While entering the Mid Rings were quite easy, Yuriko and the twins found out that the Upper Ring was an entirely different affair. For one thing, the City Above the Mountain had walls ten paces high that encircled the area about a league across. As the Circuit Tram trundled up the switchback road, they could see tall towers peeking above the wall.

The perspective made it seem as though the walls were no more than a couple or so paces high and it was only when they arrived at the broad plateau did Yuriko realize how big they were. The road led directly to a tunnel but as soon as the Tram entered, it stopped and they were told to disembark.

Men and women wearing long blue coats with orange stripes approached the passengers. The harsh white light in the tunnel was from panels with runescript and it cast strange shadows on the cobblestones.

“Purpose of visit?” One of the men, a constable Yuriko thought, asked.

They weren’t wearing brown like the previous constable she’d spoken with, however, so maybe they weren’t constables. From the reactions of the other passengers, she noted that this was probably standard practice.

“Registration to the Academies,” Yuriko said, bringing out the tickets. The man inspected them quickly, nodded and then pointed to her side-blade.

“License to carry a blade?”

“Yes, sir.” She fished out a card from her backpack and showed it to the man.

“You’ll have to update this to include Rumiga City. First visit?” The man said after he channelled a bit of his Animus to read the card.

Yuriko nodded.

“Very well. Technically you’re not supposed to carry until you update your license but since you’re a first-year student and newly come from the countryside, I’ll let it slide. But make sure you get this done today.”

“Oh, thank you for your consideration.” Yuriko gave a grateful smile while the man coughed into his hand.

“You may go.”

She was the last one to board and as soon as she took her seat the Tram trundled off.

“Maybe you should have left your side-blade back at the inn,” Orrin said once they were out of the tunnel.

“Force of habit,” Yuriko answered idly. Back at Faron’s Crossing, carrying a weapon around town was the norm and hardly anyone checked licenses.

As soon as they passed the tunnel, they were greeted with the sight of spacious boulevards, lush flowering trees in the middle of the streets and along the sidewalks, and beautiful pink veined marble buildings.

The Circuit Tram gave them a little tour of the city until they arrived at the Academy waiting shed which was on the southern edge of the Upper Ring and within sight of the Chaos Channel’s gorge. The Academies, Agaza, Sharom, Aneurin, and Lunette, occupied its own district. Though it was the Season of Fire, the vacation break for the academies’ students, there was a smattering of boys and girls going through the gates. A wrought iron fence, which looked more ornamental than anything else, surrounded the district.

Yuriko and the twins disembarked once the Tram pulled up to the shed. The walkway to the gate was shaded by pink flowered trees that gave off a soothing though somewhat minty, fragrance. The gates were wide open so they just entered. They hesitated once they were inside, however, unsure of where to go.

“Excuse me, you’re blocking the path.”

“Oh, pardon us,” Yuriko said, stepping aside politely.

The cold voice came from a girl that looked to be of the same age, with honey blonde tresses that were curled stylishly and allowed to flow down the middle of her back. Her dark blue eyes narrowed when they met Yuriko’s. With a swish of her dark grey skirts, she and her entourage of a couple of girls, who were completely overshadowed by the lead girl’s presence, and five boys with physiques that rivalled Heron’s, walked past her.

The two girls didn’t give her a second glance but the boys stared at her, looking over their shoulders until they rounded a turn.

“Rude,” Orrin noted, “though quite pretty.”

“Not quite up to standard though,” Braden said.

“What are you talking about?” Yuriko asked.

“Nothing.”

Shaking her head, Yuriko followed the road, hoping it would lead to a concierge or a constable post. She ran across a student instead, a young man wearing a black long coat with a red stripe down the left side.

“Excuse me, where can we register for the Elite Trials?”

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The boy gaped at her for what must have been a minute until she repeated her question. His fair skin reddened like a sunset and he stammered, “Uh, just, uhm, just follow this road, turn left on the first intersection before you get the Great Reserve. The Holtzer Hall, the administration building is the first one you’ll see.”

“Thank you.”

She didn’t think the boy’s face could turn even redder, but it did. They followed the road, though how she would be able to tell if they were about to arrive at the Great Reserve, she didn’t know. It was a long walk before they reached an intersection, though the road had benches on either side, under the flower trees. Braden had to sit and rest a couple of times.

By the time they reached the administration building, it was past the lunch hour. They were directed to the student affairs office by the door guard and from there, received a schedule of examinations and a list of venues.

Yuriko eagerly looked for the Agaza trials and found that it was split into written and practical exams. The first one was set in three days, on the 54th, a couple of hours past dawn. She was to report at Vinze Hall, Room 213. The practicals would be on that same afternoon and the examinees would be led to a different, undisclosed venue.

She didn’t pay much attention to the other schedule, noting only that they were set on the 56th, 58th, and 60th.

“Let’s head back. I’m hungry.” Yuriko declared.

“I don’t think I could last all the way to the inn,” Orrin whined. “Let’s look for a cafe.”

“You can try Mama Blu’s down the Learner’s Pass. They serve a mean meatball pasta for lunch,” the receptionist suggested.

“Oh, thank you!” Yuriko said.

Learner’s Pass was, apparently, the name of the road from the campus’ main gate to the Central Reserve, a huge garden and field which was the common ground for all four academies.

“Turn towards the reserve, the green cabin’s the one you want.”

With her tummy gurgling and demanding food, the three of them followed the recommendation and soon found themselves in front of a small house. It wasn’t exactly green but the walls were covered in ivy leaves and the sign beside the door said Mama Blu’s. A small bell rang when Braden opened the door for her. The common room, which had a dozen tables, was almost full. Of couples.

“Er…” Yuriko hesitated but the mouthwatering smell coming from the open kitchen drew her like a moth to a flame.

“Welcome.” A young woman, not much older than Marron, Yuriko thought, curtsied to them. “Table for…three?”

“Yes, thank you,” Braden answered evenly.

They were led to a corner table and when they were seated, the waitress gave them the menu written on a small booklet. Whoever wrote it had a neat hand. She picked the meatball pasta, served with spiced butter bread, and a sweetened tea.

Orrin ordered a fillet of fish and grilled potatoes while Braden opted for a fresh garden salad and a pot roast. Each meal cost about fifteen silver pennies, nearly thrice what it cost in the inn. For all that, it was quite tasty so Yuriko didn’t have a complaint. Braden looked like he was having his teeth pulled off with every bite though.

Afterwards, Yuriko headed to the Imperial Bank, Rumiga City Branch. There was one in the Upper Ring and the Mid Rings. She chose this branch since when the school term starts, she would live in the dormitories on campus.

Orrin and Braden were led to one private chamber and Yuriko brought to another. She handed the clerk her identification card and waited.

“Your account is registered, Ms. Davar. Would you like to base your account in this branch or would you prefer to hold on to this?”

“I’ll shift here. I don’t want to accidentally lose the card.” Yuriko admitted.

“Very good.” The clerk nodded her understanding and pulled out a bunch of papers and a jade tablet. “Please sign here, here, and here. Then affix your Animus signature on the tablet.”

Half an hour later, she left the bank with a few more silver crowns in her pouch. The twins weren’t done yet but they agreed earlier that they had a bit more business in the branch and she should go ahead if she was done.

Midafternoon and she was back in the Shepherd’s Cross. With no company, she decided to stave off boredom by practising her Animus manipulation drills. She’d neglected the exercises ever since the finished inlaying her initial Facet but she had an inkling that the next inlays would require just as much, if not more, skill.

That evening, Kato handed her a leather-bound book.

“What’s this?”

“Should help you with the trials. Go ahead and study it.” He looked at her somewhat shiftily and added “Don’t bring that out of your room.”

Nodding solemnly but with a hint of trepidation, she didn’t want to cheat, she nevertheless cracked open the book. Well, it wasn’t a list of exam questions with answers but a small squad tactics manual.

Yuriko blinked down at the illustrations, both familiar and strange. Part of this was taught in school, while some were more advanced versions. She closed the book.

“Thanks, Kato,” she said drily.

He winked back and laughed.

The next couple of days, she stuck to her morning routine. She sprinted a short route around the block a couple of times and continued with callisthenics, weight training, agility, or flexibility exercises. She continued with sword dance practice with dual swords and the greatsword, while also continuing with spear and rifle-blade forms.

Afterwards, it was bath and breakfast, then hours of studying the manual before lunch, trying to commit the formations to memory. Before she knew it, three days had passed and it was the morning of the 54th.

She could barely eat breakfast through her nervousness. She only did a few stretches today before she got herself ready. She picked at her food while her heart pounded like a drum.

“Relax,” Kato advised. “You can do it.”

“Good luck, Yuri,” Orrin and Braden added.

Kato accompanied her to the academy. They left early enough that the guardsmen on the tunnel were yawning against their fists. On the Upper Ring, it was only a couple of leagues from the planar barrier.

She didn’t notice it in the previous days since she spent her mornings in the Mid Ring but when the Radiant Sun rose from the Chaos, its light painted the barrier with the colours of the rainbow. It only lasted for a few minutes but it steadied Yuriko’s frantically beating heart. Today was her only chance to move away from what Mum wanted her to do. She didn’t want to become a Spellweaver. She wanted to become a legionnaire.

Even if it means you kill people?

The question was a bolt out of the blue. The golden sun’s rays illuminated her body, filling her with warmth. Yet she suddenly felt cold inside.

‘No. I will decide if I will kill,’ she thought furiously, shaking her head hard enough that Kato grabbed her shoulder with concern.

“Nothing,” she muttered, when he shot her a questioning look.

The Tram let them out at the Academy District’s waiting shed. Dozens of thirteen-year-old kids were already there, all of them making their way down the Learner’s Pass. She took a fortifying breath and took the first step that would determine her fate.