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[color=#bf565c][h1]Noah[/h1][h3]The Ballroom; Castle[/h3][/color][/center]

Noah was given some assigned seating for the event that he sat at, the second-most ranked table of the group at which he sat at the head. Most were surprised to see him there that noticed him, the young man cleaned up well. He was wearing the nicest clothes anyone would’ve seen him in, most likely ever. Noah clawed at his collar that he felt was too tight and his waistband which felt to constricting. However he kept his eyes on a swivel. One thing that most noted about Noah upon first meeting him was that he felt [i]ready[/i]. For what; was another question. When Nau took the stage Noah clapped along with the others.

"We gather here to witness the beginning of an era. These twenty students are about to step into the world of a Guard. They have trained, hard, from Day One. There has been blood. There has been sweat. And there has been tears. They have thrown their heart and soul into becoming a protector of this wonderful city of ours-" A loud cheer arose, with a chant of the city name, before Nau held up his hand the room fell quiet once more. Noah always found it to be alarming, the sheer patriotism most people had towards Markson. Such blind devotion almost never ended well.  "-and I'm sure they will give their lives to protect those that they love behind these walls. Now! Onto the acceptance, choosing of the weapons, and the random partner selection." 

It was at this point in the ceremony that Nau began performing a ritual of marking one’s blood and weapon, tying it to them as an extension of one’s body. Towards the last third of the twenty or so of the new guardsmen Noah’s turn arose and a situation he had predicted arose. Before Noah’s name, every other participant was called up by their first and last name. Thusly, once Noah was called up it was just ‘Noah’. The room went silent, his inclusion in the guard program itself was controversial. His chair scraped the ground as he pushed himself out of his seat and walked up to Nau in order to be sworn in.

Noah walked, feeling as bare as he ever had as he passed by the table of the top tier of graduates. One woman seemed to catch his eye at first, but it was fleeting. He made it to the stage and climbed the steps up to Nau who put a hand on Noah’s shoulder. Nau motioned for Noah to repeat the oath, which Noah did. He took the knife in his hand and placed it on his palm, raking his skin and soft tissue with the knife. This elicited his crimson blood to slowly drip onto another knife that was placed onto the table for the recruits to choose their weapons. He grabbed it with his still bleeding hand and clenched his fist painfully around the blade. Nau nodded approvingly to Noah who threw the blade lightly into the air and let it fall perfectly into his back pocket. Showing off somewhat for the crowd. He returned to the seat and the ceremony continued.

It wasn’t long before partners were announced. Noah expected to be placed with someone near his skill group, it was typical for the middle to be matched up together. He listened intently and noticed that his potential partners were dropping, quickly only the best Guards were left. He was shocked by this wondering who he would be paired up with, glancing over at their table. He heard Nau speak “Ariella and Noah.” And noticed everyone at the higher ranked table glance over at one girl, that same girl who had caught his eye. As soon as partners were done being announced Noah watched as everyone arose to start the party, the least formal part of this event. Noah immediately arose and walked briskly through the crowd, past the high ranking table and out through the door into the night air. There he began to work on his basic knife movements, he didn’t believe that this was a time for dancing, people were losing their lives [i]now[/i].