“Today is the day that Farmer Paulson will be hiring a new farmhand”, that was the first thought that came into Demeris’ brain as he opened his eyes. He quickly got up, went outside towards the barrel of water just beside his shack’s entrance and washed his face. The sun’s not up yet but he wanted to be there early. He really wanted the job, especially with winter coming in soon.

Demeris lived alone in the outskirts of Meadow Grove village. He earned his living by doing the occasional odds and ends chores that people from the village needed help with. Ever since his parents died, and his uncle taking the family house as payment for debts that was supposedly owed by his father, he had no one to rely on but his 16 year old self. It had been really hard and that is why he needed the job at Farmer Paulson’s farm.

He started walking. He replayed the words he had been practicing since last night in his head, words that he hoped would convince Farmer Paulson to hire him. Over and over he practiced the lines until he reached the village.

Heading towards the village square, he noticed there were quite a few people gathered there. As he moved closer, he saw that almost everyone in the village was there and they looked like they were excitedly waiting for someone. Curious, he walked towards where a few of the teenagers in the village were standing and talking among themselves.

“Hey Manchu, what’s going on?” Demeris asked one of the teens. “Why is everyone here?”

Manchu, the baker’s son, was about to answer when the clouds suddenly parted and from above, the most beautiful woman Demeris had ever seen came gliding down towards the village square standing on top of a wooden flying sword.

“A cultivator..” Demeris muttered, jaws dropping.

It was quite rare for a cultivator to be seen in Meadow Grove. In fact, Demeris could not recall a day in his life that a cultivator passed through their quaint little village, let alone visited them. But people know of cultivators.

Cultivators were held in both reverence and fear among the common folk across the land. Treated akin to gods, they displayed minimal interest in the affairs of ordinary people, whom they referred to as mortals. Nevertheless, there were instances where they would unexpectedly lay waste to villages and towns, leaving the reasons shrouded in mystery.

"Why is there a cultivator here, Manchu?" Demeris inquired. "Is the entire village aware of her arrival?"

"At times, I question why I still refer to you as a friend, Dem,” replied Manchu, shaking his head. “Of course we were well aware of her arrival; in fact, we anticipated it, as evident by our presence here. She conversed with the Elder yesterday and insisted that we gather in the square early today”.

Demeris edged a bit closer, questioning, "But why? What might a cultivator desire from our village?"

"No idea. The Elder mentioned he was prohibited from discussing the reasons," Manchu began to say more when the cultivator forcefully spoke.

"Listen attentively because I won't repeat myself,” she said with pride and disdain. “I came here to select suitable candidates to accompany me to our sect to undergo cultivation training. Anyone aged over 16 but not yet 20, step forward and form a line in front of me for assessment."

The crowd buzzed with excitement, murmuring eagerly among themselves. Joy was evident on many faces, particularly those with children within the specified age range. If their offspring were chosen, they knew their standing in the village and even in the capital town, where the affluent and renowned resided, would swiftly ascend.

"Hurry up!" the cultivator added with evident impatience.

Teenagers eagerly stepped forward, nudged by their enthusiastic parents. Demeris and Manchu, aged sixteen and seventeen respectively, joined the group advancing towards the captivating cultivator. Once lined up, Demeris could discern a total of ten teens, including Manchu and himself.

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“This could be a very good opportunity for me,” whispered Demeris to himself, eagerly eyeing the beautiful cultivator. “Being selected will be so much better than working in a farm” he thought.

The cultivator pointed to four of the seven teenagers. "You, you, you, and you," she declared. "The rest of you can stay; only these four are coming with me."

She gestured for the chosen teens to approach, and they complied. Cheers erupted from their parents, while those whose children weren't selected displayed visible disappointment.

Unfortunately, Demeris wasn't among the chosen. Frustrated by his luck, he retreated from the line, casting jealous glances at the selected teens while trying to remember their names. Manchu was known to him, and the other three were Sam, the Barkeep's son; Ladina, Farmer Paulson's daughter; and Gregori, whose father owned a farm as well.

Demeris glanced at them once more before turning away, attempting to spot Farmer Paulson in the crowd. He still had a job to pursue, and he couldn't afford to dwell on disappointment, even though his heart was aching. The opportunity he had hoped for seemed within reach, but, unfortunately, luck eluded him once again.

Demeris walked away from the line, a heavy heart weighing down every step. The disappointment was palpable, and his brief dreams of becoming a cultivator dissipated. As he distanced himself from the crowd, the cheers of the chosen teenagers and their jubilant parents lingered as a bitter reminder of what might have been.

Amidst his solitude, a voice sliced through the somber air. The cultivator's commanding voice reached Demeris, and with a condescending tone, she spoke.

"You, with your meager sliver of spiritual power," she declared haughtily, pointing at Demeris. "Come here. Perhaps you'll find your place as a servant. Just a servant, mind you. If we weren’t needing people right now, I would leave you behind." she emphasized, leaving Demeris with a feeling of hope and then humiliation.

The unexpected turn of events left him grappling with the uncertain path that lay ahead, a servant with a glimmer of spiritual potential amid the shadows of gods.

Assembled with the chosen four, Demeris sensed an invisible force enveloping them, lifting him off the ground alongside the others. Fearful murmurs circulated among the teens as they ascended, leaving the familiar ground far below.

The wind roared in their ears, and the vast expanse of the sky unfolded before Demeris. Clinging to each other, expressions oscillated between awe and terror as the cultivator carried them in flight towards the clouds. Upon reaching a considerable altitude, the cultivator silenced the anxious chatter with a stern glance. "Enough," she commanded. "Your true test begins once we land. Further tests will determine your standing within the sect."

Breaking through the clouds, the group came upon majestic and towering mountains—the sacred grounds of the sect. Several peaks soared into the heavens, shrouded in an ethereal mist. Below the peaks were several plateaus, and Demeris could see people there. Each plateau resembled a community larger than their village, complete with roads, farms, and various structures.

The cultivator guided them toward a lower plateau situated on the western side of the mountain. Before long, Demeris sensed the descent. His instincts proved accurate as the cultivator abruptly steered them into a steep decline, causing the teens to lose their breakfast as their stomachs churned. It dawned on Demeris that, for the first time in his life, having nothing to eat for breakfast was a blessing. Otherwise, he would have joined his companions in emptying his stomach during the unsettling descent.

The landing, however, concluded with surprising gentleness as the cultivator skillfully guided them down using her arcane powers. Upon landing, she swiftly instructed the group to proceed up the road towards a gathering of people, teenagers much like themselves, who were lining up before a man who appeared to be in charge.

As the beautiful cultivator prepared to soar back into the sky atop her magic sword, she halted abruptly. "Oh, I almost forgot," she remarked, turning to face Demeris. "Servants go down, not up." With a gesture in the opposite direction, she pointed towards a wooden structure below them, and without uttering another word, she ascended once more, heading higher up the mountain.

Shamed but obedient, Demeris followed her instructions. He said goodbye to Manchu briefly, then made his way towards where the cultivator pointed. "Well, Demeris, here you are in the land of cultivators, each one with more power in their pinky finger than you in your entire being. Just a humble servant, aren't you?" he muttered to himself.

His shoulders slumped slightly as a resigned acceptance settled in, still muttering. "Yep, just a small fish in a vast pond of mighty cultivators. No flashy powers, no grand destiny."

A wry smile flickered across his face. "Servants go down, not up, she said. And here I am, heading down, embracing my place in the hierarchy."

Yet, something glimmered in his eyes.

Something rebellious. Something defiant.