The cloth that covered the door somehow blocked much more noise than what would seem possible, though impossible seemed to be Alvin’s new normal. The room he was thrust into was massive, absolutely gargantuan, and full of people of as many shapes, sizes, and colors as their banners. The assault on his senses was hardly limited to just sight, as the amount of sound produced hit Alvin as an almost tangible wave, briefly drowning out any coherent thoughts in a wave of conflicting sensory input. After a minute of getting his bearings, Alvin examined the room in room detail. Other than the sheer enormity, the room looked like a bastardized combination of an auction, a carnival, and a middle school lunchroom. People were everywhere, and they had set up tents, pavilions, tables, and chairs, all in garishly colored themes. It was like the world’s largest tailgate party, and Alvin felt like he was the next bowl of chip dip placed on the table.

Cutting straight through the messy madness of color was a path. The path began at the door he had unceremoniously been shoved through, and ended at circular, slightly raised dais. On theais dais were a small table, about the size of the card table the kids sat at during Thanksgiving, but made of wood, and a high backed chair with black cushions that even covered its arms. As Alvin began to make his way to the chair, which he really hoped was meant for him, the noise level in the room started to decline, first a little, then, as more people began to notice him, the hush raced through the room like it was being timed, one second a mind numbing cacophony, the next, soul scouring silence. Alvin had only made it about halfway to the chair when silence finally fell, and he tried to pick up his pace as subtly as he could without outright sprinting. After a few short minutes, which felt like years to him, Alvin made it to the ds, and quickly clambered up the stairs, after which he took a few deep breaths to calm himself, and sat down in the chair.

When he sat down, he learned the meaning of bliss. The chair was, far and away, the most comfortable chair he had even sat in. That, at least, would make this whole ordeal much easier to deal with, except for the added danger of falling asleep. Another thing that happened when he sat down was a rectangular portion of the desk directly in front of him changing from the brown lines of polished wood to a screen much like tablets or large smartphones. It contained a list of all of the Factions that had made an offer for him to join, as well as the contents of their offer. Skimming through it, Alvin saw that the majority of Factions that wanted him had water based techniques, but there were several offers that did not come from those groups. One fire technique Clan even stated up front that they made an offer to make sure that a rival Clan wouldn’t end up with him! In fact, of all the Factions that bid on him, Alvin only saw one Sect that was specifically ocean oriented, like his Affinity. It was called the Boundless Sea Sect, and they even made a pretty good offer for him: a monthly stipend of 35 Tiny Qi Stones, and a position as an inner disciple, with the chance to earn a spot serving the new star of the School of the Shifting Moon, to which the Boundless Sea Sect was subordinate. Alvin likely would have chosen the Sect anyways, because it was the only ocean based one that he saw, but the generous offer sealed the deal. Having made his decision, he clicked the conveniently located accept button next to their offer, and settled back into the chair, only to nearly jump out of his skin in the next second, when the sound of trumpets and confetti cannons rang through his mind like a hangover in a church bell tower.

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

[Subject has joined a Faction. Congratulations!]

[Subject will be Relocated to newly established Sect grounds after completion of the Recruitment ceremony]

[Until the Recruitment ceremony is complete, Subject is to wait with Sect in Recruitment chamber]

Alvin glared at the redundant notification. Weren’t they supposed to inform him of the status things he didn’t know? Uselessness aside, he hadn’t really put any thought towards the where of the Factions. Apparently, either the System was nice and fabricated the grounds, or, the more likely option, the System set aside areas for the Factions to build on, and the Factions had to build their own complexes. Alvin just hoped that the building was already finished, because he really did not want to have to help construct a series of buildings of the same magnitude of the Recruitment chamber.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by the approach of a man wearing a robe that was the deep blue of resort postcards, and covered in wave and marine life prints. Other than the light grey skin tone, subtle gills, and webbed hands, he looked like a perfectly normal human being, which is to say, it would be very hard to mistake him for a human beyond a first glance. Alvin was pretty certain he was a member of the Boundless Sea Sect based on his inhuman qualities and the motifs on his robe. He stopped a short distance away, and bowed slightly. Alvin was unsure of the customs and etiquette involved in greetings, so the best approach is to bow back, but slightly deeper. The man seemed pleased and indicated for Alvin to follow him.

“Greetings Alvin. I am Elder Song, of the Boundless Sea Sect. I am certain you have many questions, but they will have to wait until the Recruitment is finished, and we have made it to the Sect’s territory. We wouldn’t want to answer the same questions repeatedly, would we?”

“It’s nice to meet you, Elder Song. No, I guess answering the same questions several times is bad enough, but hundreds or thousands of times? No thank you.” Alvin shook his head, to which Elder Song chuckled. They continued to weave their way past the various Factions set up for the ceremony, a veritable maze the Elder navigated with ease. Alvin had long lost sight of the d, but they were still walking. He was starting to lag behind, unable to sustain the brisk pace that Elder Song set.

“We will arrive at our section soon, and then you may rest,” the Elder encouraged Alvin, even while he reduced his pace a bit.

A few minutes of travel later, and they finally arrived at the area that the Boundless Sea Sect had claimed. There were several other water aligned factions nearby, and Elder Song explained that it was because all of them were subordinate to the same Faction: the School of the Dancing Moon. He also went on to explain the retainer opportunity, which stemmed from the School claiming someone with a tier 10 Lunar Affinity. Alvin was confused about why a more powerful Faction would turn to its subordinate Factions for the retainers, and he asked Elder Song about it.

“Lunar Affinities are among the rarer ones, and it is unlikely that the School will find enough others of sufficient Affinity to act as retainers. So, they offer positions to us, their subordinates, as both a means of securing talented retainers and pushing us to grow. Of course, there are different types of retainers, but that will be explained later. The other recruits are over there, go meet your fellows. They will be your comrades, your rivals, and your measuring stick.” Elder Song gestured to a large group of people sitting around some tables, then walked to a small group of other non-humans who all wore robes similar to his.

Alvin watched Elder Song walk away, then turned back towards the group of humans. There were a lot more tables than were being used, but everyone was gathered close together. There was food and drink, but most people either ignored it or just picked at it. Alvin started to head towards the group, and was weaving his way around tables and chairs when he realized that everyone had stopped talking and turned to look at him. He waved a little awkwardly, which garnered a few laughs, before someone stood up and strode out to meet him. The woman walking out to meet him was tall, almost matching Alvin’s 5’11”, and her black hair was cut in a bob, which framed her face well and matched her olive skin. She was either someone who was physically active, or who lived near the Mediterranean, and judging by the lean arms and legs revealed by her shorts and t-shirt, Alvin would wager on physically fit. She came just about into reaching distance, sized him up, then held out her hand. Alvin hesitated for a second, before he grasped her hand and shook.

“Oriana Corio. I was one of the first ones here.” Her voice suited her, warm, but with an underlying edge.

“My name is Alvin, Alvin Stoker, and I’m probably going to be one of the last ones here,” he responded, taking back his hand and resisting the urge to check for damage. Holy shit, she had a strong grip, and it felt like she was trying to remove his hand. Maybe a power play, get ahead of a future rival before there was any competition? Alvin shook off those thoughts, that way of thinking would just make him paranoid.

“Oh, you probably are the last one. The full members of the Sect earlier were excited, but very bored, so they gave away some information. Apparently, Factions with sufficient influence or wealth could see a list of all the people who fit their methods. They let it slip that they were expecting 47, and that’s you.” Her words were almost accusatory, like being last made him special. Alvin could only shrug, and hope that there wasn’t some great expectation on him. Then he got curious: what were these people’s Affinities?

“Hopefully that’s just a coincidence. If you don’t mind me asking, do you know what most of the Affinities here are?”

“I do, but you’ll have to wait for a bit. We’ve been introducing ourselves and our Affinity, so when we go back over there and join the group, I’ll start, it’ll go around, and you will be the last one. Got it?” Oriana asked aggressively.

“Yeah, easy, child’s play,” Alvin responded. He’d been on his back foot the entirety of that little exchange, which wasn’t usual, he just felt oddly pressured by Oriana. Regardless of his feelings about her, he followed, and sat to her right in the circle.