Summer had arrived in Kolma.

The sun rose high and clear above the village, bathing the dirt roads and wooden rooftops in warm gold. A gentle breeze carried the scent of fresh grass from the pastures and the faint tang of resin from newly repaired beams. Chickens wandered freely again, no longer startled by the clatter of constant construction and repairs, and children’s laughter echoed between the houses as if the village itself had finally exhaled.

Where broken stalls once stood crooked and destroyed, sturdy frames now held firm. Fresh planks gleamed pale beneath the sun, their edges still sharp, their supports driven deep and true. Cloth roofs fluttered softly, with mended seams holding fast. It was not perfect—but it was whole again, sturdy again.

At the far end of the square, three boys stood drenched in sweat and smeared with dust, staring up at their final task.

They slammed the last support beam into place with a grunt and stepped back to admire it.

"Finally, god damn it," Ralph said, wiping his brow with the back of his hand. "If I see another plank today, I’m setting it on fire."

Teclos laughed, breathless, and tossed the hammer up into the air before catching it clumsily.

"Yeah, repairing the whole damn village took us a lot of time..." he said, grinning wide. "But we’re finally free!"

Gillard snorted and shook his head.

"Don’t be too happy yet," he said calmly. "We still have to show it to the village chief for inspection."

The grin slid right off Teclos’ face.

Ralph winced. "...Why would you say that out loud?"

They stood there for a moment, the weight of that reminder settling in.

Then, with shared resignation, they gathered their things and started walking towards the chief’s house.

The walk was quieter than usual at first. Teclos broke the silence.

"So," he said, glancing between them, "what do you think? Any chance he doesn’t find something wrong?"

Ralph scoffed. "There is a chance, but I wouldn’t count on it."

"That’s his job," Gillard replied. "And honestly? I’d be more worried if he was silent during that inspection."

Teclos exhaled slowly. "Still... once this is done, that’s it. No more repairs. No more hauling carts."

Ralph stretched his arms over his head. "You have no idea how much I’m looking forward to doing absolutely nothing for a few days."

Gillard glanced at him. "You’ve been spending more time at home lately."

Ralph hesitated, then nodded. "Yeah. At first it was rough. Real rough." He shrugged. "But... we argue less now. He yells less. I listen more. Turns out not snapping back helped like you said, and now we’re back to normal."

Teclos smiled faintly. "I’m glad."

Ralph huffed, his face turning red. "Don’t get all proud about it."

They reached the chief’s house soon after—a solid, well-kept structure near the heart of the village. Before they could knock, the door opened.

Elira stood there, her expression warm and welcoming.

"Well, if it isn’t Kolma’s hardest workers," she said kindly.

They greeted her politely, each a bit stiff with nerves. She listened as they explained, then nodded.

"I’ll get my husband," she said. "Wait here."

Moments later, a set of heavy footsteps approached.

Brahm stepped into the doorway.

He crossed his arms and fixed them with a deep frown that made all three straighten unconsciously.

"So," he said gruffly, "what do you boys want?" 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Elira slapped him on the shoulder. "Don’t be too hard on them."

He flinched but managed to stay composed.

"Well?"

Ralph swallowed. "Sir—we finished the repairs. All of them. We’d like you to inspect the work."

Brahm’s eyes narrowed. He studied them for a long moment, then huffed.

"Fine. Let’s start at the pastures then, hope you did a decent job."

He turned without another word, closed the door, and started walking straight towards the pastures.

They followed him through the village, nervously anticipating his critique.

Once there, Brahm moved slowly, deliberately, inspecting every beam, every joint, every brace.

He found flaws—but they were small ones. A support that could’ve been angled better. A seam that might loosen over time. A post that sat a finger’s width off-center.

He listed them all in the notes he brought with him.

That notebook was torture for those three, as they didn’t know what he was writing.

They moved along the road. He scribbled something down every few metres, and lastly, they made it to the stalls.

Again, he checked everything and started writing it all down. Then he looked at the stalls one last time and nodded.

"...Good job," he muttered. "Could’ve been cleaner. But it’ll hold."

Relief washed over them like rain.

But Teclos had to ask, "What about the notes, sir?"

"I’ll give those to the merchants and landowners of the damaged properties so there won’t be any surprise waiting for them."

They all nodded and then bowed their heads in thanks, stored the last of the tools, and finally—finally—stood free of work.

Ralph clapped his hands together.

"This calls for a celebration. What do you say we grab a pie at my place?"

Teclos raised a finger immediately. "As long as it’s just pie. No alcohol."

Gillard nodded. "Yeah. No more liquor."

Ralph laughed. "You two seriously have no faith in me, but don’t worry, it’s just pie."

They headed off together.

At Ralph’s house, his parents greeted them without any tension, and soon they were seated at a picnic table behind his home, the smell of warm pie filling the air.

As they dug in, the stress of the past weeks was finally lifting—

The conversation shifted.

"...So," Gillard said after a bite, "have you heard about the coming-of-age ceremony?"

"No, not really. I was preoccupied with everything going on," replied Teclos.

Gillard also nodded his head. "Yeah, me too."

Ralph wiped his fingers on a cloth and leaned back against the bench, his eyes drifting toward the gates beyond the fence.

"You two knuckleheads are in luck," he said. "I asked around. A lot."

Gillard raised an eyebrow. "How many people is ’a lot’?"

Ralph smirked. "Enough that my mother told me to stop bothering people."

Teclos shook his head, scoffing. "Alright, I guess that means you’re going to brag about what you know."

Ralph nodded. "Yes, I am. It wasn’t easy to gather all this information, you know? Anyways, it’s done over three days. First day’s the written tests."

"What kind of written tests?" Teclos repeated. "And what about those that can’t write?"

"They immediately fail the written tests, obviously, and their paths for the future shrink. Anyways, there are five topics," Ralph said. "And they’re not light either."

Gillard folded his arms, concern written on his face. "Go on."

"First is monster knowledge. Tracks, habitats, weak points, what you run from and what you can fight. Mostly regional stuff—wolves, boars, low-grade beasts, that kind of thing. But they throw in trick questions. Like monsters that look harmless but aren’t."

Teclos nodded slowly. "I guess that makes sense for a village like this."

"Second is basic math," Ralph continued. "Counting, measurements, trade calculations. If you can’t figure out how much leather you’re selling or how much grain you owe in tax, you fail."

Gillard hummed. "I guess I should try to learn math for a change?"

Ralph rolled his eyes and continued.

"Third is herbal knowledge. Which plants heal, which kill, which only look useful. Drying methods, mixing, storage. Apparently a lot of kids mess this one up."

Teclos smiled. "Alright, I guess I have an advantage here."

Ralph chuckled. "Fourth is knowledge of nobles."

That got both of them confused—why would they need to know that?

"What to do, what not to do," Ralph said. "How to speak, when to bow, when to keep your mouth shut. What gets you fined. What gets you imprisoned."

"...And what gets you killed?" Teclos asked lightly, guessing something.

Ralph nodded. "That too, yes... mostly that."

Gillard exhaled through his nose. "Uncomfortable, but nobles can be stuck up and a pain in the ass. My dad told me that."

"And the last one," Ralph said, his voice turning more serious, "is knowledge of the kingdom. Borders. Enemies. Allies. The ruler, his family, and the basic laws that’ve been passed down. Stuff like conscription rights, taxes, land ownership."

Teclos leaned back slowly. "That’s... a lot for a backwater village ceremony and fourteen-year-olds... do you guys even know how to read?"

Both of them nodded.

"It’s not really about being smart," Ralph said. "It’s about not being ignorant. It was apparently made by the elders and Brahm to help us survive."

There was a brief silence as that settled.

"And the next day after that?" Gillard asked.

Ralph straightened. "Second day’s physical tests."

Teclos blinked. "Physical? As in sword fights?"

"No, just endurance tests," Ralph said. "No mana allowed. They have hunters watching for it."

"...Why no mana?" Teclos repeated, incredulous.

"I don’t really know that part, but if you use it, you fail immediately," Ralph confirmed. "The tests are hanging from a bar, long jump, flexibility tests, sprinting, breathing endurance. Stuff like that."

Teclos stared at him. "That’s—" He stopped, frowning. "That’s almost exactly like school tests from my old world," he said quietly.

Gillard glanced at him. "Your what?"

"Never mind," Teclos muttered, shaken.

"And the third day," Ralph continued, "is the Rune Stone of Truth."

"What’s that?" Gillard asked.

"The rune stone," Ralph said. "Big slab. Carved runes all over it. You place your palm in the center, push your mana through."

"So?" Gillard was confused.

"And it checks everything," Ralph said. "How many circles you have. Where they are. Whether they’re stable. If they’re functioning properly or under strain."

Teclos leaned forward. "Like a... health check?"

"Exactly," Ralph said. "It also reads affinity. Fire, earth, light—whatever you’ve got. Most people here already know theirs; the stone just confirms it."

"What happens if someone has unstable circles?" Gillard asked.

Ralph’s expression tightened. "They get flagged, apparently. The elders talk to you privately. Sometimes you’re told to slow down. Sometimes you’re told to stop pushing altogether."

Silence fell over the table, each of them hoping that this wouldn’t be them.

"Anything else?" Teclos asked.

Ralph’s tone softened. "Yeah. The elders sit you down. They look at your results and tell you what paths you’d probably excel in."

"Like hunting, trading, and farming?" Gillard listed.

"Yeah, and crafting. Guard work. Even scholar tracks if you’re weird enough," Ralph added. "You usually get three options. Sometimes more. Sometimes less."

"And you have to pick one of them?" Teclos asked.

"No," Ralph said. "Nothing’s set in stone. It’s advice, not an order. But... they do know their stuff."

Gillard nodded slowly. "Enough that ignoring it would make life harder, I guess."

"Yeah," Ralph said. "But in the end, you are free to choose."

They sat there for a moment longer, excited for what their future could hold.

Teclos finally broke the silence.

"...Guess we’ll find out soon, huh?"

Ralph smirked faintly. "One way or another. Anyways, there’s still some time until then. You two should study the stuff we talked about today."

"Thanks, Ralph. This was surprisingly a lot of information..." Teclos said honestly, surprised by the intel he gathered... maybe Ralph had a talent for that kind of stuff.

The pie on the table didn’t survive for long.

By the time the plates were scraped clean and pushed aside, the sun had begun its slow descent, casting long shadows across the yard. The conversation drifted to smaller things after that—idle jokes, speculation about which elder would scowl the hardest, and half-serious bets about who would embarrass themselves first during the ceremony.

Eventually, Gillard stood up and stretched. "I should head back. Father’ll have work waiting even this late."

Ralph nodded. "Same. I’ve got chores if I don’t want another lecture."

They parted ways near the road, exchanging quick goodbyes.

Teclos reached home just as the lamps were being lit.

He found Saldia in the kitchen and Talmir by the hearth, and for a moment hesitated—

"I... need help," he said.

Saldia turned so fast her chair scraped the floor. "Help?"

"For the coming-of-age ceremony," Teclos continued. "I want to do well. Better than average."

Her face lit up instantly. "Oh! Oh, that’s wonderful." She was already moving. "Wait here."

She disappeared down the hall, returning moments later with a stack of worn books and bundled notes. "Herbal knowledge first," she declared proudly. "If they’re going to test you, we’ll make sure you don’t miss a single plant."

Talmir watched quietly, then asked, "And me?"

Teclos met his gaze. "I need more training, I guess. They check your physical condition apparently."

A slow smile tugged at Talmir’s mouth. "Alright, we’ll do it in the morning."

Dinner passed quickly that evening. Later, Teclos sat on his bed, hands on his knees, breathing steady as he slipped into meditation.

His focus was sharp and clear.

The fifth circle in his heart was drawing close—just one more step and he would reach it.

And when he did, the village wouldn’t know what hit it during the ceremony.