Chapter 33: Vessel Registration Bureau

The Vessel Registration Hall stood in the administrative quarter like a monument to bureaucracy. Reinforced stone walls. Mana-infused wards that hummed faintly at the edges of perception. Banners bearing the Vessel Guild’s emblem—a crossed sword and staff over a rift symbol hung from the entrance.

Emeric pushed through the heavy oak doors.

The lobby was crowded. Vessels of all ages and ranks milled about. Some were young, fresh like him, their mana signatures still settling. Others were older.

The air hummed with dozens of overlapping mana signatures. It made his senses tingle.

The lines were massive but thankfully, it was moving. There were about eight attendants taking on new vessels and what they needed.

He approached the reception desk when it came to his turn. A clerk with tired eyes and ink-stained fingers looked up from her paperwork, dark circles beneath her eyes.

"Name and purpose?"

"Emeric Halden. I’m here to register and apply for a Vessel License."

She studied him for a moment then she reached for a form and slid it across the counter.

"Fill this out and let me know when you’re done." She said with a practiced routine.

"Thank you."

Emeric took the form and found a bench along the wall.

The form was extensive.

Personal information. Medical history. Emergency contacts. Previous occupation. Reason for applying. Affiliations. Date of birth.

He filled it out methodically, answering honestly where it mattered and vaguely where it didn’t.

Name: Emeric Halden

Age: 22

Date of birth: Frostwane 28th , Year 868 MD

Date of Awakening: Bloomtide 20th , Year 895 MD

House Affiliation: (He left it blank)

Reason for Applying: Rift clearing, personal advancement

He hesitated at the House Affiliation line. The Halden name had never done him any favors. He didn’t want it attached to this.

He left it blank.

He submitted the form to the woman at the desk whose name was Belmere according to her name tag.

She took the form, giving it a once over with her eyes before looking satisfied with the contents.

"If you’ll please follow me."

They walked in silence for the next minute, making several turns until they came to the entrance of a hall that opened into a bigger space.

The tag above read Testing Wing.

"The next phase is your evaluation." She said, finally breaking the silence. "I will be handing you over to our evaluation experts to follow through from there. "

She paused, looking at Emeric for the first time.

"Goodluck."

---

The Testing Wing was divided into sections. He knew because he could see the purpose of each of the sections written at the entrance of each door.

Physical assessment areas. Mana testing chambers. Ability evaluation rooms. Technicians in grey coats moved between stations, managing equipment and guiding examinees.

A young man with rather eccentric hair finally emerged from one of the spaces somewhere inside.

"Emeric Halden?"

"Yes."

"I’m Aris. I’ll be in charge of your evaluation today. If you’ll please follow me."

Emeric followed him into an even more open space to reveal several booths. There were different pieces of equipment he had not seen before.

The first was an enclosed chamber that housed an orb like crystal in the middle, sitting on a pedestal of some sort.

Aris retrieved a clipboard from the table beside him as he gestured for Emeric to move forward.

He stared at the clipboard, his face taking on an expression before it disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

"Please." He said in a soft voice.

"In this chamber, we will be measuring your mana capacity as well as the stability of your mana core. We can’t have you going kaboom on us now can we?" He said, an eccentric laugh escaping his lips.

Emeric did not laugh.

He gently stepped inside the chamber, careful not to break anything while he was here.

"Now please place your hand on the crystal in front of you and circulate your mana naturally. We’ll be able to tell just what you’re capable of." Aris said through a device on his table that apparently amplified his voice.

Emeric nodded and put all he had learnt to use. He felt the mana, letting it circulate throughout his body.

The door sealed as soon as he began. The booth was radiating a soft glow that seemed to be emanating from the crystal he was touching.

He let the mana through his body, feeling its familiar touch. The crystal glowed brighter now, nearly blinding him as it intensified.

Just as quickly as it had started, it faded.

The door opened with the same sound it had made when he went in, depressurizing.

"Thank you." Aris said without looking up from the beeping equipment on his table.

"The next booth please."

The soft hiss of the door from the next booth welcomed him.

He stepped inside, waiting for instructions on what to do.

"Your core is stable. Mana pathways are... unusual. Like they were recently formed. But they’re strong. Very strong." Aris said into the device.

Emeric knew that. They were only formed no less than two weeks ago.

"Is that bad?"

"No. Just unusual." He gestured to the next station. "Place your hand on the evaluation crystal."

This was a triangular piece of crystal that sat on this one. The color was different too. It had a deep starry night appearance.

Emeric looked at Aris. It was pointy. How did he want him to place his hands on this thing?

"Oh, you can just let it over," he said as if reading his mind.

Emeric let his palm hover against the pointy crystal that was mounted on the pedestal.

It flared with light— and then it flickered.

The light pulsed as if stuttering then flickered again.

Emeric felt something stir in his chest in an uncomfortable way. A system notification appeared.

---

[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]

[AFFINITY PROBE DETECTED]

[SYSTEM INTERVENTION INITIATED — HIDING DORMANT AFFINITIES]

[AFFINITIES HIDDEN]

[VISIBLE AFFINITIES: WIND, LIGHTNING]

[NOTE: FULL AFFINITY REVELATION WOULD ALERT NATIONAL REGISTRY. FOUR ELEMENT AFFINITIES ARE MYTHICAL. REVELATION WOULD DRAW DANGEROUS ATTENTION AND PUT YOUR TARGET AT RISK.]