Early in the morning the sun began to rise over the growing city of Proodos. An arena had been constructed in the heart of this city which on this particular day was bereft of any equipment. Instead, there were multiple tables set up with a chair in front of the table and one behind it. The bleachers, which stretched around the entire building, had been cordoned off, leaving only the stage to conduct the all important test to check for the potential of young would-be cultivators. 

That stage was currently filled with a large number of children standing around. They had been murmuring and giggling, as children at their age tended to do, until a loud gong announced the start of the examination. Their parents and guardians, as well as many of the city’s inhabitants, sat scattered throughout the outside ring and stage, watching over the entire event. 

At the head of each table sat an instructor who had come to this city specifically to conduct the test. Despite being young the kids had orderly lined up in front of the tables they had been assigned to when they had arrived. Every time a new child stepped up to a table, a faint glow could be seen coming from their respective instructor.

The earlier chatter had quickly died down and got replaced by the sounds of crying or celebration, depending on whether the one in question was eligible to become a cultivator or not. Alas, just like every year, for every kid who was deemed to have enough potential to start the long and arduous journey of a cultivator there would be at least 50 others who would not be as lucky. 

Among the candidates there was a lightly tanned girl with silky smooth black hair flowing down to just past her shoulders at the young age of five. Her sapphire blue eyes scanned around the arena until they fell on her parents who smiled at their youngest daughter, filling her with confidence.

The young girl stared forward, towards the instructor, while patiently waiting for her turn. The instructor was one of the younger men dressed in a simple robe, a shirt and some pants. His long brown hair was tied into a top knot. 

When she finally reached the front of the line the instructor smiled down at her. "Ah, young Seraphina Viotto, it's been a while since one of your family has come to take the test." Seraphina nodded her head excitedly and exclaimed, "Big Brother, please call me Sera!" The instructor smirked at her adorable request and patted her head, "Sera it is then." 

At the back of the crowd leaning against the wall, there was a man who was watching the young girl intently. He was a taller man, with a slim figure and clothes that appeared to have been tailor made for him. He had short, dark brown hair that seemed to enjoy a nice grooming each day. He stared anxiously at Sera's table with his crimson red eyes, hoping for a certain outcome.

Sera stood still, until she was asked to take a seat.  She sat down in the chair and watched the instructor place his index finger to her forehead. As soon as he had done so, his eyes suddenly glowed blue and an aura started to emit from them. After three minutes, his eyes dimmed back to normal and he looked towards Sera’s parents. With a solemn expression, he shook his head. "My condolences Alec, Nari, but three out of seven is already far better than most."

As the instructor shared some comforting words with the parents, the man who had been watching from the back of the room let out a sigh of relief. He stood straight up, put on a smirk and cracked his neck before the air around him began to shift. The next second the man vanished without a trace as if he had been just an apparition.

Sera faced the floor and did her best to hold back the tears. She didn't want to show her parents how sad this verdict had made her, so she turned around and walked over to them. “It’s ok, I can just help daddy with the farm!” she said with faked excitement. 

Her parents exchanged a worried look before her father went down on one knee to be at her height and smiled warmly at his young daughter, "That's right, my little darling. You and Liz have been such a big help around the farm." He patted her little head and when she asked him to give her a piggyback ride, he picked her up and put her on his back. The family walked out of the building out into the town.

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The journey home was long and quiet for Sera as she stared down the road while she got carried by her father. The streets of the city they left behind were bustling with families like theirs. A guard walked by and happily greeted people as she was making her rounds through the city. 

The morning dew dripped from blades of grass onto the ground below. Even though the sun still hung low in the sky, it was warm. An orange light spread across the gorgeous land highlighting its beauty.

On top of a building sat 5 birds staring down at the family as they walked. Each one had beautiful jet black feathers and deep blue eyes seeming almost as deep as an ocean. As the family continued to walk, all five of the birds stretched their wings and leapt into the sky flying towards a large field in the distance.

To the south of them, sat the foundations of the growing city, still in its youth. To the north, the farm lands. As they made their way past the fields they could see the colourful plots of land. Beautiful flowers and herbs were being grown on them and the aroma they exuded was heavenly. Soon the scenery changed to bright pink flowers growing from dark grey stalks. Alec followed a well traveled path leading to a moderate sized house.

As soon as they reached the steps, little Sera jumped down and immediately rushed towards her big sister's room. Her mother watched her disappear and glanced at her husband. "Alec, do you think Liz will be able to calm her down?" 

Alec smiled simply as he stared towards the field. A moment went by before he answered his wife. "I don’t think we have anything to worry about. Liz has already taught her plenty about patience and how to become stronger." He walked over to his lovely wife and kissed her gently. "We just have to let things advance, for we've already built the fundamentals." He smiled and smiled at Nari, who in return smiled back at him as he turned, heading off towards the farthest field. 

Sera ran through the house and hurried towards her sister’s room. She stood there for a moment before opening the door where she found her sister sitting on a mat that had been placed on the floor. Liz opened her eyes and smiled at Sera as she asked, "So how'd it go, little raven?" 

Sera did not have the power to answer that question and instead, she allowed all the tears she had held back to come bursting forth as she started to cry. Liz stood up and took little Sera into her arms, embracing her. "Shhhh, it's alright." A couple of minutes went by, during which she soothed her crying sister and eventually the weeping began to die down.

Liz sat back down and put Sera on her lap, smiling at her. "Hey, I know you’ve wanted to be like Rylan, Stephen, and me, but you can still be strong without cultivation." She pinched Sera's cheeks lightly before continuing, "Just look at John. He's become the head of one of the major guard groups recently. I’ve heard he fights cultivators all the time now and wins." Sera nodded at her older sister's motivating words. Her eyes started to regain their luster as she gained some hope for her future. 

Liz noticed this and started tickling her baby sister. Sera was too surprised to put up any defense. She started to laugh uncontrollably and tried to run away. Liz stood up and stretched, granting little Sera a head start. Although she could have easily caught her baby sister, she deliberately spent some time with this impromptu round of tag. 

When Sera appeared to have run out of breath her sister picked her up and started spinning her around. "Hehe, come on. Pa needs us to finish our chores since it's still early. You still wanna help me?" Sera nodded enthusiastically as Liz walked through the house. 

She passed by the living room, where their mother was sitting down, reading a book. Nari looked up to see Sera smiling and then over to Liz who had a proud look on her face. Not wanting to disturb her daughters, the mother silently mouthed a 'Thank you' to the elder one.

Outside, Liz put Sera down. "Alright, Pa is already out with the oxen getting the plots ready. How about you go to the fallow plot and start getting rid of the weeds?" Sera nodded and ran out to the farm, picking up a hoe that was obviously too big for her. Her older sister smiled and watched her for a moment before she walked over to the chicken pen. 

Little Sera was barely able to lift the big hoe up to dig up the weeds. After about ten minutes of her constantly swinging the hoe, she began to pant heavily. She observed her sister Liz, who at the moment was effortlessly carrying two bales of hay on her shoulders. Sera remembered hearing her dad mention how the bales weighed about 110lbs each and she blushed with envy.

Sera stood there for a moment in silence, as she looked down on the fallow plot which was still covered in weeds. So far she had only cleared out a small patch, whereas her sister was already sweating and breathing slightly heavier accomplishing her work tasks. Motivated, little Sera tightened her grip on the handle of the hoe and put some more force into digging out the weeds.

An hour later, Sera fell on her butt being completely out of breath. She looked out onto the plot of land that was given to her as a task. A smile spreads across her chubby cheeks as not a single weed lay claim to the field anymore. 

She falls back and lays in the grass, staring at the sky. The sun had gotten closer to its highest point, noon drawing close. The sun's heat fell upon Sera as she closed her eyes, enjoying the warmth. A shadow passes over her, causing her to open her eyes. Sera sits up in excitement as she sees what had caused the shadow.

Suddenly a small black bird landed on top of Sera's head, causing the young girl to giggle. The bird was about the size of an adult's fist. The bird ruffled its feathers before warbling softly. If you were to only quickly glance at her you wouldn't notice the bird, its black feathers blended in with Sera's hair almost perfectly.