The Trials of Ascension, Day Two: Ascension

Camellia felt alive, free. A bag of rocks had just been lifted off her back and she was lighter than ever. It wasn’t as energizing or thrilling as being in the air with Owashi had been, but simply being above the waves, breathing air like normal, was enough for her.

Her friends, on the other hand, did not seem to fare as well. Their shoulders tensed, their eyes darting around nervously. Wait, did the opposite just happen to them?

“Lynn, Phoebe, Damos, how are you feeling?” she asked.

“Like I slept a night at my dad’s,” Phoebe groaned.

Damos’ answer was short, too: “Weird.”

Lynn blinked hard a few times, squeezing her eyes shut. “It’s an adjustment, but I can get used to it.” She waved an arm around. “My whole body feels lighter. It’s strange.”

“Yeah, I can handle this. Just a first time thing, I think,” Phoebe said, cracking her knuckles.

Camellia sighed in relief. “Phew, okay. Not too bad—”

“Contenders! Enough of your mindless chatter, please.” The mysterious sandborne woman’s voice sprouted up from below, as if transmitted through the earth itself. “You’re here to complete the final trial, are you not?”

Phoebe called out to the woman on the shore, “Yeah, but come on, lady. It’s our first time above the ocean. Can we get a second here?”

“Tsk tsk,” the woman tutted. “So casual, so needlessly blithe. What was she thinking?” She pointed, glowering at the four. “You would do well to learn some respect, don’t you think?”

What a bothersome woman.

“I apologize on her behalf,” Lynn groveled with a bow.

“Hmm. There’s potential with you, I suppose. Shall we get on with it? Oh, why am I even asking? You don’t have a say in the matter.” She curled her hand and lifted it upwards, creating a huge mass of dense, packed, sandy earth beneath her feet, lifting her high into the air. She sat atop it like a queen on a throne, crossing her legs and sneering down at the four.

“Welcome to the final trial, the Trial of Ascension. The task set before you…” She snapped, and the earth rose up to form large bodies of something. “Is to try, as hard as you can, to lay one single finger on me.”

The blobs of sand and dirt at the foot of her tower took clearer shape, solidifying into a small army of animals.

Camellia gasped. “Oh, no. Oh, goddess.”

The sand and dirt fell away, revealing the creatures within. She watched as multiple giant boars, a few big bears, two crocodiles, and one huge hippopotamus all blinked the sand out of their eyes, shook it off their hides, and roared. Their mouths were huge, those teeth terrifyingly sharp.

“Camellia! What the hell are those things?” Lynn cried, voice cracking in fear.

Camellia furiously combed through her memories for anything related to the animals before her. She had never taken any classes on mammals or reptiles, though. At least, not more than her basic biology classes where she learned the most basic of classifications. The most she could come up with, unfortunately, was that bears — a realm outside her purview — were a common predator for many types of freshwater fish. Crocodiles, though reptiles, were kind of fish-like, right? They at least partially lived in water, as did hippos.

Right?

Camellia gulped. “Those are all land animals. And apex predators. We’re in danger here.”

The command issued by the woman on the tower only moments ago echoed through her skull. Wait. All we have to do is touch her? She took stock of the menagerie on the shore. Land animal, land animal, and land animal. No wings present.

Danger? Hah!

Camellia stepped forward, looking over her shoulder at her friends behind her. “Well, we would be in danger, if the objective were different.” She smirked.

“Lucky for us, though,” she said as golden mist coalesced at her back, taking shape into two magnificent wings, “I can touch her, no problem.”

The woman on the throne stood up, shouting, “Hey! You’re one of the salt brea– I mean, sea-dwellers. How do you have those?”

Stopped in her tracks, Camellia looked at the trial lady. “Um… It just kind of… happened? I guess?” She shrugged, her wings moving up and down with her shoulders.

“Well, let’s take care of that, then,” their proctor said, sitting back down. She nonchalantly pointed at the water in front of Camellia, and a massive bear rose out of the sand beneath the waves. Before Camellia could react, it fell down on her, enveloping her in a bear hug, trapping her against the sand.

“Hey!” Damos yelled indignantly. “Let her go! That’s her aspect.”

The earthen lady looked coldly down with a sneer. “No. This is my trial; the rules are what I say they are. Why should I answer to vermin like you?”

Lynn, Damos, and Phoebe stood frozen in place, stunned at her callousness.

The woman rolled her eyes and scoffed, “Tethys has made you all soft. It’s time for a little adversity, I say.” Then, she stood up, and thrust her hand outwards. “Now, begin!”