Opening Speech & Ceremony

    Sassa sat in the magnificent banquet hall, surrounded on all sides by the energetic buzz of her peers. She made eye contact with a nearby boy but only smiled a nervous half-smile and averted her gaze. She was still much too anxious to make small talk with anyone. To avoid the possibility of being drawn into a conversation, she decided to inspect the hall. Her older brother, Bjarke, had told her about the Medicine Wheel Hall before her arrival at Bawa Ekin Mani, but his description certainly had not done it any justice. The room was perfectly round and had four wide-open arches for doorways, one entering the hall from each cardinal direction. The wooden walls appeared to have trees embedded in them, or perhaps growing through them, she wasn't too sure about which. The branches of the trees grew upwards to form a spiral around the outer part of the ceiling, stopping a few meters in from the edges. It was a feat that could only have been achieved through magical coaxing of the trees. There was a large circle in the center of the ceiling that she assumed was one solid pane of glass. She could see the crisp blue sky above, not a cloud in sight. A lopsided V of birds flew by overhead.

   Sassa smiled to herself as she appreciated the magical blending of man with nature, plus certainly the hand of a fae or two. She tried to imagine all of the other fascinating natural and architectural constructs that might be held within her new school. She felt a pang of homesickness for Alfheim, but instead took comfort in the fact that the energy here felt much like it did back at home.

   Her eye was drawn to a wide, round table in the center of the room. It was made of a rich mahogany, the same as the table at which she was seated. At the center table there were seated several people whom she assumed were teachers due to the fact that several of them were quite a bit older than the students seated around the hall. She was struck by the fact that a few of them appeared to be quite young. One of the middle-aged teachers stood up and many of the guests in the hall began to respectfully quiet down and look in his direction. She was momentarily stunned as she recognized this man as the one who had been driving her bus on the way to the school. He was dressed in a fringed, hide jacket, with dark pants and moccasins. His dark hair was flecked with grey and white. Sassa's eyes widened as three identical apparitions of the man appeared, one facing each of the four directions of the room. There were a few gasps, from the younger students, before the room went silent to hear him speak.

"Good day to you all! My name is Elder Asa. I am pleased to see both new and familiar faces. There are few things I love more than the first day back at Bawa Ekin Mani, and getting to see all of the sparkling souls who stumble into our humble Hall." He paused for a moment and grinned lovingly while looking around the room.

  "Bawa Ekin Mani is one of many North American magical schools. I am of course talking about miracle magic, the kind that makes you question reality, the kind that most people are certain only exists on the pages of fantasy novels or on the big screen. If you were not previously aware of its existence, I am honored to be able to be the one to tell you that this kind of magic is indeed real. It is as real as you and me, and furthermore, it is potent within you and me. This is why you have been chosen to be here. You, my students, are the ones that people dream about. You are all capable of fantastic feats and will go on from here to perform many majestic marvels."

  Sassa felt as though her entire body was filled with warm bubbles. She had been happy many times before, as she had led a very privileged life, but never had she felt such an intense joy as she did right now while listening to this stranger's slow and comforting words.

   "Here you will be taught a wide array of magical focuses, based in practices from all corners of the Earth. Some of these may come naturally to you and others not. You will all end up with your own unique blend of abilities and beliefs. It is our job here to guide you as you explore these aspects of yourself. We give you a wealth of wisdom on which to draw during your studies, as well as a safe environment in which to experiment with your new-found gifts. You will find here the finest of teachers AND of students. To teach here is one of the most rewarding paths a magic user can follow. I have learned as much from witches of 100 years experience as I have from warlocks with 100 days'."

    The serene man paused for a moment to let the last statement sink in with the crowd around him. Some students were nodding appreciatively, others looked dumbfounded. Sassa glowed with the knowledge that even this wise man appeared to value her.

   "I'm sure all of this must be mind blowing to some of you and I assure you that we will make this transition as painless for you as possible. You will each have a student mentor and an appointed teacher that you will check in with one-on-one, periodically, to ensure that you are adjusting smoothly to your new environment. You will each be provided with your own private room which you are free to decorate however you wish. You are encouraged to bring your pets from home as animals are our esteemed cousins from whom we can learn much and receive endless comfort. We want this place to feel like home to you.

   Moving on, you will be classified into different clans."

    Despite the fact that Elder Asa's demeanor did not change as he continued on, Sassa could sense a noticeable change in the crowd; from an amiable feeling to a more attentive and electrical vibe.

   "This clan classification is not to divide you or pit you against one another. On the contrary, we are meant to work as teams, in unity with one another. A team should include at least one member from each of the four sectors. You will learn skills and abilities from all of these main focuses. You may even excel in more than one of them. What this sorting process is meant to do is to tell you where you will have the most impact when working on a team. This is where you will be the strongest, have the most use - where you are the most useful and powerful. This may also represent what values are or will become most important to you.

   We all potentially have the characteristics, strengths and weaknesses of ALL of these focuses. Be careful not to fall into letting anything in life too heavily define you. People are beautiful, complex and unique creatures. We have varied traits and cannot simply be divided into a few pre-set groups. We just want to give you a goal to strive for and a purpose into which to flow.

   First I will tell you what these four clans are:

   To the East, the land of the rising sun, of new beginnings, illumination and innocence: Semah. The strengths for those in Semah to focus on are: humility, generosity, gratitude, respect, focus, and awareness. Above all skills, those of the East are prized for their abilities of divine communication - the ability to contact spirits of all kinds, in all places. Semah's sacred medicine or herb is ritual tobacco, and the sacred animal is the Eagle. Eagle is our messenger to the Great Mystery, he flies our prayers to the heavens, and is the closest to the divine.

  In the South, we have the land of growth and development: Kheezik. Those of this focus are filled with courage, stamina, and integrity. They are the healers and the ones that bring blessings. They will purify and attract positive energy. Kheezik's sacred medicine is cedar, and their animals are the fox and the wolf.

   To the West, are those of great strength and wisdom. Sukodawabuk. They are helpful and have clarity of purpose. They will build up themselves and others, deepening development and helping all to harvest their successes. They are the strongest at dispelling negative energy and driving away evil forces. Sukodawabuk has the emblem of a raven and the medicine of sage.

   North, Wheengush, the embodiment of unity, kindness, love and virtue. They stand for the interconnectedness of us all. They may bend but they will never break. They will promote reconstruction for us all. They can turn hurt into kindness, pain into joy, negative into positive, and evil into good. Wheengush's banner shows bears of black, brown and white, unified as one. Their sacred essence is sweetgrass.

   Remember, students, that these can all be found to a certain extent, within all of us. You may even believe that you do not fit into your new section. You may even feel that you lack all of the elements of your determined clan. We are placed in life, always, exactly where we need to be, to grow, to advance, to learn and to ultimately become our most perfect self - who we are meant to be. As you travel your road in life you will begin to learn more and more how you fit into your faction, and in fact how you fit into all of them. Your understanding of them will grow and you will begin to see in this circle, the divinity that these directions represent."

   All four versions of Elder Asa spread their arms and looked to the ceiling. What used to be a circular skylight, that had almost encompassed the whole ceiling of the hall, was now transformed into a large circle, divided in four quarters. Each quarter was a different color: one yellow, one red, one black, and one white.

~~~

   Kaylessa stared in wonder at the large Medicine Wheel projected on the ceiling. She had seen it a few times before, though it hadn't had much meaning to her. She had a feeling that was likely going to be the first of many big changes in store for her.

   When she looked back down to the center of the room where Elder Asa had been speaking she saw that all of the teachers had now stood up and formed a large circle around the area where the center table had been. Instead, all that remained on the small platform was the elder and a smaller circular table with a mysterious object.

   Elder Asa raised the glimmering object above him, showing it to each side of the hall, and continued:

"This is our Bawa Ekin Mani Abalone Shell. The abalone shell has a strong significance to the Anishinaabe, the ones who first founded this school. Abalone shells are used in many cleansing and purifying rituals and will today be used in our Opening Ceremony to decide which clan you will join during your stay at Bawa Ekin Mani.

   This is an easy ritual in which each first-year student will take part. You will all do perfectly fine without any experience or knowledge of magical practices. This ceremony holds tremendous weight and significance for each person involved and has been completed by each student who has ever attended Bawa Ekin Mani.

   In this ritual, we will have a physical representation of each of the four elements. The abalone shell in this ritual will represent the element of water."

   He carefully set the sacred shell down on the small table. He then held up his hand and produced a small ball of fire, showing it to the room and then placing it inside the abalone shell.

"This Eternal Flame will be our representation of fire. This particular spell's flame will not burn out until extinguished by the caster.

   Our representation of earth will be the four sacred medicines: tobacco, cedar, sage, and sweetgrass."

   Elder Asa gestured as four of the teachers stepped forward from the surrounding circle and joined him on the raised platform. Each teacher took a spot in one of the four directions of the circle.

"Each Clanmaster will hold the herb of his or her respective clan. You will take one piece from each of them before joining me at the center table. You will then simultaneously cast all four pieces into the flame. Doing so will release smoke, the representation of our final element, air. This smoke will reveal to us in which clan you are a new member.

   Shall we begin?"

   As Elder Asa cleared his throat, Kaylessa felt the excitement of butterflies flitting around in her stomach.

"Aagard, Aldwin."

   A deathly pale boy on the other side of the room stood up and began to walk towards the center. His eyes were on the floor as he made his way up to the first teacher. He took from her a small plant and continued around the circle of teachers collecting the rest. He walked to the table in the center and stood opposite of Elder Asa. The elder smiled and nodded to the boy to proceed. Aldwin quickly tossed his handful of herbs into the flame and stepped back.

   Kaylessa held her breath wondering how on earth smoke was going to let a room full of people know the fate of this teen aged boy. She watched on the edge of her seat as the smoke began to supernaturally wisp and whorl upwards, appearing to make designs in the air, a few feet above the thin boy. She realized she was holding her breath and took a deep inhale, only to find the room filled with a sweet, pleasant aroma that hadn't been there before. She gasped as the smoke played a vision of a bear lumbering along and clumsily jump into the arms of a second bear for a big bear hug.

"Wheengush!" Elder Asa cried out.

   The students in the hall all erupted in cheers as Aldwin Aagard turned to step off the center platform. He was met at the edge by what looked to be an older student who directed him towards the north side of the hall, to a nearby table which had remained empty until now.

   Kaylessa watched in awe as the ceremony continued, each student following the same process the first student had: collecting the herbs, throwing them into the fire in the center and awaiting a smoke scene depicting the clan they were to join. Each person's result seemed to be unique, with only the animals portrayed being the deciding element.

   As a short, blonde girl rushed up upon hearing the name "Hedger, Annabelle" being called, Kaylessa felt the room get a few degrees warmer. She knew that she was probably going to be next. She gripped the chair in anticipation, as she saw a young eagle erupt from the cloud of smoke above and begin to circle around a giggling Annabelle Hedger.

"Heeren, Kaylessa."

   She gulped and stood up. 'Has the room always been this silent?' she wondered as she took her first step forward. Halfway up to the stage she became very self-conscious about the fidgeting of her hands and shoved them down towards her sides.

   She felt a bead of sweat drip down her neck as she reached the first teacher. The kind-looking man grinned and said quietly to her, "Don't be nervous," as he passed her a crispy, tan tobacco leaf. Kaylessa felt as though she was in a daze as she circled the platform and also received a sprig of cedar, a sage leaf, and a small blade of sweetgrass from the other clanmasters.

   When she reached the middle she examined the little bundle she had collected.

I can't believe these tiny things are supposed to determine my fate.

   She looked up from her hands and into the eyes of the man standing in front of her. The rest of the room seemed to fade away. His eyes seemed to be glistening as he said softly so that only she could hear,

"Sometimes we can fail to see the little things that give life its magic."

   She wondered for a brief moment if he had read her thoughts or if his phrase was a coincidence. Looking back down at her hands she could feel the power emanating from the seemingly trivial plants she held.

   She looked back up as the elder nodded towards her with a tender smile.

   Throwing her sacred medicines into the Eternal Fire she immediately recognized a familiar scent and was reminded of curling up next to her fireplace on a cold night. She watched the smoke rise playfully around her. Two vague shapes began to emerge and seemed to joyfully chase one another. They reminded her of puppies playing in a park. As one bounded closer towards her she realized it was a fox, which faked left and then ran right, fooling a pursuing wolf pup that had been on his tail.

"Kheezik!"

   Kaylessa was suddenly aware that she was smiling from ear to ear and she let out a huge sigh of relief. She had been so entranced in the ritual that she had forgotten she was up on a stage in front of hundreds of people. The hall echoed with cheers as she stepped out of the limelight and was greeted by a tall Asian man, who smiled and offered his hand as she stepped down the step. He escorted her to a table in the south side of the hall that already had a few other new students seated there. They all continued to clap as she sat down and turned to face the center for the next student.  

Author's Note

Updated on 03-08-2016
Updated on 03-26-2016

Reviews

[Solar]

This chapter has the essential elements of the story - perhaps some of it or at least 'teasers/hints' can be included in the prologue or opening chapters?


"Sometimes we can fail to see the little things that give life its magic." A magical line!

[Kelly Kat]

A Prologue would actually be a really great idea now that you mention it. I hadn't thought about that, thanks!
These are still largely in first draft too, so very easy to add in red herrings and teasers :)
Thanks for the review and kind words!

[EssenceofDaringx]

This part reminds me of Harry Potter. but it carries it's own originality that makes that a good thing. Do the puppy fox and wolf symbolize Kaylessa's own adolescence when it comes to magic? If so, I thought it a clever use of symbolism here.

[Kelly Kat]

You got it! I'm a huge fan of symbolism. I'm a visual artist as well so there tends to be a fair amount come through in my writing! :)