When Lin opened her eyes the next morning, the sun was just rising over the horizon and all manner of birds were chirping joyfully.

It was looking to be a picturesque day, yet she didn't feel joyful at all. In fact, the anticipation of the test was eating at her, taking up her every thought. 'I hope Ren and I will make it,' she thought in distress again and again different scenes of failure flying through her mind.

Though they did everything they could to prepare for the test, and even the matron, Nanao, assured them that of the children in her care they were definitely some of the brightest and most hard-working. She would normally encourage all children equally. Lin also thought that they could maybe rely on their ability to 'look' at the world, as Ren trusted in it's significance. It was still not enough to reassure Lin.

Her mind remained in upheaval. After all, there was no guarantee for their acceptance into the sect, they had never talked to any disciple of the Sect, or any Cultivator at all. Lin sighed, feeling both bleak and hopeless in equal measure.

The testing would begin two hours before noon and children aged six, like them, of all social ranks would gather. It was made into an exciting event for the whole town, with vendors, food stalls and colourful imagery throughout the town. Thinking back to last year, Lin remembered herself also feeling nothing but excitement for the upcoming festivities, a bubbly feeling in her stomach as she constantly bothered Ren to come and look at different attractions.

Once a year people of the Heart's Illusion Sect come to town and only accept a few children into their ranks, sometimes only three or four and at other times as many as twenty. It made the hearts of young children every year beat higher, as becoming a mighty Cultivator was the dream of many, though most of them would leave the test disappointed.

"Lin, Lin, hey, today is the day, we are all going to become cultivators. Let's go, and eat!"

A bright voice exclaimed from the bed above Lin's, and the smiling head of a girl with black hair and a bob-cut peeked over the edge of their two-story bed.

"Aya, good morning." Lin replied, trying to put some cheer into her voice.

Lin forced herself to smile back at her while sitting up and putting on her brown, faded clothes. Aya swung herself down, already dressed in her own identical clothes, and skipped ahead to the dining room which was also the common room and the study all in one.

While pondering, Lin looked at the old books lining the shelves on the walls. Faded, leather-bound and touched by hundreds of hands over the years, from picture books to texts on geometry or agriculture, the text covered many subjects, though cultivation sadly was not one of them.

Ren once asked the matron, Nanao, why they even had so many books when normally they could only be seen in the houses of the rich or a library. He had never been to the house of someone rich, but everyone always talked about how they had everything, and books would naturally be part of that.

To which Nanao replied that more than a hundred years ago a mighty cultivator wanted for all people of the kingdom to have access to an education, and so he founded the Bluecloud organization, as his chosen name was Bluecloud, to spread books and knowledge across the land. Many libraries are called Bluecloud still, and it was in this way that their orphanage acquired so many books as well.

While going through the halls, Lin was getting more and more nostalgic.Thinking about the times they sat at the fireplace when the snow piled high, playing games with the other children, while listening to stories of great heroes saving small towns, just like theirs, from great catastrophe or fighting demons in epic battles spanning multiple days.

Running around with neither care nor guile. They didn't have any idea of the truths of the mystical world of cultivators or what joining them would entail. Just dreaming of a brighter tomorrow and how they would help the orphanage and miss Nanao if they became strong cultivators.

Silently Lin sat down at her usual place, the end of the table near the fireplace, though no fire was burning right now, and listened to the surrounding conversations.

"Miss Nanao, the smith accepted me as his apprentice and said I could begin after the testing is done today." This was Jun, a ten-year-old boy who, every year since he was not accepted into the Sect, was always pessimistic about everything. Seeing him excited and smiling on the day of the test was quite surreal to Lin, but she supposed that it was good that he had found something to occupy him. Something dark in her own mind told her that this could also be her in the future, but she tried not to listen as she turned to more conversations.

"I will become a mighty cultivator for sure, Aya. You'll see me becoming the strongest when we join the Sect, definitely."

Aya was nodding, with two dimples showing. "Sure, Chen, but I'll become the strongest, and protect you instead." She smiled mischievously. "My valiant hero" Aya swooned in a teasing voice.

Some other conversations were flying around in the room as well. Older children talking to each other, mostly about the festival later in the day.

The four of them, Lin, Ren, Aya, Chen were the only ones from the orphanage joining the test this year and though the last time someone of them joined the Sect was ten years ago, a girl called Ning, they were still full of hope and childish expectations.

Despite Ning being the only disciple of the last ten years, she sends money to the orphanage regularly, to help them out. This was also a big reason why all the children still had big dreams of joining the ranks of cultivators, and while Ning did not visit them since she joined the Sect, the prestige of the Sects and scarcity of cultivators in the general population swayed their opinion quite handily.

While Lin was still reminiscing, Ren had silently taken the seat next to hers. "So, this is the day then?" He asked her.

"Hmmm ... I guess." She replied absently.

"Don't worry, Lin, it will all work out, you'll see." That was Chen from across the table. He had stopped his conversation with Aya and was ready to get involved.

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Lin ignored him and instead looked to Ren. "Ren, do you remember the day we became friends?"

Ren looked at her askance. "Of course I don't, we have known each other for as long as I can remember." He opened his hands in front of himself and made a shrug like gesture. "Why does that even matter?" Here, Ren looked intensely at her. "If you think we won't stay friends anymore because there is nothing significant between us, don't. We have been friends for all of our life and a change like joining a Sect will not change this." The intensity of his little speech surprised Lin, as well as his immediate respose.

Nanao from across the table was more surprised by Ren's maturity and insight concerning Lin when it came to these matters. It did always feel like he was just seeing more than others, Nanao thought to herself.

The meal felt like a quiet affair to Ren, even though there was still a lot of talk and excitement for the day. Aya and Chen fooling around, while Nanao admonished them gently. Lin ate in silence.

After the meal, Nanao herded the four six-year-olds together to attend the testing. They had to be at the venue ahead of time as they were far from the only hopeful ones and they, as orphans, even though they were treated fine, they had one of the lowest social standings in town, only seen as dirt by some.

In the town, festivities were already in full swing, despite no one being selected yet. Children were running around joyfully while their mothers and fathers enjoyed drinks and the company of other festival-goers at different stalls. Mouthwatering smells were flying through the air and Ren felt slightly otherwhelmed by taking it all in. People milling about dressed in a multitude of colours, different social ranks mixing with each other. Ren even spotted the rich banker from down the street talking to anyone that would listen about how his son would join the Sect today. He was clearly quite intoxicated.

Moving past all of the festivities and merriment, their little group came upon a big tent, like a circus would have. This was the place in which the children would be gathered. It had only matte colours and was in fact mostly black, having an ominous feel about it.

When they reached the entrance, a guard was already greeting Nanao, and since she was well known in town as a well-meaning woman who cared for the children under her roof, and more importantly she knew the guard, there was no trouble with them entering as a group of five.

Nanao ushered them into the huge tent and the first thing Ren noticed was one middle-aged man of middling height. If you met him in a crowd he would be unnoticeable, but when he 'looked' it was like nothing Ren had ever seen. The man's 'glow' was far stronger than anyone's he had ever seen before, and the veins of light running through him were also faster and looked more organized.

He dominated the room with his presence, was the best normal description to give. None of the other children in the tent where speaking, instinctively not wanting to anger the man, even though they did not know why they felt that way.

A few parents spoke in hushed voices still, but they were all situated near the entrance and far from where the children stood, to not influence the testing.

By the middle-aged man also stood seven young men and six young women, but their glow was not anything Ren had not seen before.

One of the Women started speaking to the older man. "Sir Adept, everyone is gathered for the test, should we start?"

The Adept grumbled a bit, but nodded and proceeded to answer her. "How many children are there this year, Novice?"

"Six hundred and twelve children, Sir Adept. If all of us thirteen Novices test their talent, we should be done by the second ring of the bell." The woman dutyfully replied.

The Adept sighed at that. "I will join you in testing them, we should be at least a little faster."

"As you wish, Sir Adept." She saluted him, and stepped away.

They proceeded to divide the children into fourteen groups, with the orphans in the group of the Adept.

Ren looked around while they were waiting in line to get tested, and he paid special attention to how the test was done. The Novices needed around two minutes to test a child while the Adept only needed around one and like it was said, a normal examination of the testing would only reveal that two fingers are laid on the wrist of the examined, the Novices close their eyes, and then they were told if they had talent or not.

But to Ren, something else entirely was unfolding. The 'glow' of the sect members would enter through the wrist, search around for a bit, and then retreat again.

This was fascinating for Ren as even though he could see the glow he did not yet do anything directly with it and even though he did not know what they were looking for to determine talent he was now completely confident, that Lin and him would pass this test.

This conclusion also made him think about Lin's question again, because even his answer rang true, he also knew everyone else at the orphanage since the day he could remember, and he did not tell them about his talent.

Only Lin knew, and the more he thought about it, the more he realised that he did not have a real reason why they trusted each other so implicitly, or why he thought to try and teach her.

They might just have felt drawn to each other. Smarter than the other children, already paying attention to things that only adults would.

When their line finally reached them, Aya was the first to be tested.

She was understandably nervous and fidgeting slightly. Soon the Adept lay two fingers on her wrist and after a minute he declared in an even voice.

"You have talent, stay behind me and wait for the others."

Aya smiled brightly and hurried to stay behind the man, not yet believing her own luck.

Next was Chen who, after seeing Aya join the ranks of the ones with talent, was even more nervous but also full of anticipation. "You don't have the talent to cultivate, go to your caretaker by the entrance." Chen looked like he didn't even register what happened, one moment he was ready to join the Sect with his friends, and the next he felt like his small world was ready to crumble.

He was about to protest, but as with others before him, who were rejected, one look of the man shut him up. With tears in his eyes, he quietly made his way back to Nanao.

Behind the man, Aya also looked like she might cry, seeing Chen leave like this, and realising that they would in fact not become heroes who go on adventures together. She might not even be able to see him again, her best friend...

Ren sighed to himself. They had all known, that joining the Sect was very unlikely, and even Aya being accepted was more than Ren had believed possible. In his expectation, only him and Lin would assuredly make it in.

Next, Lin stepped forward and though he was very sure of her success, he couldn't help getting nervous for her.

The eyes of the Adept lit up for a short time as he touched her wrist. "Good, good, good, very good. You have excellent talent. Stay behind me and wait for the others."

Lin was visibly elated at having passed, and she was even being praised for her talent. She hurriedly moved behind the man and was promptly being hugged my Aya. She had a warm feeling in her stomach as the two of them quietly celebrated.

Now it was time for Ren to get tested. He often dreamed of this moment, being an unparalleled genius, saving the day and strolling through the world like it was his personal garden.

Reality was a little different.

The Adept began testing him like everybody else, but to Ren, it suddenly felt like fire was coursing through his veins. He didn't know what to do and frantically tried to force the 'glow' of the man out of his body.

A few agonizing seconds later, the man had a shocked look on his face, and needed a moment to regain his composure.

He muttered to himself. "Fascinating. Master Darkhaven will be delighted." Aloud he said. "Stay behind me with the others, boy."

Still rattled from the experience, but happy nonetheless, Ren joined his two friends.

After all of them hugged in silence, not to anger the Adept, Lin spoke in a hushed tone. "I am so happy you are with us, Ren."

A warm feeling spread in his stomach, and even though they did not all join the Sect, he felt that their adventure was just beginning.