While the group followed Elder Li, Alvin wondered why they didn’t just follow Elder Song, especially since the elder himself had said that he would be in charge of their orientation. Maybe he just needed to prepare something, and wouldn’t have time to do so as efficiently as he would like if he had to guide the recruits to the next lecture? Whatever the reason, Alvin didn’t think too hard about it, as he had to focus more on keeping up with the group. Elder Li set a brutal walking pace!

After about 15 minutes of walking, the group came to a building that was very different from the school/dorm building they had just been in. For starters, the building was a full 4 stories tall, and looked like the bastard child of a library and a military outpost. There was a wall, about chest high, that went around a courtyard full of target dummies, practice weapons, sparring circles, and people training. Everyone in the courtyard was working hard, and had been for a while, judging by the sweat raining off of many of them. There was a path straight through the courtyard, to a large door, next to which was a little hut, likely for whoever was guarding the door. Elder Li marched up to the hut, pulled a small token out of his sleeve, and had the door open before most of the recruits had even reached the guard hut.

Inside, the building looked much more like a library than a military outpost, but there were still areas with target dummies and the same glowing lines from Elder Song’s image wall. The building itself was stone, but all of the tall shelves were beautifully stained wood, as were the various tables and chairs scattered throughout the first floor. The floor was covered with soft carpets that looked like what one could see by looking through the bottom of a boat, and the same lights that sprouted like weeds outside were present to a much lesser degree, giving the building a gentle, warm light. Off to the right of the entrance, was a counter, behind which a man, who could only be described as a scholar, sat reading. Elder Li walked, much less forcefully towards the man, and politely handed him the token. The scholar looked at the token, consulted some nearby paperwork, and then pointed to a large piece of paper on the table, likely a schedule or a map. Elder Li bowed, thanked the scholarly man, and then guided the recruits to the indicated room.

The room the group was taken to was much like the one in the strange school building, but with a much larger area up front, and glowing lines along the wall, floor, and ceiling between the open area and the area where the recruits were instructed to find a seat. As before, Elder Song stepped out in front of the room, but this time was accompanied by 5 others, who were likely each elders too, as their robes were only marginally less decorated than Elder Song’s. The other elders were 2 men and 3 women, and all of them had the same subtle weight to their presence as Elder Song, who seemed much better at hiding it.

One of the elders was a large man. Not large as in fat, he was just big. Tall, broad, muscular, and with a shiny bald head, if he wasn’t the warrior Alvin would eat his shoes. The large elder barely fit in his robe, and he looked uncomfortable wearing it.

The other male elder was smaller, and noticeably less human. His hair was more rigid, and his eyes were black and beady. Otherwise, he looked like a normal, bookish person, a bit short, skinny, and constantly looking around like he was afraid that he would miss a detail. Alvin would wager on him being the auxiliary elder.

The first female elder was lean, graceful, and seemed to watch everything. It was unnerving when Alvin swept his gaze over her, because she immediately returned the look. Alvin shuddered, and mentally marked her as the guide. Definitely a scout vibe from that one.

The elder that must have been the craftswoman was a short woman with muscles that matched the warrior’s, if only in size. Where the warrior had defined, bulging muscle, the craftswoman had thick, powerful arms, like a professional powerlifter from old Earth. She was tapping her foot impatiently, glaring at Elder Song, and talking quietly to herself. Alvin figured that she got pulled away in the middle of a project, and felt a bit of her pain.

The final elder was another female, and this time distinctly inhuman. She was a humanoid lizard, and looked like what would happen if someone decided that monitor lizards needed opposable thumbs and to walk upright. While almost human in proportion, her head was very much that of a lizard, and the claws that protruded from the gauntlets of her full plate mail reinforced that as well. By process of elimination, and intimidation, the lizard woman could only be the guardian.

Elder Song gave the group a few moments to observe his fellow elders, then gestured for silence.

“You have the rare opportunity to learn about each grouping of Paths from the masters of said groups. This is an unusual chance, and an uncommon one, so pay attention.” Elder Song spoke briefly, then motioned for the large man to take the stage. He moved almost gingerly, like he was afraid of breaking things by accident, and his voice was at odds with his brutish frame.

“Greetings, all. I am Ibu, the Sect’s Master of War, and overseer for all of the warrior paths.” Ibu’s voice was a clear, gentle baritone, and it filled the room despite him talking in a subdued manner. “There are warrior paths for any weapon you can think of, and several styles for each weapon. Most of you will likely end up on a warrior path, and those are what the Sect is best known for.” Ibu stepped back after he finished talking, and looked at the small man there from the Auxiliary Hall. The auxiliary master sighed, but took Ibu’s place in front of the group.

“I am Master Dante, of the Auxiliary Hall. We focus on aiding combatants in non-combat capacities. Healing. Increasing their power, or defence. Formations. Basically the miscellaneous section.” Dante’s voice is as flat as year old soda, and about as interesting to listen to. Thankfully, he had nothing more to say, allowing the craftswoman to push her way out to the front of the room.

“Let’s make this quick, I’ve got work to finish.” Her glare at Elder Song could have put a hole through wood at 10 paces, and he voice was as boisterous and feisty as her demeanor. “Master Lily, Hall of Crafting. If it’s made, we make it, especially armor and weapons. Your turn.” Lily pushed passed the other masters, and almost ran out of the door in her haste to return to her project. The guide must have been who Lily put on the spot, because she slid forward with the grace of a stalking predator and examined the room.

“I am Master Alihava, of the Hall of Guides. Our job is to explore, map, scout, and discover.” Alihava’s voice felt like what one would expect a cat to sound like, should it talk: smooth, silky, and incredibly condescending. Having said all she had to say, Alihava gestured for the lizard woman in plate mail to step up and say her piece. And instead of the thudding clank one would expect from a six foot tall lizard in a metal suit to make, she produced almost no sound at all during her short few steps.

“I am the Master of the Hall of Guardians, Edosa. The Hall of Guardians contains the Paths that are designed to protect others, almost anything with ‘guard’ somewhere in its name, but especially bodyguards.” Edosa’s voice sounded human, if a bit gravelly. There was a weird emphasis when she said bodyguard, and Alvin figured it may have to do with the opportunity mentioned in the recruitment offer he received from the Sect.

“Now that you have a general idea of each Hall and its Paths, I will explain what Cultivation is, as almost all of the Paths have stat and Cultivation requirements.” Elder Song had once more taken the lead, and would finally be answering one of the biggest questions the recruits had, while providing other questions that were clearly beyond their current reach. “Cultivation is the act of drawing in the energy of existence, Qi, and using it to improve oneself. There are three centers of power that may be improved, and improving one will passively increase the others. The first center of power is the body, as one can only ever channel as much Qi as their body can handle. The second center of power is the dantian, where one’s Qi is stored. Improving the quality and quantity of one’s Qi will make techniques more potent and allow one to use them longer. The third and last center of power is the soul. Without enough strength of soul, the body and Qi will never move exactly how one wants. Practicing even one will strengthen the other centers of power, and it is possible to practice Paths that train all two, or even all three. With each center of power you train, your power will increase substantially, but so will the time it takes you to grow more powerful. Most struggle to advance with Paths that only train one center of power, and few go beyond the first 2 Realms in Paths that train all three. As for your stats, those can be raised via training, but each Realm has a ceiling. As mortals, your stats will cap themselves at F+. Training to the peak of your stats before advancing yields better rewards, but again takes significantly more effort and time than just advancing.” Elder Song paused, as if he had more to stay, but decided to remain silent. After giving everyone a few minutes to think, Elder Li came to the front of the room, motioned for them to follow, and then took the recruits to the school/dorm building, where they were each assigned their own room.

Alvin was pretty pleased to get a room on the second floor, although room was a bit of a misnomer. It was more akin to a small apartment, with a tiny kitchen, mixed dining and living area, and a bedroom, with enough room for a bed, a dresser, and a closet. Alvin jumped in bed immediately, glad to sleep in a real bed again, and eager for training to begin.