5 1

The examination hall was huge. Over a thousand tables were lined up, quietly anticipating the approach of those who had their names engraved upon the wooden placards sitting on them. Outside the venue, in the equally titanic courtyard, young men and women about seventeen years of age scampered about and ruffled through their notes. It was evident that not everyone was fully prepared for the exam, and anxiety was pasted upon their faces like sticky sap and dirty leaves.

Their different uniforms looked messily thrown on as if they'd slept till the very last minute before hastily changing into them and stumbling off to the venue. Of course, it was all quite comical how even children from the most distinguished of sects had messily tied top-knots, boots on the opposite foot, and clothes on the wrong side. Most had dark circles around their eyes, and it was debatable whether they'd conducted any ablutions.

Students from all sixteen sects were present, each one determined to do their best on this exam. After all, only sixty of them with the highest marks would be selected in the end, and after that, a single one of the sixty would rise to take the throne as the *Grandmaster* of all sects for the next fifty years. The stakes were high, but the pressure from their sects was higher.

One may ask why the sects needed a *Grandmaster* when each sect had its own respective leader. The answer lay in the fact that at some point or another, there would arise a disagreement, and without someone strong and intimidating enough to pass fair judgment and laws upon any matters of concern, the sects would take initiative to start wars amongst themselves. In the past, the bloodshed cried out for a mediator, and eventually, the sects decided to heed its call. But, only a person who proved to be stronger than everyone else could be given this title.

Within the chaos, periwinkle eyes looked about curiously at the other students. Their owner seemed to not understand the reason for their distress. Turning his head to his left he noticed another boy from his sect flipping through notebook pages, reading with bloodshot eyes. Turning to his right, there was another girl from his sect squatted on the ground with books surrounding her as if it were an incantation circle. Looking ahead, robes of different colors and the people wearing them could be seen pacing about in anguish. Everyone seemed to be trying to cram as much as they could before they were called into the venue. He exhaled gently through his nose, briefly wondering if he should have been a little more stressed.

"Hey! Zhang Haochen, Haochen! The truth-blurters are here! You've never seen one before, right?" Someone was talking to him. He looked towards the source of the voice. It came from a man with green eyes and the smoothest, deepest shade of cocoa skin, only a few shades lighter than the black braids against his scalp. He was from a sect called Damascus. Haochen had met him quite often when their sects dined together, and at seminars for Regal youth. He was Prince Kol Damascus.

Haochen furrowed his brows. Kol always spoke as if the people from that sect were some sort of *exhibit*. He looked towards the direction Kol and quite a few other people were staring in. At the front of the group entering the courtyard was a young and attractive person, rubbing their eyes and squinting as if the courtyard was much too bright. In fact, everyone with the person seemed to be doing the same. A few students began to mutter, it was a rarity to see people from the Verbatium sect. These people were only seen when it was compulsory, and they hardly interacted with those beyond their sect. Their behavior and customs were vastly different, even their manner of walking was odd.

However, everyone's attention was not on their actions as they entered, but in their appearances. All of them wore white robes, that flowed elegantly with long sleeves draping as if they were the petals of a white hibiscus. Their hair was of varying lengths and a stark silvery-white color. The ends were stained a violet-indigo color, not unlike the shades of their forearm concealing sleeves and the sashes at their slim waists.

Haochen realized why everyone looked at them and described them in the manner that they did. They were flamboyant, unapologetically gaudy, and most importantly: It was difficult to tell who was a man, and who was a woman.

The person at the front began to walk forward, along with the others. Each one of them seemed fascinated as if they'd never seen other people before. Their eyes sparkled with innocence and curiosity.

Haochen and almost everyone who hadn't looked at them till that point else stopped their antics and watched them. It was as if porcelain dolls with fine jade skin were gliding across the courtyard.

"How did it come to be so bright all of a sudden?" The person at the front and center asked, lifting their arm up and shielding their eyes as they walked. Haochen blinked. That voice definitely sounded somewhat masculine, but there was a gentleness about it that made him unsure.

"Your majesty, the gates have an enchantment to remove any enchantments, incantations, or jinxes placed on a person as they walk through, to prevent cheating in the examination. But I never expected it to be this bright in the morning outside the Alcoves." The person next to them said.

"Ah, you're right! Father did mention it a while back, I think I remember it vaguely. We should keep our eyes closed to not get headaches before the exam. But then again, I've collected these wonderful roots yesterday and they help with-" They put down their arm as they continued to speak, allowing Haochen to get a better look at their face. The Verbatians around the person began to laugh and shake their heads at the person, quite fondly as they began sniffing at a violet pouch.

He was confused, this person had shoulder-length hair, a shimmering diamond and gold headpiece, earrings, dark lashes, and violet eyes. They stood about ten meters away.

Kol snickered. "You're wondering if it's a man or a woman, hard to tell, right?"

Well, he'd been read.

Haochen was silent, still trying to figure it out for himself. Kol grinned then went to stand beside him. "That my friend, is Prince Calibri of the Verbatium sect."

"Prince?" Haochen was well aware of the powerful sect. It was Prince Calibri's father who was the current Grandmaster of the 16 sects, in fact. He was also aware that he had at least four children, but they'd never been revealed to many people. Very few knew who they were, mostly the Royals in a handful of Sects and mutual educators.

"Yup. Except unlike you and I who actually follow our duties by attending banquets, training, and meetings for royal youth, he," He nodded to Calibri, "He plays in streams and forests, gathers flowers like a princess, then calls it a day. When we went to Verbatium, he ran in carrying strange, muddy things while my father was discussing matters with the Grandmaster in the Sapphire Hall-"

"The *Sapphire* hall? You mean an actual hall made of sapphire?"

"Yeah, I swear, I've seen it myself. Let me tell you Haochen, it's as gaudy as their attire. Anyway, instead of remanding him for walking in so discourteously the Grandmaster actually doted on him, *everyone* did. What a damn princess. Those blurters are weird, they're really strange. Get this, even though they like shiny and lavish things so much, I didn't see a single house or even a castle for His Majesty. "

Haochen raised a brow, thinking the story was a bit far-fetched. "Where do they live then?"

Kol shrugged. "All I know is that the whole Verbatium territory spans miles, but where they live within it is a mystery. To get in we had to accept having our eyes jinxed shut until we got deep into the forest. When I opened my eyes, we were on a paved path towards the hall. We walked for ages, but I saw nobody. Nothing. No civilization. The hall was extravagant, but even then I only saw a few people in there, including Calibri when he burst in. They were strange too, and honestly, they all look like women to me. Especially *princess* over there.."

Suddenly the person in question stopped walking and turned to look directly at them, the pair froze at this.

His violet eyes looked mildly surprised. Haochen blinked a few times. Calibri looked as if he'd heard the entire conversation and that he wanted to say something about it.

He stared at them for a moment then looked to the person at his right. "Alexei. Is it hard to tell if I'm a man or a woman? " He looked genuinely curious.

"Of course not, your majesty, you have beautifully masculine features." Alexei said.

"But…"He glanced at Kol. Kol stared back at him. Kol nor Haochen knew what he'd said to Alexei since he was far away, but when he turned to look back at them after talking to Alexei, they realized he must have been talking about them. He stared at Kol for another thirty seconds, then bowed his head with a kind smile. He'd recognized him.

Kol frowned and bowed in return. "Why is he looking at me like that? There's no way he remembers me. He barely looked me that day."

Haochen was about to reply but the words died in his throat when the violet eyes landed on him. Calibri tilted his head slightly as if he was trying to remember if he'd seen him before. After a long moment, he broke into a good-natured grin, all dimples and pearly whites, not a hint of annoyance, a beautiful smile you'd give to a person you'd met for the first time. He lifted an elegant hand and waved at Haochen.

*Ba-dump*.

Haochen jerked and made a contorted face, feeling that odd ache in his chest. He reached up a hand and rubbed at the spot, swallowing uncomfortably.

'Did I just have a heart palpitation?'

Calibri stopped waving, and a confused look overtook his immaculate features. The person next to him tapped his arm and said something to him. He glanced at Haochen again with a trace of worry, twisting his lips to the left in thought before turning away.