From their position in the sky, they could see just how big the capital really was, but even at their altitude, they did not surpass the forest canopy. That is, until they arrived on the royal grounds, the highest level of the city. Smaller trees, yet colorful trees decorated the area along with several different types of flora and fauna.

Heaven's Sequoia was now the only tree that still towered over them while they were in the air, its thick branches covering the city. The palace beneath it was probably the place with the most sun in all of Asura from what she had seen. The canopy practically curved itself to let the sun through…

It was a short, but memorable flight that none of them would ever forget. The dragons began their descent, and soon they could hear cheers and clapping noises from below. She looked down and was shocked at the amount of people- had the whole capital come just to see this ceremony?!

Rain and the other dragons placed the gondola down before landing beside them. All eyes were on them. Even people's familiars were looking at them with keen interest. Caroline felt sweat slide down her back from her nervousness. How was it she found it easier to pet a dragon than to face a crowd of this size?

A woman approached them alongside Nidrie and Ralnor- who seemed to have finally let Rosalie go. She had striking similarities to Nidrie as they both had white hair and purple eyes, but the main differences were the scars on her cheeks and shoulder as well as her shorter hair. Like most people here today, she wore black and gold.

"Welcome to Asura, friends from afar. My name is Minerva Hartwell. Nidrie has told me much about you… Thank you for coming and being a part of our program. Please follow me so we can commence with the ceremony." She held her head tall as she began moving towards the crowd which soon began to part to make way for them. They murmured and whispered to each other as they walked behind Minerva, coming up with all sorts of theories of how the Cardinal would look or act. Afterall, he was supposedly assigning them to their housing and duties. Any other leader would leave that to their servents.

After a few moments, they arrived in a fenced off area that faced the palace gate with a podium in front of it. On top of the gate, there was also a balcony. 'That's probably where he makes public addresses…' Caroline thought to herself. The area was just large enough for them all to have some space around them. She felt like she could finally breathe for a moment.

"There are so many people here! Is this program really that important to the Asurians?" Emily asked next to her.

"I guess so… it's kind of nerve wracking." Caroline answered while playing with her blonde hair. She was reminded of the contract they all signed to be here… and how they were basically slaves. Would this be some sort of auction? Her lips tightened.

"So now you're nervous but you weren't nervous when petting a dragon. It was a freaking dragon!"

"She. She was a freaking dragon and she's really sweet. And this is totally different! I guess I just don't like large crowds of people I don't know. It also doesn't help that no one really told us what was going to happen!"

"Ok, ok. I'll stop teasing you. If you think about it, Asura doesn't get newcomers very often so I bet it's like a holiday to them or something!"

She tried to make light of her darker thoughts, "Kinda like a party?" She giggled, "Are they here to party about us getting the low-class jobs? Maybe they're short staffed or something."

Emily laughed, "I'd sure have been happy if someone helped me with work back home!"

The two girls laughed and joked with each other until trumpets started sounding, silencing all talking. A few people came out of the palace gates, followed by a handsome man with dirty blonde hair wearing a black suit and silky golden tie.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

"That's got to be him right" Caroline whispered over to Emily. When she didn't get a response, she looked over to see that her friend was in some sort of trance. She giggled and prodded her side, "Okayyy, someone is clearly starstruck, hmm?"

"W–what?" Her face reddened and she looked down shyly while twiddling with her thumbs, "I don't know what you mean, he's like, um, average hot! Yea! Average hot!"

Caroline snickered before whispering back, "I never mentioned anything about him being hot…"

Realizing her mistake, Emily's face reddened and she gave her a pitiful punch in response.

The trumpets stopped, but only for a brief moment to let the handsome man talk, "Glory to the Cardinal Majesty!" He turned towards the balcony and bowed deeply, along with every Asurian there. Caroline and her peers stood out like a sore thumb until they finally got the memo to bow too.

The trumpets began playing again and out walked a masked person with a crown on their hooded head. The black wolf mask had intricate golden patterns on it and fully covered the face, making it impossible to see what was underneath. Power and authority seemed to radiate from them, making Caroline realize that this person was the Cardinal. Well, he sure liked to keep the mystery factor in check. His suit was also black and gold, but had a more ethereal look to it than a normal suit would. It had a double sided embroidered cape of golden wolves that seemed to move if you stared at them long enough.

The Cardinal Majesty gave a short nod to the handsome man at the podium before climbing a few stairs and sitting on the throne she hadn't even noticed was there.

The man at the podium nodded back before standing up straight and turning around towards the crowd, "Raise your heads, the ceremony will now begin!"

Cheers sounded from all around them, "Glory to the Cardinal Majesty!"

"Welcome, newcomers, I am Rowan Gregor. It's probably best for you to call me Lord or Sir Rowan. I am second in command here in Asura. I live in the palace alongside the Cardinal and I will be overseeing the program itself as well as being the main the instructor for the honors class. Your housing, classes, and duties were all predetermined by the Cardinal, please make sure to keep that in mind going forward." With that, Rowan left the podium and sat in a seat next to it. It was clear that his position in Asura was of a high rank just from his mannerisms.

Up next was a tall, gruff looking man with black hair and a neatly shaved beard. He spoke deeply as he greeted the crowd, "Hi little newbies, my name is Carter Nolan. I will be teaching you basic Asurian knowledge. I believe you have already met my wife, Nidrie, and her familiar, Ralnor. With their assistance, you will also have the chance to learn about these creatures." He gave a hearty laugh, "Maybe even some of you will decide to have your own familiar!"

He waved at the crowd before walking back to his position. Only now did Caroline notice that Nidrie and Ralnor were beside him.

A proper looking woman in what seemed to be fancy maid attire came up to the podium next, "Greetings to you all. I am known as Katrina Blackway but you will all refer to me as Miss Blackway. I will be in charge of giving you your daily jobs, training you in Asurian etiquette, servant training, and extracurriculars. Each person here will serve one of the royal houses while also taking their assigned classes. I strongly advise you to adhere to my rules. Laziness will not be tolerated." Katrina then left the stand.

Caroline couldn't help but feel like Miss Blackway was a signature stick-in-the-mud. Boring, plain, and stiff. Still, she definitely didn't want to get on that woman's bad side. She had read the stories where the head maid was like a drill sergeant and she didn't want to risk those stories being true.

Two people came up to the podium this time, a man and a woman. The man was like a giant caveman. He had long brown hair and a strong body. The woman had a blonde pixie cut and was a bit classier than the guy. She was noticeably shorter, maybe just slightly taller than Caroline, and carried a short sword on her waist. The woman spoke first, "Hi everyone, I'm Lyndra Rovell and this is Gaius Eddlestone! We will be teaching the combat portion of the program."

Lyndra made way for Gaius to come to the podium and his deep voice rang out, "Well yea. We are also two of the top Commanders under Sir Rowan who spoke earlier. We'll be sure to whip you into shape. If any of you can beat me in hand to hand combat by the time we've taught you everything, I may just give you a reward."

Gus teaching partner, Lyndra, chimed in after him, "Oh, oh! Me too! If you can beat me in swordplay then I'll give you an opportunity no warrior would wanna miss!" They smiled and waved before leaving and stepping back into position.