The crowd buzzed with anticipation.
The Trial Grounds, a wide arena carved into the heart of the clan's ancient mountain. The seats were packed to the brim with disciples, elders, and even very high-ranking clan members with the Dragon king right hand man Gozlor in attendance as well. With Gozlor in attendance, everyone could tell this was indeed a grand event, as Gozlor was rarely ever seen at events like this.
Stone tiers stretched high into the cliffs, forming a coliseum where every cough echoed and every whispered doubt turned sharp as blades. This was no ordinary trial. This was the trial of the prodigy whom is said to have the potential almost equal to the progenitor of dragons, Vaeric the First. The trial were rites reserved for the elite dragons, who were considered to possess power and potential. For those expected to be great. For the prodigies.
And he... was the greatest among his peers.
This was an event that happened with about three dragons a year on average, one where they became true dragons if they passed.
"Look, there he is."
"The prodigy..."
"The boy blessed with the same potential as the Progenitor."
Kaelen walked forward, each step deliberate, his breath getting heavier by the second. His ceremonial robes flowed around him with each step he took. At this point, he carried the gaze of hundreds and the expectations of thousands.
They called him a genius. A once-in-a-generation talent. The one said to rival the founder in spirit potential. And yet, all Kaelen could feel as he stepped into the trial arena was dread. Not of the trial in and of itself but of failing them all, the eyes that looked up to him.
"Try not to cry when they break you," sneered a very much familiar voice to his left.
Kaelen turned his head. Taron. One of the inner disciples, a brute who'd never had a kind word for him. Jealousy, maybe. Even more.
Another laughed hysterically. "The talented one looks pale. Maybe he's finally realizing that raw potential means nothing if you can't handle the pressure.
This taunts were expected of the particular group of dragons. Taron and two of his other friends had never had anything good to say to him.
He won't be bothered, atleast not today.
Kaelen said nothing. He couldn't. He could see them in his peripheral view. Every insult felt earned, every jab a reminder that he hadn't proven anything yet. Words were wind, easy, lightweight. Legacy was the real heavy weight.
"Don't embarrass the clan."
"Make sure your 'vision' doesn't shatter you."
"I heard some never wake up from the first stage."
The jeers continued as he passed by the trio, walking towards the center of of the arena.
The spectators' voices of admiration and anticipation blurred into a wall of noise, the closer he got to the stage. His older brother, Darien, watched from the high balcony where only the elders and clan heads sat. His face was unreadable but his eyes told the truth.
Pride. And worry.
A gong rang, low and heavy.
The Trial Master stepped forward. He was dressed in the traditional garb of one who had seen countless dreams rise and just as many shatter. The old dragon had a runic staff in his hand.
"Kaelen," the Master intoned, his voice reverberating like thunder caught in stone. "You carry the hopes of your generation, the weight of a name nearly divine and the legacy of a lineage bathed in power."
The arena fell silent. You could hear a pin drop.
"Today, you face the Threefold Trial. Should you falter, banishment awaits. Should you pass your path to greatness begins."
He continued "Are you ready?"
Kaelen bowed. His knees didn't buckle even though he could feel they wanted to.
"Yes I am."
"Step forward then… and face your vision."
Kaelen got back on his feet and walked slowly into the center of the stage. A circle of runes flared to life beneath his feet, glowing with eerie crimson light. The world around him began to blur, colors bleeding away as the spiritual formation activated.
From the outside, the spectators saw only Kaelen standing still, eyes wide as saucers, swallowed up in a shifting dome of shimmering energy. No one could see inside.
But Kaelen... was no longer there.
***
He stood in a void.
A mirror of the world he knew and was familiar with, yet somehow twisted. The skies bled black. The earth cracked and crumbled with each step. A warped version of the cavern he was standing in was in ruins around him.
"Failure," a voice hissed.
Kael turned to his right. Shadows emerged, twisted forms of people he knew. Elders pointing, laughing. Disciples falling to ruin. Darien turning his back, expression cold.
"You were supposed to lead."
"You were supposed to protect us."
"Why are you so weak?"
Kaelen's hands trembled. "I didn't ask for this... I never asked…"
But the vision grew even darker.
He saw himself standing alone in the ruins, robes torn, eyes hollow. "You couldn't even save one of them," a shadow that took semblance of his future self said. "Why pretend to be worthy?"
He screamed and charged forward but the world shifted again.
Now he stood before his brother.
Darien, bloodied, kneeling. "Where were you?" Darien gasped. "Where were you when we needed you?"
"I tried!" Kaelen shouted.
"No," Darien whispered, fading to dust. "You ran."
The ground collapsed. Darkness surged up, choking him.
***
Outside, the dome began to flicker. Some gasped. A few elders furrowed their brows. It was lasting longer than usual.
The vision stage was the quickest stage to be conquered by the previous prodigies that had undergone this trial. It was also the boring part of the three stages for the spectators as they couldn't see a thing that was going on.
The fact that Kaelen had taken this long was beginning to raise more than a few eyebrows and a lot more questions. There had never been a dragon who had lost in the vision stage in the age long history.
"Is he trapped?"
"Has his mind broken?"
Darien's eyes narrowed. "No... he's still fighting."
***
Back inside the vision, Kaelen stood once more barely. His breathing was ragged and his eyes full of fury, tears streaming down his face.
"I'm afraid," he whispered. "I don't want to fail... but I won't run!"
He raised his hand. A crimson flame crackled from his palm. Then It roared.
"I may fall. But I will burn the path forward, even if it kills me!"
The shadows screamed in agony.
Next, the world split. The void shattered like glass.
***
In the real world, the dome erupted in a surge of light, and Kaelen appeared, collapsed to his knees, panting and sweating profusely.
The Trial Master stepped forward, raising one hand up in the air.
"Vision Complete."
The crowd was stunned. Whispers broke out.
"He survived?"
"That light... was that his flame?"
"No... it couldn't be..."
Darien allowed himself a faint smile. "He's ready for the next."
Kael stood with his head held high.
One part down. Two to go.
The real danger was just beginning.