The next day, Corvo woke to a knocking on the door. Silvia Riddar announced that breakfast would be served soon, and that he should use the time to get ready for the day. He quickly stood up, feeling his excitement from the day before already starting to reignite, and unpacked his bags to get fresh clothes, a white shirt and a pair of green pants. From one of the bags, he took a small leather pouch, which he affixed to his leather belt. The pouch was enchanted with two spells, a dimensional expansion spell, which allowed him to carry the money his parents had given him, which included the exam-fees for Corvo's military academy of choice, as well as an anti-theft spell, which would always teleport the pouch back into the hand of its owner upon its name being called.
His parent had told him that there were 5 major training-facilities in Caelum which focused on both providing children with a formal education and combat training on par with that of the regular imperial army:
Lanceur, which only accepted those of noble birth and whose graduates usually joined the Imperial Guard, as it was generally believed to be the easiest way to gain prestige;
Jaunpée, an academy which focused on swordsmanship and chivalry and thus brought forth many a Knight of the White-Sun Order, the elite forces of Merdelum's army;
Verchet, which accepted all applicants unconditionally without any fees or strings attached, as most of its graduates would join the Red-Sun Order of Merdelum, which mostly consisted of regular soldiers;
Feublan, a monastery of the Ardent Path which trained aspiring clerics and paladins,
and Rouclier, the military academy Sean Riddar, Corvo's childhood friend had been attending for a year now, and therefore became Corvo's first choice as well.
Rouclier was generally seen as the best among these choices, as its instructors had all made a name for themselves one way or another during their service in the imperial army. However, for this reason, Rouclier had been quite picky in choosing their students, which was reflected in their selection process for new recruits. To even become able to attend the entrance exam, one either needed to become recognized by one of the academies instructors or high-ranking military officials, or pay the hefty sum of 5 Gold Lumen. Additionally, one was only given two chances to pass the entrance exam before one became banned from attending the academy, though one was only required to pay the entrance fee once. However, all other expenses during one's stay, such as attending the academy itself, board, and lodging, was taken care off by the city's government, as students of the academy would be given tasks during their training which greatly benefited the city, which included patrols, monster subjugations, and the annual Cloud Festival, a massive event organised around a tournament which aimed to showcase the future of Merdelum's military.
At the breakfast table, Michael Riddar had finished his plate before Corvo had arrived and was now drinking a cup of tea. He had the same unkempt looking, brown hair as his son as well as a short full beard through which one could see a large, faded scar poke through on his left cheek, a mark which always reminded him of his past when he looked at it in a mirror. He received the scar back when he was still a mercenary, as during one of their expeditions an unnoticed trap had ripped a hole into his face. The wound had immediately been healed Corvo's mother, who had been a cleric of the Ardent Path, but the scar remained to this day. He was already wearing his uniform, the plate-armour of Caelum's city-guard.
"Good morning, Corvo! A shame that I couldn't greet you yesterday but as you already heard, things are a bit chaotic at the moment.", the middle-aged man greeted him in an apologetic tone.
"Good morning! And it's fine.", Corvo answered and sat at the table opposite of him. The breakfast consisted of a cup of tea, a bowl of various fruits which was placed in the middle of the table for all to take from, and two slices of toasted bread which had been set on a plate in front of him.
"So, how are Ulrich and Kira? Everything going well back in the village?", Michael asked about Corvo's parents, before finishing his tea with one last gulp.
"Everything's ok, the only thing that changed since you left is that the village elder seemed to have grown grumpier than he already was before.", Corvo answered jokingly and grabbed a yellow apple from the bowl.
"Heh, guess time still seems to stay still there, doesn't it?", the man responded with a grin.
"Well, as much as I would like to talk to you some more, duty calls. Bye Silv! And tell Sean I'll make sure to be back before sunset, I can't wait for him to tell us about the academy.", he said while giving his wife a chaste kiss on the cheek.
"I will. And you be careful out there honey, ok?", she responded, which earned her a grin from her husband.
"Of course! You know me, don't you? I'm always careful!", he responded, and turned around, almost stumbling over the chair behind him, which caused Corvo and Silvia to snicker.
Slightly embarrassed about the situation, he added: "You know what I mean! Whatever, see ya!" and went out the front door.
"Well Corvo, once you finished breakfast, we can go to the shopping district. Sean won't be here before afternoon, so I got some time to show you around the city a bit as well. For the test you're going to need an uniform, and it would probably be a good idea to get you some of the other things you're going to need during your first year. Do you have the money your parents gave you?", Mrs. Riddar asked while she started to clear the table and do the dishes.
Corvo nodded and showed her the leather pouch.
"Good, now finish up, we got a long day ahead!", she exclaimed and Corvo hastily finished his toast.
Before they left the house, Silvia explained the general layout of Caelum and some ground-rules Corvo had to follow during his stay, as there are many differences between living in rural villages and life in bigger cities.
The city was divided into 5 districts, which were all separated by its 4 main roads, 3 of which lead from the 3 main gates in the southern city-wall to the Temple of Light, and the 4th road connecting the other 3, thus cleanly separating the wealthier north, known as the Nuage District, where most nobles and high-ranking members of the Ardent Path resided, from the rest of the city. This road, which had also been known as the Horizon Road also connected 2 smaller gates which lead outside of the city, with one on each of its origin points. With the western gate leading to Caelum's cemetery, which had been completely walled off from the rest of the city and therefore could only be reached from said exit, and the eastern gate leading to the Dufroid River.
The eastern-most district below the Horizon Road was known as the Worker's-District, as most warehouses could be found there, as well as the homes of the majority of hunters, who would look for game in the Foretblue Forest north of Caelum, as well as farmers, who worked on the farmlands between the eastern wall of Caelum and the Dufroid River. The district west of the workers district was known as the Grand Market, as most produce and meat could be bought there. The two western districts mainly consisted of stores, schools, and governmental facilities, as well as most public housing, and were therefore known as the Housing-District and the Commoner's-District. Quite a large area in the Commoner's District became the residence of the less fortunate, with run down buildings of which some were not even connected to Caelum's water- and sewage-system: the unofficial 6th district of Caelum, the Slums.
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In the Nuage-District 4 imposing buildings could be found, with several upper-class homes and mansions surrounding them:
the Feublan Monastery,
the Rouclier's main-building, its training grounds, and its dormitories,
the Imperial Manor, which was home to the Crevier-family, the noble house in charge of managing Caelum,
and the Cloud Colosseum, the arena which gave the Cloud Festival its name.
Below the city a labyrinth of tunnels had been constructed to be used as a sewage system, the Channels, to which most buildings were connected.
Silvia warned Corvo to be cautious of where he was going, as certain parts of the city and some dark alleys are known to be frequented by criminals. Upon being asked how there could be high crime rates and even slums in a city like Caelum, which was considered to be the second capital of the empire due to it being the residence of the Luminary of the Ardent Path, she answered with an old saying her father had mentioned to her when she was younger: All light casts shadows.
After the short lecture, Silvia led Corvo through the city and showed him where he could find most necessities and pleasantries which can be bought for money. The tour included, among many other stops, the boutique, in which Silvia worked 5 days a week as a seamstress, and where Corvo would receive his uniform, the shop of a blacksmith, with which Silvia had become acquainted through her husband, a store which sold all kinds of pastries and candy, an apothecary where one would be able to find most common remedies for a cheap price, the biggest book-store in the city, and a store which sold all kinds of frozen goods, such as ice cream. To Corvo's chagrin, however, he did not receive an answer to the question of what kind of items or services were sold in one of the buildings he had spotted upon his arrival, the one with the shop-sign with the symbol of the coin inside of a heart. After an extremely flustered and uncomfortable looking Silvia Riddar stammered out the words "Uhm, that's something you will learn once you are a little older", he finally decided to leave this matter at rest, at least for now.
On their way back to the Riddar family's home, a familiar voice called out to Corvo from behind.
"Hey, Corvo! Long time no see!", Sean said with a grin and tapped him on his shoulder.
He turned around excitedly and greeted his friend with a quick hug.
"Sean! It's been too long! Damn, what did they give you to eat? You're already almost as tall as your dad!", Corvo exclaimed as he looked at his childhood friend.
Indeed, he had grown taller, and he was wearing the uniform of Rouclier's students, a black military tunic with a row of silver buttons, with a small metal badge in the form of Rouclier's emblem, a red shield with a silver cross in the middle, affixed to the tunic on his left chest-pocket, a silvery, woven belt, and on his right arm, he wore a white armband, which signalled that he was a first-year-student at the academy. Sean had let his brown hair grow slightly longer, but other than that, he did not seem to have changed by much. On his shoulder was a large canvas bag, which probably contained his belongings, as each school year was situated on a different floor within the building, meaning that one had to take their belongings either with them to their new rooms or home during the summer.
"Eh, the food there isn't as different as what we're used to, with the exception being that meat is more often on the menu than not. But you're the one who should eat more, otherwise you'll never catch up to me!", Sean answered with a chuckle.
"I'm also here, you know? Come here and let me give you a hug!", Silvia Riddar injected and enclosed Sean into a tight hug.
"Mum, not in public!", Sean yelled out, his embarrassment growing and his cheeks becoming redder.
"Alright, I get it. Still, it's been so long since the last time I could hug you like this!", his mother replied in mock-sadness. And with one last squeeze she let go of the hug.
"Aaanyway, how about you tell me about the academy, I know what you told me in letters, but there's still some stuff I know nothing about!", Corvo said.
During the rest of the way, Sean answered the questions still on Corvo's mind. Sean also explained that, due to his bad grades, he would have to repeat the first year, as everyone attending the academy receives a second chance if they cannot get acclimated right away. This measure was put in place to ensure that no talent that could be used by the military would accidentally go to waste, even though students at Rouclier were usually not forced to stay in the army after their graduation.
"Yeah, I remember you mentioned something like that. Why did you have problems during classes anyway? You never mentioned a reason in your letters.", Corvo asked once they arrived back at the house and set down in front of the fireplace.
"Ehhehe, I know, sorry. It was just... a little embarrassing, is all. You see, as I told you, there is a test during the entrance exam where they determine your magical attunement if you don't show any close-combat skills, and since I'm not a fighter, it turned out I'm most suited to learn Transfiguration. The problem is, that even though I should technically show some potential, it is still pretty hard for me to learn spells, with even the weaker ones causing me some trouble. Since I wouldn't have been able to manage going forward as a warrior either, I had to improve my magic, and so I trained day and night, and stopped paying much attention during other lessons, ending in me failing the end-term exams miserably, both the written and in the physical test. One of the teachers told me that my soul's aptitude for Transfiguration could mean a hidden talent in Bard Skills, which is why I'm going to try and learn an instrument during the summer vacation. So, yeah, that's how it is.", Sean explained, his mood seemingly having soured while retelling the story of how he faired the last year.
"Oooooh, I see! But hey, don't worry about that! It just means that there's a chance we actually get to be in the same class!", Corvo remarked excitedly.
"Yeah, you're right! I didn't even look at it that way!", Sean replied, his mood having been raised slightly by this revelation.
"Oh, yeah, almost forgot to ask! Have you already learned how to use magic, Corvo?", he asked.
"Yeah, kinda. My dad taught me some basic spells, but it's not much.", Corvo answered.
"Hmm, if you want to impress at the entrance exam, you need to learn some high-level magic. My dad said he'd take his own vacation during this summer, so he will be able to train us a bit!", Sean mentioned.
"Really? That's awesome!". Corvo yelled out enthusiastically.
"Yeah, with him giving us tips we'll definitely graduate top of the class!", Sean affirmed smugly.
"Oh, before I forget, what kind of instrument are you going to get?", Corvo asked.
"Eh, I don't know yet, to be honest. There's a instrument rental store in the shopping district, I'm probably going to look around a bit until I find something I like.", came the answer from Sean.
"Sounds good, can I go with you?", Corvo inquired.
"Sure!", Sean said.
"But not today, boys! Sean still has to unpack, and I have to prepare dinner! Oh yeah, and Sean? Your father said he would be here before sunset today, so you could tell him a bit about the academy!", Silvia Riddar added.
"Eh, we 'still got the next two months, don't we? It's not that urgent anyway. Hey, Corvo, let's go upstairs, I'll show you some of the stuff I got over there! Race ya to my room!", Sean yelled and made his way upstairs.
"Oh, come on! Every single time?", Corvo shouted in mock-anger and followed him upstairs.
"These kids...", Silvia Riddar mumbled to herself with a small chuckle while watching them run upstairs.
"Just as if we never left. I wonder how the others are doing back at the village right now.", she continued while thinking about her friends back in Serena.