Sera dressed simply for the occasion, with designer jeans, boots, and a shirt and hood. She was not expecting to be greeted warmly. She therefore did not by any means want to endear herself to the Patriarch, her father, or anybody else among the Hollans.

Her gate was unlocked by passing security, the dogs left behind as she was escorted to the main Manor.

She drew attention she did not want, but knew it was unavoidable. She was the bastard child of a main-line son.

The main line in question were all seated on a stage in the large gathering courtyard before the main house. The patriarch, his wife and his sister. His sister’s daughter. His three sons and daughter as well as all of their families.

From the patriarch alone, Sera had two-half siblings – a brother and sister – and five cousins, four boys and a girl. She knew them all, just as they knew her. She may not have had much contact at all with the world outside her prison home, but she was well aware of who was who in the Hollan Estate.

Of the Patriarch’s four children, Daniel was the kindest. His two older brothers were scheming and prideful if not conceited, and his sister was the vainest of them all.

Her cousins and her half-siblings had never been welcoming. The best response Sera had ever gotten was to be ignored by them, and she much preferred that to the insults, disgusted glares and not-so-subtle threats.

As all the branch families and lesser connected Hollan bloodlines gathered, the courtyard became crowded. Still, Sera had at least a two-metre circumference of space on the side, shared only with the Hollan Agent who had been sent to escort her.

When it was confirmed that the entire population of the Hollan Estate, around five thousand individuals, had been brought to the court yard, the Patriarch stood to address them, and all were silent in respect.

“I have called you here on this day to tell you of a future that cannot be changed, and an opportunity we cannot afford to let slip through out fingers,” said the Patriarch, “It has been brought to the attend of every significant bloodline, organisation and/or ruling party in our world, that our planet has an impending expiration date. Not because of climate shifts, or any man-made calamity, but because our world, as with many others, has been chosen to be brought to the heavens.”

Murmurings of disbelief and uncertainty filled the courtyard. The Patriarch had no reason to lie, but what he said was utterly ridiculous.

“When the time comes, we as a species, along with every other living thing on the planet, will be elevated to this new plain of existence. A cleaner world. A world far more vast. A world of endless opportunity. A world where what has been impossible or mere fantasy here will indeed become reality there”.

The Patriarch looked out over the crowd before he spoke again, “I see scepticism among you, and you are not wrong to doubt me. I too would not have believed it, if not for the Emissary who serves the will of the Heavens”.

The Patriarch swept his hand to the side where a cloaked figure stood. That figure stepped forward, pulling back his hood and shedding the cloak to reveal a being wholly impossible.

He wore silver robes, and was uniquely tall, with white hair that flowed down his back. His ears were strange, pointed like an elf’s might be, but with the appearance of two ears on either side of his head, layered in a fan-like fashion. His eyes were a deep black that made him appear possessed, but what was perhaps the most jarring were the beautiful transparent wings that were folded at his back until his cloak was gone, when he spread them wide, like the wings of a bee.

Gasps and exclamations of shock prevailed, Sera herself had wide eyes, but just this man’s appearance was proof enough even before he began to speak.

“I have many places on this planet to go following this, so I shall be brief,” he said, then he lifted an octagonal gem about the side of his palm that reflected like to show the crowd, “You will not be brought to the Nine Heavens without first allowing you to acclimatise. To learn the rules and limitations of the new world and adapt accordingly. These stones are called Enn. They allow one’s consciousness to be transported to the Nine Heavens, where a new body will be formed for you. This will be the body that you will possess in future, it should be cared for, because once the acclimatisation period is over, you will not be able to create a new one as you might during the acclimatisation period.

“The Enn will not be activated until midnight tomorrow. When they are activated, those holding the Enn at the time will be transported to the Nine Heavens. Most of you will be given bodies within the limits of an existing city, ruled by creations of the Nine Heavens that are designed to help you acclimatise. Make no mistake however, these creations are very real even if they were created with clear purpose. Some of you that are detected to have a bloodline potential, will be given a secondary option to take a test of leadership. If you choose this option, those who pass the test will be given territories of their own to develop. How well you develop your territory and yourself as an individual during the acclimatisation period will be key to your position in the Nine Heavens when it becomes your permanent home.

“As your main bodies will remain here until your world is taken in by the Nine Heavens, you will still need to return your consciousness to your body to care for it as often as possible. As an Emissary, I cannot tell you anything more except for the time limit imposed by the Nine Heavens. I will not interfere in your development unless it is the will of the Nine Heavens. From the activation of the Enn, you will have five years until your world is absorbed and it becomes your permanent home, and a year following that where you will be able to consolidate and prepare for being fully integrated among the Nine Heavens. That is all I am permitted to say, the Nine Heavens wish you luck on the eternal journey forward”.

Then, without further ado, the emissary’s wings began to buzz and he lifted into the air and flew away.

The Patriarch again stepped forward to address the crowd, “The Opportunity is clear. Every individual will receive an Enn Stone. Tomorrow night, you are expected to enter the Nine Heavens. If you are given the opportunity to take territory, do so. As is your duty to the House of Hollan. The rest of you, develop your strengths and abilities. Learn the rules of this world, and snag the opportunities given, as is your duty. The first time you return here, you are to report whether or not you acquired territory, or your current location, if possible, to the main family. Collect an Enn Stone upon your departure today”.

The way he spoke…Sera was sure that it meant one’s location when they appeared in the Nine Heavens may very well not be equivalent to current location. It could be entirely random.

It would be her chance to make something of herself. To build a life for herself away from the restrictive bonds of the Hollan Bloodline.

Sera did not let her excitement at this prospect show, she simply let the guard escort her back, collecting an Enn Stone on the way out even if she received foul and disapproving looks while doing so.

Sera had no idea how to prepare for something like this, so she simply continued with her daily routine, as well as laying out a new routine for the next five years. She was likely to spend at least half a day in the Nine Heavens for the next five years, which meant less opportunity to spend time with her dogs, and tend to the garden, or so she thought. Later, she realised that if she timed things correctly, she could spend her nights in the Nine Heavens, and her days here in her world.

The reality of the Emissary also intrigued her. Had he always looked as such, or had he once appeared human like them? Had he always been able to fly? Were these some things that were possible in the Nine Heavens?

Sera resolved that she would not be able to tell until she herself arrived in the Nine Heavens and experienced what it had to offer.

As midnight approached on the second day, she laid down in her bed, clasping the Enn stone in her hand which she now knew was nine-sided, not eight. One side for each of the heavens no doubt. The stone emitted a soft glow, and Sera had studied it enough to know that there appeared to be a galaxy inside it.

With a determination to build a new life for herself, and an excitement for the future, Sera relaxed onto her bed and closed her eyes as midnight ticked over.

The feeling of her consciousness being pulled from her body was jarring at first. To feel her body at one moment, and suddenly not feel herself even breathing the next was scary. She seemed to float in a vast space for several moments before a screen appeared before her that was reminiscent of the computer program screens Sera used to use for her education. It stated simply;

Bloodline Detected. Please select one of the following options:

>Individual Development

>Territory Development

Sera paused at seeing this. The offer made sense as she was of the Hollan bloodline, but it hadn’t actually occurred to her that she would get this option. Still, the temptation to have her own territory, her own place to develop how she wished, was too tempting to turn down.

Territory Development Selected.

You will be transported to a Testing Space.

You will undergo 3 Tests.

If your completion rate is above 60%, you will be given a Territory within the borders of your world.

If your completion rate is below 60%, you will automatically be transferred to the Individual Development Steam.

Higher Completion Rates will be rewarded accordingly.

Your First Test will begin in 30 seconds.

A timer displayed the countdown, though gave no indication of what any of the tests would be. With little time to prepare, Sera evened her breathing to be better able to respond mentally to the task given.

After a moment she appeared in a basic room with no furniture, and a question listed on the wall before her. The instruction, ‘Answer the below Questions Verbally’ was displayed above it.

1. What is your greatest desire?

Sera was fairly certain from that question that this test was attempting to determine personality, and likely leadership capabilities. Sera contemplated lying for the questions where her answers were likely to be perceived as wrong, but she had no desire to doom the territory given to her because she was an incompetent leader. Nor did she thinking lying would be appropriate considering that she was be judged by an entity capable of absorbing her entire world. Surely, they had a sufficient lie detection devise or technique.

“I wish to live freely”.

When she provided no other explanation, the question faded from the wall and was replaced by another.

2. What goals will you have for your territory and those that live there?

“That will largely depend on what I encounter in the Nine Heavens. But I know that I would not wish for my territory to be a place filled with suppression or injustice. I would want it to be a place where capabilities are proven and celebrated accordingly, not given based on a circumstance of birth”.

The question again was erased and replaced by another.

3. What is your justice?

“Where the voice of the weakest is just as loud as the voice of the strong. Equality in the face of laws made without discrimination nor prejudice”.

4. You are betrayed by your closest advisor in matters of state, what do you do?

Sera frowned, “As a matter of state, they would be tried before a court of elected members and a punishment decided accordingly depending on the severity”.

5. What would be the first of your priorities; Family, Friend or Territory?

“As I am now, my Territory. I have no family or friends that I claim wholeheartedly. In future, if that were to change, I cannot say my answer would be the same”.

6. To which would you allocate more funds; Military, Culture or Faith?

“It would depend upon the state of my Territory. If it was threatened, I would be more inclined to put worth in Military pursuits. If it was peaceful, into culture. Faith is the right of every citizen at any time, so therefore it would be always allocated funds, but I would never spend the most on it. I do not believe in placing all my eggs in one basket”.

7. When should a war be fought?

“When provoked. I would never seek to start or join a war unless provoked. Neither will I sit by and tolerate insult or injury to those I am responsible for”.

8. Is there a time when a ruler’s personal interests should trump the majority?

“Not if the ruler’s personal interests place the majority at risk. A ruler should always consider the consequences of their decisions and actions before they make them”.

9. How would you approach Negotiation?

“With a mind to not come out the other side lesser off than I was before I entered into it”.

10. What are your best leadership qualities?

Sera paused at this question. Unable to answer for a moment as she realised she had never led anything in her life.

“I have never been a leader. Perhaps that means that I should not be one, but there is a quote that has always felt to me like an ideal form of leadership, ‘Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys; look on them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death’. If I do become a leader, that is what I hope I will become”.

The question faded, but no further question appeared. The room faded away, and she was in the darkness once more with the screen.

Test 1 Completed. Test 2 will begin in 30s.

The second test seemed to be an intelligence test. The questions were the same as the last test in the sense that she had to provide a verbal answer, but the topics were numerous. Far broader and more advanced than any intelligence test she had ever seen. At the end of the test, she was surprised to see a question asking her to give a self-assessment of how she had gone.

“I am not confident that I got every question correct, but I am confident that I was able to answer between 70 and 80% of the questions correctly”.

Then a second question;

Must a leader be all knowing and all powerful?

“Perhaps in some ways it is better to appear to be so. But a leader has advisors and military generals for a reason. No one is all knowing and all powerful”.

The question faded, then so did the room. There was no exact concept of time in this space, but Sera was confident that at least three hours had passed. With all the verbal answers she had been given, it was strange that she didn’t feel parched or in need of water. The screen in the darkness gave her more information than the past two rather than a mere 30s warning.

Test 2 Completed. Test 3 will begin in 5 minutes.