[Author's Note: First chapter of the day! I'l upload about another three or four chapters later on. Look forward to them!]

Chapter 15: Orphanage

During the somewhat bumpy ride on the horse carriage, Asura could see rows of wooden buildings on both sides of the stone pavement, with groups of people going in and out of the buildings, conversing harmoniously and laughing among themselves.

Most of them were dressed like commoners, compared to some of the luxuriously dressed men and women he had seen earlier outside the gates.

"Kid, is this your first time here?" The carriage driver asked. He had noticed Asura peeking out of the carriage curtain, looking amazed at the sights. "This is just one of the outer districts. If you're fortunate enough, you may be able to catch a glimpse of the inner districts." The driver started to smile dreamily.

"Inner districts?" Asura was starting to think of what he would find in the inner districts.

"Yeah... You see, the Capital is divided into three layers, according to our hiearchy. The 5 outer districts are mostly

where commoners and very low ranking nobles lives." The driver held up 3 fingers, patiently explaining to Asura.

"For the 3 inner districts, it's full of nobles and low ranking officials, and I've also heard from my friends that there are alot of fun places! Aahh... I'm so jealous..." Sighing, the talkative driver looked at Asura once again, this time with a more serious look.

"And then there's the innermost layer, the Palace! The only ones who can gain access to the Palace are high ranking officials and nobles. In the centre of the Palace is the Blackfire Castle, there the King and his royal family lives at!"

"I see... Then, is there a Warrior's Guild here?" Asura reached into his robe pockets, his hand brushing through the rolled up scrolls, and feeling the cold metal of the bronze rectangular token that Shane had given him. He hoped that there would be someone there that could help him identify the jade ring that he had taken from Doerba's body.

Asura had also decided that staying at the orphanage might not be a bad thing after all. It would be quite suspicious for a young child to stay all alone at the Warrior's Guild for an extended period of time. Having finally reached the City of Blackfire after days of travelling, he also wanted to savour the experiences that are to be had in this city.

"Huh? Why would you want to know about the Warrior's Guild?" The driver looked at the prebuscent boy incredulously.

Quickly thinking up of an excuse, Asura said, "Ah, it's because my goal is to become a powerful warrior!" raising both

his arms excitedly like a little boy. He felt a twinge of guilt at deceiving the driver, but it also wasn't entirely false.

Having witnessed the spectacular fight against Shane and the mysterious figure, he had decided when he was old enough to train to reach the 8th level as a Warrior, so that he will be able to understand how it feels like to be as strong as Shane.

"Ah, I see! Well, see that large temple over there? You definitely can't miss it" the driver pointed towards a particularly

large red temple that stood out from the clusters of oriental looking buildings. "If you want to go there, just ask for someone to bring you to District 4. The orphanage is at District 5, so it shouldn't take too long to walk to the Warrior's Guild."

"Thanks, mister!" Asura continued looking at the large temple

"Alright kid, we've arrived. You can come out now." The horse carriage jerked forwards before stopping.

Stepping out of the carriage, Asura could see a large mansion with a large garden that was about 30 acres big! At the garden, there were bands of children running about, waving their makeshift swords about.

So lively! Asura was expecting it to be somewhat gloomy, with shabbily dressed sulking childrens cursing their misfortune but instead, the orphans here were brimming with life, as if there wasn't a care about the harsh world.

As if reading Asura's thoughts, the driver said with reverence in his voice. "The Blackfire Orphanage was built at the King's command, to provide a chance for the orphans to start a new life, and to grow up into fine adults and help the Kingdom of Blackfire to prosper!"

"Now go and introduce yourself to them, they won't bite you. Take care of yourself, kid." Riding off in his horse carriage, the driver waved Asura goodbye.

"Thanks!" Asura clasped his hands with gratitude.

As Asura stepped into the mansion grounds, some of the children noticed him. Upon seeing that a new kid was joining them, their already radiant smiles shined even brighter.

One of the taller kids ran to the mansion, shouting at the top of his lungs.

"Nanny Lan!"

Chapter 16: Burning the Midnight Oil