"Recruits! Everyone, out!"
The military supervisor escorting the twenty-five children to the Academy yelled, as one after another, the young recruits began climbing out of the battered military carriage that had finally come to a stop before the enormous Imperial Academy gates.
"Grab your belongings and stay together. Nobody wanders off until our documents are approved."
Mary gently lifted Stacy’s bag before passing it towards her sister, then grabbed her own belongings and stepped onto the road alongside the remaining recruits.
After spending the better part of the morning watching the Imperial Academy grow steadily larger in the distance, Mary finally found herself standing directly beneath its towering outer walls, and somehow, the enormous structure appeared even more intimidating from this close.
Carriages stretched along the road in both directions, while guards dressed in the colours of different noble families stood beside their masters’ transports as Academy officials moved between them, inspecting documents and confirming the identities of every student attempting to enter.
"Twenty-five?"
One of the Academy guards asked as their supervisor approached.
"Twenty-five."
The man confirmed before retrieving a thick folder from inside the carriage.
"All military recommendations from this year’s selection."
"Which divisions?"
"Seven different divisions. Everything is listed in there, including their recommendation letters, military records and identification documents."
The guard accepted the folder before handing it towards another official sitting behind a small desk beside the entrance.
"Line them up. We’ll verify the names individually."
"You heard him."
Their supervisor called over his shoulder.
"Single line, military formation. Make yourselves look somewhat respectable for once."
The recruits quickly obeyed, with Mary taking her position beside Stacy while the Academy official opened the folder and began comparing the documents against a separate admission register.
For several minutes, everything proceeded without issue.
Then the sound of approaching hooves caused Mary to glance towards the road.
A beautiful carriage decorated with polished silver ornaments slowed beside them, pulled by four magnificent horses whose coats appeared to have been brushed until they practically reflected the afternoon sunlight.
Several armed escorts rode alongside it wearing matching armour bearing the crest of whichever noble family they served.
Compared to the battered military transport parked beside them, the difference was embarrassing.
The carriage window suddenly opened.
A blond boy who appeared roughly Mary’s age leaned his head outside, his expensive clothing and carefully styled hair immediately identifying him as another noble student.
He looked towards the military carriage.
Then towards the twenty-five recruits standing beside it.
His nose wrinkled.
"Why are all these stinky commoners standing around the entrance?"
The young noble complained.
"Tell them to move. They’re blocking the road."
For several seconds, nobody responded.
Then one of the military recruits quietly scoffed.
Another clenched his fists.
Mary felt Stacy stiffen beside her, as when she glanced towards her sister, she discovered that Stacy was staring directly towards the noble boy with perhaps the ugliest expression among all twenty-five of them.
The noble noticed none of it.
One of his escorts, however, did.
"What are you looking at?"
The man demanded as he turned his horse towards them.
Stacy continued staring.
"I’m looking at someone who apparently thinks the entire road belongs to him."
She replied.
"Stacy."
Mary immediately warned.
However, the envoy had already heard her.
His expression darkened as his hand moved towards the sword hanging from his waist.
"You military brats should learn where you stand before that uniform makes you overconfident."
He muttered.
"You might have earned yourselves admission into the Imperial Academy, but I’m a Flame Rank Ascendant. I could cut you down where you stand before any of you managed to take three steps towards me."
Several recruits immediately stiffened.
The envoy looked directly towards Stacy.
"So if I were you, girl, I’d stop glaring at my Young Lord and learn some respect before you discover how little that Academy recommendation protects you outside those gates."
Stacy’s jaw tightened.
"Go ahead and try—"
Mary immediately grabbed her shoulder.
"Stacy."
This time, her voice carried considerably more warning.
Her sister glanced towards her.
"He’s threatening us."
"And you’re about to start a fight with a Flame Rank Ascendant before we’ve even entered the Academy."
Mary whispered.
"That’s exactly why he thinks he can talk like that."
"Maybe. But you’re still not winning."
Stacy stared at her for several seconds before reluctantly looking away.
The envoy gave a satisfied snort.
"At least one of you has some sense."
Their supervisor finally turned around.
"Enough."
He said sharply, as his gaze moved across the twenty-five recruits.
"You spent the past year learning military discipline, so I suggest you remember some of it today. Until those documents are approved and you pass through those gates, every one of you remains under my supervision."
He glanced briefly towards Stacy.
"Once you’re inside, you can make whatever enemies you want. Until then, keep your mouths shut."
Stacy exhaled through her nose.
"Yes, sir."
The noble carriage eventually received permission to proceed, as the blond boy disappeared back inside without sparing them another glance.
"Fucking prick..."
Stacy muttered once it had moved beyond hearing distance.
A boy behind them chuckled.
"Academy hasn’t even started and Stacy already nearly got herself killed, whoever wagered 20 bronze that she will be expelled within 6 months must be smiling right now."
"He started it."
Stacy responded, as the boy immediately raised both hands, earning several quiet laughs from the surrounding recruits.
Even Mary smiled slightly, as by now it seemed like everyone in their convoy understood just how free-tongued Stacy was.
Their supervisor shook his head before returning his attention towards the Academy official, who continued checking their documents as though confrontations between noble entourages and incoming students happened frequently enough that he could no longer be bothered acknowledging them.
Then suddenly, someone near the back of their line looked upward.
"Holy shit..."
The boy muttered.
"What now?"
Stacy asked.
"Look!"
He pointed towards the sky.
"There’s a fucking flying carriage!"
Almost everyone immediately raised their heads.
Mary’s eyes widened.
Far above the crowded road, several magnificent white creatures were descending through the clouds, their enormous feathered wings spreading outward as sunlight reflected from the silver armour covering their bodies.
At first, Mary thought they were enormous birds.
Then she realized they were horses.
Six enormous white Pegasi flew through the sky in perfect formation, each connected through beautiful silver harnesses towards a carriage unlike anything Mary had seen throughout their entire journey.
Its body was covered in polished gold and white metal, with enormous windows lining either side while a large family crest decorated its doors.
Several mounted escorts accompanied the carriage through the air, each riding atop another winged beast while maintaining a disciplined formation around whoever travelled within.
"Those are Pegasi..."
One recruit whispered.
"No shit."
Another replied.
"I’ve never actually seen one before."
"I’ve never seen anything fly except birds."
Even Stacy seemed to have forgotten the confrontation from moments earlier.
"That thing must cost more than our entire military camp."
She muttered.
"Probably more than everyone inside our military camp earns in their entire lives."
Mary replied quietly.
The Pegasi gradually descended towards the Imperial Academy.
Mary naturally expected the carriage to land outside the entrance and undergo the same inspection as everyone else.
It did not.
The formation simply flew over them.
Over the waiting carriages.
Over the Academy guards.
And then directly over the enormous defensive walls themselves.
Nobody ordered them to stop.
No official demanded documents.
No guards appeared remotely concerned that an unidentified flying carriage had just crossed directly into Academy grounds.
They simply watched it pass.
Mary stared upward.
Only moments earlier, the blond noble’s carriage had seemed like the very definition of wealth to her, yet even he had been forced to wait outside the gates alongside everyone else until the Academy guards granted him permission to enter.
Whoever sat inside that golden carriage apparently belonged to an entirely different class.
"Who the hell was that?"
Stacy muttered, watching the Pegasi carry the carriage deeper into the Academy, as a boy standing several places behind them turned towards her to answer.
"You seriously don’t know?"
Stacy glanced back.
"Should I?"
The boy pointed towards the large crest visible upon the rear of the departing carriage.
"That’s House Dawnriver."
Several recruits immediately turned towards him.
Mary did as well.
"I grew up in the eastern territories."
The boy explained.
"I’ve seen that crest hanging above administrative buildings since I was old enough to walk. There’s no mistaking it."
Stacy’s expression changed.
"Wait..."
She looked towards the disappearing carriage again.
"House Dawnriver as in the Great Ducal House?"
"The very same."
The boy nodded.
"Masters of the East and one of the Four Great Ducal Houses of the Valdrak Empire."
Stacy’s jaw dropped slightly.
"You’re telling me someone from one of the Four Great Houses just flew over us?"
"Unless somebody stole their crest and somehow acquired six Imperial-bred Pegasi, yeah."
"Who do you think is inside?"
Another recruit asked.
The eastern boy shrugged.
"Probably someone from the main family if they’re travelling like that. I doubt even the Dawnrivers hand out flying golden carriages to distant cousins."
"Must be nice..."
Stacy muttered.
"Imagine being so rich that even your horses can fly."
Several recruits laughed.
Mary remained quiet.
Even within the military, where most of their lives revolved around training and following orders, the Four Great Ducal Houses were names everyone eventually heard.
They controlled enormous portions of the Valdrak Empire, possessed armies of their own and commanded wealth that someone raised within Ashfang Village could scarcely comprehend.
Until now, however, those families had always seemed incredibly distant to Mary.
They were names belonging to maps and conversations between officers, people who existed somewhere far above the world she occupied.
Yet someone belonging to one of those families had just passed directly over her head.
Mary continued watching the distant golden carriage until it finally disappeared behind the enormous Academy buildings.
For some reason, she found herself wondering who was sitting inside.
A Duke’s son?
Perhaps his daughter?
Maybe several members of the Dawnriver family had arrived together.
Whatever the answer, there was a strange excitement in knowing that she might actually find out.
After all, regardless of how different their lives had been until today, for the next three years they would all be studying within the same Imperial Academy.
And although Mary had absolutely no idea when that opportunity might come, she already found herself curious about meeting whoever had arrived within the flying carriage of House Dawnriver.