Fate

Somewhere high above the Ancient Ironbark Timberland.

"The recruits are quite numerous this year, aren't they? A good batch of youngsters."

"Indeed, Elder Li, 138 recruits to be exact. We suspect quite a few of them have at least Earth-grade talent. Though many more barely reached the Mortal grade."

"Hmm…"

The two men stood in the air overlooking the clearing where groups of fresh recruits were currently working on bringing down a single tree.

The one called Elder Li had a full head of dark gray hair and a straight beard that reached his chest. His short hair was combed back, giving him a refined look as he gazed down with a neutral expression. His hands were behind his back, elegantly hidden in the large sleeves of his white cultivator robe.

A blue sash was tied around his midsection, carrying a few pouches that appeared empty at a first glance. Underneath his clean black boots was a thin transparent platform, nearly invisible in the sky, that held him and the younger man beside him.

The lad had a light blue robe instead of white but was otherwise dressed the same. The only exception between the two was that the younger one had a clean-shaven face and carried a stack of scrolls in his hands from which he was currently reading.

"They are advancing well with the task, they should be able to finish about 100 houses before the month is over. There might be some aggression soon, especially since their food reserves are already low."

"It is the natural state of things." Elder Li quietly said. "As long as more than 50% remain after three years, the harvest will be good."

"It is as you say, Elder Li." The man beside him bowed. His eyes then shifted towards the man working in the distance who was there alone. He saw him, and acknowledged him, but did not care to comment.

"Smart boy." Elder Li smiled thinly. "His magic is good, I dare say excellent! But he has a flaw. He is alone." His eyes shifted to the side, glowing slightly as his sight pierced through the leaves and trees in his path, observing a predatory animal stalking closer to the mountain.

"A Wind Tiger?" The other one noticed it too. "What is it doing here? So close to the Sect? The hunters were sloppy this time." A bow materialized in his hand and he pulled the string back, arrow at the ready. "I have it in my sights. At your command."

"… Leave it."

"Elder Li?" The man looked at his senior in slight confusion. "But the recruits… They will be killed."

The Elder remained silent for a while, his glowing eyes slowly moving, tracking the beast. Eventually, he spoke. "A Cultivator must be strong, wise, cunning... But above all, fate must be in his favor. If the Heavens wish for you to die, no matter what, you will not live. And if the Heavens wish for you to live, no matter what, you will not die."

"I see…"

"Consider this a test of luck. Observe the beast, but should it threaten to kill a child, save it at the last moment so it can live. Our interference will anger the weavers of fate, but as long as we cut ties with the child, our hands will be clean."

"We are making them fail the test? After coming so far, that's quite cruel."

"The world is cruel. We merely play by its rules."

***

He was resting in the shade of a rock, cooling down after a long day. He exhausted his magic empowering his body while working, and now he was done. He laid down on the cool soil and looked at the sky, or, the emerald green canopies above him, and sighed.

Cultivation. A new path of magic for him to discover. He clenched his fist. He was going to finish this test, build his own house, and join the Sect! Nobody was going to stop him!

But first, he had to get something to eat. It has been long hours already since he last had a bite. The food was where the rest of the recruits were, but he didn't like big crowds of people, so he decided to look around, to see what he could find.

The Senior Disciple told them they would have to find something to eat sooner or later, so he might as well do it now when he wasn't yet starving.

He made his way from the path and traveled down the side of the mountain in search of something edible.

He was lucky. It didn't take long for him to stumble upon a sunny spot, covered with berries. Small green leaves surrounded even smaller dark-red spherical berries. He knew those, he ate them many times before.

They were nice and cool, slightly sweet and slightly bitter, but that was to be expected from wild fruits. He crouched down and started picking them one at a time, and soon he had a fistful of them. He stood up and was just about to throw them into his mouth when he noticed a single large green eye looking straight at him.

His body shuddered and his hands trembled, the fistful of berries falling to the floor. The beast, a black panther, nearly the size of an ox, slowly stepped into the light, its disfigured face full of malice and hunger.

"Ah…" He couldn't even scream as the beast licked its scarred lips and opened its mouth as magic inside its body flared up.

"AAAAAH!" He finally screamed. But, so did the beast.

HOWL!

Deadly wind blades, hundreds of them, were upon him in an instant. He lifted the axe he was carrying with him, in a desperate attempt at blocking the strike, but it was useless. He closed his eyes and prepared for death.

He waited and waited, but, death never came. It was silent around him. Like the world had stopped.

He opened his eyes and looked around. The beast was nowhere to be found, and neither were the berries. He was back on the path, at the top of the Thousand Heavenly Steps.

As he looked down, he noticed the axe he was still holding, or, what was left of it. Where the axe head once sat, now only a tiny piece of metal remained, sliced through diagonally and leaving a perfectly flat face. Whatever went through it didn't care if the tool was made of iron or softwood, it simply cut.

"You have failed the test, Junior. You may go."

He turned around, scared by the sudden sound behind him. There, he saw a man, dressed in a light blue robe, floating above the ground.

"The Wind Tiger would have killed you if I didn't intervene. Unfortunately for you, that means you have failed the test. Better luck next time."

He could not believe what he had just heard. He was about to die? He failed the test and had to leave the Sect before even properly joining it?! NO! This wasn't fair! This was…!

He cupped his hands and bowed with a bitter heart. "This Ge thanks the Elder for saving his life."

"Hmm… Be safe, little one."

That was it. There was no point in arguing. Ge Taut held back his tears as he turned around and descended the Heavenly Steps with a heavy heart. His dream was shattered in but an instant. The world was cruel.

***

"Ge Taut, Mortal talent, although not good, he wasn't bad either. Was it really right to interfere like that? If I shot the Wind Tiger before the two ever met, could that even be called interference?" He looked at Elder Li after the boy disappeared from view.

The Elder reappeared beside him, no longer hidden in the shadows, and turned around. "Follow me."

They reappeared above the sunny patch of berries where the beast attacked. It had since ran away, so that place was now safe. Not that it mattered to the two.

"Tell me what you see." The Elder said.

"Um, the Jam Berries?" He scratched his head. "What about them?"

"Look closer."

He did as he was told. The berries looked good. If they weren't so incredibly low in energy, perhaps he would have eaten some.

"Closer." The Elder insisted.

And so he did. He looked over every dark-red sphere, every leaf, and root. "I don't understand. What's wrong with these Jam Berries? … Oh wait, they are not. They are…" He scratched his head, trying to remember the real name of the plant. "They are… Wolf Berries! Oh…"

"The boy was destined to die, even if we did nothing." Elder Li rose higher above the forest and the man was brought up beside him with a grim expression. "The beast saved him from poison, and we saved him from the beast. However, I would not be surprised if he never reached home."

"Elder Li, you mean…" The man did not continue his thought, nor did Elder Li explain further.

"Come." He said. "Let us follow the wounded beast. I feel strands of fate tugging hard today."

"As you say, Elder Li."

***

"Hey, want some Jam Berries? I found them below the road over there." Alyx Bell offered a fistful of dark-red berries to Gerald as the latter came back to the group towards the evening.

[Erm…] Gerald looked at the berries in his friend's hand and remembered that awful, awful day. They only looked similar, but his stomach was already churning at the thought. [No thanks, though I appreciate the offer.]

"Hmm, suit yourself." Alyx tossed a few into his mouth. "They are quite sweet, you know?"

The rations were officially out. This was the last dinner sponsored by the Sect, and from that day onward, they would have to feed themselves.

"Oh, you probably haven't heard…" Alyx suddenly remembered some important news and quickly told Gerald everything about it. "We broke through the bark! And guess what?! The wood is soft! Told you, haha!" He even made a little celebratory dance.

[You know… All this talk about trees and bark gave me an idea.] Gerald said. [We should make some puns about our work.]

"What? Why?" Alx looked at him sideways, genuinely curious.

[Well, I just think they wood work well. And it wood be tree-mendous for the morale. But then again… Some people probably wouldn't want to hear a-corn-y joke.]