Chapter 546: The Dragon Mark Ceremony IV

Then the ranks appeared one after another on the six rings on the floor of the altar.

Scale Mark — First Grade.

Fang Mark — Second Grade.

Wing Mark — Third Grade.

Crown Mark — Fourth Grade.

Sovereign Mark — Fifth Grade.

Ancestral Mark — Sixth Grade.

Even the host’s tone changed slightly when he reached that one.

"First and Second Grade are the most common Marks recorded throughout the generations."

"Third Grade is only given to those whose potential is clearly above the normal level of their generation."

"The Crown Mark is rare."

"The Sovereign Mark may not appear for several complete generations."

Then—

"And the Ancestral Mark..."

The man paused for a moment.

"In the entire history of the family, only three members have ever received it."

A short murmur spread among the guests.

This was not only a family title, it was the remaining power of a Demon, the artifact itself measured the potential of the new generation and gave them a blessing that could greatly help them on their path.

The first person entered the altar, a young man whose name Lian had heard during the recognition section, but he was not very important.

He stood in the center of the six rings, moved closer to the first Dragon Mark, and with a small blade given to him by one of the family priests, he cut the tip of his finger.

A drop of blood fell onto the black surface of the Mark, and at that moment one of the golden lines lit up.

The young man placed his palm on the Mark and closed his eyes.

And he read the oath.

"My blood for the family."

"My power for the generation after me."

"As long as the dragon flies above Verendal, my oath will never be broken."

Thum.

The first ring lit up, light rose from beneath the young man’s feet, the second ring also responded a few seconds later.

Then it stopped.

Golden letters appeared above the altar.

[The Fang Mark — Second Grade.]

The light entered the young man’s body, red-golden lines formed on the back of his right hand, it was a simple image of a dragon’s head.

The crowd applauded.

The young man gave a short bow and went down.

The next person also received the Scale Mark, the next one received the Fang Mark, and two others, one received the Wing Mark and then another Scale Mark.

Lian did not watch every step with the same attention as the first time, the ceremony had found its own rhythm and had become somewhat repetitive.

No one among them was able to receive anything higher than the Wing Mark, of course they were only young people who had gained some achievements and had proven that they were worthy of receiving a Dragon Mark.

There were still five people remaining, and as they got closer to the five main names, the atmosphere became heavy again.

Tristan was the first person, the young man entered the altar, his blood fell onto the Mark and he read the oath without hesitation.

One ring.

Two.

Three.

The fourth ring shook for a few moments but did not light up, and golden letters appeared.

[Wing Mark — Third Grade.]

A considerable amount of applause rose, Tristan himself also seemed satisfied.

Then it was Lysandra’s turn, her behavior was calm even before the Mark, she let her drop of blood fall and then read her oath.

First.

Second.

Third.

Fourth.

The light of the fourth ring became stronger than the previous ones.

[Crown Mark — Fourth Grade.]

This time, several elders also nodded with satisfaction, finally, someone at this ceremony had managed to receive the first Crown Mark.

They had been somewhat worried that in this generation, only one person might be able to go beyond the Wing Mark, but fortunately, that did not happen.

Caelen was next.

Even before entering, he gave a short look toward the young members of the family, as if he knew exactly what result he wanted.

Three rings lit up quickly and the fourth one lit up with a slight delay.

[Crown Mark — Fourth Grade.]

Clear satisfaction appeared on his face, when he came down, he gave Lysandra a short look but the girl did not react.

But the competition between them was visible even without a single word.

Then it was Lucien’s turn, the crowd became quieter, this one created more expectations.

Lucien entered.

The first ring lit up almost immediately.

Second.

Third.

Fourth.

The field became silent and a few seconds later...fifth!

A strong golden light rose from the fifth ring.

Even Rhaenar looked more carefully for a moment.

[Sovereign Mark — Fifth Grade.]

The applause was louder this time, several representatives of the ancient associations exchanged a few short words with each other.

Lian also looked at him, someone had managed to receive a Sovereign Mark, but no matter what, compared to the whole crowd, only a very small number of people had managed to go beyond the Wing Mark.

This made him even more curious about exactly what the Dragon Mark used as its final standard and how the blessing it gave actually worked?

Unfortunately, people who were not Pendragons could not try that thing.

Lucien came down from the altar, only when he stood beside the other four, he looked at the new Mark on his hand for a moment.

Satisfaction was enough.

Now only one person remained.

The ceremony host did not even need to ask for silence, the entire field had already become silent by itself.

"The final selected member of the new generation."

"Seris Pendragon."

Seris moved from her place, this time there was no applause, of course, it was not out of disrespect but because of the expectations they had for her.

Thousands of eyes followed her to the center of the altar.

Lian did the same.

She stood before the Dragon Mark.

Isolde leaned her body slightly forward, Rhaenar remained calm, but the hand resting on the armrest of his chair was no longer still.

This girl was the jewel of their family, a genius who might be able to break through the chains and go beyond everything.

Caelen did not take his eyes off the altar, Lucien was also completely serious this time, Lysandra and Tristan were also watching seriously, but there was no hostility in their eyes.

Even for them, she was considered the jewel of the family and they all supported her.

Seris took the small blade, cut the tip of her finger, and a drop of blood fell onto the black surface of the Mark.

She closed her eyes.

"My blood for the family."

Her voice was calm, clear, and without any shaking.

"My power for the generation after me."

A very weak light moved beneath the six rings.

"As long as the dragon flies above Verendal, my oath will never be broken."

Silence covered the entire place.

But she did not remove her hand and then thum!

The sound came from the Mark itself.

Even from several dozen meters away, Lian felt a very weak vibration under his feet.

The golden lines on the black surface lit up at the same time.

The first ring lit up.

Then the second.

Third.

Fourth.

A murmur appeared among the crowd.

Caelen slowly clenched his fingers.

Fifth.

This time, the murmuring completely stopped.

The Sovereign Mark.

The same thing Lucien had received, but the light was still moving inside the Mark.

Seris did not open her eyes.

The sixth ring was still dark.

One second.

Two.

Three.

Nothing happened.

Then the entire Dragon Mark was covered in white-golden light.

Vooom!

A wave of light shot from the center of the altar into the sky, it had no heat and did not destroy anything, but it carried an ancient pressure that made many weaker people unconsciously tense their bodies.

The light did not stop at a height of several dozen meters, it spread out and two huge wings opened from it.

A long neck, horns, claws, and within a few seconds, the huge shape of a dragon formed above the entire field.

It was nothing but light, but when its mouth opened, a deep roar shook all of Verendal.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Birds flew into the sky from all the towers around them, the flags were pulled backward by the wave of air that passed over the field.

And at that exact moment, the sixth ring lit up, its golden light was even brighter than the previous five rings.

Letters much larger than before appeared above the altar.

[Ancestral Dragon Mark.]