Ugh, I'm not very happy with this bit, but I've sat on it for a couple of days and I can't figure out how to improve it - I'm blaming Haru. So hopefully I'll be able to lift the mood in the next chapter - where we may meet Rei! Also, the title's a bit rubbish, so if anyone can think of a better one, suggestions are welcome!

They walked up the stairs to the temple together – Makoto, Haru and Nagisa – the trail a familiar one, and well worn. But today was different. Today was the day Makoto would enter the Cloister of Trials in Kilika Temple. The priests had told him only yesterday that his training was complete, that he had excelled in his studies and would be ready to start his pilgrimage – provided that the Fayth accepted him and allowed him to become a fully fledged Summoner. It would be their first act as Guardians to escort Makoto to the Chamber of the Fayth and hold vigil until he came out, successful in his task or not.

It didn't take long to come up to the temple entrance, their feet moving automatically, and they paused a while in the large antechamber to pay their respects at each of the statues of previous High Summoners and pray. Haru watched Makoto surreptitiously out of the corner of his eye as he lowered himself into the prayer stance and brought around his arms. He could feel Makoto's nervousness in the way he bowed a little lower and his movements were quicker than usual. Truth be told, Haru was pretty nervous himself, even if it didn't show outwardly. It would be their first time beyond those imposing doors at the top of the stairs and none of them knew quite what to expect.

Nagisa came up behind, having finished with his own prayers and contemplations, and Haru could see that he too was feeling somewhat anxious, fidgeting with nervous energy and not talking as much as usual. "Ready?" the younger blond asked.

Makoto straightened and turned, took a deep breath and set his shoulders. "Yes, we can go in now." A lone priest bowed to them as they walked past.

Haru nodded back at them and took the lead, walking up the stairs with a confidence that he didn't completely feel on the inside, but he wanted Makoto to see and know that Haru was capable of protecting him and gain strength from that. Whatever challenges awaited them inside, whatever fiends, he would overcome them for Makoto. That was his resolve.

When he opened the door and stepped inside, they were faced with a long corridor ending in a small, round platform that glowed and lowered after they stood on it, taking them down, down, down past several floors. Finally, another set of doors, past which was a barren room containing a single pedestal holding a glowing orb.

Haru drew the sword he kept on his back and Nagisa took his cue from him, tightening his hands around his spear. They walked opposite ways around the room, investigating anything noteworthy on the walls, the floors and then the pedestal itself. Makoto stood in the middle, turning slowly to survey their surroundings. There was what seemed to be a door on one side, but no way to open it and no hinges that they could see. But there was a small hollow that Nagisa ran his hands over.

Makoto lifted the orb out of its pedestal and turned to face the door, hefting the little ball in his hands and passing it to Nagisa. "It seems like..."

"A puzzle!" Nagisa exclaimed triumphantly, finishing his sentence, as the orb slotted neatly into place and the edges of the door glowed. Then he jumped back, startled, when it burst into flame and was replaced by a burning mesh. They froze, looking at it and then each other, but when nothing else happened after a few moments of waiting, Haru strode forward and grabbed the orb. The mesh disintegrated. When he turned to the others, they blinked at each other before Makoto and Nagisa smiled wide in elation. Nagisa did a little jig on the spot and crowed, "Score one for us, eh Haru-chan? This isn't so scary, Mako-chan – we can do this!"

Makoto laughed softly, a slightly relieved sound to it. "Yes, it seems the Trials are a test of our mental prowess. And between us, I think we'll be able to solve them well enough. But, I hope there's no way to get lost in here..." he trailed off, a little worried.

"You're thinking unnecessary things again. Let's go." Haru turned and walked through the space the burning door had been, on into the next room and the other two trailed after him.

Soon enough, they made it to the final room, a small round chamber, lit warmly and beautifully carved and decorated stone. A door marked with intricate patterns and glyphs marked the Chamber of the Fayth, where only the summoner could enter. Makoto would go in alone.

Makoto looked at him, as if for reassurance, and Haru looked back, injecting as much confidence into his gaze as he could. When Makoto walked through the door that swung open at his presence, he and Nagisa settled themselves against the walls to wait, neither of them sure about how long it would take.

~#~

Makoto stepped through the door and found a round, cave-like chamber. The walls, interrupted by evenly spaced engaged columns, rose up into darkness, so high that he could not see a ceiling. The Fayth of Kilika, a large stone tablet from which a man's strong back and arms protruded, lay upon the floor adorned in carved flame.

As he stepped nearer, he felt an aura emanating from it – a warrior's determination and strength of will, and also a righteous anger. When he knelt and closed his eyes, opening himself to the Fayth, he knew he had to be careful lest that rage consume him, but there was something of the warrior's presence that comforted him and put him at ease. That resolve – it made him think of Haru.

He wasn't sure how long he knelt there; mind and soul open to that ghostly presence that probed every corner of his being, testing his will, his resolution, his commitment to defeating Sin and the Summoner's path and his courage. At every instance Makoto fought to prove himself – yes, I am worthy! I will defeat Sin! For the people of Spira! – steeling his heart to attest his words. But you're afraid, I sense your fear, it reminded him. Even so! I will fight even so! Because I know I'm not fighting just for myself!

There was a feeling of satisfaction from the phantom presence and it infused him too. The Fayth had accepted him. He opened his eyes to the ethereal form of a man, dressed as a Crusader from a bygone era, with bulky armour and a hooded cap that hung low over his eyes. The spectre nodded to him, a soldier's respect and acknowledgement and then rose into the air and shot towards him. Makoto felt a searing heat spread from his chest to the rest of his body as the spirit of the Fayth fused with his being and carved out a space in his soul to nestle into. It was a feeling that he didn't know existed, there were no words for it and if he'd had the breath for it, he thought he probably would have screamed from the intensity of that all-encompassing energy that engulfed him – body, mind and soul. The world around him seemed to vanish and nothing else existed but him and that divine power.

He wasn't sure if he'd blacked out or not, but when he was aware of himself of again he was gasping, each breath a drawn out labour, not quite filling his lungs enough. His mind was whirling, unable to hold on to any one thought, but remembered that he had to leave the Chamber, there was a journey to go on, his friends were waiting. With that in mind, he levered himself up on stiff, unsteady legs and stumbled his way out, one hand on the wall because everything was spinning.

~#~

Haru wasn't sure how long they waited, but Nagisa had nodded off at some point, slumped in a small alcove between two carved columns, drooling and murmuring in his sleep. He had tried to talk to Haru, keep them both distracted with chatter, but that had quickly run into silence with Haru being even more unresponsive than usual. This was the first trial – the one that would decide whether Makoto would go on a pilgrimage or not and there had been others before him that had come out of the Chamber with nothing, the Fayth having not accepted them. It had happened last year, with the man in question going on to become an acolyte of the temple and there was a small part of both of them that hoped that would happen to Makoto too. That wouldn't have to go on a journey through Spira that would end in his death. And that was something that no one had said aloud.

He was brought out of his contemplation when the door whooshed open, startling Nagisa awake. Makoto stumbled out looking dazed and exhausted and would have collapsed if they hadn't caught him and lowered him gently to his knees. They sat on the floor, arms around him and Nagisa lifted his canteen to Makoto's lips, helping him drink. Haru could feel Makoto's heart hammering through his back, as if he'd just run all around the island at full sprint, but it was calming quickly. When his breath returned to normal, Makoto lifted his head and smiled, small but triumphant.

"I've done it. I've become a Summoner!"

Haru felt his heart drop.

I'm sorry this chapter's a bit rubbish and bit boring. Feedback would be appreciated and hopefully the next update will come sooner than this one.