***Hyperion Empire***

***Imperial Island***

The Granitas Imperial island was a natural phenomenon of it’s own. Spanning more than a hundred thousand square miles, it was a uniquely formed island inside a continent. The Skyll River surrounded the island. Beginning from northern mountains inside the Rinehart province, the water flowed two ways north and eventually converged back to one, heading directly to the ocean.

The vast majority of the landmass contained farmland, with only a few towns, fortresses, and villages in between the eight Imperial bridges and the Hyperion Capital. The entire island itself was completely self-sustaining, relying on it’s own lands farms to support the full population. Each year the land would have an agricultural surplus, either trading some of that surplus to other provinces and factions, or storing it in emergency preparation.

This self-sufficiency, alongside the natural water barrier created a rather unintended isolationist effect from Hyperion subjects living outside of the Imperial island. To amend this issue, the first Emperor Granitas split his territory equally amongst his subjects. Each Great Noble House controlled their own province, ruling under only two stipulations. The Houses were to never amass a military force stronger than the Imperial Army, and were to swear eternal fealty to the Granitas House.

Each province ruled and operated differently based on the preferences of their House nobility. Separate cultural, economic, religious, and military practices created a rather frictional internal system for power. The stipulations set by the first Hyperion Emperor that controlled the Houses were rather loose, leaving loopholes exploitable by factions with various agendas. Humans and beastkin were species that always pushed for change, pushed for “freedom”, and a desire for power often bridged freedom and revolution.

During his time at the Kumio’s, Max learned that foundation which held the Empire together was weak, and relied on mutual trust. Mutual trust was hardly seen in the noble arena, and very easy to lose. Over eighty years ago, the reigning Emperor Granitas recognized this weakness. The houses were rivals for power, and as time went on they would only further push each other. There was little the Emperor could do without taking the freedoms of his noble subjects, so he created the Academy.

On the surface, the Academy worked to create beneficial connections and provide a superior education to superior children. Though the reality of the situation was the Academy worked for multiple purposes. Max knew the Academy was just a stage for nobles to amass alliances, settle grudges, and flaunt their abilities. The institute also worked to both protect and support the public image of the Imperial Family. Majority of the student population was made up of talented commoners, giving chances for otherwise held-back children to go further in life.

Public opinion of the Academy was high, and every family throughout the entire Empire desired for their children to attend. Perhaps for the commoners it did truly provide them with better life opportunities, but it also left them vulnerable. Their actions could gather the attention of nobles, be it good or bad. Even so, Max thought differently from the public, he could recognize the Academy for what it truly represented.

It was an arena. An arena for outside nobility, both minor and Great, to assert themselves in the capital, battling each other for power. It was a game. A game every child with political influence was required to partake in. The tri-alliance had prepared Max and his friends for the next four years. For they were part of the only generation in history to have more than three House children in the same year. The timing couldn’t be more extraordinary and significant.

Max sighed. He honestly didn’t give a fuck about noble politics. His family was secure and his sister would have to be the one to deal with the politics when she became Head. Max had a couple goals of his own, and none of them required the Academy’s aid. He just needed to fulfill his duty and graduate, after that, he wanted to learn everything he could about Draconian enchanting. He would bring his friends along, and explore the mysteries of an ancient art long recognized as lost.

“My ass hurts so much!” Daniel said atop his horse with exasperation. Max peeked towards his new friend and grinned. After he got over his initial nervousness around the younger boy, Daniel had really started to open up. In fact, he almost never closed his mouth. Yet, Max didn’t really mind. Daniel was a good distraction from the endless traveling on horseback.

Adrios on Max’s head also released a tired shriek. They had been only travelling for almost two days, but after camping past the bridge, Drake elected to keep moving through the next night to still make it a day early. Max activated his eyes and peered forward, past the farmland and trees that spotted the area. He remarked that the convoy was approaching another town, just barely in his view.

Drake’s horse led the convoy, and he rode right in front of both the boys. “There are four main gates into the capital, one at each cardinal direction. We can either enter the northern or western one.” He then looked back at the boys. “I suggest the northern gate. Trading with Imir usually keeps the western one busy. But we can go to either if you’d like.”

The two shrugged at the older man and Max replied tiredly. “Lead the way.” He then studied the convoy in the air and behind them. “I think everyone just want’s to get this done.”

The Knight Captain laughed at the boy’s response. “Oh these sods have been through much worse than a little slow travel. The hardest part about this mission is how boring it is, yet the lord’s will still be treating us for the work.”

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The wall of Hyperios was the most magnificent structure Max had ever seen. If the city truly took one-fifth of the entire islands landmass, like his father claimed, then it would definitely be the biggest structure he had ever seen also. Unlike Soltain City’s walls, these were white, and had had towers evenly incremented every mile or so. Guards patrolled the wall in force. They wore silver armor similar to Soltain knights, yet with less protection and violet lined tabards. The wall expanded far beyond his eyesight, and Max guessed that thousands of guards worked simultaneously to keep it secure.

Daniel, noticing his friends stupefied gaze, looked rather pleased. “I was the same way when I first saw it. Wait until you see the castle, the Imperial Family seems to be real fans of the white.” He then used his hands to cover a glare reflecting off the wall. “A bit too bright if you ask me.”

They were now at the northern gate, and all the Sky Knights were forced to land to gain entry. The now four dozen knights stood in formation around their young noble lords, presenting a far more organized and unified escort than hours before arrival. Approaching the gate, Max grumbled under his breath. He could hardly see anything around him, and would have preferred to look around some more.

The northern road leading into the city was also paved in white, and easily fit the convoy and then some. Max couldn’t believe how active the streets were, and observed there was a lot of space between buildings also. Trees were grouped and straightened on both sides of the roads, and randomly spotted between the structures encompassing the area. This part of the city had clearly been pre-planned, and Max couldn’t help but wonder how long construction took to completion.

Looking towards the south, Max questioned his escort. “How long to the Academy?”

Drake kept his eyes forward and replied. “The Academy is towards the center of the city, but north of the Imperial Palace. We will be staying in lodging prepared for us by your father beforehand. When the sun rises, we will escort you both to the institute quickly and then be on our way. If I have it my way, you two will be the first ones there.”

Max didn’t really like that plan. “Why so early?”

“‘Cause I am the Captain and I want too. Though really I just don’t want to deal with other noble escorts and I want to go home. The gates will be open till midday for new arrivals, but I’ll have you there before most teachers.”

Max knew Drake well enough to recognize that he was serious. The knight was a stubborn man, so the boy sought room to compromise, “Then I would like to sleep earlier. Do you know when we should reach the lodgings?”

Drake wistfully shrugged. “If we pick up the pace we could be there in a few hours.” He then looked back towards his subordinates, spurring on his own horse to move quicker. “Let’s move you piss-rats! The young lord wants to hurry!”

Leaving Max rather cross at his own phrasing, Drake sped off in front of the now fast moving convoy. The knights passing Max were giving him dirty looks, and he felt that was a bit unjustified considering he was trying to make a deal with the Captain. “Back to the front ‘young lord’, we wouldn’t want you to miss your beauty sleep.” Daniel said with amusement.

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Max was not a fan of having to attend the Academy. Looking past the political games and drama, he had already been taught the necessities to live to his station. As he put on the rather conspicuous white and green jacket which completed his first year uniform, the boy couldn’t help but frown. Wearing black leather bound shoes, black cloth pants, a white long collared shirt, and a long coattail jacket made him feel nauseous. The only comfort the boy could take was the black and gold insignia stitched into his jacket's sleeves. Atleast he wasn’t dressed exactly like every male student in the school.

Sword on his back and griffin on his head, the boy marched out in the early morning to the carriage he and Daniel would be taking. It was still dark outside, and Max could feel dampness in the air as he moved. The carriage sat on the streets in front of him, lamps burning brightly and illuminating the two men sitting in the drivers seats. Drake sat with his sword in his lap and his eyes closed, wearing the same full body plate armor from the day before. The driver was dressed nicely, and probably came alongside whoever his father contacted to rent a carriage for the day.

Max went to open the door but found himself beat to it by the same nicely dressed driver. “Allow me milord.” The man said as he cleared the way for the boy. Max wordlessly nodded, he was to tired to address formalities or greetings with the new face. Climbing up and stepping inside, Max found a sleeping Daniel, wearing the same exact clothes save a white and violet jacket over his green.

Daniel was smart enough to bring a blanket with him, and was currently draped over the front seats inside the carriage. Max elected to imitate the older boy, and using the miniature griffin as a head pillow, laid across the back seats. The carriage then abruptly moved forward, and the boys inside settled themselves to sleep.

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Max awoke to the sound of a trumpet or horn of some sort. Shooting up, he brushed his disheveled hair aside and grabbed his griffin partner. Daniel even fell to the floor. Both boys were clearly surprised by the sudden noise. Max rubbed his eyes and Daniel reached for the carriage door.

The boys practically fell over themselves walking out of the carriage, and noticed it was barely past sunrise. Max turned his eyes to the eight men and women holding bugles, standing side by side in front of what he could only assume to be the Academy gates. He then moved his gaze to the Knight Captain, a man now wide awake and with a smile on his face.

Max spit on the ground. “What in the seven hells was that!?”

“They never did something like that before. Gods give me strength to make it through this day.” Daniel said, lightly slapping his own cheeks to help wake himself up.

All of the people at the gate were dressed in white, silver, and violet. One man, taller than the rest, stepped forward while the gates opened. “We welcome the young nobles to the Imperial Academy. You have arrived quite early as we expect to be receiving students for most of the day. I ask that you hand over all weapons as they are not permitted on the campus premises.”

Max’s mood was rapidly deteriorating, yet the man continued. “Your weapons will go straight to your dorms, and will not be allowed to leave unless you have permission to do so. Partners and pets…” the man looked at Adrios. “Are allowed on the campus so long they do not interfere with other students educations.”

The boy practically threw his greatsword to the Academy official. First, he had to wake up at some ungodly hour to get here. Then, he is blasted awake from his temporarily slumber by some monkeys with instruments. And now, the same monkeys were telling him what he could and could not do. He was tired, hungry, and wanted to be anywhere from here.

“Is that it?” Max hissed.

“You are to report to the First Auditorium Building. There you will be given further instructions and class schedules. The orientation speech will be given when all students arrive.” The man replied.

Daniel grabbed his friend and the boys entered the massive gates. Max was hardly in a mood to resist as he let his friend drag him down the Academy street. He glanced around to notice well trimmed green fields and intricate yet large white buildings. Trees were few and far between, though the ones he could see easily towered above the land.

“Bye you runts! Have a good time!” Drake yelled. His boisterous laugh could be heard throughout the area. Daniel gave a lazy wave while Max ignored the older man, guessing the Captain to somehow be mixed up in his current troubles. As soon as they were out of sight, Daniel consoled his younger friend.

“The way I see it we have a lot of time before we need to be in the auditorium. I say we go get something to eat. I know just the place.”

The boys walked for a while to yet another carefully designed building. The windows were quite prominent from the outside, and Max made the assumption the school used a lot of natural light to illuminate these oversized buildings. Walking in silence, Daniel opened the large wooden double doors and the boys entered.

“Haha I knew it!” Daniel said with glee. He then looked back at Max and explained. “This is Weyton Hall, one of the cafeterias throughout the Academy which always have food. I’m sure you realize truly how big the school actually is, so they have a couple food halls so students can walk less. It’s cool because each of the halls could hold the entire student population so there’s room for everyone.”

Weyton Hall was just one enormous room filled with long tables spanning across the stone floor. Max remarked on his observation about the windows, as the sunlight coming from the east was already brightening the room. The boys could smell cooked meat in the air, and Adrios immediately began scraping at his head in excitement. Surely his hunger was a cause for his current mood, and Max couldn’t wait to relieve it.

Grinning from ear to ear, Max replied. “Daniel now you’ve done it. Adrios is never going to leave this place.”

Daniel laughed and prepared himself food from the massive buffet style table along the eastern wall. There were a few servers moving around the table, yet the entire area was practically devoid of life. Max grabbed a plate and grabbed as much meat as he could fit. They both sat next to each other and began eating, Adrios sitting on the table and stealing the younger boy’s food.

Max moved his eyes to the other tables, only spotting a few older men and women who appeared to be amongst Academy staff. For the halls size and the amount of food available, it was practically empty. Max had to whisper to his friend to avoid his voice from echoing through the room.

“I understand that were early, but shouldn’t there be more teachers or something?”

The boys dispensed with manners around each other. Daniel replied with plenty of food in his mouth and didn’t even look towards the younger boy as he ate. “I’m pretty sure there preparing for the rush of students. We were supposed to go straight to the first auditorium after all. Bet you there's already some other kids there.”

Max chugged down a glass of water after clearing his plate and nodded his head. After eating, he was already feeling better. Picking up his partner, he stood on his feet. “Then we better get going. I’d like to get some good seats away from everyone else.”

Daniel shook his head. “They seat us by year. It’s not assigned but they make us sit with the other kids our age. I’ll be close to the front while they’ll probably have you towards the back. In fact, we probably won’t see much of each other because our classes are so different.”

The young Soltain sighed. Remembering one of his grandfather’s favorite sayings, he replied. “It is what it is. Let’s just get this over with.”

The duo arrived at the first auditorium building much later than planned. Daniel chose to show Max around the parts of campus he knew, and there were now plenty of students milling into the building when they reached their original destination. There were plated guards at the door, and a large man with a brown mustache keenly observing the students entering. One student had what Max recognized to be a Rinehart insignia on his shoulder, yet was black-haired over the blonde hair of Rinehart’s Max had been taught of. As soon as the boy passed the doors, the large mustache man’s voice boomed through the area.

“Presenting Ronald Stormhart the Third of House Stormhart, vassal nobility to the Great House Rinehart!” The black haired boy smirked and puffed out his chest with pride. He continued further inside until he blended with the crowd of students already in the auditorium. The boy’s jacket was the same as Daniel’s, marking that they were in the same year. Max frowned when he realised what was happening here. The students without insignias on their jackets continued unhindered, yet the man had knowledge of that random noble child.

That guy is actually planning on yelling all the noble’s names!

The man was now looking at both boys with renewed vigor, clear recognition of their identities in his eyes. Daniel patted his friend on the back. “Yeah it’s kind of weird, but you need to understand this poor sod’s position. Although there are only five total noble families that makeup our province, I’m pretty sure Rinehart and Ryzalon alone have upwards of dozens. This man will lose his voice by midday.”

Max got a chuckle out of that, now he felt bad for the doorman. Both boys walked through the doorway together, deciding beforehand to ignore the announcer's voice and find their seating areas. Max could swear the man’s voice was far louder than before as students were now turning to look at the pair.

“Presenting Maximus Soltain the Second of House Soltain, second heir to the Great House Soltain alongside Daniel Endel of House Endel, vassal nobility to the Great House Soltain!”

Daniel hardly could contain his amusement at the large man’s words. “That's quite a mouthful. I’ll now give the doorman one more hour until he loses his voice.”

Almost all eyes in the hall were on the boys. Max recorded various gazes of caution, curiosity, respect, hostility, and even reverence amongst the crowd. With their entrance they had everyone’s attention, be it good or bad. Daniel stopped near an aisle and nudged the younger boy.

Sticking out his hand, he said, “Well this is where we part ways. I’ll see you around and perhaps we could train together or something now and then.”

Max grabbed his hand and they smiled. “Until next time then. I would love to compare swordplay in the future.”

The older boy nodded and quickly pat Adrios on Max’s head. He then turned and walked deeper into the auditorium, towards the large stage at the end of the chamber. Max released a deep breath, and examined his surroundings. For it’s relative size and the amount of seats, the auditorium was still largely empty.

Deciding to use this waiting period to rest his eyes, Max took a seat in the first-year’s area and sat down. He could feel the gazes of other students on him, but remarked that there were far less than before. Max was rather satisfied with his choice of seating, his back was against the wall and he was as far away from the front entrance as possible. The doorman was loud, but there was no way he was loud enough to distract Max from rest all the way over there. Adrios settled in his lap and closed his eyes, electing on napping also.

Max slowly drifted off, his head bobbing up and down as he tried to tune out the constant noise of talking students and staff inside the auditorium. He had just had a large meal, and was sure he could get at least a little sleep. Despite his attempts, he could still hear the voice of the doorman, as he moved between a semi-state of consciousness.

“...of House Thanatos, third heir to the Great House Thanatos!”

“Clark Rinehart of House Rinehart, first…”

“Reann Arshan of House Arshan, second heir…”

“Zane Ryzalon the Third of House…”

There was one proclamation that temporarily broke Max out of his dazed state, yet he quickly fell back to sleep after. “Presenting Arthur Satele of House Satele, first heir to the Great House Satele!”

“...of House Fafnir, first heir to the Great House Fafnir!”

Max felt someone sit next to him, yet hardly paid any attention as the auditorium was starting to fill up. His eyes were fighting him, and Max allowed his eyelids the victory as he ignored the presences around him and went back to his dreams.

“Kana Kumio of House Kumio, first heir…”

Max was now gone. Head back against his seat as his jacket was now laid over his eyes, blocking the lights and sounds. The boy was truly and utterly asleep, completely unaffected by the waves of voices inside the auditorium. He had no defense as a small finger purposely flicked his forehead and broke him from his slumber. His jacket was pulled off of him, and Max could barely comprehend why he experienced a sharp pain which was rapidly fading away.

Assessing his surroundings, the first thing he noticed was a black-haired boy seated next to him also holding his own head. The next thing he registered was that Adrios was not on him, and quickly panicked. His eyes widened as he heard the rather fiery voice of a girl standing over him, most likely the person who hurt him.

“Wake up you lazy bums! Don’t make me tell Aunty Sophia on how you two are already sleeping on the first day of school! I expected it from Arthur but Max!? I can’t handle two sloths.”

Max eyes slowly trailed the girl's body as he moved his gaze upwards. A lot of white and silver like him, except she was wearing a black skirt and black thigh socks. A white tipped crimson tail shot out from the back of her skirt, and her long crimson hair almost reached the end of her top. She was taller than he remembered her, or it at least seemed that way from his bent over state on the chair in front of her.

His eyes stopped on her own, blue on golden, and then Max realized something.

“Why are you holding my partner like he’s yours? Also, I am pretty sure that is not your snake!”

Adrios was nestled into her arms like he had known her forever, and there was a small black and green snake wrapped around her neck. She also had the attention of all the students in the area, though was unbothered by the gazes.

Kana smirked down at Max. “Well that's probably because they like me better, besides you know what they say about marriage...What’s yours is mine and all that.”

Max was about to retort when the booming voice of a new doorman resounded through the hall.

“Presenting Juliet Granitas of House Granitas, second heir to the Great Granitas House and Imperial Princess of the Hyperion Empire!”