The Moon Guard

I stared down at the ring I was just handed. The small chunk of Moon radiated with a silver glow. I slipped the ring onto my left pointer finger, admiring it’s beauty as I moved my hand side to side. I’d always dreamt of this day, fully acquiring my cloud abilities. 

I had to maintain my composure for the duration of the ceremony, as each of us was handed our ring. Every year this ceremony takes place for all who have turned twenty-one, and completed qualifying training. This year there are seven of us, and soon the celebration would start; which meant Cloud Clashing.

I was decent enough at Cloud Gliding, but what set me apart was my ability to maneuver quickly. Recollecting on my training instilled doubt in my mind, I wasn’t sure if my skillset would be enough to win. Our Speaker’s voice quickly shook my thoughts. I needed to pay attention, especially to her speech. 

“Today not only marks our annual Cloud Clashing, but twenty years since the invasion of the Lightning Heavers!” 

A hush fell over the gathered crowd.

The Speaker raised her arms in a calming manner. 

“That was indeed the darkest of our days, a shard of our precious Moon was taken from us. But…”

She paused for a moment.

“…were we not VICTORIOUS?” 

The Speaker’s voice rose to a roar, and soon the crowd followed erupting in a wave of excited cries. My chest swelled with pride, I was only one when the Moon shard was taken, but I heard the stories countless times. 

Lead by our Speaker, an elite squadron of Cloud Gliders called the Moon Guard saved us. The Lightning Heavers leader Val’Nyr lead an attack on our capitol, slaughtering countless of our people in an attempt to use our Moon combined with his Lightning powers to destroy us all. The Speaker arrived in the nick of time with the Moon Guard, deflecting his Lightning with her ring back into his chest. The Lightning Heavers escaped with a small shard of the Moon, broken off and singed from the deflection. 

“After the ceremonial Cloud Clashing, we will feast together in honor of our people!” 

More cheering and applause erupted. I knew the event would start soon, and the realization made my heart race. The hair on the back of my neck stood up and a chill ran down my spine as the Speaker motioned for us to line up at the start. We marched in unison to the intricately painted marker that was our starting position.  

“As we all know, it is tradition that the victor of this years Cloud Clashing earns a spot in the Moon Guard!” Proclaimed the Speaker.

The crowd erupted even louder, screaming and cheering filled me with anticipation. 

“Take positions!” The Speaker resumed.

“You may summon your clouds.”

I inhaled deeply, my eyes fluttering as I focused the energy flowing through me towards my Moon ring. Gently the silver haze around my ring stretched and grew, surrounding the bottom half of my body in familiar warmth. My Cloud glimmered throughout with an emerald pulsing energy, shifting through the silver and gently lifting me off of the ground. 

We all hovered in place, I glanced around to see fellow nervous faces waiting for the countdown to begin. 

“Three… Two… One…”

The Speaker trailed as she raised her arm, shooting off a spark of silvery magic into the air, illuminating the sky with an enormous crescent moon. 

“Fly!”

…

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-Clever & WTF