A soft shaking brought Alvar out of his dreams and back into reality. Opening his eyes he rubbed the remaining sleep out of them while seeing the blurry form of his grandmother standing over him.
"Wake up Alvar. The sun is about to go down and we're heading over to the great hall in a few minutes." His grandmother spoke as she was leaving his small room to grab herself some fur coat she could wear late into the night. Alvar, accompanied by a yawn, swung his legs over the edge of his bed where he remained sitting for a short while to completely wake up.
'I wonder if Veli and Gerdi will be there today as well? I haven't seen those two in a while…' Alvar thought to himself as he rubbed over his face one last time after which he stood up and stretched himself upwards with a slight yawn. Walking over towards his nearby closet Alvar grabbed himself another coat lined with fur to keep him warm tonight and drapped said cloak over his.
"Ahh good, you are awake. Are you clothed warm enough? It's going to be a long night for you Alvar." His grandmother asked while looking him over to which he replied positively.
"Yes, I think this coat should be enough. My other furs are dirty anyways so I don't have much choice in the matter."
"Ivar dear, we are ready to leave! What's taking you so long?" Alvar's grandmother called out into the longhouse where her and her husband's chambers were located to which a gruff voice replied:
"Coming, coming. No need to be so hectic. We still have lots of time left." Alvar's grandfather Ivar responded after which he emerged from their shared chamber with a small grin, and accompanying wink, directed at Alvar plastered on his face which brought a grin to Alvar's own face. His grandmother on the other hand only huffed in exasperation at her husband's antics.
Joining the grandmother and grandchild at the entrance the trio stepped out into the fresh evening air, their breaths condensing into vapor in front of their faces while small droplets of water appeared on their coats.
Together they marched towards the centre of Hoelbrak where they could already see the warm light and flickering shadows of the great bonfire burning in the distance while laughter and murmuring framed the background.
With each step towards the great hall of Hoelbrak Alvar's heartrate increased as this was a grand moment for those of his generation. Today the children would be elevated to the status of young adults and be granted the right to choose their desired profession for the future of their lives, though Alvar hoped he wouldn't have to choose right away. In his mind that would be foolish as they hadn't really had any possibility to review all the available professions and thus no idea if they had any talent for those. Though, rationalizing his musings didn't really decrease the butterflies that were dancing in his stomach on his way and he got the sudden urge to run the rest of the way while screaming to the whole world to get on with it already.
Soon the trio reached the great hall and stepped through the giant wooden gates to join the already boisterously celebrating crowd of Norn who would observe and welcome all those that partook in the ceremony to welcome their children as young adults in their midst.
As they stepped into the great hall Alvar let his eyes roam over the crowd in the hopes to find his friends amongst the celebrating crowd. As he was watching his people laugh, feast, drink and simply enjoy their time together a warm feeling made itself known inside his stomach and Alvar couldn't help but smile in happiness at the atmosphere that permeated the hall.
Alvar was brought out of his musings though by the sudden impact of something or someone crashing into his back. Completely taken by surprise Alvar stumbled forwards while his ears passively registered the laughter of his family from behind him while Alvar struggled to get back his dignity from laying sprawled out on all four down on the ground.
"Alvar, you're back! Why didn't you notify us you jerk?" the feminine voice of his friend Gerdi sounded from above him and yet he had bigger problems than to get into a verbal spar with the girl. With a growl of good natured annoyance Alvar turned around and shoved his friend Veli of him who yelped in sudden surprise at the action. The small sadist in the back of Alvar's head couldn't help but grin in satisfaction at the sound, restoring his dignity a little in his head.
"Damn it Veli! Stop it with those tackles you buffon!" Alvar said after he had come back to his feet and turned with an accusing finger pointed at his best friend who, like always really, ignored his words and grabbed Alvar in a one armed hug while puffing out his chest like a rooster had more pride than deserved. Just like a child that he is, really.
"Good to have you back shorty!" Veli said with a grin on his face that brought a small tick to Alvar's eyebrow. "Who are you calling shorty!? I'll show you a shorty you buffon!" Alvar replied, finally having enough of his friend's antics and began another round of wrestling with Veli who grinned in respone as if to say: bring it on, shorty!
After wrestling for a while, with Gerdi huffing and puffing in the background, the two friends stood up and laughed their banter off, both clearly having missed it while separated for a few months. Their conversation soon came to the topic of tonight's event and what was about to happen with excitement clearly tinging their voices all the while. All three of them were reaching the age of eleven this month which made them even more giddy, knowing that they would be sharing this monumental event with each other.
"Do you think we'll have to pick a profession tonight? I doubt it but I could be wrong, you know?" Alvar asked the two as this was his biggest worry. Since he didn't want to make such a huge decision lightly without knowing what he really liked to do he feared he would be forced to anyway. His friends hummed in thought for a while after which they both shrugged their shoulders not knowing the answer to his question either. Despite their nonchalance Alvar could clearly see the nervousness on the two's faces after his question registered in their minds. He himself felt his heart pound in his chest louder stronger in anticipation as the hour was getting closer with each second that passed by.
"Come, let us find your uncle and grab ourselves some food and drinks." Alvar's grandfather interrupted from behind the whispering trio, while his grandmother asked Gerdi and Veli where their parents currently were. Shrugging, the two looked around for a second after which they motioned towards a nearby group of people, that also contained uncle Olaf, which caused the group to venture over to them where they were greeted warmly with exclamations of anticipation and congratulation.
The group began talking amongst themselves, soon digging into a boar that uncle Olaf had brought over, previously roasting over a smaller nearby fire. Mead flowed freely, warming all those involved from the inside out, only increasing the laughter that came along with the slight tipsiness the mead provided.
Minutes turned into an hour and soon the sun had finally disappeared behind the tall peaks of the surrounding mountains while the animals of the night, like owls and bats, began to occasionally flutter through the night sky, no doubt looking for their first prey of the evening.
While the group were still talking a low murmuring for silence began to softly echo through the hall, soon drawing the attention towards the middle of the great hall where an old man had stepped forwards and was now standing beside the huge fire in the middle of the great hall, leaning on his staff that was adorned with black feathers and shards of black and white stones. The man himself wore a coat similarly adorned by black feathers while his clothes underneath his coat held a simple grey colour onto which his long braided grey beard fell.
With the great hall having descended into absolute silence, Alvar could feel his heart hammering in his chest, slightly surprised that nobody around him was hearing it as well as he could. It sounded like a cacophony of war drums, loud enough to rouse even Jormag from his sleep far up in the north!
Wooden smashes of a staff being smacked onto the ground brought Alvar's attention away from his own beating heart and back to the Havroune in the middle of the hall who by now had the attention of the whole hall on him.
"Welcome friends, families, comrades, brothers and sisters! We have gathered here today for a joyous event, to welcome some of our descendants into the ranks of the young adults. Those that have been deemed ready to continue onwards, please step forwards." The Havroune spoke into the silent hall, after which Alvar took a deep inhale and with the exhale stood up, accompanied by his two friends Veli and Gerdi. All around them other children amongst other groups also stood up and, with tension visible and written all over their faces, ventured under the gazes of the crowd over to the Havroune, who smiled upon them with clear eyes that spoke of a deep wisdom gathered over the years.
Once the children had lined up before the Havroune he gazed into the eyes of each child while humming in satisfaction. Why he did so Alvar did not know.
"Now, in order to complete this rite of passage you will follow me to the shrine of the raven, one of our patron spirits and the wisest of them all. There you will find guidance for the path that lay ahead of you. Once we return your rite will be over and you may join our people in celebration." The Havroune spoke followed by him turning around and marched out of the great hall with the children following behind him into the cold dark night like little ducklings behind the mother duck, towards the shrine of the raven that lay at the small vale below Hoelbrak.