huge eruption of yellow-green laser beams exploded from the opening, and thick, black smoke piled out as though a rocket had just launched.
A small girl, bursting through the hole and leaving streams of yellow-green beams in her wake, swirled through the air. Her round face and big forest-green eyes resembled that of a young child, but her long, curly, neon-green hair and smug face indicated otherwise.
The magic flowing from her heels sputtered, then vanished, allowing her a smooth descent to arena stage. Her tall, knee-high heeled boots clicked on the tiled surface of the stage flooring.
"What is up, everybody? How's everyone doing today?!" The girl shouted into a microphone, facing and addressing the crowd. Her voice boomed through speakers surrounding the stadium, loud enough so even the oldest spectators could hear.
"You all know who it is... third semester student and future spokeswoman of the POH, Zita!" the girl hollered while performing a jumping - probably well rehearsed - acrobatic pose. Her slim features and overlong hair that curled at the tips earned some catcalls and whistles from the more rowdy male spectators seated throughout the front rows.
She continued with her speech, scoffing off the useless yells and pushing back her hair with her hand.
"Welcome, everybody, to this year's Newbie Showing! Standing on the stage currently is the first batch of Newbies to participate today. They're young, eager, and filled to the brim with untapped and possibly unseen magic. I bet you're all excited to see what these program beginners have to offer this year!"
