Dusk

It was time.

Time for the ceremony.

That he'd been preparing for.

For the last decade.

And now.

The moment was here.

There was no backing out now.

Not now.

Or.

Ever.

I took in the crowd that had gathered together. It was ridiculous, but it was tradition. The Moon Clan had done this ceremony for centuries. I stood in a row with six other individuals who were of age, one of whom was my cousin. I looked over to my parents, they looked solemn. My mother had never been to a ceremony before and worry was plastered all over her face. My father did not let any emotion show. When his eyes met mine, he gave a slight nod. I gulped, attempting to swallow my nerves away.

Then, I met the eyes of the Keeper of the shack. He placed his joined hands high above his head, then nodded, indicating it was my turn. I turned back one last time, this time, catching the eyes of my cousin, Nick. He was smiling, encouraging me to be brave.

I took in one last breath, mustering up confidence. Then, I nodded to the Keeper. He waved one hand over, gesturing me to take the path inside the shack.

The shack is exactly what you would think of. Wooden roof and walls. Super mega ran down, but was still standing. I wouldn't be surprised if the shack collapsed on me during the ceremony.

The point of this ceremony tonight was for me to inherit one of the Moon's gifts. I had no idea what gift I would be given, or if I would even be given one. The Moon chose its welders through a ceremony that must happen on a full moon. The gift, if given, usually involved a jewelry trinket with a note for instructions. For instance, his father had received a bicep bracelet that allowed him to access the Moon's gravity. Basically, he can make himself weightless and do cool stuff.

Anyways, here I was, on my seventeenth birthday with a full moon. There were nine of us in total to go through the shack. I was number four. The first three individuals had gone through with silence. We wouldn't know their results until everyone had gone through.

I forced my shaky hand onto the wooden door knob. I winced away in pain, my hand stabbed with a small piece of wood. The door creaked open, blinding me with darkness. I walked forward slowly, holding my hands out in front of me. The Keeper swung the door closed, leaving me in complete darkness. I kept going until suddenly, candles ignited all at once.

When my eyes adjusted to the fire lit room, I took in the barren wooden walls. The candles were all on the floor, it was a miracle I hadn't tripped over one. Looking around the floor, I could see where I was supposed to meditate, to be able to be in touch with the Moon. I sat down, in the midst of candles that were in a circle around me.

I only had begun to meditate, when I heard a voice enter my mind.

Kierce Black, I have awaited your presence.

I flinched, the voice taking me by surprise. No one ever mentioned that the Moon would actually converse with me.

I converse with you because it is needed. Now, listen and remember.

Silence.

Some more silence.

This I had prepped for. The silence was the Moon taking in all of my memories and deciding if I would be of use with one of its gifts. If I was chosen with a gift, I then had to use my gift and work for the Moon Clan.

I foresee great things from you that will be incredible as well as destructive. But this path, I have done especially for you. Find the girl.

I didn't even get a chance to think when my shoulder began to burn with such intensity. My eyes began to blur as the candles around me began to glow even brighter and bigger. The candle flames were going inside me, through my left shoulder. I screamed as my shoulder felt as if someone had taken a hot knife and was digging about inside my shoulder.

Then for a split second, I felt relief. Through my blurred eyesight, I could see a girl in front of me with her hand on my shoulder, covering the pain. Within two seconds, the girl's image vanished and the pain came rushing back. The pain grew even more unbearable as I laid with my knees tucked under me, hands clawing the floor.

After a few more minutes, the candles vanished, just as they had quickly appeared. The pain was now gone. I laid on the floor, catching my breath.

Ten years of preparing for THIS? Nothing I studied even happened! My body shook as I heaved myself up. I place my hand on my back, feeling for any sign of injury. To my surprise, there was none. No sign that my skin had even been torn apart. I would have to inspect it later when I could actually see. As if the Moon was still reading my thoughts, one candle lit up. I could see that there was something shiny lying next to it.

I bent down closer and could see it was a tiny silver chain necklace. There was no note. What was I supposed to do with this if I didn't know it's proposes?

As if the Moon read my mind again.

You have everything you need inside of you.

Great, thanks. I have pain and fatigue inside me. I placed the necklace around my neck while staring at the single lit candle. Now that I think about it, this candle actually smelled good. What was it? Sugar cookies?

Vanilla.

What?

The candle is vanilla scented. Now will you please leave?

"I would but I have no clue how to open a door without a doorknob!" I gestured to the door I had come in. It was completely flat, no sign of an opening tool.

Oh, my bad.

A knob appeared.

Remember, find the girl!

I didn't say anything as I exited the shack. I was immediately met with an air of tension. The crowd was staring at me, mouths opened.

My mother ran up to me. "ARE YOU OKAY?"

I saw the panic worry in her eyes, "Wha-? I'm fine. See? One piece, why?"

"You were screaming, it sounded like you were dying!"

I thought back to the shack. Hmm, apparently the shack wasn't soundproof which meant the three in front of me hadn't gotten stabbed in the shoulder.

"I'm fine Mother." I turned away and took my seat by the other three who had finished. It's not like I could've told her what happened. The ceremony process was delicate. All had to go through the shack before the results were told.

Nick was next to go in. I mustered up all my strength to smile at Nick, but it didn't help. Nick looked scared to the core as he was admitted inside the shack.

We only had to wait two minutes before Nick emerged from the shack. Nick looked lighter, as though he had gotten a gift. We shall see as we still had four more individuals to go through. Nick took his seat next to me, whispering into my ear, "Were you only screaming to freak the rest of us out?"

Before I could reply, the Keeper shushed us both. The rest of the group was able to take their turns in a quick manner. At last the Keeper went up to the front of the crowd.

"We will hear from each individual. They will inform us of their duties. We will begin with Bennett."

Bennett, the first boy who had gone through the shack announced that he hadn't received a gift, but that he was instructed to become a baker.

I sat, squirming in my seat. What was I to say? I received my gift, but I have no idea what I'm supposed to do with it?

The second and third didn't receive any gifts, only told to join the knitting and crafting programs.

Sooner than I would've liked, it was my turn. I made my way to the front, wiping my hands down my shirt. What was I so nervous for? I had received a gift hadn't I?

"Kierce Black. I- I -" I faltered, trying to remember what I had planned to say. I shoved my hands in my pant pockets in an attempt to ease off the weariness. My hand felt a piece of paper inside my left pocket. Where had this come from?

I grabbed the paper and unfolded it.

The answer is inside of you.

I've had enough of this moon repeating this same phrase. I crumpled the paper back into my pocket as I looked out over the crowd. People were getting anxious, wondering why I wasn't speaking.

I cleared my throat as I spoke again, "Kierce Black, I have been given a gift." I turned back to my seat as Nick rose to his feet.

I sat, wondering why in the world the note had appeared in my pocket. I had been thinking heavily that I had almost missed Nick's announcement.

" …received the Moon's gift of arctic temperatures. He held up a silver band ring and placed it on his right ring finger. With that, he sat back next to me.

After all had reported, there were only two given gifts, Nick and me. The Keeper dismissed all except for the gift given and their parents.

He explained to me and Nick that our gift was given for a purpose and that we should try our best to learn how to weld it properly. Basically telling us what we've heard since we were seven. The Keeper then turned to me, inquiring what my gift was.

I shrugged as I pointed to the necklace. I could hear my father gasp as all looked at my necklace. The Keeper's eyes widened in surprise, "Kierce, that is no ordinary necklace."

Well duh, it's a gift, yeah we all knew that! I didn't know what the Keeper was talking about.

My father spoke, "Kierce, that necklace hasn't been seen since the Gift War."

"The Gift War happened three hundred years ago, what are you…" I trailed off as realization hit me. The history books always spoke of a welder who had a chained necklace. He could access all of the Moon's gifts but only with the necklace's twin. There were two sets of these necklaces. One was gold and could Sunray. The other was silver and could-

I spoke softly, "Shadowzap." Then I spoke louder each time I said it. "Shadowzap. Shadowzap. I have the shadowzap necklace."

The Keeper put his hand on my shoulder, "I assume from your response, you know what this means."

I struggled to nod my head.

It meant that something bad was coming.