Allen finally woke up from his short sleep. He couldn't sleep that much last night because of the thoughts that had raced through his head.
The upcoming duel with Nathaniel Rivertide. Even though Thomas had told him not to accept a duel if Nathaniel were to challenge him, Allen had done it anyway. He just couldn't stand by with how Nathaniel was treating his friends Thomas and Cecily.
Even though the village Allen came from was very small, something like that would've never happened. Everyone who lived there all knew each other and were all friendly. Even the ones who were not very talkative were at least somewhat kind. He couldn't believe that children from the "Great Elemental Families" could act this way.
Nathaniel's brother, Charles, simply has an arrogant mind and Allen can somewhat overlook this. He seems like the type who can change overtime, despite how he treats others.
However, Nathaniel himself is much different. He takes actions that only benefit him alone, with a very selfish mind. He doesn't care how anyone else feels and completely disregards others. This is someone Allen could not forgive, and he doesn't regret accepting Nathaniel's duel.
He decided to go check in on Thomas and Cecily to see how they were doing.. He first went over to Thomas' dorm, and then they went to go meet Cecily over at her dorm afterwards. Once the three were finally together, Allen finally spoke up.
"Hey, so are you both alright? I know that yesterday wasn't exactly the best day," Allen looked at both of them, concerned.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just… frustrated," Thomas admitted, clenching his fists a little.
"I'll- I'll be fine," Cecily smiled to reassure them, but Allen could tell she was lying. She still seemed a little off, but he was sure that she'd probably be okay later on.
"Allen, I know that you accepted his duel because of us and I appreciate that," Thomas brought up, and looked over at Allen. "But, I told you not to duel with him because I know what he would do if you did"
"He's going to try to humiliate me, right?," Allen asked. "That's what you told me, anyways"
"That's right," Thomas nodded. "For whatever reason, he feels better about himself when he overpowers other mages like that. If you're wanting to defeat him in a duel, you'll want to train even harder than you already are up until then"
"And that's exactly what I am going to do," Allen reassured him. "But since it's the weekend, why don't we all do something? All I've ever done each weekend is train, I want something new"
"You mean like, hangout somewhere?," Thomas asked, excited.
"Yeah, why don't we go somewhere in the city? I haven't seen it that much other than the first day I got here for the exam, and I'm sure it'll be a great way to get our minds off of things," Allen grinned.
"I- I don't mind," Cecily finally spoke up, her tone very passive. Although her words sounded like she didn't care, her body posture looked more like she definitely wanted to.
"I think that's a great idea!," Thomas raised his voice, motivated. "London is such a great city! They have all sorts of great shops that sell magical items, and they have all sorts of places to eat great food at!"
With Thomas overflowing with such excitement that basically could be felt by Allen and Cecily as well, Allen felt like they had a solid plan for the day.
"Well, why don't we head out then? I'm ready to see the great city of London!," Allen said as they started to walk towards the exit of the academy's grounds.
"Oh yes, oh yes, I am so ready for this!," Thomas practically started to dance as they walked. " I am about to eat all sorts of food that I can imagine! I am going to-"
"Okay, okay Tom, you can do that when we finally start walking around, alright? And maybe tone it down just a little," Allen laughed.
"Oh, this is nothing yet! I will-"
"Tom, you can do that later," Cecily reminded him.
"I- okay Lily," Thomas said as he admitted defeat.
Allen and Cecily proceeded to laugh, with Thomas soon joining in. They were finally in a better mood and back to being the good three friends they were.
Although one of the rules of the academy is that students are not permitted to leave the academy's premises at any time, there is an exception to this rule. Since classes are only held on weekdays and students have weekends off, students are free to leave off of the academy's grounds on the weekends, or if they have permission from a teacher or director.
While another rule of the academy is that you are required to wear your academy uniform at all times unless you are in the dorms, the exception to this rule is if you are off the academy's grounds you may wear what you like. Despite this exception to this rule, the trio of friends all wore their academy uniforms regardless.
Allen doesn't have too much to wear, as his other clothes are the ones he took with them on his journey to the Magical Knights Academy. They are rather simple clothes, not really clothes you'd probably wear out with friends or even on a date (or at least, that's what William told him). Allen figured Thomas and Cecily had their own clothes to wear, but shrugged the thought off as they probably have their own reasons to wear their academy uniforms even out in public.
They finally walked out of the gates of the academy, and began walking towards the central part of the city of London.
"This is going to be so great, I can't wait to get some food while we are out! I am starving!," Thomas shouted in excitement as the three started their walk.
"Are you sure we have enough to buy food? The cafeteria food is pretty good, but it's free since we're students. I don't really have much money unless you guys do," Allen shrugged.
"Oh, don't worry," Thomas assured him. "I have a bit of funds saved up, thank you very much"
"Not that much as you make it sound like," Cecily teased him.
"I- hey! I do have as much as what I sound like!," Thomas turned his head away, flustered.
"Sure you do," Allen pretended to agree with him.
As Thomas began to sulk in defeat, they all proceeded to laugh again. As they continued to talk, they finally began to reach the heart of the city.
London was a very much different city compared to the small, rural village Allen came from. It bustled with all sorts of people wandering around at all times, buildings everywhere you looked, vendors selling all sorts of items alike, and all of the great smells that came from the food shops. Allen couldn't wait to see what London had to offer.
But one of the key things that London had that his village didn't were the amount of mages that casually wandered about. Back in his village, Allen was the only one who had the capability to use magic. Here, they made up at least a fourth of the total population. It wasn't uncommon to see a mage in the city, and Allen thought this was amazing.
Not only were there mages casually wandering around the town, but the magical knights that Allen very much looked up to were very prevalent within the city. Vowing to keep order within England, these proud knights wandered around the city and kept an eye on the populus. They were what Allen wanted to be one day, and he admired them greatly.
In what seemed to be the center of the town, was a very grand and fancy water fountain. It was a light silver in color, and had four small pillars connected to each side of it. As Allen got closer, he noticed something was on each pillar.
The first one he saw had a symbol of air on it. Curious, Allen walked to the next one on the right. He saw an earth symbol. Figuring what was next, he walked to the next one on the right. Of course, it had a water symbol on it. He finally walked to the last one, expecting the fire symbol.
Instead, he found the last pillar that looked like it was cut in half. Its missing top piece seemed to be completely gone, nowhere to be found. He figured it must have been removed after the Triumvirate took power. Although the Anti-Fire Order was simply to ban fire magic and its use, when the Triumvirate took over they went even further and decided to kill any fire mage and any who would dare associate themselves with them. He had heard this from William, when he elaborated further on the subject.
"Ah, looking at the Mage's Fountain, I see," an unknown voice came from behind Allen.
Allen turned around to not find Thomas or Cecily, but instead a taller figure. He looked to be in his early years of adulthood, perhaps just a little over the age of twenty. He had very dark brown hair, with matching brown eyes. He seemed to have a natural smile on his face, but Allen wasn't entirely sure.
"I'm sorry, who are you?," Allen asked, confused.
"Ah, sorry for surprising you like that. My name's Philip Lycott, and I am a magical knight. Nice to meet you," he gave Allen a warm smile as he put out his hand for a handshake.
Allen had just noticed his outfit. It was one of the magical knight outfits he saw the other magical knights wearing as he entered the town. His was an earthly brown color, which meant he was an earth mage.
"N-nice to meet you," Allen shook his hand, nervous.
"You must be one of the academy's students, aren't you?," Philip asked, pointing to Allen's uniform. "An air mage, I see"
"That's correct," Allen responded. "I'm a first year at the academy. I'm training to become a magical knight".
"Well, good on you. Always glad to see another mage looking to become a magical knight. May I ask you what your current rank is? Just curious, is all," he nicely asked.
Despite Philip being a magical knight, the figures that Allen looked up to were in front of him, he got a bit nervous when he spoke with him. He was even more nervous to tell him his current rank, but in the end he decided to tell him anyway.
"I-, I'm an F rank…," Allen managed to get out.
For a moment, Philip looked at him very confused. He must have not expected to hear such a thing from Allen, as then he led out an unexpected laugh. Allen just stood in confusion and embarrassment.
"I'm sorry for laughing like that, I'm not laughing at you, I promise" Philip apologized. "It's just, I honestly wasn't expecting an air mage like yourself to be such a rank, nor was I expecting to meet someone of F rank in the first place"
"It's alright. I've gotten used to being an F rank," Allen awkwardly answered.
"Oh, don't say things like that. Judging by your character, I'd say you can reach D rank in no time!," he encouraged him.
"Thank you, but do you really think it's possible to rank up quickly?," Allen asked, curious. After all, he had an actual magical knight in front of him.
"Ah, a great question. Just keep training hard and you can get there in no time. Believe it or not, I started off as D rank when I attended the academy. In just four months I reached C rank, despite my magic basically being D rank," he explained.
"Really? You can rank up from D to C in just four months?," Allen asked, his eyes widening.
"Oh believe me, there were students that went from C to B in just under a few months. It just takes dedication!," he smiled.
"Thank you. Mind if I ask you what your rank is?," Allen looked at his uniform, but there didn't seem to be any pin or indicator of what rank he was.
"Division II, Rank C. Or just IIC for short," Philip said proudly as if he worked hard to get where he is now.
"Divisions?," Allen asked. This is the first time he's heard of that.
"Ah, you probably haven't learned about that yet. Division rank is based on your work as a magical knight, which is separate from your letter rank, as letter ranks are based on your magical ability," Philip explained.
"Ah, that makes sense," Allen said as he thought.
"Ah, don't worry too much about it, you're only in your first year. You still have this one and two more to go," Philip smiled reassuringly.
"That's if I even pass my first year," Allen sighed.
"What do you mean ? I'm sure if you work hard, you can get out of F rank in no time," Philip said, confused.
Allen explained to him the predicament he was in. The conditions he was given to be accepted into the academy.
"Oh, I see…," Philip said, lost in thought. "Never before in my years at the academy and the few as a magical knight have I heard of a student getting conditions such as those. You must be very lucky, or should I say, very unlucky," he laughed.
"Probably both," Allen nervously laughed.
"Well, back to the reason I originally walked up to talk to you. Curious about this pillar, eh?," he pointed towards the broken pillar on the fountain.
"The broken pillar…," Allen put his hand on top of it. "It's, or at least it was-"
"Shhh," Philip moved to whisper in Allen's ear. "Yes, it was the fire pillar. But unfortunately it's gone now, and it's considered a forbidden topic here"
Philip moved back away from him as Allen continued to inspect the pillar.
"This fountain is said to have been built in this city a long time ago, back when the Mage's Guild was prevalent in the mid 1300's," Philip explained while examining the fountain alongside Allen. "It is a historical symbol of us mages and our accomplishments. But due to events in the early 1500's, there has been an unfortunate divide between us mages since then…"
Allen continued to inspect the fountain. Despite it being old as Philip said it was, it somehow had a polished, new feel to it, as if it never aged. He thought about the other magic he had - his fire magic. Just because he was born with something he had no control over, he would be considered an enemy to all of England. One tiny slip of his magic, and Allen would be killed. He thought of the rest of the fire mages that must have lost their lives simply because they were born with fire magic.
"While this fountain provides us with a feeling of accomplishment and pride, it also serves us the feelings of regret and misfortune. Perhaps one day we may all reunite under one common principle - to study and grow our magic together," Philip spoke with a sad, but determined tone. Allen's admiration for him rose even higher.
"Sorry if I got a bit… serious sounding there," Philip apologized.
"No, it's alright. It's great to hear there are other mages out there who aren't the stuck up kind I've seen a lot lately," Allen laughed.
"Yeah, that's true. There's too many arrogant mages that care nothing but to better themselves and weaken others," Philip agreed.
"You sound a lot like William when you talk like that though," Allen laughed, as he thought of the things William has said to him over the years.
For a moment, Philip looked very confused.
"Wait, are you referring to William Windblade? The head director of the Academy right? You know him?," Philip asked, very curious.
"Uh, yeah I know him a little," Allen said realizing he just let it slip he personally knows the director.
I need to be more careful about that!, Allen scolded himself.
"Wow that's amazing, he's such an inspiration for me," Philip smiled.
"Williams… an inspiration for you?," Allen asked, curious. Since when was William an inspiration for others?
"Yes, of course. And along with many others in the Magical Knights Divisions. He's somewhat of a beacon of hope for us that things can change soon. He's helped many of us so much over the past few years before he became the head director at the academy," Philip explained, grinning.
Just what exactly has William been up to since he trained me those years ago?, Allen thought.
Allen was confused yet curious as to what William has done where he's so well known like that. Then again, he is a Windblade, so he would probably be well known to begin with.
"Wow I had no idea," Allen finally spoke up.
"I still remember all of what he did for us," Philip said, as he admired the Mage's Fountain.
While Allen was once again lost in thought, he realized the amount of time he had been talking to the magical knight. He remembered that he was here in London to be hanging out with Thomas and Cecily, not to be talking to others.
"Well, I believe we've talked enough. I'm sure you have plenty you need to do today anyways," Philip spoke up, almost like he knew that Allen had somewhere to be.
"Yeah, I'm here hanging out with a few of my friends from the academy. Question is, where did they go?," Allen said, realizing he lost track of them.
"Ah, could it be them over there? Those two are wearing academy uniforms," he pointed towards a crowd of people near one of the food shops. Allen noticed Thomas and Cecily in the mix. It looked like they were talking while looking over what appeared to be a menu posted outside the shop.
"That's them, thank you!," Allen said as he began to run over. Both of them waved goodbye to each other as Allen rushed over.
He just reached where Cecily and Thomas were, and sure enough they were ogling over the menu. Or, at least Thomas was.
"-does it have to be so expensive!," Thomas cried as Allen just got behind them.
"Well, it is one of the most famous food shops here in London," Cecily commented.
"Why does my hunger have to be so high yet my money amount is so low!," Thomas complained.
"Maybe if you stopped whining so much they may give you a discount," Cecily teased him followed by her laughter.
"A discount? It better be a 90% discount or the only thing I can get is a child sized noodle cup!," Thomas fell down in defeat as Cecily proceeded to giggle. "Come to think of it, where'd Allen go?"
"Right behind you," Cecily looked right at Allen and pointed over at him.
Thomas turned around in pure shock of Allen standing over him.
"I- wh-, Allen when did you get here!?," Thomas managed to stutter as he started to get up.
"I've been here since you were complaining about the food being expensive," Allen laughed.
"I-, wait you were here when I fell down in defeat!?!," Thomas started to freak out in fear.
"Yep, almost the whole time," Allen said as both him and Cecily began to laugh again.
"Oh no…," Thomas had a look like he was about to die on his face.
"Oh you don't have to be so freaked out about it, I might've done the same if I couldn't get my 'child sized noodle cup'!," Allen teased him.
"I-, you're still teasing me!," Thomas put his hands on his forehead as he began to fall into his small pit of despair once more.
Allen and Cecily proceeded to laugh once more, and once Thomas gained his composure he laughed as well. "Come to think of it, where'd you even go Allen?," Thomas asked, curious.
"Umm, long story…," Allen didn't know where to begin.
"Well, you can tell us later. We haven't even started our tour yet, have we?," Thomas grinned.
"Maybe if Thomas didn't whine about child size noodle cups the whole time we could've been on that tour already," Cecily giggled.
"Why is it always me?," Thomas asked out in embarrassment. He was in the middle of tease central, after all.
"Alright, I think that's enough teasing Thomas for now. Why don't we officially start this tour?," Allen asked, excited in anticipation of seeing the rest of the city he always wanted to see.
"Of course! Lily and I will lead the way!"