Anders didn't touch his porridge. Several other nervous looking mages were also picking at their food. He nearly gave up and turned in his bowl when a familiar face sat across from him.

"Hello Deidre." He sighed.

"Hello Anders." She smiled at him and began mashing her porridge. "Are you looking forward to today?"

"I suppose so." He said glumly.

"I can't wait to go see my sister! I just know this time I can get a purple." Deidre began eating. Anders looked at her neck, the crest of Whitethorn glowed orange.

"I'm sure you can Deidre." He said.

"Oh don't mope so, I'm sure you're at least a yellow or orange." She patted his hand gently. "I'll be cheering for you. And you had better eat something, you don't want those crystals to zap you dry because you didn't eat!"

"No, don't want that." He grudgingly admitted that she was right, and shoveled his food in his mouth to get it over with.

Armor clad boots clanked into the dining hall and everyone rushed to finish eating and get rid of their bowls. The Guardmaster himself stepped from behind his men, his eyes roving the hall and landing on Anders.

"Today is the final day of the tests. Those who have been granted permission to sign up for today may now approach the clerk to verify your name and current mark." He paced as he spoke. "Those wishing to watch from the stands report to the front gate in ten minutes time and you will be escorted."

"Those of you testing, follow." He turned abruptly and lead them to the front gate. Anders and Deidre clamored to return bowls and lineup. Clerks checked names on a list, and soldiers rifled through bags and books to make sure nothing illegal went out with presentations. Anders still hadn't had time to put a safe case on his device for others to touch, so he had removed all of the power from it. Once they were all done, they were lead down the corridors. The hallways of Whitethorn had never looked so unfriendly before today. Grey stone condemned Anders the whole way. He would fail. He would be trapped here forever. He would never see the world, he would never become anything other than another nameless mage, doomed to die in obscurity over paper and ink in a keep on a cliff.

Deidre didn't look any better. She ran her fingers through her frizzy hair over and over again, muttering under her breath. Anders wouldn't normally bother talking to her, but she was the one who made him eat. He opened his mouth to return the kindness but found his own throat too dry to make a sound.

A few more steps and warm sunlight fell upon the hundred odd mages that remained to test. The Guardmaster turned on his heel and the soldiers stopped, standing at ease.

"There will be no use of your powers until given permission by the assessors." He narrowed his eyes and took in the group before him. "You will wait in order as the clerks seat you. You will accept whatever decisions they make on your abilities. Unless your mark is purple or better, you are still under my care, and will behave accordingly. If you do get purple or better, you are free to take a seat elsewhere in the ampetheatre, however know that powers are still prohibited from use in the presence of the tests. If you perform magical acts other than those permitted by the assessors or myself, you will be detained in the king's name. If you gain a status of purple or better, you will be brought back one final time after today's tests to collect your belongings. That is all, Gods keep you."

He waved a hand and the iron gates rose high. Many of the mages didn't realize he had finished his speech until he had already began the march through the courtyard. Warm sun brightened the flagstones. The courtyard looked so much bigger when it was empty of market day merchants. The walk was long and slow, he took in every breath of air, every step that was grass, every sound from the sea. They walked through the yard, and turned down the hill to the stage. The steep hill was so unlike anything the mages walked on for years, and many of them tread slowly so as not to fall. They slowly reached the bottom of the hill, and were sat in a roped area next to the stage. Clerks arranged the mages in order of a list they all seemed to be carrying.

"Deidre, orange." A boy called out. Deidre and Anders glanced at each other. She went over to the young clerk and was seated near the front.

"Anders, brown." A short woman called from the back. Anders steadied his breath and went over to her.

"Anders?" She looked at him over her list. He nodded.

"You sit here." She indicated to a seat near the end. There were only eight people behind him, he would have to sit there all day watching the other mages test, and tormenting himself until he could get it over with.

He took his seat. Slowly the seats around him filled up. Mages of every age and rank were sat with each other with no discrimination. For all the comfort a red mage had in the keep, he could still be sat next to the lowliest of brown mages. Here none were different from one another in the eyes of the law.

By the time everyone was sat, Anders found himself between a kindly woman in her forties and a boy of perhaps nine who also bore a brown crest. He looked green and Anders made sure to give him plenty of air. All were quiet in Anders's row, but it would seem some handled their nerves differently behind him. A boy rambled on about his presentation, partially to his neighbors but mostly to comfort himself. Two girls in front of him by a good distance could be heard talking in high voices. After a few minutes the watching mages were lead down from Whitethorn and the opening speech was given.

Anders let his eyes roam the stands. He saw Jak much closer to the front, but notably near an aisle for easy movement, or escape, Anders wasn't really sure with him. He gave a small nod when Anders met his eyes.

An older man was helped up the stage by a clerk. He had a wooden cane and a bad limp. Anders couldn't hear the judges form his seat nearly as well as he could sitting in the audience where the curve of the theater helped project sound. All he could do was watch and hope he understood what was going on.

The old man held onto his cane, but lifted one foot and stomped it down onto the stage. From that spot, leaves sprouted from under his boot. Bright green crawled up his dull grey pants. The vines produced beautiful yellow flowers. The man was helped into a chair by Harlow and Anders could see the vine had grown out of the wood itself and remained in place when the man left it.

After some discussion and the presentation of a strange fruit Anders had never seen before, the man was given the opportunity to touch one of the Godcrystals. Most of the mages around him strained to watch.

"What color is he?" The woman next to him whispered to her other neighbor.

"Red, I think." Said a low voice.

Anders watched on as the man touched the crystal. As with every mage before him, it pulled him into a trance. A white glow took his eyes and held him in place. The struggle was visible on his face, and Anders feared for his life. The Journeyman crystal almost never took a life, but the man was old and visibly weak.

The audience released breath at once as the man slumped back in his chair. His mark shone bright for a moment, and faded back to the red it had started as. The disappointment was heartbreaking. A small girl sucked her thumb and her mother wept in front of the stage. The little girl cried out when soldiers pulled them back into the seats.

"What a shame, is that his family?" The woman next to him now turned to Anders, who could only shrug. He didn't know the man, but he could only assume the same thing, that his daughter had to wait another five years to be with her father again, if he lived that long.

The next few mages finished rapidly. They had no presentation for the journeyman crystal, but touched the apprentice one in an attempt at a slightly better rank.

Deidre demonstrated an array of dazzling light magic. She certainly had a lot of power, but several times she seemed to lose the colors and images she was trying to create. She had a lot of power, but only fair control. She then sat nervously and presented the assessors some kind of potion. She drank it and spoke to them, though Anders couldn't hear what was said. After a short debate the judges offered her a crystal, and with slumped shoulders she placed her hand on it.

"Oh Deidre." He sighed. She came out of her trance with a red mark. Disappointment dripped from her as she shuffled back to her seat. It was better than orange but it certainly wasn't what she hoped for.

It was lunch break before Anders realized it. Instead of being lead back in the keep, bread was passed around the seats and they were told to stay put.

Buckets of water were passed through each row. A simple wooden cup floated in it and Anders took a cupful gratefully. Once he was done he passed it down the row and looked around at his fellow testers. The rows were almost half done now. Looking ahead he could see several empty seats where mages won their purple and escaped to the stands, leaving their neighbors behind. Jak had disappeared, probably to get his own food. Mages talked. Time passed. Eventually the crowd died down and the tests resumed.

Hours of watching other fail or succeed twisted Anders's stomach into knots. Every outcome ran through his head, but as his turn drew nearer the worst outcomes were all that he could think of. The row before him was nearly empty and still he watched on in dread. Then his row began to test. Before he knew it the woman who had been sitting next to him was walking off the stage with a smile and an orange mark.

"Anders." A deep voice beckoned. His heart pounded on his ribcage as he walked the short path to the stage. Four steps brought him to the top, eyes locked onto him from all over the hillside and he could feel it. Was it this quiet for everyone else? He felt the assessors must be able to hear his heartbeat.

Crossing the boards Anders could see the base of the vine the old man from that morning had grown. They had to cut it off so the other testers would be able to do demonstrations without tripping over it. The long table of assessors intimidated him, save for Harlow who was a beacon of comfort amongst the other esteemed assessors. He found himself in front of the table and stopped.

"Anders,... is this the boy you told us about Harlow?" The lolathian woman with the staff looked over to Harlow. It was refreshing to hear someone else use his nickname, it went a long way towards making Anders feel more comfortable with the assessors.

"It is. I am certain you will like his presentation. Anders my boy, you are free to demonstrate some of your abilities for us. Anything you would like to do is fine as long as no person or the stage comes to harm." Harlow beamed.

Anders nodded and wiped his palms on his tunic and placed his bag on the table by Harlow so it wouldn't get damaged. He tried to steady his breathing and stepped back from the table. Rolling up his sleeves, he faced the keep. It was a mistake; he looked over the mass of people and mages. Hundreds were watching him. He knew he had a reputation amongst the mages, but he didn't like the expectant faces of the regular people. He tried to blur them out of his mind and focus on the roof of the keep. The black slab of granite stood out against the blue sky. He hadn't been able to think of anything better than this as a demonstration of control. The downfall of lightning magic is a lack of accuracy. Anders held his palms to the sky, and took a calming breath.

He looked up to the granite at the top of the hill. He had nearly a quarter mile to reach across, but he knew he could make it. He arced the lightning high over the heads of the audience, well away from endangering anyone. Sany people ghasped and moved from under the stream far overhead, Anders heard Reece's distinctive laugh. It was a boost to his confidence. His power surged forth, reaching for the slab on top of the keep until the end tethered to it. Anders stood there, feeding his power into the granite for a minute, then he removed one of his hands. With one palm out, he held his power to the granite for another moment and faced the assessors. When he finally released it he was short of breath.

"What is that you hit?" One of the assessors asked calmly.

"Granite, sir." Anders answered.

"How did you know it was up there?" The lolathian woman asked, a bit flustered.

"It is up there because of me." Anders answered.

"If I may." The Guardmaster himself stepped onto the stage, glaring at Anders. "The boy is a hazard when it storms. He is taken to the roof to draw lightning, or it will strike the roof over his room until the storm passes. The granite was placed there for him to let off the excess when the storm finishes with him."

"What do you mean the lightning strikes the roof? Of the keep?" An assessor in his thirties with a trim beard asked puzzled.

"I mean, when he was brought here that first week, the stone over his room was struck and crumbled to pebbles. It took two days to repair." The Guardmaster spat. "If we do not lead him outside, he will bring the roof down around us."

"I see." The bearded assessor replied. "And how old were you boy? When this happened."

"Eight or so." He mumbled.

"You seemed certain of your ability to keep the audience out of danger." The lolathian woman quipped. "Had you no other demonstration of control?"

"He is a brown." One of the assessors to her side added.

"I have never tested before." Anders said, holding his voice together. "I was, incapacitated five years ago. I am brown, but not because the Godscrystals say so. I mean to prove to you I am able to challenge the journeyman crystal, and to do that I had to show a measure of power, as well as distance accuracy."

The assessors muttered to one another and the Guardsmaster stepped back off the stage. Harlow whispered to his neighbor and after a moment they all looked to Anders again. The lolathian woman held her chin high.

"It was a risk, boy. But I do admit for a lightning mage to reach his target from such distance is impressive." She tapped her staff on the floor once loudly. "You may show us a presentation of your dedication to knowledge, and we will consider your request. For someone who has not touched the Apprentice crystal, this is unusual. Do not disappoint. "

This was it. Finally, he would get his chance to prove himself.

Finally, he could take the next step towards freedom.