The Six Pillars of The Ascendancy

Borin’s shack felt almost like home after the tavern. The old man was mending a net when Riku walked in, every muscle aching.

"Well? Don’t just stand there letting the damp in," Borin grumbled without looking up. "Did they make you a warrior or what?"

"They called me a 'Designer-type,'" Riku said, slumping onto his straw pallet. "Said it was useless."

Borin snorted. "Told you they were picky. So, that's it then? Back to fishing with me?"

"Not exactly." Riku explained about Kayra, the 'training,' and the second chance in two days.

Borin listened, his fingers still working the net. When Riku finished, he gave a slow nod. "Kayra, eh? Heard of her. Lone wolf. Good fighter. Doesn’t take on strays. You must’ve done something to prick her interest." He squinted at Riku. "That glowing rock trick?"

"It was a strategically deployed—"

"Yeah, yeah. Don’t use the fancy words. They won’t help you where you’re going. Be careful around her though." Borin tossed the net aside. "The main city. The Spire. That’s where the real test is. Different world up there."

The next two days were a blur of sore muscles and continuous practice. Borin’s shack became Riku’s makeshift lab. The old man watched, bemused, as Riku alternated between attempting push-ups and conjuring his pathetic toy soldier.

"Trying to make it dance now?" Borin asked, chewing on a piece of tough jerky.

"Trying to make it exist for more than ten seconds," Riku grunted, sweat dripping from his brow. The little soldier flickered and died. Again. His energy reserves were pathetically small. He’d discovered that minor fear - the anxiety of failure, the dread of the upcoming test - was a trickle. A big surge, like the boy’s terror in the market, was a bucket. He was running on drips.

He explained the Ascendancy's summons to Borin. "This is it. Giving myself one more shot. At their main base in the city."

Borin let out a low whistle. "The Spire? Fancy how you still think that. You’ll need entry papers for that. The adjudicator should’ve given you a writ after the Lowtown test. Don't remember them giving it to people who didn't pass."

Riku’s heart sank. Varia had given him a blank parchment. A clear sign of rejection. He had nothing.

The morning of the summons, he and Borin stood at the edge of the slum, looking toward the city proper. It was like staring into a different world. Where the slums were mud and all, the city had streets of clean, grey stone. Buildings were taller, sturdier, some even with glass windows.

People wore clothes without patches. And in the distance, looming over everything, was the Ascendancy Spire - a sleek, intimidating tower of dark metal and pale stone, a monument to power.

"Well, good luck, boy," Borin said, clapping him on the back. "Don’t get arrested."

Riku walked into the city feeling like a bug on a pristine floor. The air even smelled better. He followed the flow of well-dressed people toward the Spire, his stomach in tied in knots. The grand entrance was guarded by two impassive warriors in full Ascendancy grey, their postures giving off Tier-2 mid or higher energy.

A steady stream of other aspirants, clutching their official writs, were being waved through. Riku took a deep breath and approached.

"Writ?" one guard asked, his voice flat.

"I, uh, I was summoned. From the Lowtown evaluation? Adjudicator Varia." Riku tried to sound confident with a blunt lie.

The guard’s eyes narrowed. "No writ, no entry."

"But she told me to come! My name is Riku."

"I don’t care if your name is the Blighted King. No writ, no entry." The guard pointed a thumb over his shoulder. "Move along."

He started to panic. He’d come this far for nothing? He spotted a group of three aspirants walking confidently toward the gate. Thinking fast, he fell in step just behind them, trying to look like he belonged.

He made it three steps past the threshold before a heavy hand landed on his shoulder, yanking him bacy.

"You," the second guard growled. "We said no."

"I was just with them!" Riku protested weakly.

"Do I look stupid?" the guard asked, not expecting an answer. He escorted Riku back to the street with a firm shove. "Try that again, and you’ll be eating through a straw for a week."

Dejected, Riku slumped against a wall across the square. It was over. He was about to turn and make the long, humiliating walk back to the slums when a voice spoke beside him.

"Leaving so soon? The trials are about to begin."

Riku looked up. A man in Ascendancy greys, but of a finer cut than the guards, stood there. He had sharp, smart features and an air of casual authority. This was no mere sentry.

Riku’s brain, fueled by experience from years of improvising excuses for missed deadlines, kicked into action. He couldn’t say he was rejected. He couldn’t say he had no papers.

"I… uh… I was looking for a restroom," he blurted out, forcing an embarrassed look. "Didn’t want to be rude and ask the guards. I thought I could find one outside and slip back in."

The man, Master Kaelen, chuckled. "A nervous bladder? A common issue on testing day. Come, we have facilities inside. No need to miss your chance." He gestured for Riku to follow.

Riku kept his head low, his heart hammering as he walked past the two guards, who looked momentarily confused but said nothing in the presence of the higher-ranked member. He was in.

The interior of the Spire was breathtaking. Polished stone floors, light streaming from high windows, the air cool and clean. Master Kaelen led him to a large antechamber filled with other nervous aspirants. A clerk sat at a desk with a scroll.

"Just fill in your details here," Kaelen said kindly. "Name, origin, and the registered name of your manifestation. I’ll see you in the arena." With a nod, he waly away.

Riku approached the desk, his hand shaking slightly as he took the quill. He filled in his name and "Eastern Grove" for origin. Then he came to the last column: Manifestation Designation.

He couldn’t write "Toy Soldier." He remembered Kayra’s words. 'Architect, huh?' He dipped the quill and wrote, with as much flourish as he could manage: The Architect’s Design.

The clerk took the scroll without a glance and waved him toward a large archway that led into the main arena.

The arena was a vast, circular space of packed earth, surrounded by tiered stone seats. The air hummed with energy. And at the far end, on a raised dais like an observation deck, sat the six judges. They weren't mere officials; they were legends. The air around them crackled with contained power. Riku’s eyes scanned through them and started to put together pieces of information he'd gotten from Borin.

Firt was Lord Valerius: A man with steel-grey hair and a face like a he'd seen enough of everything. He sat perfectly still. His power felt like immovable stone. Domain: Fortification.

Second, Master Kaelen: The man who had let him in. He offered Riku a slight, knowing smile. His energy was a subtle, swirling current, hinting at perception and intellect. Domain: Insight.

Third, Baroness Shadowgrave: A woman with hair as black as ink and eyes that seemed like they see everything. She seemed to blend with the shadows of the dais, a silent, observing presence. Domain: Umbral Weaving.

Fourth, General Torvin: A mountain of a man with a brutal scar across his jaw. He radiated pure, aggressive heat, like a forge. His gaze swept over the aspirants like a general inspecting his recruits. Domain: Pyrogenic Fury.

Fifth, Lady Ironwood: Her posture was straight, her expression severe. Vines of dark, living wood subtly coiled around the arms of her chair. She represented controlled, relentless growth. Domain: Sylvan Command.

And lastly, The Silent Brother: Hooded and anonymous, he was the most unnerving. No energy radiated from him. Instead, he felt like a void, a silence that swallowed sound and light. Domain: Annihilation.

These were the six pillars of the Ascendancy. All Tier-1 uppers. The most powerful Spirit Hunters in the region. And Riku was about to perform his party trick in front of them.

Master Kaelen stood. "Aspirants! You have been deemed worthy of a second look. Today, you will not face a resonance crystal. You will face a contained Tier-4 lesser Spirit. Your goal is not to destroy it, which is an impossible task for most of you, but to survive, to control, to impress. Show us why you belong within these walls."

A section of the arena wall slid open. From the darkness within, a low, chittering growl echoed, raising the hairs on Riku’s arms.

The test had begun. And Riku was at the back of the line, with nothing but a name he’d made up and a power that made glow-in-the-dark toys.