The transport pierced the morning haze, engines singing like thunder made of light. Through the viewing glass, Imperial City spread across the horizon—silver spires and gold-veined domes rising from a sea of mist. Airships drifted between them like luminous whales, and banners of every noble house fluttered in the sun.
Trisha pressed her palm against the glass. "It's beautiful… but it doesn't feel like home."
Eghosa said nothing. She could feel the city's weight even before they landed—its elegance, its arrogance, its quiet promise that power lived here. To those born within these walls, she and the others were little more than scholarship children trespassing in the halls of bloodlines.
The ship settled onto a marble platform lined with crimson banners. Waiting to receive them were students dressed in immaculate uniforms trimmed with gold. Their crests bore the emblems of old houses—sword, spear, axe, and shield. Every gaze they gave the newcomers was courteous… and cold.
A young man stepped forward, his voice smooth but sharp.
"Welcome to Imperial City. I am Lord Cairn Velros, prefect of the Imperial Academy. I trust your journey from Candor was… enlightening?"
Trisha whispered under her breath, "He talks like he's allergic to air."
Eghosa almost laughed, but her instincts told her to hold it in. She met Cairn's eyes instead—silver meeting brown—and bowed slightly.
"It was long," she said. "And it's about to get longer."
He smiled without warmth. "Good. The Empire favors endurance."
Behind him, the bells of the city began to toll—deep, resonant, echoing across towers like the heartbeat of an empire that never sleeps.
Eghosa felt the sound in her chest. The long journey ahead pressed on her mind.
"Trisha," she whispered, "this is it. We're here."
Slitah suddenly spoke up. "Wait—did you say Velros? That means you're the direct son of the king!"
Cairn laughed. "King? Hardly. I'm the son of the viscount. Though, I appreciate your imagination. You'll soon learn how big the world truly is."
Velibrum snorted, taking it as an insult. "Calling us small, are you?"
Leonard had been quiet so far, but his eyes were sharp. "Why should I speak? I'm observing my opponents. In front of us stands the prefect of the most elite academy on this planet."
"Well," Velibrum countered, "we also have Trisha—she's a prefect too."
Leonard smirked. "Yes, but it's one thing to be prefect of the University of Candor, and another to lead within the Imperial Academy. We may be ranked second, but there's a great gap between the two."
"I disagree," Slitah cut in. "You forget we have the strongest combatant on the planet in our ranks."
Leonard chuckled darkly. "The bastard isn't here, is he? And which of us can boast of better teachers than those in this academy?"
"That's enough!" Trisha snapped. Her voice was quiet but sharp as glass. "You can belittle me if you want, Leonard, but you will not insult our teachers. They've sacrificed everything—money, comfort, reputation—to give us the education we have. Or do you need me to remind you of the families we come from? What this opportunity means for us?"
Her words silenced the group. Even Slitah looked down, ashamed.
Trisha took a breath, calming herself. The altercation had been brief, spoken in hushed tones, but it carried weight.
Cairn walked ahead, seemingly oblivious to their argument. But if one looked closely, his lips were curled in a subtle grin. He enjoyed watching the lowborn quarrel. Yet as his thoughts wandered, a memory surfaced—something bitter—and for a brief moment, he stumbled.
Eghosa smirked. "See that, Trisha? Even nobles can fall."
Her words lightened the group's tension, though the unease lingered.
---
"Sir Cairn," Eghosa asked after a moment, "what of our dean?"
"Ah, Dean Ancelot? He's likely delayed by the city officers, recording your entry and purpose. Formalities."
They reached a broad avenue bordered by trees of silver leaves. At its end stood a breathtaking structure of white stone and gold-trimmed glass.
"Well," Cairn said, gesturing to it, "this is where we part ways. Here is the villa prepared for your stay until the competition begins."
The five students gasped.
"This—this is where we'll stay?" Trisha breathed.
"Yes," Cairn said with mild amusement. "Consider it the Empire's hospitality toward its aspiring champions."
Eghosa stared up at the structure, almost certain she was dreaming. "I thought this was the royal castle itself…"
Cairn chuckled. "No. Merely a residence."
Then his expression turned curious. "Oh, by the way, I recall one of your school's more… notable students. A brute, I think?"
Trisha's head snapped up. "A what?" she said sharply.
Even Cairn flinched at her tone.
Leonard quickly stepped in. "You must mean Theran."
"Ah, yes, that one," Cairn said smoothly. "I remember him—a fierce fighter. A shame he isn't here."
"First of all," Trisha said, her voice trembling with restrained anger, "Theran is no brute. He's not here because he trusts us to do what he would've done—win."
Cairn frowned. "You overstep, girl."
"I agree with her," Eghosa said suddenly. "You spoke rudely of Theran. And you said you didn't remember his name, yet I recall he's beaten you three times in the Pillar of Combat competitions. You must have a short memory, Lord Velros."
Cairn's face hardened, his pride stung by the lowborn's precision. For a moment, silence. Then, in the measured calm only a noble could muster, he said, "I'll meet you in the arena."
He turned on his heel and walked away—shoulders straight, chin high, saving what was left of his pride.
Velibrum exhaled. "Phew. For a second there, I thought he'd have us arrested."
Leonard smirked. "You read too much fiction. For all their pride, nobles here are ruled by etiquette. Even their insults come dressed in gold."
"The competition hasn't even started," Eghosa said quietly, "and we've already made an enemy."
"You mistake," Trisha said with a grin. "They were always the competition."
---
As they stepped into the villa, their awe swallowed their nerves. Chandeliers of floating crystals hovered above a marble floor that rippled like water.
Trisha ran ahead, her voice echoing through the hall. "Let's live like royalty for a week—before we have to fight them for real!"