Bran Ai held the fruit husk in his hand looking at it in dismay.

Why did he grab the fruit?

Couldn't he have just pointed at it?

What can he even do with this fruit husk?

'I don't know, this feeling I don't know what to call it' Bran Ai felt regret.

He did not think such a thing would happen.

Was it a childish impulse of his to grab first ask questions later?

Why did the elder not say such a rule first?

Bran Ai stared deeper into the fruit husk.

'Should I eat it?'

The thought did pop into hos mind but he repressed the urge to take a bite.

'Think first, act second'

'Well, It must have some use. Maybe I just have to ask the elder' Bran Ai looked toward the elder, taking a few steps towards him he spoke in a low voice.

"Elder Qez, what can I do with this?" he lifted the fruit husk with both hands, having no choice but to take the husk he might as well treat it well.

"That's simple, get a gourd and fill it with water then toss the dried fruit in. After that drink, it doesn't take a genius to figure out" the elder did not speak down to the Bran Ai, he simply stated a fact.

'Thats all?' Bran Ai knew the answer would be simple for the elder to get but didn't think that this would be the response.

Having been an orphan from a young age, he had taken quite a few liberties when eating.

One method he found was to throw in any fruit scraps or food scraps in general like the shells and peels of old fruits into water for several hours or days this would make a - well not a very pleasant drink but it would make a flavoured drink.

This drink would always revitalize Bran Ai even when food was scarce.

Eating the dried peels as is was fine but not recommend as the dry foods wouldn't go down easy without saliva.

"I don't have a... gourd?" Having never seen one before he could only guess as to what it was, he knew it was a container of sorts since he had to place the fruit into the water but had no idea what type of container it could be.

"Ah then this will be my gift to you then" elder Qez tapped a small bag he held at his waist, a black shadow popped out landing on his hand.

"This is a black spotted gourd, its size may be no bigger then the palm of my hand but the amount of water it can contain is around the size of your body" the gourd was a pale sand color with many black spots of ranging sizes covering its surface, a small rope was tied around the waist making it easy to carry should one need so.

"This will count as the gift given from me" the elder tossed him the black spotted gourd and turned to the next child waiting to ask a question.

Bran Ai "..."

'Well at least I got this done, I thought it was a bowl of sorts the elder meant but this is much better' Bran Ai took the gourd looking it over once before pushing the dried fruit husk in by force through the small opening that was covered by a wooden plug.

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The gourd was already filled with water giving Bran Ai no need to search for his own.

'Strange, the elder said the gourd carries as much water as I am tall yet not weight can be felt' Bran Ai thought this must have been a magical item of sorts and immediately felt better.

Elder Qez attended to each child with such efficiency that one might think he was a full time customer assistance representative.

Spending no more then four to ten seconds per child and at times even multiple kids.

One child picked a blue shard fragment from the floating 'gifts' so the elder looked inside his bag and took out a gray stick, he took the stone from the child and affixed it on one end of the gray stick creating a staff or spear depending on how one looks at it.

Other times he would instead make a dagger should the stick not be long enough to create a spear or staff.

One random person recived a rope, the elder tied it around the blue stone shard and turned it into a whip of sorts.

I was all a put together but somehow the kids felt satisfied.

Most that picked the broken shards of bones ended up with these same options that it caused many to frown.

The only difference was the wood the bones became afixed on was more red rather then gray.

One child tripped and in an attempt to save himself swung his arm wide touching one of the light balls carrying the ash, the elder counted that as his choice leaving the child in distress.

The gift from the elder was not much better, rectangular paper slips.

The child had no idea what to do with such items.

He couldn't write, not yet at least.

Maybe he could burn them to create more ash?

A girl with black frizzy hair picked an intanct skeletal hand, the only piece besides the skull that held any form.

The elder took particular intrest in this girl, not because she was personally interesting but because he had wanted to keep both the hand and skull for himself.

What kid would even think of taking the hand in the first place?

He can understand if they didn't know that the white shards are actually bones but this was clearly a hand.

He felt a little reluctant but in the end chose not to interfere with fate.

He could only attribute the childs intrest as a child's whim.

Unlike the rest of the children he took his time thinking about what to gift the girl, it would be best if the item could find it way back to him somehow should anything unexpected happen to her.

'Ah I know what to do'

He took out a sharp dagger carving several symbols onto the surface of the skeletal hands fingers.

"I have placed a spell on this item, when the hand touches your skin it will gather energy from the surroundings and transfer it over to you, when the hand is thrown it will create a mist illusion that looks just like the person that throws it"

The girl perked up, she grabbed the skeletal had wasting no time to throw it in the passageway.

Nothing happened.

"Ehem, you have to infuse Qi into it first" elder Qez shook his head.

The girl turned red running after the hand she tossed.

Elder Qez had placed one additional spell on the hand but she had no need to know.

Those yet to pick saw how elder Qez gave favourable treatment to those who picked the worst items in their minds.

While not all the items could be considered on the level that the girl had just received ie. That of Bran Ai's gourd and the paper slips but it showed that the possibility of better secondary gifts for more risky primary chocies was possible.

While few kids remained yet to pick the rest had already received theirs, these stragglers were the one's with more of a thought process then the others.

'The kids may lack cultivation talent, but that has no effect on the brain elder Qez noticed the remainder struggling to pick, they wanted to determine what would give them the 'best' gift.

'Unfortunately I never said they had unlimited time to pick' Elder Qez took on a serious tone.

"Sometimes fate stares you in the face and one fails to take a step. Time is up"

The elder waved his hand retracting all the remaining lights save but a few.

Those lights he did not retract flew to each of the undecided children.

"!"

Shock filled the kids faces as they turned to stare at elder Qez.

"Now that you have all picked a gift and I have as well given you my gift, we will depart immediately" the elder waved his hand surrounding the kids in light spheres once more.

Some of the children wanted to voice their complaints of concern, none of it mattered to elder Qez.

At neck breaking speed the elder warped through the ice sheets above dragging the children along.

The kids vision blurred unable to keep up with the change in scenery, from a dark blue corridor to a moon hanging in the sky quicker then they could click their tongue.

Below them a seemingly endless white ground covered all directions covered by the shadow of night.

Looking up the children were welcomed by an expanse of stars in the sky bringing a glimmer in the darkness of the night.

The stars reflecting in the children's eyes looked ever more beautiful accompanied by the moon's light.

After seven days of endless light, the darkness entrapped their minds singing a song of respite.

Basking in the moonlight the children took it all in as the shock wore off.

Elder Qez took a moment to relax, breathing in the cold air before taking a step in the darkness disappearing with the children out of sight.