Another five years passed by quickly, it was finally the morning of the Awakening Ceremony. Jacob was already fully dressed in full regalia, a blue and gold suit adorned with silver ornaments from head to toe.
He stood in front of the mirror, silently admiring his physique from all angles.
For a ten year old who had never trained a day in his life, his build was quite impressive, even though Ironfell men were naturally buff and tall in nature, Jacob had never missed a chance to hype himself up.
"Good morning, Young master, the day of your Awakening is finally here," Xenia called out to him, she held a soft purple pillow in her hands, on top of it lay a brooch, studded with rubies.
The boy picked up the brooch and attached it to his breast pocket with ease, the brooch was carved with the Ironfell insignia, a red dragon coiled around a jagged mountain, its wings spread out wide as though shielding the land beneath it, this carving was a testament to the efforts of the Ironfell clan in protecting the Daven Heaven Continent for hundreds of years.
"Thank you Xenia."
"The Young master need not be nervous," Xenia added with a smile, she was fond of saying playful things like this.
"Who said I'm nervous? I am the strongest and most handsome person in the whole continent, I can't be nervous." Jacob said boldly, his shoulders held high as he walked out of the room.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
The palace was buzzing with noise of celebration as Jacob walked along the halls, the floors were more polished than he had ever seen them, the sound of trumpets echoed all through the walls.
'They never miss an opportunity for a grandeur display,' the boy mused inwardly, a grin plastered on his face.
Xenia walked silently beside him, a bead of sweat formed on her forehead, for she was the nervous one, she had taken care of Jacob throughout his life, and she couldn't bear the thought of a failed awakening, she believed in the young master, but her mind couldn't rule it out.
A failed awakening would mean shame and disappointment for not just the person, but the entire clan, the servant would also have a share in the disgrace. Some Clans even banished their loved ones for failing their awakening, the Ironfell was one of them, where weakness was absolutely frowned upon.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
After a few minutes of walking, they both finally arrived at two giant doors, a faint noise could be heard beyond the threshold, Jacob took a deep breath and pushed the doors open.
"He is here!"
"That's the heir of Ironfell?"
"He's so handsome!"
"He better not fail his awakening."
"He doesn't look strong at all."
"I can't wait to see what rank he awakens with."
Murmurs escaped every corner of the room as Jacob walked up to the podium, set in the middle was a large orb that rested on a pillow, similar to the one Xenia had in her hand earlier.
"Good luck, Young master, I can't follow you any further," she said to him as she diverted, walking into the large crowd.
Jacob turned his gaze toward the imperial table, every single member of the Ironfell clan sat at this table.
The Patriarch and Matriarch sat together in usual formation at the middle, to their left sat the main bloodline, which included Jacob's father Rhoarin and his mother Elena, to their right sat seven clan elders, all dressed in their traditional robes.
The branch families which included House Calliwell, House Smythe and House Cummings all sat below the imperial table.
Members of other clans and sects sat in the crowd watching eagerly, waiting to see the fate of the genius child they had heard so much about.
The walls were guarded heavily by clan soldiers.
Jacob's heartbeat sped up a little bit, for the thought of failing in front of so many people crept into his mind.
'I can't doubt myself now, I already know I can't fail, let's get this over with so I can unlock my powers,' he thought as a faint smile played on his lips.
"Welcome to your awakening ceremony master Ironfell, are you ready?" A voice sounded from behind him, forcing him to swivel around, it was Dixon, his father's most trusted servant and confidant.
"Yes I'm ready." Jacob replied, shifting his gaze to the glowing orb in front of him.
"Place your hand upon the Nexus Spirit orb and your awakening will begin." Dixon urged him.
The entire room watched in silence as Jacob placed his palm on the surface of the orb, in less than a second the orb began to glow furiously, a bright golden light emanated from it so much so that Jacob wanted to remove his hand, but he knew better than to do so.
The crowd gasped, everybody's eyes glued on the young boy.
"That's some serious energy." One person voiced out, prompting a chorus of agreements.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Jacob's hand was on the orb for what seemed like five minutes, there was no notification yet, no confirmation of his rank, nothing, just a furiously growing orb that stuck to the bottom of his palm.
Then…
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
In three very swift, immediate cracks the orb was shattered to pieces in his hand, forcing the crowd to gasp louder than before.
"Wha..What??"
"That has never happened before, what is that??"
"Is he truly the anomaly that people say he is??"
"What sort of monster is this??"
"I'm not impressed, he must have shattered it purposely."
The voices were louder now, overlapping over one another, the members of the imperial table, his mother, father and grandparents all watched in shock at the events unfolding before their eyes.
'Haha, I knew it, this boy is different.' Alaric thought to himself, folding his arms and leaning back with a smile.
"What is this power?" Dixon exclaimed, forgetting himself for a second, then composing himself, "Uhm… it looks like we have to get another spirit orb."
In all this Jacob just stood in shock, clearly nobody saw what he was seeing.