Ian slept throughout most of the train ride. He missed the sun rising on the horizon and he missed seeing the royal capital coming into view in the distance.
Thankfully, once the train got closer to the royal capital, Kevin and Ellie woke him up so he could see the view. They hadn't slept all night, spending most of their time talking and looking at the scenery.
Once Ian woke up, he groggily rubbed his eyes before looking out the window. When he finally turned to look outside, his eyes widened.
In the distance, he saw a massive city surrounded by layers of walls. It looked larger than he thought. The walls had to be at least ten stories tall which surrounded the entire city. However, the city was so massive that Ian believed it would take him more than a day to explore it in its entirety.
Ellie quickly gathered Ian's and Kevin's attention before pulling out a map she bought at the train station. The map was of the entire royal capital. Based on the map, the city was separated into sections. There was the agricultural section which took up around 80 percent of the outer walls. The other twenty percent was a military training ground.
Within the walls, the city was split into five main sections. The residential areas, the business sections, the religious territory, the academy grounds, and the royal family domain.
Some of these sections blended into each other like the residential areas and business sections as well as the religious territory and the royal family domain.
The only section that didn't blend into anything was the academy grounds. This section of the city was placed on the opposite side of the city from the royal family domain and religious territory.
The academy ground took up a fairly large area of the city since it had multiple facilities, each used to teach students different subjects and aspects of life.
The reason for it being placed on the opposite side of the city was to show how the academy was its own entity, one that was not influenced by the royal family or the church. Even if the royal family and the nobles had control and authority in the city, they had little to no effect on the academy.
It didn't matter how much power or money someone had, they could not influence the academy in their favor. The only way to succeed there was by using one's own intelligence and skill. While inside the academy grounds, not even the king could throw his weight around.
As for the religious territory and the royal family's domain, those two were placed on the north side of the city. The religious territory contained the primary holy cathedral with a few other holy landmarks and buildings.
The royal family's domain was of similar size to the religious territory. It contained the castle where the royal family lived. Around the castle was a massive beautifully taken-care-of garden. Beyond the garden were the castle walls. From there, the religious territory would be to the right of the castle while the barracks and other military buildings and grounds would be to the left.
Seeing the map and how everything was laid out, Ian, Ellie, and Kevin were planning to walk around and see all the different attractions in the city. They had a week before the entrance ceremony so they had plenty of time to do as they pleased. However, they all had to go to the academy to get registered so they could be assigned their rooms.
Once the train entered the city walls, everyone looked out their windows to see all of the different buildings. The streets were filled with different people, young and old. There were so many stores and restaurants on every street the train passed.
Once the train reached the city train station, everyone gathered their stuff before getting off. Everyone stared in awe at the city train station due to it being way bigger than the last one. But that wasn't the only thing. The station was also packed with people.
The group had to stick together so they wouldn't get lost. Thankfully, Frida stood out because of her height so everyone just followed her.
Once everyone made it outside the station, they were all met by the view of a very populated and thriving city. Everywhere they looked there was something new. Children were playing together, the elderly were talking with one another, and everyone else was happily going about their day.
Liam looked at the scene and said, "It's good to be back. I've missed this place."
"I'm sure this place has missed you. Ever since the last attack on the village 6 years ago, you haven't been back." Frida said.
Liam turned to Frida and said, "That was a terrible time for our little village. I had to stay and help. But now I'm back to where it all started."
Liam looked at Frida lovingly. He grabbed her hand and began walking with her.
Ellie looked at them and happily said, "They're meant for each other. I hope I can have what they have one day."
Emmett walked up next to Ellie, holding Zoey's hand, and said, "Don't worry, you'll eventually get to experience your love story too." Afterwards, Emmett and Zoey began walking in the direction Liam and Frida were walking. Everyone followed soon after.
After walking for a while, the group finally arrived at the academy gates. Beyond that point were the academy grounds and the start of everyone's next chapter in life.
Once they all entered the academy grounds, Frida turned to Liam and said, "I'm sorry honey but I have to leave you for a bit. I was told to help some of the new staff once I got back."
"Don't worry about it, Frida. I'll be fine. I can manage on my own for a while," Liam said caringly.
Frida gave Liam a big smile before leaning down to kiss him. Afterwards, she walked off.
Liam watched as Frida walked away. Once she was out of view, he turned to everyone else and said, "Alright gang, we'll be heading into the main building to get you all fully registered so you can all get your rooms. I'll be sticking around that area for a while if you need me. But I'll be leaving once everyone starts heading to their rooms. It's probably going to be packed so you've been warned."
No one said anything. They all just silently nodded their heads and followed Liam.
Once the group got closer to the main building, they all saw many people walking around. They could tell most of them were students like them. Everyone looked unique but no one looked out of place.
Near the entrance of the building, there was a sign that said, "Registration Booth this way."
The group entered the building and was met by a crowd of people lined up to get fully registered. At this point, Liam said, "Okay, this is where I split off from you all. I'll be in this general area talking to some old friends. You all should get in line."
No one argued with him so they all got in line. Around 50 people were waiting in line when they entered the building. Thankfully, the line seems to be moving fast. The group of 14 got in line and waited for their turn.
Daren and his group got in line before everyone else. They were followed up by the four random people who also got into the academy. Finally, Ian and his group got in line.
Emmett and Zoey were in the front followed by Ellie and Kevin. And at the very end was Ian. However, there were still some students walking in to get registered so he wasn't going to be the last person.
After waiting for a while, the group finally made it to the front of the line. Emmett stepped forward to the booth and gave his information. Soon, the person behind the booth flipped through a book and looked for Emmett's name. Once they found it, the person behind the booth stood up and grabbed a key with a number tag off the wall behind them. They gave Emmett the key alongside a folder.
"Your room will be in the second male dormitory building located on the west side," the person behind the desk said.
After Emmett said thanks, he stepped off to the side and waited for everyone else. One by one, they all went up to the desk. When it was Ian's turn, he walked up to the booth.
On the other side of the booth was a fairly young woman. She was wearing glasses and had her black hair up in a ponytail. She looked at Ian and said, "Hello, can I have your name please?"
Ian felt a bit nervous but he said, "My name is Ian, Ian Crest."
The young woman looked at Ian in surprise and said, "Well, it seems like a third member of the Crest family has made it in. To believe the retired commander Erik would end up having three kids."
The young woman paused for a moment and looked at Ian again before saying, "Although, you look different compared to the other two."
Ian gave her a nervous laugh and said, "I spend a lot of time outside. That's why I look tan."
"If you say so," the woman said as she stood up and grabbed a key off the wall. She then handed it to Ian.
"Your room will be in the same building as those two," she said while pointing at Kevin and Emmett. "Your key has its room number on the tag."
She then grabbed a folder from a box and gave it to Ian. "This is a folder filled with information about the school and all of its facilities. Have a fantastic time and welcome to Zen Academy."
Ian said his thanks to the woman before joining the rest of the group. They all walked outside of the main building but were met by a huge crowd gathering near the front. They all wondered what was going on so they all decided to take a look.