“I am sure that you can,” smiled his mother. “I suppose you will be studying some more before you leave this morning?”

“No, Mother,” Kieran replied seriously as he pushed the bowl of oatmeal away and rose from his chair. “More studying will not help me. I am going to the temple to pray.”

Kieran’s mother smiled proudly as her son rose. Kieran hugged her and then rushed out the door of the house and down the flight of stairs to the beach. As he ran along the beach towards the center of Alamanda, his eyes were drawn towards the sea. He almost stumbled and fell as he came to an abrupt halt.

Far off on the horizon were a dozen large ships, far more than Kieran had ever seen at any one time. His eyes strained to identify them, but they were too far off. He shrugged and continued his run towards the elven city and the temple within it.

The elven homes that he raced past were modest wooden structures nestled in the sevemore trees that lined the beach. He paid no mind to them as his eyes focused on the gleaming stone buildings of the city before him. Excitement coursed through his body as his feet left the sand and landed on the stone blocks of the city street. His eyes darted towards the quay where elven trading ships were loading goods destined for foreign and exotic shores. On any other morning, Kieran would have been tempted to stay and watched the loading and listen to the stories told by the elven sailors, but not today. Today was a special day. It was the day of his mage testing.

Kieran turned away from the harbor and ran towards the temple. He smiled and waved to friends and strangers alike as he raced through the city streets. Many of the residents of Alamanda knew Kieran and most knew that this day was his day of testing. Shouts of encouragement followed Kieran all the way to the temple. He grinned broadly at the encouragement as he slowed to a walk at the base of the stairs to the temple. As excited as he was, Kieran knew better than to run within the temple.