[h3]Chapter 1.2 | Saturday Morning | West Gate of Ambrosia en route to Silos[/h3][hr]
The square was crowded beyond belief and though Ely had a hard time with crowds, his determination to sign up for this adventure was far too pressing to allow his discomfort to bother him. The Pledge would have his hide if he didn’t, and he wouldn’t allow himself to disgrace the teachers whom so delicately taught him all that he knew. No, it would be a dishonor to their name, the Pledge, and his own if he didn’t offer his aid here. He was a capable mage; he knew as much. His commendations, while they were few, held a deep tug on his heart. He knew what he could do and knew he had a large capacity for learning more. How else would he learn if he didn’t throw himself out into the world? He wouldn’t, he deduced silently as he walked.

Ely continued on, his spear waving and gleaming in the light until he approached one of the many kiosks acting as a small sign-up stand. The queue seemed impossible, and though he was one of the first waves of people here, it was quickly filling up with more noisy bodies. Standing in line, he hugged himself around his midsection, stepping up when it was his turn to do so. He was surprised to see order in such a disordered place. He heard various names, whooping and hollering, and overall excited chatter as everyone was either signing up or seeing the few who would hold the new world by the reins. Ely was among those few.

Still, as he approached the front of the queue, he felt eyes upon him. He tried to be subtle about searching for the starer, yet he couldn’t find them. There were so many pairs of eyes, so much noise piling atop the other, and the bodies were jostling now. He closed his eyes to the world around him and took several breaths. His fingers began drumming at his side as he recalled the beat to the ethereal sounding music that once streamed out of his vehicle’s speakers. The words came to mind soon after and he whispered them hushedly to himself as his eyes cracked back open to the world. His ears seemingly came with the sight, flooding him with stimulus. It didn’t matter though; the beat was in his head now.

A few more minutes ticked back and he was forward more spaces when he felt a tapping on his shoulder. At first he didn’t feel it, but the second round of taps was enough to pull him from his airheaded realm, something he had been scolded about by his tutors of the Pledge. Ely looked over his shoulder, a man with a stubbled face coaxed him out of line without words. Furrowing his brows, Ely stated he would lose his spot, he wouldn’t get to sign-up for the excursion. The man informed him that there was no need for him to sign up at all. Of course, Ely questioned that incredulous statement. “Why not?” he asked, only to be told that he had been scouted out by leadership.

“Sorry, what?” he questioned, leaning forward to make sure he was hearing the man correctly.

“Your spot’s already been secured by the higher-ups. There’s no need for you to sign up. You’ve been handpicked to be one of the firsts on the assignment,” the man informed, growing impatient. Figuring he no longer wanted to talk to the kid before him, the guard fished around in his pocket for a folded collection of papers. He shoved one of them towards Ely who took it, dumbfounded, then went to wherever he had come from.

Ely unfolded the paper and read it over, his brow creasing and unfurrowing again and again. The guard wasn’t lying, it seemed, and he was to make his way for the silos. The silos, he repeated in his mind, turning back to the place the guard once stood. The spot was empty now, and so Ely stepped out of line into it then made his way back out of the square, thankful to be headed back to his vehicle. Once out of the square, he crossed the road to where he parked his ride, unlocking it with the remote before pulling at the handle to pile inside. He set the paper in the passenger seat then started his car, pulling out of his spot to drive towards the silos, his mind whirling with scenarios.