Dead eyes stared out the narrow window of the carriage.
The bags beneath them looked like they belonged to a person who had experienced 80 year of hardship... yet those eyes held something strange —youth. Not the carefree kind, but the sharp, stubborn kind that refused to die.
Inside these eyes lived hope.
A dangerous hope
The kind a lost man clung to in the middle of a desert.
The kind that whispered maybe even when reason screamed never.
The wheels of the carriage rumbled against the dusty road, kicking up several storms of dust into the chilly air. Both sides of the road were surrounded by trees stripped bare of their leaves, their branches twisted and lifeless, autumn reminder the cold of winter was closing in.
Inside me, a silent war raged.
'is this be my chance to escape this reality? or is life preparing another cruel joke for me?'.
I sighed.
My eyes burned, part exhaustion and part excitement. Today is the day I awaken... or at least tried to and to me this was a do or die affair.
I had spent the entire night staring at the moon, cursing it for crawling across the sky so slowly, I can only assume it delighted in my suffering.
Nevertheless the sun came out of hiding eventually, it painted the sky in golden bliss, and for the first time in my life, dawn looked breathtaking or maybe my perseption was skewed by my hope
The beauty of daybreak did nothing to ease my exhaustion, though. The sleepless night had been torture and my body demanded it's due. My head throbbed, my limbs felt heavy, yet my heart refused to slow.
For the upteenth time I look out the window
And I saw it...
Stone walls rose in the distance, stretching from one end of the horizon to the other. From afar, they didn't seem all that tall
'We are here'
My breath shortened.
A thin line of uncertainty drew across my forehead. My heartbeat thundered against my ribs, frantic, desperate... as if it were trying to escape.
I became so tensed that I failed to appreciate the walls properly.
It took 30 minutes more before the carriage reached them.
Only then did I understand their true scale.
The walls did not just stretch wide. it towered upward that it looked like a monument to the sky itself. so grand I guessed it could brush the clouds. A colossal monument of stone and power
'how was something like this even built?'
I shoved the question aside and glanced around.
Carriages crowded the entrance.
Three gates stood embedded in the wall... two massive ones and a smaller, neglected third.
The largest gate gleamed with polished white marble. A grand entrance, It had the largest opening. Yet strangely few people trying to enter through there. I counted less than 50. One look at these carriages was enough to understand why they had such a grand entrance...
Luxury
Gold trims. Enchanted wheels. Silken curtains.
That must be the nobles gate.
The middle gate was smaller, yet still eligant. Commoners entered through here, mostly rickety carriages with the occasional luxury merchant trying to blend in with the nobles.
I hopped off my carriage and my figure is finally revealed. I approached the driver and dropped 50 bronze coins on his outstretched hand
"Thank you" I said
My voice cracked, I had not spoken a word since I boarded.
I joined the line for the third gate.
The third gate had a torn, worn down entrance. It was clearly for the absolute bottom of society.
The poor,
The forgotten,
The people like me.
No effort had been made to make the gate appear beautiful. It was made of heavy metal, cracked and dented, as if it had endured decades of abuse
In this world, commoners had always awakened the worst talents while the nobles were creatures made to actualize legendary feats. This was because the more talent there is in a lineage, the higher the chance of descendants of that lineage awakening powerful abilities.
Although commoners rarely awaken, there always made the longest line, each desperately hoping to create a miracle. The myth of the little lizard who became a dragon yet most were in for pill of disappointment.
Hope was cruel like that.
I walked to the end of the line.
Fifty minutes passed before I stood close enough to see the officers controlling the flow.
Four people remained ahead of me.
A man stood ahead holding the hand of a young girl who I assumed to be his daughter. She bounced lightly on her feet, her eyes sparkling with excitement. She carried the unmistakable air of someone raised gently, protected from the harshness of the world even with her father limited means.
I almost envied her.
My train of thoughts was broken.
"NO MONEY, NO ENTRY!! GET OUT OF HERE, BRAT."
I looked sideways just in time to see a guard, shove a boy my age, sixteen., out of the line.
I quickly checked my bag
A hundred bronze coins lay there
This was my life's wealth
At the gates, there were four guards. Three in front stood guard barking orders, clearly lackies. The fourth, clearly the boss, lounges in the shade, leg crossed, eyes closed as if unconcerned with the commotion right in front of him
"You bastards" the boy shouted "The academy doesn't charge for entry, you are just extorting us"
"Shut up" said the guard barked
" What… you think I don't know the other gates don't pay?... Just wait till I become a master, I'll show you all"
Inside i silently applauded the boy.
Outwardly I stayed quiet.
I would not dare cause a scene.
'F*cking nobles' I cursed silently
The boy rained colourful insults at the guards
"The academy is not a place for scum like you, you would most likely awaken a useless skill" another guard said
"That's if you don't die because you can't control your tongue" a third guard added a threat hoping to silence the boy
"Forty bronze coins, pay up!!"
Only now did I realize it was my turn.
I had been too focused on the boy. The father and daughter duo that stood before me were already making their way through the gate.
Why did he sound so rude though, probably think I can't afford it
I looked down at myself, faded black T-shirt, dirty tattered jean, a crossbag slung loosely across my shoulder.
'fair enough'
I reached into the bag, pulled out 80 bronze coins and handed it to him.
"For me and the boy"
I pointed at the kid who was still glaring at the guard.
he stared at me, stunned.
The guard scrowlled, somehow this put a smug grin on my face
"What's your name boy"
"Damien sir"
"You seem like a good lad"the guard said coldly "I'll give you a piece of advice, mind your business if you plan to live long"
I hope I haven't just signed my death warrent
"I mean no disrespect sir" I said calmly "a man ordained by the academy surely has no reason to bother with a brat like him. You must be one of the strongest awakened around" I smilled with my crooked teeth hoping flattery would do the trick
"That brat disrespected us, his entry cost sixty bronze coins" the boss finally spoke
He either did not believe I possess that much or just wanted to end the noise and return to relaxing on the job
I reached into my bag and brought out my last 20 shillings and handed it over.
The guards clearly didn't like this. The had hoped to squeeze more trouble out of us us.
Just as one opened his mouth to speak, footstep echoed
A man in casual clothing walking through the gates
"Good morning master Green" they shouted in unison as if rehearsed.
The boss also opened his eyes and greeted the newly arrived man
"Good morning boys, what seems to be the problem. I could hear your commotion from afar"
Green did not look threatening in the least, quite frankly he looked like one of those handsome men in the slums who were interested in unsuspecting kids except he looked to neat to have ever stepped in the slums.
The guards immediately straightened, their demonic expressions replaced with polite smiles.
"Welcome to Avalon Academy," Green said, his gaze briefly lingering on me.
For reasons I couldn't explain, a chill ran down my spine.
I knew better than to be fooled. Green handsomeness and casual attitude might be a facade.