The South-Land Royal Capital.
Being the epicenter of the entire Southland, it is a very popular city brimming with life and all kinds of activities. With a massive area of 2.5 square kilometers in a roughly square shape, it easily holds over 20 million residents of different statuses.
Among its various tourist sites included the Royal Castle where the royal family stays and the Royal Army Headquarters which, being the pride of this military kingdom, most notably its Royal Knights divisions. The military branch born from the legendary Monarchs.
Because it's such an important city, the process on gaining entry into the capital is also complicated, especially to commoners.
At one of the 8 capital gates surrounding the capital in the middle of the afternoon…
A small crowd of people all delivering different goods in and out of the city are being screened by the capital's security.
"Next!" A guard shouted as the caravan he had finished checking, moves on while the next one takes its place.
Some distance away, there is an outpost with 8 different stations where assigned workers provide passes for the newcomers all organized in a long line.
A lady moves towards one of these lines with her eyes fixed in her handbag which she restlessly searches through.
"Where is it?" She mumbled until she finds some the cash bills hidden among her makeup. She lets out a sigh of relief and lowers her bag… just as a scrawny man snatches it out of her hands and runs.
"No! Help! Thief!"
Two guards patrolling close-by, catches this action and immediately chase the thief.
"Seriously? That's the third one today." The male guard said.
"Stop!" The female guard shouted.
The thief glances at the guards behind him and smirks as his legs morph into the strong legs of a deer. With a single dash, his speed skyrockets and the gap between him and his pursuers widen.
"Damn it." The male guard grumbled as the thief gets more out of reach… just as a muscular forearm collides with the thief's face.
With his intense speed and the immobile obstacle, the thief goes into a vertical spin and drops with a lifeless thud on the ground.
The guards stop once they get to the figure who plucks the bag from the unconscious thief and offers it to them.
"Hey you go, officers." The figure said to them with a deep voice, but the guards are left speechless once they eyes set on the figure's features...
Now standing at 5'8", the 16-year-old Dom, wearing a sleeveless blue-black hoodie and jeans with old but still cool looking sneakers, stares at the guard's shocked faces in confusion.
He awkwardly rubs the long-dried scar on his left cheek as he tries to assess the reason for their shock while the guards try to assess why a clearly young teen had the all-rounded physique of a highly trained adult soldier.
That's when Dom notices the line move, with his spot now taken by someone else.
"Shit." He grumbled as he quickly gives the bag to the male guard and rushes to take back his spot.
"Something tells me that boy's here to join the knights." The male guard said as he stares at Dom already arguing with someone on the line before turning to look at the motionless thief on the ground.
"Seriously. These new recruits are getting more monstrous every year." The male guard added before noticing that the female guard has not taken her eyes off of Dom.
The male guard narrows his eyes at her before widening them in realization. "Are you… blushing?" He asked and she looks away, embarrassed. "Are you kidding me? He looks even younger than my own kid."
The female guard loudly clears her throat. "Let's just get this guy into custody." She said as she conjures a puff of pink clouds which lifts the thief's body.
"Oh no. We have to talk about this pedophile thing you've got going." The male guard teased.
"Shut up." She grumbled as she storms away with the thief while the male guard laughs as he goes to return the bag to the waiting victim.
About 15 minutes later…
Dom finds himself in the front of the line where a tired looking man looks at him from top to bottom.
"You mean to tell me that your folks let a kid like you travel all the way here on your own?" The man asked as he writes on a paper.
"Unfortunately." Dom said, a sigh escaping his lips as he recalls a memory just before his three-day journey from home.
< "Listen, Dom. I only had enough saved up for one trip to the Capital so you're just going to have to go alone. Don't worry about it. Just stay away from sketchy looking men or women and you should be fine... Mostly."
Pops, now with more gray hair, said with a cocky smile with his signature cigarette in his mouth.>
"Welcome to the Royal Capital, kid." The man said as he holds up the pass and Dom smiles as he takes it.
After searching his body and bags for any suspicious items, Dom is finally allowed though the gates and into the city.
"Whoa." Dom said, his eyes widen with excitement as he drops his bags to stare at the beautiful city before him.
The sounds of horses trotting, people walking and conversing overwhelm his hearing which is used to more calm nature of his hometown.
He takes a deep breath, taking in the different new smells while his eyes glance between the several tall buildings as far as his sight goes.
"I'm finally here." He said as he removes his hood, revealing his slick temp fade haircut and excited grin.
A couple minutes later, Dom is strolling on the sidewalk, his eyes scanning through the different beautiful spectacles around him before stopping to look the letter in his hand.
A letter with the emblem, RKA, the Royal Knight Academy branded boldly on it.
Dom quickly checks in with security, drops his bags with those of other new recruits and takes his time to explore the lavish military campus before the Welcome ceremony in just an hour's time...
As Dom wanders around, taking in the tall, sturdy and beautifully architected structures, he also notices several young mages socializing around him.
A couple more minutes of exploring leads Dom to a proud Monumental dedicated to the Monarchs. He looks at the different large sculptures of each Monarch with their respective names, titles and powers displayed on a large plate.
His eyes then fall on a familiar fire mage. A smile quickly forms on his face. It's been 6 long years, but that man's face is still as vivid as ever in his memory.
A sudden cough from behind pulls Dom out of his thoughts. He turns to find a pompous looking mage in expensive formal clothes sneering at him.
"Move aside, commoner." The obnoxious boy said with an even less intimidating looking lackey by his side.
Dom's smile instantly fades.
"Wait." The boy said and Dom stops to look at him. "Didn't your family teach you any manners? You're supposed to bow to a person of higher status than you."
Dom raises a brow. "Bro. I don't even know who you are."
The boy clenches his fists, his nostrils flared as if he'd been insulted.
"Have you been living under a rock?" The lackey said as he steps in between them, his expression just as vexed. "He's Roger Reginald, the third son of the Reginald Noble Family." He added with a somewhat grand gesture. "They're one of the highest rated nobles in the entire Southland."
"And I don't care." Dom said with a dismissive wave, making Roger's brow twitch. "Look. I just got here after a long trip and I'm tired. I just want to want to attend this ceremony and sleep. We can deal with… whatever the hell this is, later. Okay? Uh…"
"Roger Reginald." Roger grumbled, his blood now practically boiling.
Dom snaps his fingers. "Yeah, that. So… bye." He turns to walk away again.
"You lowly peasant." Roger said, his tone now menacing as he raises his hand which oozes with green mana.
Dom stops; his expression now defensive as he senses the incoming threat. He clenches his fist, his body already primed to defend himself… just as a hand grabs Roger's wrist.
"Unhand me."
Dom turns to find a new face standing beside Roger. The strict looking teen with ivory colored skin and silky black hair in a curtain fringe hairstyle, stares directly at Roger
Dom's eyes fall a little lower, noting the teen's simple yet formal looking attire with a clean white shirt tucked into his black suit pants with cover shoes.
"It's against the rules to fight on unauthorized grounds." The teen said with a commanding yet young voice.
Roger grunts loudly, his eyes widening as he tries but fails to escape the boy's grip.
Dom smirks at the sight while the lackey glares at the teen.
"Do you want to get arrested for attacking a noble? Let him go!" The lackey declared only to flinch under the teen's violet glowing eyes.
"As long as he understands that rules must be followed." The teen replied as he squeezes hard enough to make Roger wince.
"I understand. Now unhand me." Roger said, his earlier aggression faded in the face of the pain.
The teen stares at Roger momentarily before letting go.
Roger hisses as he rubs his already sore wrist with his lackey flocking around him in concern.
Dom folds his arms with an impressed smile.
That's when the teen finally looks at Dom, his expression still stern. "And you…"
"Me?" Dom asked.
"Even though you didn't initiate the fight, you instigated it. You're just at fault." The teen said.
An awkward moment of silence hangs over them… only to be broken by the loud slap of Dom's hand against his forehead.
"A stickler for rules. Not fun." Dom mumbled with a severely disappointed look on his face.
The teen raises a brow at Dom in confusion…
"New recruits!" They all suddenly turn to find a uniformed soldier pointing at them. "Quit chatting and join the others!"
It was then that the boys realized that the other new recruits are heading to the Welcome ceremony.
With an awkward but still tense glare at each other, they join the crowd, making sure to stay away from each other as much as possible…