Falling Sky Sect laid at the mouth of a grand, sweeping valley. Dawn struggled to call it anything other than a small city, however. The walls of the Sect were tall, but not so tall she couldn’t see the buildings behind them. Streets and paths connected all the disparate halls of Falling Sky Sect, all of them with disciples walking to and fro. Past the Sect grounds she could just barely make out a broad plain within the valley, ringed by dense forest.

People had become more plentiful on the road the Sect. They passed travellers going both ways as they walked, some on foot and others riding vehicles both fantastical and mundane. Twice Dawn saw a Cultivator ride past on a giant tiger with dark purple fur. According to Virion, his uniform marked him as an inner disciple of the Sect, and he was likely running messages back and forth between Falling Sky and the nearby city of Silverlake.

As they approached, Dawn spotted a large crowd gathering at the entrance to the Sect. It was composed almost entirely of people around her age, though there were a few who looked a couple years older.

“Well girls,” Virion said, “Here is where we must part. Pay attention to the people running the registration today, they will tell you everything you need to know. Dusk, you should refresh your illusion.”

She nodded, and drew on two points of essence to reweave it. The [Phantom Clone] Technique had been a significant improvement over the manual methods. Experimenting had shown that because the illusion was placed in the space she stood in, there was almost no extra cost from distance, and she didn’t need to dedicate all that much to ensuring it’s stability, so now just two points would last twenty minutes. Dusk’s practice that day had drained their essence some, but they’d let it refill on their approach, so now they had about half their total left.

“Good. Now remember, your grandfather I may be, but I am still an Elder of this Sect. So if we meet in public within, you are to address me as Elder Virion, in the way I taught you. In private it shall be fine, but I do have an image to uphold, as difficult as it can make things at times. Understand?”

The two nodded seriously. That wasn’t the first time Virion had mentioned the importance of image, which was something Cultivators held highly.

“Very well. A final word of advice; make a friend. Allies and companions will be invaluable in your time here, and I have seen far too many fool themselves into thinking a Cultivator’s path must be a lonely one. Do not make that mistake. You’d be surprised how far a good friend can take you. Now then, if you ever want to talk, then come to me in the Healer’s Hall. Unless I’m seeing to someone, which shouldn’t be often, then my door will be open to you both. Good luck.”

With that, Virion vanished, moving so fast that neither Dawn or Dusk saw it happen. The wind of his passing was little more than a light breeze.

Dawn turned to her sister. Well then. I guess there’s nothing left but to move forward.

Indeed. Nervous?

Dawn chuckled weakly. As if you need to ask, sister.

Dawn walked forward with Dusk’s ethereal laughter echoing in her head.

As Dawn drew nearer to the crowd, she started to overhear voices from the front.

“...many times must I say, we are still waiting on two more to- ah, there we are! Now we can finally get you all tested and registered.”

The man who was speaking stood on a small podium at the front of the crowd, dressed in similar robes to Virion. His brown hair was messy and unkempt, and the glasses he wore were almost certainly an affectation, as poor eyesight was usually fixed by the time Cultivators reached the Formation Stage. His eyes had bags under them, an impressive achievement given sleep steadily became less of a concern as Cultivators grew.

Dusk?

It’s kind of tough to get a good read on him, I’m still not fully used to this, but I’m pretty sure he's in the early Completion Stage. So 7th Layer, though what Step I can’t say. He could be a peak 6 though, it’s a little blurry from here.

Even that much was more than what most could glean off of a Cultivator who was that much stronger than them. Virion had on multiple occasions remarked on the acuity of Dusk’s spiritual senses, which he explained were likely so well honed purely because it was the only way for her to perceive the world.

Dawn found herself standing in the crowd next to a short redheaded girl who seemed intent on remaining separate from everyone else. Dusk stood on her other side.

“Allow me to introduce myself,” said the man on the podium. “For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Elder Castir. I am in charge of the outer disciples of Falling Sky Sect, and as such it is my role to oversee the intake of new disciples. In a few moments we will be walking you through the entrance to our great Sect, and taking you all to the testing area, at which point your potential will be measured and your ability assessed. Be warned. If you do not meet certain standards then you will not be accepted as an outer disciple of Falling Sky.”

“Yikes,” Dawn said to the redhead next to her. “I wonder what those standards are. I’m Dawn by the way.”

The girl stared at her for a few moments, which Dawn spent taking a better look at her. She was beautiful, there was no other way Dawn could think of to describe her. Her skin was like porcelain, with the lack of blemish Dawn would have expected from a statue. Her eyes were an incredibly dark blue, so dark that if it weren’t for the sun above she would have thought they were black. The red of her hair contrasted with her skin in such a way that tied the image together without drawing too much attention to individual parts.

She was wearing a dark red silk dress, with golden accents. The sleeves were impractically voluminous, but she wore it as if she was long used to that arrangement.

“I’m sorry? Are you speaking to me?” she asked.

Dawn looked back at her, nonplussed. “Yes? There isn’t exactly anyone else I could be talking to, is there?”

The redhead’s face was stunned, as if there was no conceivable way this conversation should be taking place.

Dawn? Why are you talking to empty air?

What? Dawn replied, What do you mean empty air, can’t you see the girl right here?

The girl in question sighed in exasperation. “What was even the point in asking Father for the stupid masking talisman if it’s seen through by the first graceless commoner I come across?”

“Well, that’s just rude. I was only trying to make conversation,” said Dawn. “Wait. Masking talisman?”

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“Yes. So I don’t get swarmed by sycophantic leeches, it’s infuriating. I’d have liked to retain what little privacy remained to me, but it seems I can’t even have that, now can I?”

“I mean, I think you still have it. Dusk says I’m talking to thin air, and she’s usually pretty perceptive. How’s it work?”

“Pardon?”

Dawn waved a hand around, completely uncaring that there were a few people looking at her funny. “The talisman thing. How’s it work?”

The girl now looked speculative, almost analysing Dawn. “It… convinces the Spirit that there’s nothing to see. Illusions are unreliable and too easy to see through under scrutiny, so it’s the more expensive but more effective method of staying hidden. How are you unaffected?”

“Ah. I don’t have one.”

The redhead now looked incredulous. “I… what?”

“A Spirit. My sister’s using mine, so there’s nothing for it to affect on me.”

“I have so many problems with that I don’t know where to begin. Let’s start with it being impossible to not have a Spirit. Because it is.”

Dawn shrugged. “I don’t know what to tell you. I don’t have a Spirit, Dusk doesn’t have a Body. That’s really all there is to it.”

The girl now looked as if she was about to strike Dawn down for telling such tall tales, but calmed herself quickly.

“I realise now that I have failed to introduce myself. I am Jasmine Carnadine, it is a pleasure.”

Dawn stuck out a hand. “Dawn Alterse, the same. This is my sister Dusk.”

Jasmine stared at the hand for a moment, then muttered under her breath, “Stupid thing was making me uncomfortable anyway.”

She reached into the sleeve of her dress, and removed a silver bracelet from her wrist. When she did, Dawn heard Dusk gasp in her head, with the reaction repeated by numerous people around her.

Then Jasmine took her hand and shook it daintily.

**********************

Sect Leader Elaine of the Falling Sky Sect gazed down at the latest crop of disciples, watching as two people of very different backgrounds met.

“So those are your mysterious grandchildren, Virion,” she said to her companion. They were both shrouded by Elaine’s power, standing on air some distance from the hopeful disciples.

“Indeed,” he replied. “I’m quite fond of them both.”

“I still find it hard to believe. A Body without a Spirit, and a Spirit without a Body, before reaching Completion. It’s not just unheard of, it flies in the face of everything we know.”

“Quite right,” Virion said.

“It’s remarkable, truly it is,” she breathed.

“If you’ll remember, it was quite the coincidence that I came across them. As I told you before, a single hour earlier or later and it would have been too late.”

“And they just so happen to be placed in a position to meet the youngest daughter of Duke Carnadine. Really, Virion, you know better. There’s-”

“Yes, yes, I know, Elaine. There’s no such thing as coincidence for a Cultivator.”

The two ancient Cultivators watched in silence as the crowd of hopeful disciples were led into the Sect towards the area where the tests had been set up.

Eventually, Virion broke the silence.

“They have a Bloodline, Elaine.”

Her head jerked up sharply. “What!?”

“Gemini Pact. It fused their Core into one, their cultivation speed is significant, though they need time to let their Core settle itself, and they share a stat growth of four across the board.”

“My word. This… could be bad if it got out.”

“Indeed. There hasn’t been a new Bloodline since-”

“Iranth. You know what the Families will do if they discover them too soon.”

Elaine gazed at her oldest friend, the only one left from their youth. The look she saw in his eyes chilled her to the bone, despite him being more than a whole Layer beneath her.

It felt like a crack in the chains of a long shackled madness.

“I know.”

Elaine relaxed internally, feeling the calm undercurrents in his Spirit. He still retained control of himself. Too many over the years have looked at Virion, at his kindness and generosity, and thought it made him weak.

Each and every one learned their lesson the hard way.

Elaine sighed. “I think the Gods are growing bored again, old friend.”

He chuckled good naturedly, like the last moment had never happened. “Let them. I could do with some interesting times.”

**********************

“And this,” Elder Castir said, “is the training field. Normally it is where disciples will spend their time strengthening their bodies, and practicing their Martial Arts, but as you can see, that is not possible today.”

The large expanse of packed dirt was nothing to look at. There were a few sets of stones placed in large circles off to one side, and on the other was a collection of various kinds of what Dawn believed to be exercise equipment. Around the outer edge of the field was a running track, long pressed flat by countless pounding feet.

In the middle of the open space, a number of people were stationed at tables across the field.

At that moment, Dawn sighed as she spotted yet another person trying to cosy up to Jasmine.

You’d think they’d learn, she said to Dusk.

Hey, this was your idea, came the reply.

Dawn wanted to argue, but it was her that offered to keep the various social parasites that recognised Jasmine’s apparent wealth away. She didn’t really know why she made the offer. The redhead had been rather rude to her at the beginning, and though she had begun to warm up by the time Elder Castir had started taking them to the testing field, Dawn wouldn’t exactly call her friendly.

Dawn continued to carry her staff in the crook of her elbow, leaning it on one shoulder, and said to the man who thought he was being discreet in his approach, “The Lady Carnadine wishes to be left alone. You’d best return your attention to the Elder.”

She stepped back next to Jasmine, and waited for him to leave before saying to Jasmine, “Are you sure it’s necessary to talk like that? It makes my mouth feel funny.”

Jasmine glanced at Dawn. “It is if you want people to take you seriously. Out of curiosity, do you know how to use that staff?”

“A little, yeah. My grandfather gave me an essence tablet with a fighting style for it, but I’m still getting used to it.”

“Really? Things like that aren’t exactly cheap, you know. Who is your grandfather, to be able to afford such things?”

Dawn paused before answering. She never considered the possibility that the tablets Virion had given her might be expensive. That put his gifts in an even higher light.

Eventually she decided to tell her. Virion did say she should try to make a friend, and given how things have turned out, Jasmine might actually be her best bet. Besides, making nice with the daughter of a Duke couldn’t possibly be a bad idea.

“Elder Virion, of this Sect.”

Jasmine’s eyes widened imperceptibly. “I see. I believe I should apologise for my… reaction earlier. I’m not normally so… rude, as you so bluntly put it, but I was on edge. Things have been a bit difficult for me of late, and the masking talisman not affecting you was the final straw.”

“Ah, it’s fine. Besides, you weren’t wrong. Grandfather and Dusk have both repeatedly told me I have the social graces of a charging bull.”

Jasmine smiled slightly. “That you do.”

At this point, Elder Castir’s words returned their attention to the front.

“...will step up to one of these examiners one at a time, and they will direct you through the process. To reiterate, our priority is your potential and talent, not necessarily whatever skills you might already possess. Now then, who wants to go first?”