Eli Bartok had lived a long, drab, unfulfilled life. Now, here he was at 89, laying on his death bed. The only person that had bother to show up was his hospice nurse that was paid to show up. His children had abandoned him years before. His eldest daughter had cut ties after she went public with her public and started making a few hundred thousand a year. His son hadn't spoken to him since he married a successful woman and joined her family. His youngest daughter had stayed the longest. She had stayed with him after Eli had been diagnosed with Pancreatic cancer. She stayed through most of the chemo. Hell, she even helped him with rehab. Yet, the moment that he had been bedridden and unable to work, that was when her husband had threatened to divorce her and take the children away from her if she didn't cut ties.
Eli didn't blame any of them. After all, Eli hadn't amounted to much. His best salary had only been a moderate salary. However, that company sold out to another company that had simply fired most of them, a mere 2 years after achieving that salary. He had been living paycheck-to-paycheck most his life. He had never really indulged in any hobbies except for reading on various topics online. He hadn't really even gotten out since his wife left 50 years ago. He had become reclusive even from his own children. So, it was only fitting that they also abandoned him as well.
As his breath started to slow and his vision dimmed, he began cursing himself. All this time, wasted. If only I had a chance to do it all over again. I would actually do things I wanted instead of watching life pass me by. In his final moments, Eli saw a tunnel with light at the other end. He felt as if he was being pulled towards the light without any ability to resist.
As he passed through the tunnel, he felt as if his body was being slowly sanded and compressed. The pain started lightly, but began to build until he was screaming. As he was hurtled into the light, his eyes snapped shut from the brightness as his body began to feel so small and weak. The pain finally began fading away, as his weird sounding wails faded with it. Damn. I didn't know that death was going to hurt that bad, even after I haddied. It was at this moment that he started hearing weird voices. Struggling to open his eyes, he realized something deeply unsettling. He wasn't dead, he had been reborn as a baby and wherever he was, it wasn't somewhere that spoke english.
***
Several years had flown by as Eli was getting used to the world. Only a few months after being born again, his mother had given him away for money, scampering away with obvious glee. Well, guess I'm going to be getting nowhere in this life either. No way am I going to be getting any real opportunities as an orphan. As he began to explore this world, he took stock of the development involved. It seemed like the technology of this world was woefully behind compared to his previous life. Yet, medicines were a juxtaposition in this regard. They seemed to be rather crude in the manner that they were produced. However, the variety and range of effects and potencies spoke of a level of development that met or exceeded that of his previous life.
As he came to learn the language, known as Shilia, even greater knowledge lay within his grasp. He now knew that he resided in a town called Tranquil Acres, in a place called the Wisdom Hall. Eli found the names quite fitting for eachother. Although, he couldn't verify if the city or group fit their names just yet. He also learned that either his name, if he'd been given one, wasn't passed on, or simply was ignored, as they referred to him as 'child' or 'boy'. At least he would be allowed to choose a name on the day he turned 7.
However, none of this shocked him as much as the knowledge that this world was a world of cultivation. One could learn martial arts that would transform ones body and extend life. One could even cultivate Qi that would allow them to call lightning or fly through the air. It was like one of those novels people read in his previous life. When he heard about that, he felt a stirring of interest that he hadn't in a long time. Now, he just needed to find some way to join a sect so that he could learn techniques to cultivate with.
The trouble lay in the fact that he was simply a servant in the peripheries of Wisdom Hall. How was he supposed to find a sect when every minute of the day was accounted for and under the watchful eyes of a few Elders of the Hall. It was vexing when he thought about it. Sure, he could simply run away under the cover of darkness. However, that would leave him without a roof over his head, no money, no way of earning money, and no connections to get into a sect.
"Boy! Get over here!" From behind Eli, an disciple was shouting him out of his musings. "Boy, you need to take these to the researching Elders." He tossed a bag to Eli and turned without saying anything. It was an interaction that took place often. A disciple of Knowledge Hall would treat them as mindless drones at best and whipping posts at worst. After all, who was going to reprimand them for a meaningless worker.
Eli sighed as he took the sack and began walking from the outskirts of the town towards the large area of land inhabited by the Wisdom Hall and their majestic buildings. The thought to look in the bag never crossed his mind as he made his way. After all, the last time a worker had foolishly looked into an Elder's bag during a delivery, he had been beaten horridly in front of everyone as a lesson.
Eli headed towards the best maintained building, it's walls and floors made of polished white marble. Several servants and workers would scrub this building top to bottom, ensuring it's cleanliness. The heavy sent of lye assaulted his nose as he made his way up the stairs. The imposing feeling that the architecture inspired never failed to amaze him. That was one thing that he had to give the architect and designer. They sure knew exactly how to set things up for maximum effect.
Reaching the top of the stairs, Eli stepped through the dark oak doors, squinting as the brass handles reflecting the sunlight directly into his eyes. As he took stock of his surroundings, he was already being approached by a disciple. Unfortunately, it was Shan Tenaym, one of the more arrogant and vindictive of disciples. Honestly, Eli couldn't even begin to understand how someone as hot headed as Shan came to live in a place called Tranquil Acres, much less became a disciple of Wisdom Hall.
"What are you doing here, boy?" Arrogance and condescension dripped from Shan's tongue, causing Eli's eye to twitch in annoyance. "This isn't a place for you to step foot in. Only disciples like me may enter these halls" Eli had to work hard to not scoff at this fool. Workers were coming and going all the time, making deliveries. Shan just felt like throwing his weight around to impress his importance upon a young child.
"I'm making a delivery." Eli replied simply.
"Give me the bag and leave." Shan reached out a hand as if he was doing something beneath his station. However, Eli saw the slight lift of his lips and a glint in his eyes that he didn't like. Immediately, he knew that Shan was going to take the sack and not report it. As the last person to be confirmed to possess the bag, he would be charged with theft. If they would beat someone for merely looking at an Elder's possessions, Eli could imagine the price for theft.
"I am ordered to hand them to an Elder, disciple Shan." It was as if the Eli had hit Shan in the head with a piece of wood the way his face morphed in confusion. Quickly, anger took it's place as the full weight of what happened digested. Eli knew he was in for a major storm. Sighing, he braced himself for the chaos.