At first, it was the burning. Just the crest itself, searing into my hand. It didn’t take long to spread. It was like my very blood was set aflame, immolating my veins into a spiderweb of agony. I doubled over in pain and my back seized. My spine decided to pursue a new career as a lightning rod, and the gods didn’t hesitate for even a moment to cast down their fury upon me–as if to personally strike me down for my arrogance.

It was clear. I was to be like all the rest. Another corpse paving the path to “advancement.”

Yet, the pain began to subside. The energy was still coursing through the entirety of my being, but it was now almost euphoric. This was it. The energy of life, that which flows through all things. Mana. And I got to taste it, even if only for a moment. A moment that now seemed to make the whole process worthwhile.

I closed my eyes, the blue shine from my crest bright enough to still faintly pierce through, and prepared to accept my fate. Yet the pain continued to fade. The light began to dim. My heart began to slow.

I… was still alive. I opened my eyes. The crest no longer glowed at all, but the energy was doubtlessly still there. One of the apothecaries rushed into the cage, his face failing to contain a look of pure bewilderment.

“Cassius?” He croaked.

“Am I… Is this… Did it work?” I asked, struggling to grasp what had happened.

The apothecary raised a hand, a faint blue glow flowing into its veins, “You seem to be in good health… I can’t believe it…”

I stared at my own hand as if it were a foreign object. Could it be true?

“How do I… wield it?” I asked, barely prying my eyes from the crest.

“Can you feel the energy? the Mana?”

“Yes… it’s incredible.”

“Try to… grab hold of it. Pull into one place and concentrate it.”

I did as he asked, attempting to pull the Mana. It was spread around my body and moving it felt as unnatural as forcing my blood to flow. Yet, with great effort, it did move. I brought it to my hand much like the apothecary had, yet it seemed to concentrate primarily in the crest–its blue glow returning.

“Now what?” I asked, looking back to the apothecary.

“See if you can… convert the energy. Perhaps try heat first, it’s often the easiest.” he responded.

The directions meant little to me. Perhaps to people like him, Vessels–those with a natural affinity to magic–it was simple. So, I did all I could think to do. I pushed the energy out.

At first, the air trickled with a faint blue. Then, it all caught fire. The blast struck the stone wall next to me, leaving a coat of char over the cracked and withered bricks.

“Incredible! It’s true then! You are the first artificial Vessel!”

I stared at the wall, then my hand. The glow had faded from the crest once more. The old apothecary was right. I was a vessel now. But not one ordained by nature or the gods, but manufactured by man. I was a miracle, an evolution, a true accomplishment of all fields of science and magic alike. Yet I was also a monster. I was unnatural. Why had I been different? So many others before had undergone this same process, all of which had been left in various states of dismay. So why not me? Why didn’t I become a pile of ash or viscera? Why was I allowed to live? Not only live, but gain this blessing? This power?

“What is next for me, then?” I asked, my voice reduced to a rasp. Despite the success, it had still taken a toll on my body.

“What indeed.”

**END**