Even from outside, the great hall thrummed, Valtra's unique voice echoing in the gallery. 

Velwrith and his mother entered through the main entrance between the kitchens. At the other end of the room waited the raised royal dais with a hollow half circle table atop it. Four great tables rested between the doors and the platform, and at the very center of it all was a copper fire pit. A standard pan of boiling water the flames, balanced . 

Velwrith could not tell what was in the water from the doorway but knew it was either a sacred stone or another holy trinket.

Holding his mother's arm, they crossed the room. When they reached the dais, his mother ascended. The Stargazer cut short her speech; the room went silent.

The Queen stepped gracefully, took the center of the stage, and spoke. "Ladies, gentlemen, merchants, and meanders, we have all gathered here today to witness a miracle."

She looked from the stage to him for a long minute before she went on. "Before us is my son Tok'Velwrith Silverwind, your prince and now oracle prospect. He is going to demonstrate to us that he is legitimately the new Lightbringer."

Gracefully she motioned towards the pan in the center of the room. "Within the pan is boiling water and a symbol of the goddess. All you must do is remove the symbol before the water cools. You may use no tools or magic except the power of the Lightbringer itself. You shall complete this task before the water cools or willingly surrender to have your mark removed." 

Then she turned to him, "Do you accept this task, my son?"

He nodded. "Yes, Mother, I do,"  he said before striding to the pan. The steam, rolling from the water, dampened his skin. The flames beneath the pot licked his legs. 

Testing, he reached out his hand, the steam scalded him immediately, and he recoiled by instinct. 

He looked around at the crowd and considered his options. Doubts raced across his mind, distinctly he regret declining that scholarship to Shingee's wizarding academy all those years ago.

He stopped when his eyes met a sparkling set of orange orbs judging his every move; Kale'Saeria was watching him. A weight filled his stomach.

 Taking a step back and fighting the urge to vomit, he let his eyes go anywhere else, locking onto a green and red feather bobbing up and down atop a violet boater's cap. 

A cat's eye swiveled in his direction, and a voice rang into his mind "Deary, it isn't polite to look so intently at a lady." He smirked at the comment but did not project a reply.

"We're all here for better or for worse deary; you need not worry. You've found yourself a group of good parasites with these; Emmeriss still doesn't know you're the Lightbringer, you know." So the voice in his head said softly from across the crowded room.

Velwrith found himself more disoriented now than ever, the kind words from the hat were comforting, but he was not here to prove something to his new friends.

 His thoughts were interrupted when his heel bumped the dais step.

"We wonder why you are here then, our prince." Luna, the moth's alien voice, telepathically interjected.

"I.. am here to prove something to myself." He thought back at the insect, hoping the hat wasn't listening in.

"We expect you would not need such a crowd to prove something to yourself. But, on the contrary, we believe you wish to prove something to another," The moth's alien presence insisted.

He scowled hard. "Yes, Luna, as always you and your good lady have deduced the truth of it…I am trying to prove to Nina that I am better. That I am better than when I left, that I've changed."

Then he let his Lightbringer's presence flair to life, his tattoo burning gold. Then, with a lightning-swift movement, he stepped forward and plunged his hand into the cauldron, grasping for the sun-shaped piece of gold. 

He regretted the action later for two reasons. The first was the water splashed all down his front. Second, the force shook the pan, and thus the trinket resisted capture.

 Golden light still tinged his vision and amazed those onlooking. Nevertheless, he felt nothing when he withdrew from the pot. There had been no pain; the boiling water did not harm his skin.

 The golden symbol in his hand steamed as he raised it overhead.

With another three strides, he placed the relic before his mother, who had seated herself at the table. Then he removed his still steaming overcoat and undershirt and tossed them into the fire. Next, he grabbed a tankard from the table. As he drank, the Lightbringer's presence vanished. 

The tankard fell to the floor,  and so did he.

Pain and welts blossomed everywhere. The skin of his right hand morphed, first turning bright pink, then bubbing, blistering, and falling off around the knuckles. His stomach, chest, and groin burned with unspeakable pain. Yet, ominously the discomfort began to lessen where the blistering was most intense. 

His hand was icy numb, and he couldn't breathe. But in the distance, clapping began. At first, it was one person, then a handful, and suddenly the room was roaring with celebration. They had witnessed a miracle, or close enough at least.

Lady Valtra and his mother were over him then. One applied a medley of curative while the other reassured him. He could not tell which did what. He remembered Saeria joining them from the crowd before delirium took him entirely.