Chapter 8

The sound of wheels and the clap of horse shoes on stone seemed to aggravate the pounding of my heart in my chest as I glanced between the duke, Alcrem and Marian, my 'new' parents. When Alcrem had stated that I was to go to the Census Office I thought that I'd be sent with a servant, not that both he and Marian would be coming personally. On top of that, there was a strange distance between the duke and his wife that I hadn't noticed during lunch. I wasn't sure if it was because I was young that they didn't put up a façade, but I could clearly tell there was some kind of discord between the two.

As such, the carriage ride was unpleasantly silent as it traversed from the duke's estate and into the city. Unfortunately my 'parents' didn't' seem keen on having the curtains raised so I was unable to look out at the passing city. It didn't really matter as it only took about five minutes for us to reach the Census Office. As we disembarked I couldn't help but look around. Everything seemed so large, but I suppose that was because I was rather small. The streets were bustling the sound of voices and carriages all around, but everyone gave a wide berth to our carriage making the area right in front of us seem somewhat empty.

The buildings were chaotic and seemed to take on different style wherever I looked. The Census Office was a large two story building that seemed to be carved from a single piece of stone, yet the building next to it looked as if it had been grown from trees, rather than built. That wasn't to say there was no sense of order, the roads were wide and made from smooth grey stone. A small raised sidewalk allowed pedestrian travel so it didn't feel that different from the streets in my old life, though this was far more fantastical.

The interior of the Census Office was a stark contrast to the outside. Not only did the sounds of the streets fail to come in, it was lavishly decorated. Upon seeing us enter the receptionist, a plain brown haired man bowed lightly. "Welcome Duke Eldur, to what does the Census Office owe the pleasure of your visit?"

"I'm sure you've heard that some of my knights found a young girl in the Forest of Darkness." He spoke as he pushed me slightly forward. "We've decided to adopt her, of course she needs to be registered as she has gone through her Awakening."

The receptionist gave me a smile as he looked at me. "A lucky child, to be adopted into one of the four great houses. I'll have someone guide you to the ceremony room." He made some movements before looking back towards the duke. "I assume you and and your wife will be joining her?"

The duke simply nodded his affirmation at his question and before long the three of us were guided to the second floor into a completely white room. At the center was a raised dais with a black slate with a hole on one of the thinner edges, its dimensions were quite similar to the cellphone I had owned back on Earth. I recognized it as something that both the duke and Marian had hanging from their belts.

There was a statue of a person in a white robe standing behind the dais, their arms folded. As the door behind us closed I suddenly heard a deep and commanding voice in my head. "Another Awakened has come, approach child and lay your hand upon the sacred stone." I hesitated for only a moment before closing the distance between myself and the dais. As I laid my hand on the dais it felt like electricity ran through my body, causing me to tense, before an intense pain began to shoot through my body, like all my nerve endings were burning at once.

As the pain wracked my body, I heard the deep voice resound in my head once again. "The ceremony of the Awakened is not for-" The voice suddenly cut off, replace by seven other voices that seemed to be all talking at once. I couldn't make out what they were saying as the pain suddenly began to ramp up. Unable to withstand the ever increasing pain I suddenly released a scream before passing out.