《The life of Jeyvan Avorian [Discontinued]》 The Child It was a joyous occasion for house Avorian, Count Valerian''s wife was about to give birth to a new child, every servant was anxious about whether it was a boy or a girl Inside a room where only the Count''s most trusted subjects were allowed, Count Valerian sat in a chair by the bed holding his wife''s hand; next to him two little boys stood worriedly looking at their mother''s pained expression. "Push my lady, push!" A handmaiden stood in front of Count Valerian''s wife, giving incentives to her mistress but by the pained expression on her face, the handmaid knows she is trying as hard as she can. A few moments later, the cries of an infant could be heard from the room, signaling the start of a new life. "Give him to me" The handmaiden, obeying her mistress'' order carefully placed the small child in his mother''s arms. "My boy, my little darling boy..." Count Valerian''s wife had a blissful expression on her face as she gazed at the little body in her arms, even though she had already given birth twice it still gave her pride looking at the adorable thing she and her husband had made. "Your name shall be... how about Jeyvan? You like it, little one?" She looked at the little boy who had a small smile on his face and then passed him to his father, Count Valerian. "My son, i have great hopes for you" As he looked at the little boy in his arms, his third son, he started thinking about how much care and love he would put into him and how his family would be perfect as long as he had his wife and sons. Suddenly his daydreams were shattered by a cough, it came from his wife who had her hand in front of mouth. Her flawless white face was now devoid of color. Her coughs didn''t stop instead they seemed to start becoming worse until he saw her spit out blood which into the white sheets, staining them red. "Handmaiden, what''s wrong with my wife!?" Count Valerian bellowed while cradling the small boy in his arms, the boy who was now crying loudly as though he knew something was wrong with his mother. The handmaiden tried everything she had ever learned to assist her mistress however she was coughing blood nonstop, the sheets now looked more like a bizarre painting which used red as it''s only color. More coughs could be heard from the room until silence overtook them, at that moment the only sound that could be heard was the loud cry of a baby. ... Seven years later ... A small boy slowly walked through the halls of the giant mansion he called home; he was heading towards the mansion''s library where his private tutor was waiting for him. Though it was called a library it could not be compared with the ones in the cities as this one only had a few bookshelves, though they were all filled to the brim with books of different topics, from common geography to basic cooking. The small boy had pale white skin, almost sickly looking, with a headful of black hair and sky blue eyes. The small boy had noticed that every servant seemed to comment on how much he looked like his mother and what a tragedy it was that happened seven years ago. His father, however, didn''t think of that as something to be appreciated and it instead angered him more as he saw the very child that killed his beloved wife with each passing day look more and more similar to his mother. So, in order to take out his frustrations about his wife''s death, he delivered them upon the child who killed her on the form of mistreatment and beatings. The servants all knew the late mistress was sickly and had a weak body so birthing three boys took too much of a toll on her making her sucumb to her disease, so the servants didn''t blame the boy though his father and brother''s liked to ignore the part about her being sick and just blame him for her death. As the boy sighted the large double doors to the library, he hurried his footsteps just a little bit. The time he spent with his tutor was one of the only times he could truly be himself, not the third son of the illustrous Avorian family. The young boy exerted himself to open one of the large doors slighty so he could slip through, he inherited his mother''s weak physique and since young has been riddle with many diseases, once inside the library he leaned back against the heavy door, letting his body weight do the work of closing it. The opening and closing of the door seemed to startle an old man sitting on the only table, a large one in the middle of the room surrounded by the few bookshelves, who had his nose on a document. As he saw it was the young boy he let out a sigh of relief, he too didn''t like the count all that much and was only here because of his fondness for the boy. "Young Jeyvan, you are finally here. Come, come, sit down and i''ll go get the books." The old man closed the document he was reading and put it in his robes inner pocket after which with expertise he selected a few books from the bookshelves and put them down on the table. Meanwhile, Jeyvan had already sat on the chair opposite the one the old man was sitting on. "So, how was your day? Have you done or seen anything interesting?" Asked the old man as he opened the books he had picked, four, into certain pages with walls and walls of text, as Jeyvan looked at that he winced. "No, it was the same as all other days, father still didn''t let me go outside the mansion" As Jeyvan responded he was inwardly feeling glad the old man prefered to discuss the topics he was teaching instead of just reading the long pages of text, which would be horrendously boring, and with their discussions Jeyvan learned that there were many wonders in the world, from places full of endless water called oceans, plains completely filled with sand called deserts, Jeyvan truly wished to one day see these amazing sights, yet his father didn''t even let him exit the mansion grounds. "I see, i see, so if i recall correctly we were talking about the rise of the empire, did i get that right?" The old man asked as he surveyed the pages of the books that were on top of the table. "Yes, you were talking about how Emperor Claudius, at the time Prince Claudius, ran away from the capital after his father''s death and went to the Order" Jeyvan now had shining eyes, the Order, every man knew about it, it is the greatest academy in the world where the talented and the gifted go to learn how to be knights, the most noble profession in the continent. Every boy wishes to attend the academy as it will give you an almost guarenteed future.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. "Indeed, Prince Claudius ran from the political strife amongst the other four Princes who were battling for their late father''s throne and instead decided to head to the academy, a place where ranks in the outside world don''t matter and only your abilities and talents give you privileges" The old man, too seemed to enjoy talking about the academy with Jeyvan. "Once Prince Claudius arrived there he hid his identity and attended the academy as a commoner, however, even without being a prince just his sheer talent allowed him to quickly raise through the ranks in the academy and he was considered the most talented person to have appeared in a thousand years!" The old man had awe in his voice and who wouldn''t? The founding father of the empire, Claudius I was a known legendary figure and mothers would sing his tale to make their children sleep. "Twenty years after arriving at the academy he was already one of the highest ranked persons in the Order and with the contacts he had made through the years and the army he made from the students of the academy, almost 12000 students, he returned to his homeland and subdued the other four Princes, declaring himself king and making the Order his royal guards." "Under his guidance the kingdom entered a golden age of prosperity and peace, the other kingdoms didn''t dare to attack because of their fear of the Order. That period of time was known as ''The Ascension'' of the kingdom of Varrous into the empire we are today!" With that the old man ended his passionate speech, giving time to Jeyvan to digest all that information. In fact, Jeyvan wasn''t that much in awe, he instead thought that the tale was over dramatized, how would it be possible for 12000 students against the four Prince''s armies which together accounted for over 240000 soldiers? So instead of keeping it to himself he asked the old man. "Isn''t that impossible? They were just students and the Prince''s armies combined were over twenty times their numbers!" Jeyvan really couldn''t understand how Claudius could have won the war. "That''s where you''re wrong, the Order''s students are special in the fact that each of their students can at the very least defeat ten grown men. And did you really think they fought 240000 in a single battle? No way would the princes ally themselves with each other, Claudius knew that so he used guerrila tactics to slay the unguarded prince''s forces and in less than ten day, ten days i tell you, the princes were grovelling at Claudius'' feet. Can you believe it, a war that lasted for twenty years ended in less that ten days, they were the biggest joke at the time!" The old man still laughed once in a while as he thought of how easily Claudius won, it just proved even more how much of a good leader and commander he was. However, Jeyvan was persistent with his questions. "Wasn''t the order neutral? Why would they suddenly help Claudius?" The old man cracked a smile, he enjoyed these times where Jeyvan would question and he would answer, the boy was the smartest kid he had ever met "Claudius is the most charismatic leader we have records of, it was said by one of his generals that he could charm into bed with but a few words. That, however, is not the true reason as to why Claudius got the support of the Order" Jeyvan blushed at the first part but was then paying attention to the old man''s every word. "The Order is frequented by people from all across the continent, from the Eribha Republic''s Mermen to the Varrian Council''s elfs; all kinds of people come to it. As long as you can prove your talent you will be allowed to attend the academy as a student. As soon as you join, you will become a ''Novice'' in the Order, after a year or two you will further your classes and become an ''Apprentice'', also for one or two years. These two are the ranks that are free to all, if you wish to further advance your studies in the Order you will have to make a pledge that consits that after becoming a knight you will work for them for ten years doing all kind of quests." Jeyvan listened with rapt attention, most of what he was being told wasn''t known by the general populace and only those who had connections in the academy or actually attended the academy knew about it. "After making the pledge you will become an ''Adept'' for two years after which you can become a squire to a knight, or grand knight, who will teach you in exchange for you doing tasks for them such as cleaning their blades and armor." "After five years of serving your knight and learning what he teaches you, you will become a knight yourself. If you distinguish yourself, you may be promoted to a grand knight which have more privileges than a normal knight. No matter which one you are though, after two years you will be given the rights to command law within the Order''s grounds as an adjudicator. If you think your skills are being wasted as a mere adjudicator you can apply for a promotion to become a guardian." "The guardians are the personal force of the academy and they will almost never exit the Order''s grounds, they also receive monetary reward from the academy. After a year as a guardian you may once again take a test to become a grand guardian which is the highest ranked member of the order." Seeing the man finished talking, Jeyvan travelled into his daydreams and imagined himself as a grand guardian, slaying dragons and other magical beasts, which made him start smilling happily but was broken out of his thoughts by the old man''s voice. "However" Said the old man "There is a rank above grand guardian, which is almost impossible to obtain, only the most prestigious amongst grand knights may even dream about it. Claudius managed to reach this rank which was what made him able to command the students in order to make himself Emperor." Jeyvan sat there, mouth open and eyes unblinking waiting for what the old man was about to say. ¡°Almost no people know about this rank and even most amongst The Order don¡¯t know about it; however there are twelve individuals that protect The Order from the shadows and they are the most elite of warriors in the world, these people we call Paragons, and they are the reason no nation dares attack the empire¡± The old man had a smirk on his face as though saying, look at me I¡¯m so knowledgeable Jeyvan sat there, astonished until he started firing question after question that the old man somehow managed to answer This was how most of the lessons with the old man ended up; they would go totally off-topic with the many amazing things his tutor knew ... Hours later ... Jeyvan walked along the barely lit hallway, he had lost track of time while talking with his tutor and learning many things until he felt hungry and noticed it was already night, after saying goodbye to the old man he started heading towards his room. On his way to his room he passed through a large set of intricate doors which would lead into the dining hall when he heard the noise coming from inside and he stopped. There was laughter, chatter and other noises coming from inside the room, along the hallway jeyvan walked to a a small window and looked outside and saw that various carriages were parked in the courtyard. He paused to think for a moment and came to the conclusion that most likely his father was holding a feast to improve relations with the other nobles. He was not invited but he was already used to that, to his father he didn¡¯t exist, he was an inconvenience, a mistake he made that he wished he could erase.To his father he was the one that killed his beautiful wife, and to his brothers he was the demon that slayed their mother so they all pretended he didn¡¯t exist and none dare mention the third son of Count Valerian Somehow, to Jeyvan, that was just fine. He didn¡¯t bother them and they didn¡¯t bother him so they could all lead their lives in peace, in the occasional meeting they had on the hallways he would bow while they would pass through him as though he didn¡¯t exist or throw in a few insults and leave, lest he give them some sort of disease. Ignoring the noises coming from the feast, he started once more on the path towards his room and once there he went inside. Some may think his room would be befitting of a noble, with intricate paintings on the walls and a bed that spanned the whole room but there was nothing like that in there. His bed was simply in a corner of the room with grey sheets and a white pillow, no paintings or anything at all to decorate the walls of the room; they were simply painted a dull white. He didn¡¯t have any wardrobe or anything like that, his father didn¡¯t allow that lest he try to make a rope with the clothes to escape through the window. That would be a disgrace so every morning his servants brought him his clothes for the day and made him presentable, so he won''t sully the image of house Avorian. On the nightstand next to his bed was a tray with a meal, most likely prepared by the servants who were the only ones who didn¡¯t pretend he didn¡¯t exist and instead tried to help him. He believed if they didn¡¯t bring him food his father would let him starve without dinner, too busy entertaining his guests to care about his son. He ate satisfyingly and left the tray on the nightstand, in the morning while he wasn¡¯t in the room a servant would come to take it away As soon as he finished eating he laid on the bed to sleep, maybe tomorrow something would change for the better¡­ A Change, For better or worse Five years later ... Jeyvan stood thoughtfully in front of his father''s study room, just a day ago was his 12th birthday, an important age for children as it marks the time one could apprentice under a master to learn their craft which would define your future profession. If you chose to for example learn blacksmithing you may in the future become a weaponsmither or armorsmither, the 12th birthday was the time for children to grow up, become young adults and take their future into their own hands. And on this time so important for Jeyvan, his father had summoned him for a talk, something he had never done before. Yesterday during his birthday he had not even seen his father or brothers and only a few servants and the old man congratulated him. There was no indication his father would summon him, his father usually avoided him and if he must meet him he would either ignore or insult Jeyvan. He was broken out of his thoughts by the door in front of him, the one that led to his father''s study, opening to reveal a man. The man looked at Jeyvan and Jeyvan looked at the man. The man was tall, barely being able to pass the door without bumping his head, and muscular, not muscular like blacksmiths who used force to strike their hammers upon the iron, this man had muscles that were finely trained and sculpted to be used in battle. Jeyvan could see the man''s muscles because he was not wearing a shirt, revealing his tanned skin that had the color of bronze. In fact the entire apparel of the man was very strange, he was only wearing a pair of loose pants and curved shoes, the pants were only held up by a belt where a sword rested within it''s scabbard. The man''s hair was long, reaching to his shoulders and it was a dark brown, almost black. What attracted Jeyvan the most were the man''s eyes, they were completely white with no iris. The man was blind. The man craned his head to look down upon Jeyvan and his eyes scanned up and down his body as though he could actually see him even though he was blind. "Come in" Said the man as he held the door open. Jeyvan walked in and the man closed the door behind him. Jeyvan looked straight forward and saw his father sittiing opposite of him, looking at a document he had in his desk. Jeyvan stood there next to the man and finally his father''s eyes left the paper on the desk and came to rest upon him. "Jeyvan" He spit out with disgust "I would like to introduce you to Ivan, Adjudicator of the Order. Ivan, meet Jeyvan, the one you will be taking to the academy." It took a few moments for Jeyvan to understand what his father just said and when he did his eyes widened, his father kept talking as though he didn''t realize or just didn''t care about Jeyvan''s state of mind. "Jeyvan, Ivan will be taking you to academy where you will remain the necessary time until you become a grand knight, after achieving that goal you may either remain there or return home to serve as one of your brother''s guards." Jeyvan zoned out of the rest of what his father was saying and instead focused on the part he had heard, his father had just told him he was being sent into the academy! He had read about this, about how unwanted sons of influential nobles would be sent to the academy as exiles, where they would be forced to remain. Jeyvan however didn''t think he would be one of those, he had plans, things he wanted to do and places he wanted to go, he couldn''t go to the academy! For the very first time in his life, Jeyvan looked his father in the eye and spoke, cutting him off. "Father, that''s ridiculous! You can''t send me to the academy as.. as a prisoner! I have plans for my future and that would ruin them all!" Jeyvan watched as his father''s face contorted into an ugly visage as he looked at him, watched as his face became red and he gritted his teeth in anger until he finally snapped in a loud voice. "Who do you think you are to interrupt me you little shit?! You have lived off my home, off my food, my money... and now i ask you to do one think and you go against me! And what plans, plans with that crazy tutor of yours?! You think you are going to see magical places and slay fucking dragons?! As long as you carry my blood you will do as i say, do. you. understand?!" That made Jeyvan shut his mouth as his father continued spitting abuse and salive in his direction until finally he started panting. Jeyvan had heard that twelve years ago, before his mother''s death his father was a handsome man, blond hair with blue eyes and a muscular body from wielding the sword. But now he was a memory of his former self, overweight and hair receding and panted from saying a few words. "I will do as you say father." Jeyvan lowered his head, looking at the ground. The academy was not that bad, many things could be learned from it. The hard part would be how to explain that to the old man, he had made a promise that he would apprentice under him but now all that was ruined. "Good, go back to your quarters and prepare, you will leave as soon as possible." Jeyvan turned around and walked towards the door, what he didn''t saw as he exited were that Ivan was looking straight at him with his white eyes and something within them seemed to have changed. something that astonished Ivan. ... "You are leaving for the academy?" The old man sat opposite of him in the library, he had an astonished face as he looked at Jeyvan. Jeyvan just nodded, still too shocked about his father''s words. He was truly going to the academy. The old man looked at Jeyvan who was looking at the table with unfocused eyes and he let a grin come to his face "That''s excellent then, i also have business with the Order so i guess we can go together" Jeyvan looked from the table to the old man''s grinning face "You are coming with us? That''s great!" His worries forgotten he instead focused on the old man in front of him. ¡°Indeed, I was actually planning to talk to you about this but I guess that will be unnecessary¡± The old man sipped from the tea in front of him, Jeyvan had no idea how he had tea, no servants were allowed in here while he was with the old man but he was used to the strangeness of the old man by now so he just ignored it. "What kind of business could you have with the order?¡± Jeyvan looked at the old man with suspicion; he knew the old man had a lot of information that couldn¡¯t be found on books but not many people in the world could boast to have connections with the order Just something to discuss with a few old friends, maybe share gossip, nothing serious really.¡± The old man seemed to be telling the truth but Jeyvan was sure it couldn''t be that simple however he let it go. ¡°Have you been there before? Can you tell me what it¡¯s like?¡± Jeyvan looked at the old man with expectations, he wanted to suck out of the old man every bit of knowledge he could get before he arrived at the academy ¡°Well for starters the food is really nice¡± Both the old man and Jeyvan laughed at that. ¡­ As the first morning light rose above the horizon it also came to rest upon a carriage being pulled by four horses. The Carriage was nothing special, no unnecessary luxuries could be spotted on it, the only thing special about it was a sigil painted upon both of its sides The carriage had the sigil of House Avorian, a rose within an intricate shield that was being held high by two couched lions, a sword piercing the shield from above. Inside the unconspicious Carriage sat three individuals, a young boy, a tall man whose head almost touched the ceiling of the carriage and an old man reading a book, occasionally flipping pages. The silence was broken by the young boy, Jeyvan, speaking to the tall man ¡°How are we getting to the Academy?¡± The old man too took his eyes off the book to look at the tall man, Ivan.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. ¡°We will head to Janaros and from there we will catch a boat to the Academy¡± Said Ivan without opening his eyes for they were blind and would be as useful open as they were closed, though Jeyvan suspected they could somehow allow him to see. ¡®Janaros¡¯ was a city under the control of Count Valerian of house Avorrian, it was one of the most prosperous trading cities in the empire because it was adjacent to the ¡®The Great river¡¯ which went across all the empire. ¡°There was a boat that went to the academy from there? Interesting¡± Said the old man as he rubbed his white beard. ¡°It is new so most people don¡¯t know about it, it was started about a year ago.¡± Said Ivan who after saying so went silent The rest of the way was peaceful and noiseless until they heard the coachman yell at them from outside ¡°My lord, there are people blocking the way!¡± ¡°Stay here, I¡¯ll go see what they want¡± said Ivan as he grabbed the sword that was in the seat next to him, and then exited the carriage. Unable to contain himself, Jeyvan opened the window and put his head outside, watching as Ivan walked towards the men in front of the carriage. The men were badly equipped, with most wearing animal furs and wielding wooden clubs with spikes upon them however the one in front of them all, likely the leader, was wearing an iron chest plate and had a mace on his right hand and a shield on his left hand, on his face could be seen a red bandana revealing only his eyes. Ivan stopped a few meters away from the man and opened his eyes. The man with the bandana looked skeptically at Ivan, through this skeptisism he still spoke loudly in the direction of the Carriage. ¡°We are the Brown Bear Bandits, hand over your valuables and we will let you keep your carriage and go free otherwise don¡¯t blame us for being ruthless.¡± Said the bandit leader as he swung menacingly at the carriage Jeyvan was poking his head out from. ¡°Bandits in the main road, by the gods, what has the Count been doing these years?¡± Muttered the old man as he heard the loud voice coming from outside Back outside, Ivan drew his sword from its scabbard, pointed the tip to the ground and spoke back to the Bandit leader. ¡°I suggest you run away now, I too can be ruthless towards others¡± Ivan¡¯s eyes narrowed on the bandit leader and he started slowly walking towards the bandit group. ¡°Don¡¯t blame me for this; go get them boys!¡± At the bandit leader¡¯s shout, some of the bandits started charging at Ivan while the few others drew their bows. The arrows arrived before the running men but just as the arrows were about to hit Ivan, his sword moved. His sword drew an arc through the air towards the coming arrows, first one, then two, then three until finally all the fired arrows dropped to the ground split in half. The charging bandits hesitated for a brief second but that was all it took, with amazing footwork Ivan suddenly covered the few meters between him and the bandit at the forefront of the group and with a single stroke that bandit¡¯s head dropped to the ground, soon followed by his body. The others, seeing their companion dying so easily, became terrified but they had seen their fair share of blood so they just kept their guard towards Ivan. the archers at the back of the group had already drew their bows once again and this time, switching targets, they fired not towards Ivan but towards the carriage. The last thing the coachman saw before he died were arrows flying towards him. The old man looked up to see the head of an arrow passing through the front wall of the carriage, the only thing that stopped it from keeping it''s path towards the interior was the sturdy wood the carriage was made of, the old man uncarringly went back to reading his book. Ivan sent but a glance towards the carriage with his white eyes before he once more focused on the battle just in time to see a bandit raising his weapon, a sword. The bandit raised it up high and sent it chopping down towards Ivan but he simply sidestepped and with a stroke of his wrist a line appeared on the bandit¡¯s waist before he was cut in two. Before the bandit¡¯s upper body even fell to the ground Ivan was already in front of another and sent a thrust into the bandit¡¯s throat, the sword exiting from the back. Ivan pulled the sword from the bandit¡¯s throat and he fell backwards into the ground, blood exiting out of his mouth. A sideways slash came from a bandit at his right side and he blocked it and sent a kick towards the bandit¡¯s stomach, making him bend over and while he was doing so with a single slash Ivan beheaded him. Seeing their partners lying dead around Ivan, the cowardly archers ran away, leaving their leader to his own fate. ¡°Those damn cowards! I guess I¡¯ll have to deal with you myself.¡± The bandit leader slowly started approaching Ivan, keeping his shield in front of him just letting the top of his head to be seen. Ivan too started walking and soon they were circling each other until finally one of them moved, the one to do so was Ivan. Holding his sword high up he sent an overhead chop towards the bandit leader however as he did so the bandit leader shoved his shield forward, knocking Ivan off balance. Seeing an opportunity the bandit leader swung his mace but Ivan had borrowed the shove from the shield to roll backwards so he avoided it. Once again they were back to circling each other but this time they didn¡¯t attack instead it was Ivan that broke the silence ¡°I am Ivan Hiland, Adjudicator of the Order, who are you?¡± He spoke but this time there was respect on his voice. ¡°I used to be a knight to the emperor, but times change you know, so right now I¡¯m just a mere bandit leader who just got deserted by his hirelings¡± There was the same respect in the Bandit leader¡¯s voice as he answered Ivan¡¯s question. ¡°So you don¡¯t want to reveal yourself? That¡¯s fine, but I would like to come to an agreement with you. Even if we both fight until one of us dies, the other would receive injuries that may never heal and there is no meaning to do so, so I suggest we call off our combat and head separate ways.¡± ¡°That would be fine by me Ivan Hiland, may we meet again¡± Without another word the bandit leader disappeared amongst the trees, leaving his minion¡¯s bodies behind. Ivan too head back to the carriage, pulling the dead coachman off and taking command over the carriage himself. Before he could start he heard a door opening and closing and soon Jeyvan was sitting by his side, leaving the old man in the carriage alone. Ivan urged the horses forward and soon they were at the same pace as before, with only the dead bodies behind them as proof anything actually happened. ¡°Why did you two stop fighting suddenly?¡± Jeyvan asked as he looked forward, towards the road they were travelling upon. ¡°It was not sudden, we both gauged the other¡¯s strengths and understood that no good would come out of it so we stopped, simple as that.¡± Said Ivan as he cracked a smile, the young boy had been fidgeting where he sat, wanting to ask questions. ¡°How did you do that? I mean¡­ you are blind, aren¡¯t you? How did you fight so well?¡± This was the question that was bothering Jeyvan the most, it was clear the man was blind yet he could obviously somehow sense where other people were. ¡°Once you reach the academy you will learn many things, child. It is not for no reason the Order is considered the place where the strongest knights come from.¡± Jeyvan thought that didn¡¯t answer his question but he didn¡¯t say it, it was obvious the knight wouldn¡¯t answer. ¡°So who would win between you and that guy?¡± ¡°Why, it would be me, of course. I might have had to sacrifice an arm or even both but I was sure I could win.¡± Ivan crack a smile. Though he said that Ivan himself wasn¡¯t sure he could fight that man and walk out alive, it was no wonder the Imperial knights could boast to go head to head with the Order if they had men such as those. ¡­ ¡°Look child, that is Janaros.¡± The Adjudicator pointed his finger towards a black spot in the horizon; almost nothing could be distinguished from it, even less that it was a city. ¡°We¡¯re finally here, it was starting to get boring¡± Though he said that in his heart he was thinking about how can he only see a spot in the distance and the blind man knows it¡¯s the city? ¡°You should stick close while we are inside, though it is one of the greatest cities for trading it is not exactly known for its security or lack of thieves.¡± The adjudicator urged the horses to go faster, it wouldn¡¯t matter if they tire, they would have plenty of rest in the city stables. Upon entering the city, a dense crowd of people could be seen and on each side of the street there were various stalls filled with various exotic goods and local specialties. The people amongst the crowd here were from many races, there were elves, dwarves and even some mermen were crawling around the street. ¡°Wow, so this is Janaros.¡± Jeyvan looked at everything around him with awe, he had never seen most of these things though they were sometimes illustrated or described in the books the old man made him read, though they couldn¡¯t compare to the real thing. ¡°We will be catching the boat in a bit so don¡¯t get lost¡± After saying that the Adjudicator started walking, his height and muscles easily split the crowd into two, most people willingly making way for the small giant. ¡°Let¡¯s go Jeyvan, you can see the goods after we reach the ship.¡± The old man slightly pushed Jeyvan forward and he stumbled, the old man surprisingly had a lot of strength. As he walked, Ivan in front and the old man behind him, he looked around and saw strange things, though everyone walking the streets looked well-fed and dressed, in the dark alleys he couldn¡¯t really see well into people laid against the walls with dirt on their faces and bones showing through their ragged clothes, most were very dirty with barely a hint of their face being uncovered by mud or dirt He also noticed all the people on the street seemed to ignore the existence of these individuals, as though they lived in two different worlds. ¡°Hey old man, why are they all dirty?¡± Jeyvan asked as he looked at the malnourished people, it was indeed odd how they didn¡¯t try to ask for help. The old man looked where Jeyvan¡¯s face pointed to and as he saw those people he looked once more at Jeyvan and realization dawned. ¡°Those are the unfortunate ones, Jeyvan.¡± ¡°What do you mean the unfortunate ones? Are they sick or something like that?¡± Jeyvan asked, puzzlement coating his face. The old man looked at Jeyvan and his face softened; he explained in a low voice ¡°They are the unfortunate, those cursed by fate to be a bit worse than everyone else and thusly judged by society to be unsuited to be amongst them.¡± ¡°But why would anyone do that? It isn¡¯t their fault they were born that way, maybe if they were given a chance..!¡± Jeyvan started talking loudly and attracted a few gazes from the crowd around them, the old man¡¯s face darkened before he cut him off abruptly. ¡°Enough!¡± He ordered ¡°Just follow Ivan, once you reach the academy you will soon learn that the world is not as sugar-coated as you though it to be.¡± Without another word the old man hushed Jeyvan forward with a hand on his shoulder, taking his gaze off the men amongst the dark alleys. The road less traveled While Jeyvan thought about what he had seen a few moments ago, the crowd of people around the group slowly started thinning as they arrived at a large open area. Jeyvan looked around and saw various people moving things in and out of the many ships that were parked in the port of the town, the boxes varied in size, some needing two or three men to carry them. Jeyvan finally knew from where did the various exotic goods in the city come from. Ivan moved and they followed him towards a large ship, the biggest in the port. It had large red sails that made it imposing compared to the other smaller ships. Jeyvan noted as they were climbing the plank that led towards the open deck that no boxes were being carried in or out of the ship, it simply stood there as though waiting for something. They weren''t in the deck for long before a small, overweight man whose clothes barely contained his belly came towards them with a smile on his face. "Hello, my name is Caspio and i''m the captain of this ship, may i know your names?" Jeyvan had no doubt the smile would drop out of his face if they either didn''t have the money to pay for his services or were nobody important. ¡°I am Ivan Hiland and this is the prot¨¦g¨¦ I¡¯m taking to the academy, Jeyvan Avorian.¡± Ivan spoke while inspecting the large ship with his white eyes, paying no attention to the man after saying those few words. However with those words the smile disappeared from the man¡¯s face, a respectful attitude taking control and he bowed as he spoke ¡°Lord Adjudicator, we have been expecting you. All passengers are on deck and we are ready to depart when you see fit.¡± After hearing those words Ivan nodded and looked at Jeyvan who was by his side with a smile ¡°If you want we can depart an hour or two late, that should give you enough time to look through the goods in the market.¡± Jeyvan was about to nod at his words but he remembered what he had seen in the dark alleys and his face gained a frown, he didn¡¯t think he would enjoy seeing the products of luxury that others use while those who were unprivileged starved, rather it would make him sick knowing those people could help yet they did nothing. He reluctantly shook his head and it earned him a hand on his shoulder and a reassuring smile from the old man. Ivan looked at Jeyvan¡¯s face for a few seconds before he turned to Caspio ¡°We are ready to depart as soon as possible, can someone guide us to our rooms?¡± A little time later Jeyvan was looking through the window of his private room as the city he had been in for but a few minutes disapeared into the distance only to be replaced by the ever moving waters of the great river. ¡­ ¡°Jeyvan, wake up, quickly now!¡± Jeyvan opened his eyes as he felt someone shaking him, once his eyes adjusted to the darkness he saw Ivan and the old man were next to his bed, Ivan being the one who woke him. ¡°What¡­ What¡¯s wrong is there any problem?¡± Jeyvan came to his senses as he scanned their anxious faces and he quickly got up from the bed. ¡°The crew has just sighted a naga warlord guarding the way through the river, if things get ugly we will need to flee so get ready.¡± Ivan walked out of the door after saying that, likely to survey how the situation is outside. Jeyvan got dressed as the old man stood nearby; he had a frown on his face as though he was thinking about a very hard problem. After getting dressed he tried to ask details from the old man ¡°What¡¯s a naga warlord? I mean, I know what a naga is but¡­ what''s a warlord?¡± The old relaxed his frowning face and looked at Jeyvan ¡°The naga¡¯s have a very simple society, the stronger you are, the higher up in their society you go. We have tried to give names to their many ranks and the warlord can be considered in human terms as a general.¡± ¡°But why is it here?¡± Jeyvan asked as he stood next to the bed while looking at the old man. The frown came back to the old man¡¯s face ¡°That¡¯s what I was trying to understand, in this time of the year there should be no nagas in the great river, they should be down at the swamps at Orivk at this time of the year.¡± The Orivk kingdom is one mainly composed of swamplands, so many aquatic creatures such as mermen and nagas stay there for most of the year and when the droughts came in the summer, drying up the swamps, they would roam around the great river until their swamps were cozy again. Their talk came to an end as Ivan came into the room, silently closing the door behind him. ¡°We need to leave, now.¡± Ivan walked to the nearby window and threw it open; it was a large window coming almost from the floor to the ceiling. After doing so he went to the bed Jeyvan was standing next to and ripped the sheets out of the bed. ¡°Are we going to jump through there?¡± Jeyvan looked quizzically at what Ivan was doing, there was a door right next to them, why jump from the window? ¡°Yes¡± Ivan answered shortly and Jeyvan understood why when he started hearing the screams coming from outside the room, the naga were already in the ship. ¡°Jeyvan, come here.¡± Ivan said and Jeyvan obeyed, coming to stand in front of the tall man. ¡°Climb up my back¡± Jeyvan looked weirdly at Ivan but still did as he was told, once he was astride Ivan¡¯s back, Ivan took the bedsheet and put it around Jeyvan and himself, tying a strong knot at his waist, like that Jeyvan and Ivan were now tied together. ¡°Old man, can you get to the left side of the river bank?¡± Ivan asked as he turned towards the old man, Jeyvan looked up Ivan''s shoulder and saw the old man nodding calmly as though the current situation didn¡¯t affect him. ¡°Good. Jeyvan, close your eyes.¡± Jeyvan did as told and suddenly Ivan jumped through the window, dropping down towards the water below. There was a splash and Jeyvan felt the coldness of the river water touch his skin and seep through his clothes, Ivan started moving his arms, quickly swimming towards the river bank while Jeyvan held onto his neck with all his might as the currents of the river battled to overwhelm them. Soon they once more felt sturdy earth beneath their feet. Ivan released the knot at his waist and Jeyvan dropped to his knees, coughing out river water that had gotten into his mouth. He felt a hand at his back, gently circling it and Jeyvan looked up through watery eyes to see the old man smilling down upon him. Jeyvan unsteadily got to his feet and looked at the old man, ready to start asking questions when they heard a boom coming from the direction of the ship. They all looked and saw the ship they had just been travelling on lit up in roaring flames as figures submerged in the river water threw giant spheres of fire towards it. They soon heard the screams of despair coming from the ship and Jeyvan simply watched, horrified, as the ship slowly broke down under the unrelenting flames, sinking under the water, the screams dying down to be replaced by ghastly shrieks. ¡°The nagas¡± Said the old man ¡°Are horrifying creatures, it is almost impossible to fight them while on water so the most that can be done is to pray, pray that we don¡¯t cross with them.¡± The old man looked at Jeyvan with worried eyes, the boy had never met death before and he wasn¡¯t supposed to have met it know, so young.Stolen story; please report. "Those flames you saw were created by their mages, twisted creatures even more so than the rest of their kind, that only live to spread despair and death through the places they tread¡± They walked deeper inland, away from the nagas, and set up a simple bonfire. Jeyvan looked at the burning flames of the bonfire that reminded him of the sinking ship and closed his eyes, falling asleep with his knees to his chest. Jeyvan awoke drenched in sweat, he had nightmares about the screams from last night and he didn¡¯t think they would stop any time soon. He looked in front of him where there used to be a bonfire and saw the a patch of dirt, he quickly realized why, the sun was just beginning to rise. He looked around him for traces of the old man and Ivan and panicked when he saw nobody. Had they left him? Would they leave him to be killed by the nagas? He was broken out of his panicked thoughts by the sound of branches being stepped upon and he looked up to see Ivan and the old man coming towards him, both bringing with them wet clothes and as equally drenched bags in their arms ¡°Where have you been?¡± Jeyvan asked as he tried to calm his beating heart. Ivan looked at Jeyvan with his white eyes, seemingly seeing through his faux calm and replied ¡°We didn¡¯t have the time to bring our things with us during the attack so we went to get them while you were asleep, we will need them for the trip to the academy.¡± As he said so both he and the old man dropped the bags they had in their arms into the ground next to Jeyvan, who looked at them, the bags were so drenched that Jeyvan thought anything inside should be useless. Ivan searched through the insides of the bag he had carried and Jeyvan was surprised to see that they were strangely untouched by water, and brought out three bottles filled with a strange transparent liquid that seemed like water. He gave one to the old man who opened it and started taking slow sips from it and then gave one to Jeyvan before starting drinking from his own bottle. ¡°What is this?¡± asked Jeyvan as he looked at the bottle, it had a texture unlike water because as he turned it around it slowly slipped down like gelatin. ¡°That is the nutritional fluid from the academy, try it, it¡¯s not like you¡¯ll die¡± Ivan finished his bottle with a gulp and answered Jeyvan with a chuckle who was looking at the bottle in his hand with intrigue. Jeyvan slowly opened the bottle and sniffed it, it had no smell, before putting it to his lips and taking a small gulp. As he did so his eyes widened and he threw his head back as he swallowed every drop down his throat. ¡°This is amazing! It¡¯s so sweet, what is it made of?¡± Jeyvan said as he licked his lips, the taste still lingering in his tongue Ivan smiled at Jeyvan ¡°That was made by the alchemists at the academy, it is the rations that we from the academy take when we travel, only the alchemists know what is is made of but at least it takes care of our hunger¡± Jeyvan noticed he was right, he had just drank a bottle of that liquid but he could clearly feel his hunger slipping away. ¡°Now that we took care of our meal we should be on our way, we should be close to the academy and the sooner we get there the better.¡± Ivan closed the bag and threw it over his shoulder; the old man did the same with his. ¡°Come Jeyvan, we should start travelling to the academy as soon as we can.¡± Thus, they started on their path towards the academy. ¡­ Jeyvan¡¯s feet were sore; they had been walking for ages through trees, holes dug by animals and hills that seemed to have no end. The only thing that indicated they were going along the correct path was the river towards their left side which kept flowing without an end, Jeyvan thought that maybe that was the reason it was called the great river. ¡°Look over there, there''s a house¡± Jeyvan was broken out of his thoughts by Ivan¡¯s voice and he looked ahead of him and, through the trees, there was upon a little hill a wood cabin. ¡°Let¡¯s go ask for directions¡± ivan said and Jeyvan agreed, though he didn¡¯t want to say that they were lost it was hard to believe a blind man would be able to guide them towards the academy. The group of three arrived at the door to the cabin and Ivan knocked, the door opened and out came a short man who had a beard that went past his belly button. The bearded man was wearing a wool tunic with a belt at his waist where sat an axe. The bearded man¡¯s eyes wandered through the group until they once more came to rest upon Ivan who was at the front. ¡°What do you want?¡± The bearded man asked impatiently towards Ivan as he looked up towards Ivan. ¡°We would like to know if you can tell us how to get to the academy?¡± Ivan replied as he looked down at the man, the man was very short, just a bit taller than Jeyvan and he realized he must be one of the dwarfs he read about in the books at the mansion. The bearded dwarf looked Ivan up and down once more, not knowing what kind of business he could have with the order and asked with a smirk ¡°What if I do? Why should I tell you?¡± There was silence for a bit before Ivan opened his mouth once more ¡°I can give you a bounty of gold if you-¡°He was cut off by a chuckle from the dwarf ¡°In case you didn¡¯t notice I have everything I need right here, water, food and shelter, so why should I go to one of your damn cities and waste gold in things I don¡¯t need?¡± The smirk almost split the dwarf¡¯s face in half when he realized Ivan had no answer to his question and he was about to close the door in their faces when Jeyvan opened his mouth ¡°Wait a second, please¡± The dwarf stopped in his motion of closing the door and looked at the small child in front of him who didn¡¯t even have a single chin hair. Jeyvan quickly spoke up so the dwarf didn¡¯t change his mind and closed the door on them. ¡°From what clan are you?¡± Jeyvan asked and the dwarf lifted an eyebrow. It was common knowledge that the dwarves of the Sarifh kingdom had three main clans, The Gurdows, the Harjaam and the Felior, the three clans each held different ideals and never saw eye to eye but when somebody invaded their kingdom, well, they would meet the full wrath of the three joined clans and with each of them complementing the others¡¯ weaknesses they were almost invincible in their keeps in the mountains of the Sarifh kingdom. ¡°I am part of Clan Gurdow, why do you care?¡± Jeyvan looked at the dwarf and blurted out about one of the good things clan gurdow that he could remember of. ¡°If you tell us we will be in your debt¡± The dwarf looked into jeyvan¡¯s eyes and the suspicion that was there at first quickly turned into joy. ¡°Haha alright then, I shall tell you where the academy is¡± The good point Jeyvan remembered was that, the members of clan Gurdow always, always, repaid or collected their debts, that could be a good or a bad thing. There is a tale about this quality of theirs, it said that a long time ago a noble made a deal with a few clan members of the gurdows, the dwarfs would make weapons for his private army and he would pay them with a bit of land where they could build a keep, turns out that noble was not that smart and once he had gotten his weapons he had tried to deny his agreement to that deal with the dwarfs. The dwarfs told that to their clan and they were not happy with him backing out of the deal and so they brought an entire army of ten thousand dwarfs armed to the teeth to that nobleman''s door and lynched him publicaly, since then no one has tried to go back on a deal or debt made to the gurdows. Ivan looked at Jeyvan with appreciation in his eyes before he walked into the house, bending over so he didn¡¯t hit his head against the ceiling. Jeyvan and the old man followed. It was a simple house; it had one bedroom, one bathroom and a small room with a table where he probably had his meals. The dwarf went into his room and dug around a chest at the side of the bed, a few moments later taking out a rolled piece of parchment before walking to the table and spreading it open, it was a map of the local area. ¡°You are currently here so you will have to follow the river until you get to the Mountains; from there you need to cross them, then just keep following the river and you will probably see the towers in a few hours.¡± The dwarf pointed at a few places in the map as he talked and Jeyvan tried to memorize what he was saying, not that it was too hard to remember. ¡°Now, about that debt¡± Said the dwarf as he looked at Jeyvan ¡°I suppose that you will be attending the academy?¡± Jeyvan nodded so the dwarf continued ¡°Good, then someday when you are grown I will ask you to do me a favor, what favor i have not decided on, and I hope you do not go back on your debt otherwise I will have to track down and kill you and that would take quite a bit of time i''d bet¡± Jeyvan quickly nodded again and the dwarf looked at him in the eye before he too bobbed his head up and down once. ¡°Then I suggest you all be on your way, farewell and¡­ good luck.¡± They turned to leave as the dwarf said those words, Jeyvan didn¡¯t know why he said good luck and he hoped he wouldn¡¯t find out. ¡­ They were walking through the forest until they sighted something in front of them, it were the peaks of the mountains the dwarf had mentioned would be in their way to the academy ¡°So the mountains he mentioned were the Grey peaks? Now I know why what he said seemed so simple. By the lord, how are we supposed to cross that?¡± Jeyvan suddenly realized why the dwarf had said good luck; the Grey peaks were a mountain range that encircled the whole academy like a natural wall, protecting it from outside influences. The academy had opened three paths through the mountains with magic and it was known that only through them or the great river could you enter the Order. Everyone that tried to cross the mountains had never lived to tell the tale however it is believed that dragons and other dangerous beasts inhabit those mountains so there aren''t that many that tried in the first place. Crossing the Grey Peaks The group of three stood there staring at the mountains in front of them, they were not normal mountains as they had a grey color that couldn''t possibly be natural. The group would have to cross these mountains, something no one ever did, if they wanted to reach the academy, otherwise they will have to avoid them and enter through one of the three passages the academy had made, something that would take at least a week. Ivan looked at the mountains in front of him and addressed his two companions "We will try to find a way through the mountains; if we can''t then we shall try to find one of the entrances of the academy and enter through there." The group started walking towards the grey mountains in the distance and as they did Jeyvan asked the old man "Why are the mountains grey?" The old man smiled at Jeyvan and explained slowly "The mountains were made by one of the paragons I told you about, he is a necromancer who has lived for a long time, longer than the academy itself, his mana is a grey color like all necromancer''s is so the mountains he made with his magic are grey too." Jeyvan listened with awe, not believing there is someone who can make whole mountains rise from the ground with his magic. "When he dies" Continued the old man "The Grey peaks will die with him, like all magic dies with its sorcerer." They were finally in front of the mountains and the group looked at them, there was nothing on the mountains, only solid rock, and surrounding the Grey peaks in a distance of a few meters was dirt which contained no vegetation. The group walked upon the dirt as they looked at the solid mountains, trying to find a crevice or anything at all that would allow them passage through them. They searched but there was nothing of the sort, not a single dent could be seen on the mountains. They were about to give up when the old man, who was away from them suddenly yelled at them with a gleeful voice ¡°I found a passage!¡± They walked towards the old man and came to a stop when they sighted a large tunnel leading into the depths of the mountains. Jeyvan looked at the old man who had a silly grin on his face; Jeyvan had passed through here before but seen nothing of the sort, no tunnel or at the very least a hole. He let it go and decided he probably overlooked it. Ivan looked at the dark tunnel in front of him and poised his bag on the ground, riffling through it until he pulled out a transparent ball, hardly bigger than jeyvan¡¯s fist. He once more put the bag to his shoulder. ¡°Let¡¯s go¡± Ivan walked into the darkness and for a moment Jeyvan and the old man lost sight of him before there was a sudden light from the tunnel, lighting up Ivan¡¯s figure. In front of Ivan was a floating ball, the one they had seen him take out from the bag, the difference was this time it was letting out light, enough to see in the dark tunnel. Jeyvan looked at the object with surprise and quickly followed after Ivan who was walking further into the tunnel, the old man trailing behind him. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Asked Jeyvan as he examined the orb, it was floating as though magic and it always lighted the path in front of Ivan as though he knew what to do. ¡°That¡¯s an Orb, alchemist¡¯s Invention. You will get one when you become a knight, every Knight gets one when they join the academy.¡± Jeyvan started noticing that the alchemists had many inventions, things he couldn¡¯t have possibly known about in the outside world. The group walked onwards in silence until they saw a light ahead of them. They walked towards it and exited the tunnel, coming to stand in a great clearing. In the clearing light came from a large opening in the ceiling, revealing the blue sky above. The clearing had a small lake that disappeared beneath a wall to the right side. It was a beautiful scene but Jeyvan felt Ivan stiffening in front of him and he found out why. The left side of the clearing was littered with bones and some rotten corpses that formed a small mountain, from medium sized bones to a femur that was as big as Ivan was tall, various species¡¯ skeletons lay mixed into a small mountain, and on top of it was a dragon.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Jeyvan felt his eyes widen as he took in the very large sleeping animal and he almost screamed but felt a hand close his mouth shut, muffling the scream, his now panicked eyes came to rest on Ivan who had a hand clamped shut above Jeyvan¡¯s mouth and an anxious face. ¡°Take a deep breath and don¡¯t make too much noise¡± Ivan whispered as he took his hand off of Jeyvan¡¯s mouth. Jeyvan took a deep breath and once more observed the dragon. The dragon was big, Jeyvan estimated that it had a length of 20m without counting its tail; its folded wings when completely extended had to be at the very least 35m. It was a Red color, not very bright but a deep red like blood, its head had two horns coming out of its temples, going straight and then they suddenly curled inwards ending in a sharp tip, pointing the same direction it¡¯s maws did. Its scales reflected the light coming from outside and Jeyvan could have been entranced by them if they were not part of a beast that could kill him in moments should it wake. Ivan scanned the room and saw on the opposite side of the room another tunnel, likely leading into the academy, but to get there they had to pass the sleeping dragon. ¡°Jeyvan, look at me¡± Ivan said and Jeyan looked at his face ¡°We will try to cross the room, if the dragon wakes up run towards there¡± Ivan pointed towards the opening on the other side ¡°And don¡¯t look back, if you see someone say that you were sent by me, Ivan Hiland, and that you are a new student, that should get you into the academy but hopefully we won¡¯t need you to go alone¡± Jeyvan gulped and nodded towards Ivan ¡°Good, then let¡¯s try not to wake the sleeping beast¡± They started slowly moving into the room, one step at a time. The dragon breathed through its nostrils air that was then expelled as a cloud of hot vapor. They slowly moved and were one quarter of the way when they saw the dragon move. They all stood there, tense, as the dragon moved its mouth as it yawned. Jeyvan looked into the open mouth of the beast and saw teeth bigger than his hand, all extremely sharp looking. After yawning the dragon once more calmly breathed and the group collectively released a sigh of relief. They started silently moving towards the tunnel and were now with their backs towards the dragon when they heard a loud, clear sound. They looked down and beneath Jeyvan¡¯s foott was a small bone, smaller than a finger that was now broken in two. The group looked back at the dragon that was now blinking its eyes open and Ivan yelled ¡°Run!¡± The dragon¡¯s head swiftly came up and its eyes focused on the group of three who were running towards the tunnel. The dragon inhaled breath through its nose, its chest puffing up and let out an ear-piercing roar that shook the whole cave, dust falling from the ceiling. The group grew unsteady on their feet as they felt the cavern shaking. As the dragon¡¯s roar still echoed around the cave its body got up, coming to stand on its four muscular members, striking an imposing sight that would strike fear into any man¡¯s heart. The group was now on their feet and ran towards the tunnel, they were barely inside when they heard the dragon suck in air, and they ran further into the tunnel, into the darkness, until it was dark no more. As the dragon breathed, a giant cloud of flames came from its mouth straight into the tunnel. Ivan saw the fire coming and jumped into jeyvan¡¯s direction, throwing him to the ground and covering his body with his. Jeyvan saw nothing but darkness as he was held beneath Ivan¡¯s body; he only heard the sound of burning flesh and a sudden scream from Ivan¡¯s mouth. Jeyvan quickly scrambled out of Ivan¡¯s body and saw as he lay on the ground, his back completely burned, charcoal at the edges and raw red inside. Jeyvan stared horrified at Ivan until he heard him wheeze and he broke out of his trance to come closer so he could listen ¡°¡­The¡­ Bag¡­ box¡­ cream¡­¡± He managed to croak out of his throat before he passed out because of the pain. Jeyvan quickly realized what he meant and he looked towards the side and saw the bag being held in Ivan¡¯s hand, unburt. He pulled it out of his grip and dumped it onto the ground, many items exiting but the only one Jeyvan noticed was an iron box. He opened it and inside were six tubes. He grabbed one of them, uncorked the cap and squeezed whatever was inside into Ivan¡¯s back. A strange pinkish cream slipped out of the tube and onto Ivan¡¯s back. When he was done with the tube he threw it to one side and carefully started spreading the cream allover Ivan¡¯s back. The cream was cold and Jeyvan started to shiver but he persisted, spreading the cream until not a single of the burned parts could be seen. Jeyvan leaned back against the tunnel wall, shivering from the cold of the cream and saw as the cream in Ivan¡¯s back was visibly absorbed. Once he finally stopped shivering Ivan¡¯s back was a pinkish color, no signs of the burns could be seen. Jeyvan breathed warm air into his hands and looked around, no signs of the old man could be seen anywhere he looked. Jeyvan rubbed his hands together and got up. He slowly places all the items on the ground back into the bag and swung it over his shoulder. On his other shoulder, he slipped the unconscious body of Ivan, his legs dragging through the tunnel floor. ¡­ Jeyvan slowly saw a light in front of him, he almost couldn¡¯t feel his legs and felt a pain on his back that made him want to cry but he carried on, persistently, with Ivan on his shoulder. He got closer and closer to the light and finally came out of the tunnel. The light of the sun washed over Jeyvan¡¯s face and he creased his brow, sweat dripping down his face. He was in a large open area and towers were visible in the distance but he was too focused on carrying Ivan to notice. He kept walking, his feet raw and hurt until he heard shouts on the distance. Jeyvan didn¡¯t care who they were, relief washed over him and he simply let his body drift into unconsciousness as he saw figures heading towards him. The Academy Jeyvan opened his eyes and blinked. He felt like he was lying down on a bed and above him he saw a white ceiling. He tried to move but his whole body ached with exhaustion so he just kept lying down. He tried to remember what happened but he could only remember falling unconscious after seeing some figures in the distance. He heard footsteps and voices coming from his right and then the sound of a door opening, he tried and moved his head successfully and saw coming into the room two men, one of them was old, had a white beard and was wearing a white robe. The other was a man with handsome features who had black hair and eyes. He was also wearing full plate armor except for a helmet; he also had a sword with intricate carvings in the scabbard tied to his waist. ¡°Ah, our young hero has awoken!¡± The two men stopped talking and looked at Jeyvan, the man gained a smile on his face and spoke when he saw Jeyvan had woken up. Jeyvan tried to talk but was too exhausted so he simply turned his head back to the white ceiling. ¡°Don¡¯t tire yourself! My name is Alexander and this old man here is Keldan. We are both Adjudicators like your friend, Ivan.¡± While speaking the man passed by the bed Jeyvan was lying down at and walked to the wall opposite the door and opened a window, letting in a wave of air into the room that was strangely warm When Jeyvan heard him he tried to talk once more to ask about Ivan but couldn¡¯t. As though he knew what he wanted Alexander turned back towards him and spoke ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Ivan is alright. Only thanks to you though, dragon fire is a nasty thing and he was lucky you applied the cream so quickly, he is actually quite thankful to you for exhausting yourself¡± Keldan waited until Alexander was done talking and then started speaking while looking Jeyvan in the eye ¡°He is very lucky you brought him to us, the cream can heal the most fatal injuries but it is not permanent, he would have died if not for you¡± Jeyvan felt ashamed, the only reason Ivan was injured in the first place was because he was so weak and couldn¡¯t protect himself but it seemed they didn¡¯t know that and if Ivan didn¡¯t want them to know he couldn¡¯t tell them either in this condition. Subconsciously Jeyvan¡¯s fists tightened, Keldan looked at that and let a small smile come to his lips before he once more spoke ¡°We will let you to rest then, you won¡¯t receive any penalties from missing a few classes considering your condition so rest assured, once you have recovered someone will take you to your own quarters and you will be expected to attend classes.¡± They both turned to leave and Jeyvan was left alone to look at the ceiling. Sometime after a maid came in with a meal which Jeyvan was fed by hand, he at that time swore he would never again be this helpless again. ¡­ ¡°This will be your room for the rest of the year, you will be sharing it with three other students who were ordered to guide you around the academy and take you to your classes until you can do so yourself, if you will excuse me I have other tasks to attend to.¡± With a final nod the young man left Jeyvan standing in front of the room with a key, which he used to unlock the door to his room. It had been a week since he arrived at the academy, since the first time he had gotten no further visits from either Alexander or Keldan though he had finally recovered from the exhaustion and was now ready to begin classes, he only hoped that he wasn¡¯t too far behind compared to the rest and that his roommates would be friendly. Upon walking into the room he noticed it was quite small, on each side of the room a Bunker bed rest against the wall for the four students to use as they see fit. Opposite of the door was a large window that Jeyvan opened. He saw an amazing sight that he was sure he would not forget as he looked out of the window. He saw six black towers, the one in the middle of the others noticeably larger than the rest. He looked down, leaning his head out of the window and had a scare; he was so high up that he could barely see some small indistinguishable silhouettes walking below on the ground. He realized he, too, was on a tower. He raised his head up and inspected the sights more, he noticed that he could see water further into the distance; he soon remembered that the academy is supposed to be on an island. Even further he could see land once more and then tall grey mountains on all sides, forming a natural barrier around the island.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. He was fascinated as he watched and realized that the Academy was almost impregnable, first there were the giants grey mountains, then various castles dotted the land inside of them, then, there was a river with only three bridges that seemed heavily guarded leading into the actual academy. He came back into the room and inspected the room once more, three of the beds seemed to have been recently slept on so he went to the one that was untouched, the one being on the right side of the room, top side. He climbed the small stairs into the bed and laid down upon them, sleepiness soon caught up to him so he closed his eyes and dozed off. ¡­ He felt like something was poking him on the cheek so he slowly opened his eyes and saw a few inches above him a face. He screamed and jumped up, bumping his forehead with the nose of the unknown person above him. He landed back down on the bed and his hands went to his forehead, rubbing it as a moan of pain escaped his mouth. He heard a thud coming from the side and looked down the bed to see the unknown person laying on the floor, spread eagled with a slight trail of blood leading out of his nose, a loud groan escaping out of his mouth as his hands went to his nose. ¡°Not cool man, not cool at all.¡± Jeyvan inspected the individual; it was a child like him, probably twelve years old. As far as Jeyvan could see he was human like himself. The boy had Brown hair and green eyes with handsome features. ¡°Are you just going to keep staring or are you going to introduce yourself?¡± The boy grumbled as he rubbed his leaking nose, cleaning away the small trail of blood exiting out of it. ¡°Introduce myself? Why should i?¡± As soon as he asked that Jeyvan knew it was a stupid question, if he could get in it was obvious he had a key like himself, so it was almost obvious he was one of his three roommates. ¡°Are you one of those snotty nosed nobles or just dumb? Well, I guess I¡¯ll start. My name is Jerimiah Hecoll, I¡¯m twelve years old though I guess all new students are¡­ my mother is a maid and my father is a merchant. It¡¯s nice to finally meet you!¡± The boy said with a smile, showing his white teeth. Jeyvan finally confirmed he was one of the roommates so he relaxed his somewhat tense shoulders. ¡°What do you mean finally?¡± he asked after a bit Jeremiah looked at Jeyvan a bit weirdly before he recovered and spoke ¡°Well, you are a week late for classes and in case you didn¡¯t know that¡¯s really strange, it¡¯s common knowledge that you either arrive on time or wait until next year, unless of course, you have a very special status?¡± Jeremiah asked with gleaming eyes Jeyvan shook his head; he didn¡¯t think he had that much of an important status ¡°I don¡¯t think so, me and my guide only had some difficulties on the way so I guess that¡¯s why they let me rest for a bit.¡± Jeremiah once again looked weirdly at him before he recovered and told him ¡°You know, you still haven¡¯t told me who you are¡± Jeyvan opened his mouth to speak but before he could say anything there was the sound of the door opening and two other boys came into the room. The boys first looked at Jeremiah who was sitting on the floor and then at Jeyvan with curious expressions, they then again once more turned towards Jeremiah with questions on their faces ¡°Hey guys, right on time! The new roommate is finally here, we were just about to introduce ourselves.¡± Jeremiah gave them a grin and then turned back to Jeyvan who was looking at the new arrivals with curiosity One of the boys was tall and slender with blond hair and blue eyes, Jeyvan immediately noticed one of his most distinguishing features: he had pointy ears. Jeyvan realized he was an Elf, they mostly stay secluded on their forests but it was not that much of a surprise considering they were in the academy, where people from all races gathered. The other boy on the other hand was the most striking one, he had bright red skin and his ears were also pointy, though shorter than the elf¡¯s they were still different from a humans. He had black hair like Jeyvan¡¯s and his eyes were completely black with no iris. Jeyvan didn¡¯t know what the boy was but he guessed he would find out soon. Jeyvan opened his mouth to speak once more, this time uninterrupted ¡°My name is Jeyvan, I¡¯m twelve years old like the rest of you, and my father is nobleman from the empire. I was sent here to become a Knight so I can better serve my brothers when they succeed my father¡¯s post.¡± There was a bit of sadness on his voice when he spoke of his father which he himself felt, though he didn¡¯t know why. There was silence before the elf spoke ¡°I¡¯m assuming you already know Jeremiah so I will go ahead and introduce myself first, I am Andorias, son of Kael who is the great leader of the Alliance of the Longfoot. I was sent here to learn knowledge necessary to become a leader greater than my father, so I can lead my people to prosperity.¡± Jeyvan looked at Andorias with respect, he could understand a noble goal when he saw one. The next to talk was the red-skinned boy, who spoke in a quiet voice that Jeyvan had to exert himself to hear. ¡°I am a Devil¡± He spoke and Jeyvan gasped, Devils were known to be a race that loves destruction and chaos, and most were killed on sight to prevent complications on the future. ¡°I am Haector, member of the clan ******, it¡¯s fine if you can¡¯t pronounce it, most can¡¯t so I won¡¯t be offended. I am here because my mentor gave me a chance to prove myself, which I will gladly attempt to do.¡± Jeyvan looked at him and the tales he read about devils didn¡¯t seem to do him justice, he seemed to be just another person like himself so he decided to control his prejudices and spend some time to learn how he really is. ¡°Well, now that we know each other, let¡¯s have a tour around the tower, I¡¯m guessing you are starting to get hungry¡± As though waiting for the signal Jeyvan¡¯s stomach grumbled, he got down the bed and followed the others as they started exiting the room, his time in the tower wasn¡¯t proving to be that bad. The Authors Thoughts Unfortunately and to my shame, i will be dropping this novel.I do not think it is going in the direction i wanted to steer it towards so i will have to revize that. Also, with the current level of my english Grammar and Vocabulary i can''t describe or make you, the readers, vizualize the same things i do so i will have to work on developing those abilities.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. I have also noticed that with the current schedule it is interfering with my studies and life, that is another reason i will be dropping this Story. This was my first attempt at writing a story, i tried to give as much entertainment to others as the lovely stories on this website do, however i don''t think i have reached that goal. My humblest and most sincere appologies, the Author.