Valour had accepted the old man's offer and they were heading off to the Capital.
"So... what's yer name?" Asked the Old man, bringing Valour back to reality.
"Valour, Valour Armsborn." Valour replied, staring off into the distance.
The old man, looking at this just sighed. This young man wasn't much of a talker; definitely not the type of a person you'd want on long trips.
"Ah, what a peculiar name; my name is Harry. Are you around from here?" Said the old man, trying to melt the ice.
Valour paused for a minute, to think of a bs answer obviously. "No, I come from North; I was travelling with my uncle. Well, I was accompanying him on a trade expedition. Unfortunately, we were attacked by some bandits near the borders of th Southern territory. My uncle died, whilist I managed to get away."
Hearing this Harry was...well, he had his suspicions. How easily a 13 year old reiterated something nothing short of anything but traumatic, without even having a change in his complexion.
Nonetheless, he didn't voice them out.
Valour, oblivious to all of this went back to staring off into the distance.
"How's the Capital?" This time Valour spoke, earning a surprised expression from Harry.
"It's magnificent, a land of opportunity. Every year thousands of new people come to settle here; for better facilities or jobs, everyone has their reasons." Harry said, with passion in his voice.
Valour didn't know much about the human domain; gathering information was essential for him. His mother only informed him of the people he should steer clear of.
On the top of the list were the 4 great families, and the Union. Although, his mother did tell him he would encounter them on way or the other since it was important to execute the plan.
But he wasn't going to have a head on encounter with them; Nor did he want to do that.
"Can you tell me about the Belmouth family?" He asked in a neutral voice.
Harry was taken back by this; how can someone in the human domain not know about the 4 great families.
Burying his surprise he said " They are one of the 4 great families of the human domain; they govern the affairs of the Southern territory and answer directly to the Union. The current headmaster, Sir. Magnus, is of 'SSS' rank and possesses a domain."
Valour, went into deep contemplation again, garnering a curious gaze from Valour.
Valour was thinking about the tribe he just massacred; the Belmouth family most likely had driven them out, as for what reason? He had no idea.
"Who are the people living outside of the Capital?" He asked the question, not wanting to waste his mental, playing detective.
Harry paused, a glint pain flashed across his eyes. "These people are the one's abandoned by the Belmouth family; they are completely left to survive on their own. There is no place in this world for the talentless." The old man said, forcing his voice.
'So after all, humans are not so different from us 'Monsters'. Valour said to himself, albeit he didn't disagree with the logic. Why waste resources on someone useless?
If he was in the place of the Belmouth family, he would have done the same.
"How long have you been living here for?" Valour asked the old man.
"Ehh, I don't really live here; my home is here,but I keep on travelling between territories, for my trade expeditions." The old man, Harry, replied.
"What would I need to do to get a job in the Capital?" Valour asked, he had to survive here for a year before heading of to the academy.
"You would need an Identity card and a work permit. It's gonna take you a year to get one of those." Harry said, carefully looking at Valour.
'Ah, this is not good.' Valour said in his head, albeit no emotion of painic or worry could be seen.
"But, ya don't gotta worry." Said the old man grinning, exposing his yellow teeth.
Valour didn't like where this was going, he didn't know much about humans. He knew they were unique and did stupid things just cuz of how they 'felt'.
Some were ready to give up their lives for strangers, some took the lives of their own kin. They truly were unpredictable creatures.
"There is a friend of mine working in the border control; I will put in a word for ya, he'd put you in the training program." The old man said, not even trying to hide his huge grin.
"What do you want in return?" Valour asked.
"Don't play dumb, I know you are from some great family. Just put in a good word for me." The old man said, his grin reaching his eyes.
'This hungry bastard.' he said in his head, again devoid of any emotions. Valour didn't even flinch or show any signs of surprise.
This intensified the eerie feeling in Harry. 'Why is he so calm, this is not normal, specially for a young lad like him.'
Harry thought he had just had a 'gotcha' moment. He was very convinced that Valour was some young master on the run.
"How did you find out?" Valour asked, knowing damn well he was feeding into Harry speculation of him being from a rich family.
Hearing this Harry puffed his chest, "I just have a knack for it. My sharp eyes allows me to read people like a open book." He said with pride.
'Clearly you're fucking eyes are faulty.' Valour didn't voice this out, after all, he could use this man.
"Black robe, mysterious aura, the same old cliche 'I got lost' story, you definitely ran from home and want to seek refuge here." Harry continued, showcasing his 'remarkable' observation skills.
Valour finally showed a tinge of surprise, this further solidified Harry's deduction.
'Hehe, jackpot.' Harry said in his head.
Well, Valour wasn't actually surprised. 'This fucking leech is so easy to fool.' he thought to give more into the bait.
He had found his ticket into the the Capital.
"I really didn't expect to be caught by someone, this far from home." Valour said, trying to sound as defeated as possible.
"Hehe, don't worry young master; I have got your back, as long as you don't forget this favour." Harry said, firmly believing his deduction.
"Well, I will be in your care then." Valour said, to which Harry nodded and looked ahead.
Valour followed suit, what welcomed him was large medival style walls, behind the walls stood a large castle , which most likely was the house of the Belmouth family.
Although the castle appeared to be close, in reality it wasn't. The castle was in the centre of the Capital, surrounded by houses and shops belonging to the inhabitants.
"Just follow my lead, don't speak unless asked to, and don't give any unnecessary information. Am I clear?" The old man said to Valour, closing in on the giant wall's gates.
Valour just nodded in approval and took his hood off; his black hair and scarlet eyes brought into the view.
The carriage arrived infront of the wall and was brought to a halt; two guards could be seen approaching the carriage.
They were clad in silver armour, held two long spears. 'Oh, they are about intermediate-veteran' Valour analysed.
He had expected more from the one of the powerhouses of the human domain.
'Well, I don't think anyone would be foolish enough to attack from the front gate.' he thought.
"Identify yourself and the purpose of your visit ." One of the guards said in a professional voice.
"Oi, have you forgotten your best bud?" Harry asked, a bit disappointed.
The second guard stepped in "Oh, it's Harry. Coming back from one of your trade expeditions?" He asked, looking at the carriage.
"Mhmm, that's right; got a big fish this time. Guild master would be pleased." Harry said, pride in his voice.
The guard's gaze then lingered on Valour. "Who is this lad?" The second guard inquired.
"He is a friend's son; I have him accompanying me on his father's wish." Harry said without drawing any suspicions.
The guard just nodded, feeling empathetic. Teenagers sure are a pain in the ass to deal with.
"What's your name kid?" He asked, his speech directed at Valour.
"My name is Arthur...just Arthur." Valour said, coming up with a bs name.
The guard looked at him intently, it was not common for someone to not have a last name.
"He has a history; he doesn't like his family." Harry said, melting the guard's suspicions.
"We will grant him temporary entry; he needs to get his legal status updated at the office." The first guard said, who was quiet for somewhile now.
"Yeah, Immediately." Harry responded and sat on the carriage; Valour following in pursuit.
The gates creaked opened, exposing medieval like architecture. Stalls set up on the sides of the stone road.
Children running around, shopkeepers shouting in an attempt to attract customers.
"We will head to the Administrator office first; I will pose you as my nephew, just agree with whatever I say." Harry whispererd, not wanting anyone to hear him.
Valour nodded in response and went back to observing the humans.
"They look so happy." Valour said, only if he had emotions, one would hear a tinge of jealousy in his voice.
"Well, yeah? These people are refugees, they aren't awakened but due to having connections or family members residing in the Capital they were able to live here. Not many of us are that lucky though." Harry said, his voice filled with sadness.
"What about you? How did you become a citizen?" Valour asked.
What followed his question was silence, Harry didn't answer his question.
The rest of the ride was awkward, well atleast for Harry. Valour hadn't pryed further, but he didn't make any small talk.
Thankfully, they arrived at the office soon.
Harry got off his carriage and paid a silver coin to the man standing besides them. The man took the coin and hopped on the carriage; he went towards the backside of the building, where the parking was.
The building was completely made out of stone, it was 4 stories high.
"Just follow my lead." Harry said and they both entered.
.....
Sorry for no uploads the last few days. It's back to normal now. I was out of city due to matters partaining to the death of a relative. I am back now and will try to cover up for the missed days by a mass release as soon as I can. Thank you for your patience
- Author