a real talent doesn’t need to be told he is, he just knows. The confidence of the talented.

Silent________________________________

The night sky in eagle village tonight was different. It was quite like you'd expect the night to be, since that's when people usually rested.

But

Some thing was off, tension could be felt in the air and the night was oddly more quiet then usual.

Odd as this may appear it was also normal this period of the year. At the start of a new year, when the harsh snows of winter disappears, melts and as flowers start to grow again, spring.

The eagle village holds an awakening test to see who has the talent to become a cultivator every spring. The participants are youths13 to 15 years old.

***

Inside one of the many houses in eagle village, in a room inside the house.

The room was mostly empty with a bed and a table beside it. On top of the bed laid a young man, he seemed to be at sleep but his eyes where open unable to fall asleep.

This isn't like me. Ben thought.

Am I worried, impossible I just need to fall at sleep…There's no way I'm not talented, If I'm not talented then I'm afraid the world would suddenly collapse and I would wake up to realize it was all a dream. He thought with conviction.

A bird doesn't need to be told that it's a bird to know that it can fly. A wolf doesn't need to be told it's the hunter between it and the rabbit, it just does. And a real genius doesn't need to be told he is, he just knows. Saying those words, a confident look soon appeared on his face.

Soon he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

***

In the center of eagle village, a group of 5 men walked in the night when no one else was as they carried a large and massive drum. They where clothed in light brown uniform attire. With two pairs of wings on the back of their uniforms and the head of an eagle situated at their right chest. 4 of them where actually the one's caring the large drum with the last person carrying to large wooden sticks. The wooden sticks the last of them was carrying where of course to play the enormous drum.

Finally arriving at their destination.

Start preparing, I want everything finished in two hours. And make sure the village's head's seat is more grand and magnificent than the others seats. You know of what happened to the guards last year,right!!.

Spoke the man who held the wooden sticks as he gave the other guards orders.

Yes captain. Replied the other four with serious faces.

They immediately began preparing the awakening ceremony platform.

However

one of the guards seemed confused by their captain's words but had went along with it at the moment. But in the end curiosity got the better of him, as he finally asked his companions.

What happened to the guards last year?.

A voice quickly replied, evidently one of his companions.

Why, did you forget?!!. Ah!, I always forget your new here, you fit so well with us guards that it feels wrong imagining the rest without you. Said a short statue middle age man.

Last year, the guards didn't take their work seriously enough, they used the same amount of gold for every chairs of the esteemed elders and even the village's head.

Honestly, i doubt they where awake, they must have been sleeping while working. Otherwise anyone with half a brain would realize how much they where asking to be punished. And if they weren't half asleep then their brains is no different from a pig's one.

Anyways to make matters even worse they left all the chairs standing at the same height!!. Witch was blatantly discarding the positions of power, a crime punishable by death.

Naturally after the ceremony the captain at the time was executed and everyone else involved with organizing the awakening ceremony was either jailed or fired!!!.

Said the short middle age man with cold sweat.

What about are current captain then, how was he chosen?!uh!!.

Asked the newbie.

This time a deeper voice replied to the question.

He was the vice captain, so naturally his turn came, thus his are leader.

Replied a scrawny tall man, with a disheveled beard. Who's strong and powerful voice didn't suit.

STOP WASTING TIME AND GET TO WORK!!!. Screamed the captain at the four guards, talking instead of working.

The captain turned his head back forward and looked down at the drum. As he was standing just right in front of it. He waited a few minutes and then…Boom,boom,boom…

The captain had started playing the drum like he did every morning, waking the sleeping villagers.

***

Boom,boom,boom…

Ben could hear the drum noise that signified morning being played.

Ummm, Uugh. Ben moaned lazily as he opened his eyes.

It's 6 in the morning, and I didn't get much sleep either, like many of those fools, I'm certain. But my situation is different I just did not feel like sleeping, causing my lack of sleep. Spoke Ben justifying himself in his head as he also casually insulted his fellow participants.

Today is the day, I'll shine among my peers and be chosen to be specially cultivated. He got up from his bed smiling confidently.

He changed into his bathing clothes and slowly walked towards the bathing space. Inside he found two metal small chairs with two soaps on each of them.

He also found a bucket.

He picked one of the metal chairs apparently his, and approached the bucket.

Standing in front of the bucket he placed his metal chair beside it and picked up the soap. Took his clothes off and then sat down on the chair naked. Inside the bucket was hot water and a cup, obviously meant to pick up water while you wash your self. And underneath the bucket could be found a small size fiery red marble.

Ben grabbed the cup and picked up a mouthful of the bubbling hot water and started washing himself.

Around 15 minutes later, Ben came out of the bathing space, apparently finished with his bath as he walked back to his room. As he began changing, he decided to put on his best and nicest looking clothes.

A black shirt, black pants and black boots.

He loved wearing black as he believed he looked more dashing in black, he wasn't wrong as he did indeed so.

Walking out of his room, he walked until he arrived in the living room in front of a mirror.

He looked at himself as he often did before heading out somewhere.

He stood at a hight of five foot ten inches. Had a slightly handsome face, dark skin with short curly hair neatly combed backwards.

Your awaked honey!, come your food is ready. Said a woman placing food at the table. The woman was tall, standing at a hight of six feet zero inches, beautiful and dark skin-darker than his.

Morning mother, Ben said in a calm tone. As he walked to the diner table, sat down and started eating. And as he ate he conversed some more with his mother.

***

Benny, make mother proud. Your father will also be there among the elders cheering you on. Said his mother, Marianne Luis.

Ben, nodded his head motioning he understood as he ate his bread with milk to go down with.

Finishing he got up, looked at his mother…

Sorry, mother I'll head out first, thank you for the meal.

He said to his mother as he lined in and kissed her cheek.

Mother understands, there's a lot of participants and you don't want to be there all day. Mother is going to come to cheer you on so don't you worry, Ben.

Marianne said in an energetic voice.

He smiled, walked back to his room to grabbed his twig made specially for the purpose of maintaining the cleanliness of his teeth. And entered once again the bathing place, this time to clean his teeth. After finishing cleaning his teeth, he placed the twig back into his room. He walked out, passed the living room and left his home.

Wait.

Mwah, good luck. Marianne gave him a kiss on the cheek as she also wished her son good luck.

Ben turned and smiled at her and then left. His destination the centre of the village where the talent awakening would be partaking.

That annoying woman. Ben said as he wiped where she kissed him.

His mother and father had always been good to him and loved him but he felt no sentimental feeling towards them. To him they where no different than strangers that let him stay with them in their home.

Ever since he was little he never understood sentiments, it's not like he didn't have them. He just never cared for them and never understood why people placed so much importance on them.

Lost in his own thoughts he soon arrived. Seeing four lines of youths the same age as he himself he figured it was the line for the awakening. He approached, and directly went and stood on the first line as number 29. He had no doubt he was talented, so he directly lined in the first row.

Those less confident lined up in line 2,3 and 4. The last line, four with the most cowardly, those that where extremely nervous and scared.

They all waited as they had arrived early, the was still a hall hour before the awakening ceremony actually began.

Besides

Some participant hadn't yet arrived and even some elders who's role was to act as monitor and scourer, even some of them hadn't arrived yet.

***

There where more people than when he first arrived, it was normal as it was almost time for the awakening ceremony to begin. As he was looking around he saw a stage in front of them. Seven chairs at the far end of the stage, these where the village's head and the elders. The village's head's chair stood in the middle at the highest hight and with more gold than the rest of the chairs. On his right and left where the battle squad elder and the hunting squad elder, whose chairs where slightly higher than the rest of the elders. On the far right sat the logistics squad elder and the enforcement squad elder. And at the far left sat the medical squad elder and the informant squad elder.

The where more elders than these ones of course but these ones where the most important ones with power and influence among villagers.

In the middle of the stage was standing the academy elder, he was however just an elder with a bit of influence. Not as influential as the 6 elders and the village's head but he was slightly if not minutely influential than normal elders, since he taught future leaders in power.

As for his role, the academy elder was to test and see who has talent or not.

***

A large crowd was surrounding the Stadium and youths in line ready to be tested. This was of course the villager's here to spectate the ceremony, and also participant's family here to provide them emotion support.

I'm sure mother has arrived and she's somewhere in the crowd waiting to watch my performance, father too is also going to be observing my performance. But honestly I could careless if there here, I know I'm talented I don't need to be told, I know I'm.

Other participants are probably happy having emotional support from their loved ones but that's because they're not sure in themselves and probably not talented either.

Ben thought with a sneer as he even felt amused at the end.