Past
Nathan had been awake nearly all night worrying about his reckoning. He had plenty of opportunities to research the event, but the very idea frightened him to his core. At this point, all he had were rumors. The one that frightened him the most was the whole lineage thing. Both of his parents were familiars and it wasn't like there was anything wrong with familiars, but it just didn't sit right with Nathan. Sure, ultimately, he had the final say on the matter, but if the liquid wasn't the green he had dreamed of since he was young, he wouldn't know where to begin on how to change that.
Would I just have to will it into another color, he thought,
Or do I speak out?The day had changed over long ago and sleep wasn't any closer now than it was then. Fed up with the lack of sleeping, Nathan decided to study something, anything, for a little while. He walked to his bookshelf opposite his bed, lit a nearby candle, and started perusing through his collection.
Let's see here... A Journeyman's Guide to Making Medicine?
Ehhh, maybe another time. He didn't have anything against medicine, but it just didn't feel right. He put the book back and grabbed another at random.
Huh, this one looks new: Medical Practices: Expert Level,
Maybe I should finish reading the beginner level stuff, much less the intermediate, first... Medical practices were Nathan's worst subject. Any mistakes in that field could lead to hurting someone. Or worse. This was another thing bothering him: patching people up was half of a practitioner's job and he was mediocre at it at best. Would that affect the reckoning? Moving away from that thought, he quickly shoved the book back on the shelf and grabbed another.
Ah, here we go, Basic Alchemical Practices,
much better. It wasn't as if there was any new information to be found in this book, the core concept of alchemy was Nathan's favorite subject. Mixing ingredients, whether for medicine or otherwise, researching new procedures, everything about it added a spring to his step. He knew this particular book better than anyone, it was the book that got him interested in practitioner after all, so it was more for comfort than anything. And comfort it did, for within 10 pages, Nathan had fallen asleep in his chair.
He awoke several hours later, at mid morning. Not as early as he wanted to be up for such an important day, but it could have been worse. Shortly after waking, the anxiety that plagued him all night returned, prompting him to skip breakfast and head straight for the temple. There he was greeted by the four mystics. Well, as much of a greeting as, "Remember, the chalice will choose you", can be.
What does that even mean? he thought, anxiety growing more by the second. He quickly received insight on the situation when he saw a seemingly unlimited number of chalices lining the next room. Anxiety grew to panic as he had not expected there to be more than one chalice, much less hundreds. Nathan lurched forward, grabbing at the nearest table for support. His head was spinning and he felt as if he were about to vomit. He looked up, hoping to find some kind of relief among the sea of gold chalices. Immediately upon laying his eyes on one particular cup, the panic began to fade. He picked it up, all traces of anxiety gone and a new sense of warmth taking its place. He examined it, trying to find something that made it different from the others around it, but found nothing. The feeling was undeniable, however, so he approached the fountain with his new found confidence.
He began filling up the chalice with the mysterious clear liquid, waiting for it to change colors. The wait seemed to take ages and for a few moments, he was unable to tell if the yellow color was the liquid declaring its decision, or the bright gold shining through. His fears were alleviated as quickly as they arose when, deep from withing the chalice, the liquid began to turn green. He was going to be a practitioner.
Present
Nathan awoke in his study, interestingly enough in the same chair, with the same book as in his dreams of the recent past. The main difference is now he also had a stubborn cat asleep in his lap. And, well, the fact that he had his own study now. He had to leave for the practitioner camp soon, so he picked up Doug and set him on the floor. The small cat loudly voiced his complaints to being woken up. "Hey, it's not as if you don't already get enough sleep, so be quiet. Besides, we need to get going soon, we're running a little late." Nathan retorted. Doug returned a look almost as if he was judging the young practitioner. Nathan ignored the judgmental cat and hurriedly gathered his things. He rushed out the door and then immediately rushed back in. "Come on Doug, I said
we had to go". Doug reluctantly got up and followed his master out the door.
The walk to the camp was not long, but it definitely felt like it. Nathan liked this part of his job the least. Researching and making medicine? Easy. Applying his medical knowledge to the wounded? Not so much. He hadn't improved much in that field in the short time he had been a practitioner. "There are plenty of others that could help" was a common justification.
When he arrived at the main tent in the camp, there were two others already there. The current leader of the practitioners, Kieren,
I think and a girl whose name he could not for the life of him remember. He was awful at names. Hell, if Kieren wasn't the leader, he wouldn't remember her name either. Clearly out of his element, Nathan quickly elected to take a seat in the corner of the tent and wait for someone to need him for something.
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