Vana reached the podium, which had been erected by the Woodland Elves, using fallen branches and Forest Dwellers had collected a plethora of woven baskets all filled to the brim with flowers of the most beautiful kind. Extra effort had been made on this rare occasion and it showed in the lavish floral arrangements that adorned the podium and it stood out, fit for a Twilight Initiate. Vana climbed up the wooden steps and held onto hands that promptly appeared as she climbed to the platform on the top. She looked at the hands holding hers and then looked up. Brio was with her and had found her, and she did not know whether to refuse his touch or to hug him, but she chose neither as they reached the top and turned to see the crowded Elves just below. Brio stood back and Vana looked out on all the inebriated and happy faces and she knew that this moment was all for her.

Shuga stood in the shadows watching and she did not show her face. The other Twilight Eldar mages knew that she was there but none of them acknowledged each other in any public way whatsoever. Thirty three Eldars were present for the claiming of the latest initiate and there was much tension between them. One of them – Abso Mime – made his way towards the podium and instead of using the hastily erected steps, he clapped his hands and a platform wove itself under his covered feet and it lifted him to the same height as Vana. He did not join her on the podium and instead, said in a voice that carried out across the clearing.

The Elves stood transfixed. Not only did they live through the successful initiation of a Twilight Eldar and that the initiate was a female, but the Eldars were scarcely seen and their attendance spoke volumes. Had Vana really known the truth of that occasion, she would have been scared witless and doubtful of her choice to join them. (*)

‘Vana Dey . . . I am Mage Abso Mime . . . you are acceptable to the Twilight Eldars by exactitude of your success in the Moondrop initiation. Here forth, you are to leave your guardians in peace and gratitude and take up residence in the Great Shepherd amongst the other initiates for a period no shorter than ninety sun cycles. After which you must join your new guardian, a mage who has claimed you, and you will spend the rest of your breaths observant of that mage until you or they pass to the Celestial Spheres. Under our Enclave rules, you are to be known as Vana Dey of the Twilight, should you meet any other life forms anywhere else, this is what you will say when you introduce yourself. You are never to remove the Sirrus Necklace from your body and to do so, would bring reprisals that you never want to face. Should anyone else remove it from your neck, they will face the same reprisals. What say you?’ he concluded.

Vana swallowed hard and Brio heard it. She knew that to agree meant that she could never go back to who she was and her memories would be replaced by the initiate-learning’s.

‘I agree with your terms and I am grateful that you have welcomed me to your enclave Mage Abso Mime of the Twilight.’ She said without hesitation.

There was a slight twinkle in his eyes when she used his formal title but he did not show it and instead he called forth the other thirty two Twilight mages. They drifted through the crowds and Elves moved out of the way in respect to these elusive Mages. Mage Shuga Rey of the Twilight was not to be forgotten and as Elves saw that she had joined them – this legendary and ancient Mage – they bowed with deep acknowledgement of her position. There were male mages more ancient that Shuga but she held the honour of the legendary female amongst the ranks and she was the only one. Hers had been an interesting journey amongst the males in the Twilight Enclave and although the Elves, as a race were not hampered by gender imbalances, there were underlying hints and insinuations regarding the majority of the initiates being males.

Shuga smiled at the eagre faces and touched one or two of them, who nearly fainted at the act of acknowledgment. The other Mages did not touch any Elf on the cheek and deemed themselves removed from common customs, leaving many looking wistful and disappointed. When the thirty two were standing below the platform, there appeared a cloud of swirling mist beneath them and they rose up to join Abso Mime standing before Vana.

Vana appeared to be very calm and yet Brio behind her could hear her breath rising and falling faster than he knew her to breathe. He wanted to reach out and touch her shoulder to reassure her but he knew that to do so would bring shame upon his Enclave. It was forbidden for any Enclave to be involved with the acceptance of an initiate not of their own kind and all were only to act as witnesses. He sent a silent thought to her hoping that she would feel it.

Shuga felt it . . . and her eyes showed a brief shadow.

Standing before the thirty three Twilight Mages was like being before the entire academy of Forest Dwellers in the thirteen cycle of her life, (*) just at that point when she was becoming an adult in body if not an adult in experience. It was similar except that these Mages did not smile and make her feel giddy with life and expectation . . . they were sombre and looking intensely into her green eyes. She resisted the urge to look down at her feet and instead looked at their faces one by one, silently acknowledging each one. Near the end, Vana locked eyes with Shuga and she gasped in surprise as she did not expect to see the legendary female Mage. Very few Elves had ever laid eyes upon her and her appearance at her initiation came as both a pleasant surprise and a jolt to her whimsical longing. Her journey up to this moment was only built on dreams and learning to bring the Moondrop in for the initiation and yet here she stood, about to be claimed by a Mage of great aura. She caught a brief glimpse of her guardians in the space between two Mages off in the background, standing hugging each other out of terror and joy. They would pass her by now and select new protégé’s and she would be a close, yet distant family member, for her training would not permit her to bond with her guardians any further. 

‘Are the Mages of the Twilight Elvar ready to claim the new initiate?’ asked Abso Mime, leading the initiation. He was not the oldest or most experienced Mage but he was one of the Three. The Three lead all meetings and made decisions on behalf of the Twilight Mages and any disputes were settled by one of them. If decisions of great importance were to be made, one the Three had to be present to oversee the outcome and no major council was held if none of them could attend.

‘We are!’ came a unified response that sounded like a chorus of mocking birds, in that there was not a note out of pitch.

‘Then begin to cast your claims . . .’ he said and fell silent. They all had to close their eyes and link with their Moondrop pendant hanging around their necks and form a creation which all could see. It could be mingled with anything under the sun and beyond or even a crystal or any element but whatever they formed, once it had been released, it would go to Vana and disappear into her own Moondrop pendant. If her pendant’s colour fluctuated and changed its hue before returning to its original state, then the Mage’s claim had been rejected. The one Moondrop apparition accepted by her own pendant would not change the colour. Vana herself did not consciously choose her Mage guardian. A Mage guardian of the Twilight Elvar had to prepare for weeks upon their creation, to be ready if the initiate by chance managed to draw a Sirrus Moondrop down through the reed. They would go to elaborate lengths to create a form not only pleasing to the eye, but profoundly creative in its inventiveness.

The first Mage drew a stag out of his pendant and it stood so proud and strong and looked to be made out of oak leaves and fairy lights and as it disappeared into her pendant, the blue turned to red and the crowd sighed. Another Mage drew out a rainbow and made it complete itself in full circle before it entered her pendant but again, it changed the colour and this time to yellow. Another sigh moved through the gathered Elves. On and on the Mages drew out their creations and some used stardust and others pure crystals, whilst others made dust particles dance in form. All that entered were cast aside and the small group of mages left, all watched as one by one their colleagues were rejected. A short Mage drew out a tree that was cast from the Great Book of Ancient Expeditions and each leaf was a letter and as it entered Vana’s pendant, it spelled her full title – Vana Dey of the Twilight and the Elves cheered with delight. Yet, the colour turned to green the moment it entered her pendant and the Mage looked downcast. He had spent so much time on crafting the apparition and dearly wished to mentor an initiate. It was not to be it seemed.

The next Mage to draw her creation was Shuga and she stood with her eyes closed and her face serene. Every eyeball was on her and nobody wanted to look away for a moment and miss the creation from the female Mage. From Shuga’s pendant came a whole world that turned ever so slowly and around its outer atmosphere, two moons spun in defiance. It looked to be a real planet from somewhere in the galaxies nearby and Vana’s heart skipped a beat. It was identical to the one that she saw the mage playing with many suns ago, the same one who lit up her desire to be a Twilight Mage. The apparition entered her pendant and the Elves – every one – held their breath.

The pendant turned. Black.

Vana let out a cry of disbelief and so did the crowd. Each one was convinced that Shuga Rey should be the Mage to mentor Vana simply because they were the only females but it was not to be. Shuga drew aside and looked shocked at the result. She knew that she belonged with Vana deep down in her being and she could not understand why the pendant had rejected her. At this time another Mage . . . and there were four left . . . drew from his pendant, an eagle which called an eerie sound of forgotten memory and it too, was cast aside. Abso went next and closed his eyes and drew from him, a tall warrior with leonine eyes and dark ebony skin who called a warrior’s battle cry that churned the blood of everyone that watched. The warrior stopped at the pendant and stood with his hands on his hips in a triumphant stance. He lifted his palm and blew stardust out into the Elves and the showmanship did not escape those who looked on. The apparition then entered her pendant and then the colour turned to brown.

It was unbelievable to say the least but Vana secretly exhaled a breath of relief that she was not claimed by Abso, who looked all too serious and his apparition had repelled her mentally. Two Mages were left and the Elves were tense with anticipation. Vana herself, was not too thrilled to be the centre of all the indecision and angst but could not do anything about it. She could not even turn to Brio for support, for one move like that could cause the mages to forbid her from ever speaking to him again. Brio was not allowed to interfere or be the cause of any interference – the rules were solid.

The second last Mage drew from his pendant, a butterfly cast from water droplets captured at a unicorn’s pond. They were rare indeed and the detail did not escape any of them in the gathering but as the butterfly flew into her pendant, it changed to purple briefly and the mage stepped aside. This left the last and final mage and he was a peculiar fellow indeed. His serene eyes did not inspire confidence in Vana and he walked with a slight shuffle. His hands were really big and his fingers twice as long as the others there and the typical long straight hair of the Elves did not grow on his head. Instead, he had slightly curly locks that gathered around his shoulders, which he refused to tie back, giving him a feminine appearance. His name was Redi Coot and he was one of the Three.

Redi Coot had come into his initiation at a really early age and in fact, had been the youngest Elf to draw in the Sirrus Moondrop ever. He had been claimed by a mage, who had left for the Celestial Spheres only a few cycles back but it did make him the second oldest Twilight Mage there. His brown eyes looked at Vana and then closed and she felt her body relax. She was unsure why she felt so at ease but she did not fight it and stood waiting for the last mage’s apparition to emerge from his pendant. When it did, it was a tiny golden key. There was no showmanship and the apparition looked to be cast from Ornidium, not one of the rarest metals to say the least and in appearance was underwhelming in comparison to the others.

As it disappeared into Vana’s pendant, not a word left anyone’s lips and many breaths were held. The clearing stood suspended in thought and silence and the onlookers kept their eyes on the pendant.

It remained blue.

No change . . . not in colour or hue.