5 What Choices?

As the elders began walking around in their groups it became obvious that the passing rate for entering a sect at this competition was going to be abysmally low. There were only a few offers made at the first two groups they passed, and only the Iron Warriors Sect gained any disciples. After another twenty minutes each sect now had groups in another area of the fields where their chosen members were gathered. The Iron Warriors Sect had by far the most recruits, followed relatively closely by the Bone Tool Sect, but the final sect, the Hunting Hall Sect, still only had two. Soon enough the elder groups neared the stages where Fenglong and Yun were seated. Almost at the same time they were both gestured to come forward and the elders made their offers; Fenglong had his choice of the Bone Tool Sect and the Iron Warriors Sect, and he chose the former in the hopes of becoming a great master refiner some day; Yun, however, noticed that two of the three elders in front of her looked disappointed about something as she received her only offer: The Hunting Hall Sect. She was simultaneously excited and worried, why were they the only offer? Regardless, she bowed to the elders and accepted the token to join the Hunting Hall.

By the time the elders finished making their rounds, out of the thousands of hopefuls who showed up, there were less than five hundred chosen by the sects. The Iron Warriors had the largest group at about two hundred and fifty, the Bone Tool Sect had nearly two hundred, and the Hunting Hall had forty. After the selections were complete each sect took their new disciples aside and gave them a brief time to return home and prepare to move to the sect hall. Then the Hunting Hall informed the disciples they chose that each had a different riddle that they had to decipher in order to find the elder that was vouching for them. After twenty four hours at home they would have three days to find the elders or their invitation would be terminated. Of the chosen standing in that group very few did not look surprised by this news, obviously having enough background to learn this much about the legendary Hunting Hall.

After all the sects dismissed their recruits the field quickly emptied as everyone returned to their homes. A short time later a few of the elders stepped out of the shadows and conversed among themselves, two of them were frustrated at the third but managed to keep the volume down to avoid others being able to hear it. "How dare you pressure our sects into not inviting those high talent disciples this year! They have every right to choose their own path when given the chance, not be forced into a puzzle that could even prevent them from joining!" raged one of the elders. The other angry elder didn't speak at this time, but it was obvious he agreed when he said, "This is the last time. My sect will not bend to this kind of pressure again. If you want talented disciples maybe you should come out from the shadows!" Afterward, the two disgruntled elders disappeared while the third elder walked leisurely around the grounds, touching each of the measuring stones and making them vanish from the field.

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Back at home for the night, the Huli household held a celebration that both children had been chosen by the sects. The whole block was invited, and the party continued well into the night. Two other families on the block also had members chosen, and so the party evolved to include them as well. Late in the night, when the children were too tired to stay upright, their father carried them to their beds and laid them down. As the sun came up he left the two sleeping children and walked into the market to purchase some items for them. For Fenglong he purchased some things like a carrying pack and sleeping mat, for Yun he also purchased some dried rations for her to eat while she was seeking the elder for her sect.

After buying materials and returning home he prepared a standard breakfast for the family one last time and woke the two up. They ate and cleaned the same as always before they sat down together to listen to what their father had to say. "My beloved children, I know you are both young for this, but i am extremely proud of you both. Those tokens you were given are spiritual objects, and they contain information that you will need to access." As he spoke, they both pulled out their tokens and looked at them in surprise, they had never heard of such a thing while living on the island. Weilong then quickly explained about the different kinds of energy that can be used; Physical Qi, which is the energy that moves the body and is created from the body; Spiritual Qi, which is the energy of the mind and spirit and is stored in the forehead; and Heavenly Qi, which is absorbed from the world. After instructing them about each of these, he then taught them how to use Spiritual Qi to look at the information stored on their tokens. Fenglong's token merely listed what branch of the Sect he belonged to as well as his personal information for identification. His token was a standard disciple token for the sect and he would merely have to show up at the prescribed location on time. Yun's token, however, contained a puzzle of images and concepts that made it hard for her to keep her spiritual energy steady enough to continue looking at the information.

It also contained two simple warnings; "First, do not ask for help. No one else can read this token but you. Second, you have three days from this moment before your token will expire and you will not be allowed to enter the sect. Find the assigned Elder at the waiting point before then." When she asked her father about this he thought for a moment before responding, "I seem to recall the Hunting Hall does this to test their disciples ability to follow instructions and clues. They use something other than words to prevent you from being able to explain it to others in a useful manner, thus ensuring that if you complete the puzzle it was your own understandings and comprehension that allowed you to find them." Once their father finished explaining things to them Yun told him that her token said she had three days from now to find her target or her invite would expire, to which he sighed and went to retrieve the things he purchased that morning. After bringing them out he sat down again with a solemn look on his face, "Children, it could be quite some time before you see me again. Sects are different from normal society. They will push you to the limits, they will make you stronger, but they will also segregate you from things that could tie you down. You will make friends there, and enemies no doubt, because of your age and talent. You will have great opportunities to get heavenly materials that we would never be able to afford. But it may be decades before I see either of you again. While that saddens me, I also understand that life. Once, when I was young, I left my father and grandfather behind and joined the Iron Warriors Sect. I spent twenty years of my life dedicating myself to the sect and, in spite of my poor talent, I achieved a good deal. When I left the Sect after realizing that I would likely not be able to advance further I joined the military and was stationed at the outpost we passed through. After a few years there I met your mother when I was visiting a city and we eventually married and she returned to the outpost with me. Then the disaster struck. While pregnant with you two, the outpost was attacked by a much larger force of Volvaka than we expected. They destroyed everything and killed everyone they could. Before they could reach the port I had already put your mother on a small boat just in case, but as we warriors were pushed back time and again my companions urged me to leave with my wife and protect her. If only I had listened to them she may still be here. I furiously fought with my brothers in arms until I saw a shaman break through our lines and make a dash for the port. I chased him, closing the distance, but I was too slow. When I caught him and took his head he had already poisoned your mother and had a smile on his face, as if that was his only purpose in life. After that my companions threw me on the boat with your mother and pushed it off the docks, turning their backs on me and fighting to the last man." Both children sat stiffly, not having expected such a tale from their father. After another few minutes, when everyone recovered their wits and dried their tears Weilong stood and motioned the children to join him. "Both of you have your own paths to follow now. Take these things and follow it. I will be here, waiting for your successful return. I set up a shrine to your mother in the other room, go pay your respects before you leave." As he shooed the children into the other room neither of them noticed the tears in his eyes. After closing the door behind them Weilong sat down to wait a few minutes and regain his composure before they finished. When they returned from paying their respects he gave them both a hug and ushered them to the door, "Go now, make your marks. But watch your backs, there are those that would do you harm because your talent is greater than theirs. Be strong." With that simple statement he sent them on their way and silently closed the door behind them.