Amy growled. “What the actual fuck is going on?"

*

They stayed up for hours discussing what had occurred. They tried to guess who the One God might be, but none of them were experts in the divine. They ate and drank a little, discussed the testing they would endure in the morning and what could happen, but in the end, knowing nothing, they went to bed to rest for the morning.

Bitty roused them with breakfast, but their appetites weren't there.

After Bitty insisted they eat something, they washed and dressed and prepared for the day. They weren't certain what should happen when a sharp knock sounded at their door.

Bitty opened it and admitted Johnson Peters, the academy head administrator, still with a job. He didn't look happy.

“I've been directed to escort you to your testing. Please follow me."

Johnson turned and walked out of the room. They all looked at each other before hurrying after him. Bitty wished them luck as they exited the suite.

They caught up to Johnson, and after a few attempts at conversation with him where he refused to say anything, they stopped trying and walked in silence. Soon, Johnson dropped them off inside the Testing House in front of huge, ornate, double doors. The woodwork was engraved with images of adventurers fighting monsters. They stood there fidgeting, not knowing what to do.

The doors suddenly swung inwards, opening silently.

"Enter and advance to the centre of the room," droned a strange voice in the air. The voice was everywhere. It was deep and rich and didn't sound like a real voice.

They all looked at each other before stepping through the doorway.

Their heads and necks craned to take in all the room. Beyond the doors was an expansive room shaped in an oval with the walls detailed in wood and marble. The ceiling was at least fifty feet above them and sloped. Every square inch of the room was covered in intricately carved wood. Marble statues, towering twenty feet high, lined the walls in alcoves surrounded by carvings depicting the history of the people the statues were carved after. Daniel knew a little lore and thought he might recognise some statues as famous adventurers who had saved the realm countless times in their history.

The four walked, holding hands, toward the centre of the empty room.

Their footsteps were silent on the marble floor. When they reached the centre of the room, they stopped and pressed in against Daniel, except Amber, who stood to the side and held the hand of Amy.

The strange voice continued. "Welcome to the Testing Hall. It is here where you will all be tested for your ability to wield powers and perhaps be allowed to join the other heroes of the land in fighting off the threat from outside the Realm. The threat from the Wilds is constant and invades all aspects of life in the Realm. Without adventurers, the Realm would be quickly overrun and life as we know it would cease.

“Normally we test children as soon as they manifest the ability to draw strength from the magic seeped into the fabric of our reality.

The magic takes many forms, from providing strength and dexterity beyond the norm of mundane people, to allowing it to be manipulated and used in known forms to strike out against the enemy, or to protect those sworn to defend it. Or to protect the innocents or mundane.

"You are all adults. And you have formed a witch's circle. It has been many years since witches and their bound spell caster have been tested here at the Academy. Witches have a long-proven history of being the root of significant evil in the Realm. Always their thirst for power and domination takes over and turns those who would swear to do good, to do unimaginable acts of evil with their powers.

"We are here today to test you and see if you may be admitted to the Academy to learn how to best use your powers. This is our fulfilment to our oath to the Realm. As of this moment, we believe you are not evil. But you have the greatest capacity over all others for evil in the Realm. The King has decreed that all witch circles are to be eliminated. Today we are making an exception. An exception made official by the King, and at the request of one of the Realm's greatest heroes.

"We warn you; this will not be a normal test where you are simply asked to demonstrate your control over your magic. Because of strictures placed on the Academy by King Arbuckle, long may he rule, we must also test your moral and ethical values. You must all pass this test together. If one fails, you will all fail.

“Because of your nature and the normal fear associated with dealing with witch circles and bound spell casters, we have opened this testing to observers. Once testing is completed, none will say you were provided preferential treatment or that our final decision is not merited. Behold!"

The walls surrounding the testing hall shimmered and then faded, and rows upon rows of seated observers were revealed, sitting in comfortable seats, and looking down on the testing hall floor. Daniel could see the walls had moved farther back, expanding the room. The audience, he had thought, would be mostly comprised of students from the Academy, but there were far too many people for the school alone.

Daniel then noticed that some people shimmered and were not physically present. He had never seen a corporal projection before, and he was fascinated. His spell book spoke of it. The people, other than student, were dressed in very expensive clothes and he realised the Realm elites must also be present for their testing.