The rest of the trip went smoothly. Smooth being a relative term of course, Lyra definitely wouldn’t say the rest of the journey was easy, but nobody else died. The deaths from the kobold den shook her more than she was willing to admit, and she was sure she wasn’t the only one. She was doing better at learning the names of the people in her group and had become good friends with Gareth. All of the people in her group were from her hometown, so she already knew some by name and others by face. Kai, Gareth, and herself would spend most evenings talking together, and after the boys caught her one night working on her sword work, practicing together.

She was better than them with the sword, but much weaker. This made every bout that they had together a close one. Lyra usually used a two handed grip, while Gareth and Kai both used a single hand. They had a longer reach than her and she struggled to find gaps in their defenses. It helped that she was faster and used this to her advantage. If she didn’t then she doubted she would ever be able to score a single hit on the boys.

They helped her practice her archery which, when compared to her swordsmanship, needed a lot of work. Gareth was an amazing teacher, and everything Kai said about him was true. He really never missed. They would praise his ability and he would tell them to stop or else he wouldn’t help anymore, but Lyra could tell he appreciated it. His ability to move the air around his arrow mid shot was something else, but it was obvious he was naturally gifted.

As a whole, their group bonded together well. Everybody had a share in the work and by the time they reached the capital there was a real sense of camaraderie. Even Tempest and Ajax enjoyed spending time with the group, although they tried their best to hide it.

After about a month of traveling they finally reached the capital. It appeared gradually in the distance, at first it was a speck, and then a large dot. As they got closer it slowly became a city. The royal castle was something to behold. The majority of the castle was built from limestone, the strong material being key to its immovable foundation. Three beautiful rising towers reached for the sky in a triangle shape around the castle, Lyra guessed that these had to do with the three different sections of the king's army; dragon corps, infantry, and mages. Lyra’s sharp eyes also noticed parapets, guard towers, portcullis, and other defenses. She couldn’t see any arrow slits from this far away, but she was sure that they were there. There was even a moat that surrounded the towers and castle, cutting it off from the rest of the city.

Arulea had usually been very friendly with their neighbors in the past, especially since they have had to work together to defend themselves against dragon attacks. This however, hadn't happened in generations and with no true common enemy constantly presenting itself, it was best to be cautious of any alliances that they had in the past.

There was a sprawling city laid out just past the moat, at least eight times the size of Lyra’s town she grew up in. From this distance she couldn’t see any people, but she imagined the bustle of a large town and started to feel a little homesick. Everything looked so large from back here, she was worried she wouldn’t like being in a large city.

They reached the entrance to the city around noon, the guards at the gate snapped a crisp salute to Captain Tempest as he led their group through. Not too far away from the front gate was what looked like a training compound. What the captain said next confirmed her thoughts.

“This here is where you lot will be staying for the next year. This is where we sleep and eat, but we train outside the walls. There isn’t enough room inside the city walls to train, so we will be holding all of our exercises out there. We will also be going on many survival missions, so don’t get too comfortable in your beds. You won’t get to use them too much.

You all have the rest of the day off. I want you back here in the training hall for the evening meal an hour before sundown, that’s where you will meet the other recruits. Lieutenant Pyro went out to a couple other neighboring towns to recruit as well and should be back soon. Stay out of trouble, as of now you are official members of the dragon corps and your actions will reflect back on us. You are dismissed.”

The group slowly dispersed into smaller groups of three to five people. They all felt pretty nervous in such a large city and didn’t know what to do with themselves. Lyra, Kai, Gareth, and another boy named Lev. Lev was a very large strong boy that had control of water. He was actually from the country to the north. It was a land that was supposedly filled with wildmen. Lev spoke with a slight accent, it was clear that Arulean was not his native tongue. He stood a head taller than all of them, and had the same wide frame that Ajax boasted. It was clear that Lev still had much growing to do, but he was still forced to be reckoned with.

The four of them decided to wander around the market and take a look around. Nobody had any money on them so they weren’t looking to buy, but it was an eye opening experience for all of them to be around so many people.

They naturally drifted towards the smithy, weapons being such a large part of their lives. Walking in, Lev had to duck under the door frame so as not to hit his head, they all slowly walked around and looked at the weapons on display. There were wonderful weapons everywhere. This was the largest city in the country after all, and while there might be better weapons found in smaller towns, a person could be confident going here for high quality steel.

“Can I help you lads with anything?” the shopkeeper said when they walked in. He was a large man with a powerful build, it was apparent that he had spent a lifetime swinging hammers. He had an old, but very kind face and he seemed genuinely happy to see people.

“Oh, thank you sir, we’re just looking today. We didn’t bring any money, you see. We just got in today, and we wanted to take a look around at the city.” Galeth responded politely.

“Oh, is that right? Well, you must be some of the new dragon corps recruits then, welcome to our city.” The old man said beaming. “If you ever need any of your armor fixed up or a weapon replaced you know where to find me.”

Just then the door opened again and three boys strode in. The first had an average build and the two that followed looked more like giants than man. In looks as well as size. Lyra already did not like the look of the middle boy, he walked with a pompous swagger as if he owned everything he looked at.

The boy walked up to the smithy and spoke in a demanding tone. “I need the best dagger you’ve got, I seem to have misplaced mine.”

The old man seemed a little disgruntled at being spoken to in such a tone, but turned and did some digging in the back nonetheless. He returned a short while later with a beautiful blade. The blade itself looked simple, but very durable. The hilt had gold inlay and a for the pommel. A beautiful work of art, Lyra thought, clearly it would be expensive.

“This will be fifty gold pieces young sir.” The smithy said, handing the dagger to the boy to hold.

Fifty? Lyra thought to herself, she doubted she had ever seen fifty gold in her entire life, but the blade was clearly worth it.

“I think twenty five should do the trick,” the buyer said with a wink.

“No, I don’t think you understand, we don’t barter here.” The smithy said with a gruff chuckle. “The dagger is worth fifty gold, now do you want it or not?”

“No my good sir, I don’t think you understand.” The younger boy said arrogantly. “I will give you twenty five gold for it, and if you truly think it is worth fifty then you may take it up with my father, Lord Sterner.” The two large boys on either side of him shifted in place, it was as if they could sense a fight was coming on. Either that or they were bored and tired of standing around.

“Lord Sterner?” The smithy’s face turned white. “My apologies, I did not realize his son was in the city, of course the dagger is only worth twenty five gold pieces, I apologize for the miscommunication.” The old man was nearly stammering now.

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

“Thank you for your understanding, I knew you would be able to cooperate.” He motioned to his two goons, “Come on boys, let's leave the old man to his work.” He turned around and almost ran into Lyra, who had been wanting to talk to the smithy again before they left. When they made eye contact, Lyra stared him down, visibly disgusted at how he treated the smithy.

The boy only smiled. “You better watch where you’re going, wouldn’t want you to run into something sharp and get hurt,” he said wiggling his new dagger in front of her face. “But seriously,” he continued, “you better watch where you’re going.” With that he brushed past her and walked out the door, followed closely by his two friends.

“Since you four are new here, I’ll give you some advice.” They spun to see the smithy addressing them. “You better watch out for that boy. If he’s Lord Sterner’s kid, well, then he’ll be nothing but trouble.”

The four of them looked at each other, equally confused. Finally Kai spoke up, “Sorry, but who is this Lord Sterner fellow?”

The smithy looked at them incredulously, then realized who he was talking to. “I forgot you’re not from around here, but even so I would have expected his influence to reach most of the land. Lord Sterner is the most influential man in this country, second only to the king himself.” The blacksmith shook his head disdainfully, “He can buy people, make them disappear, ruin businesses… all with some coin and a word. If you can, I'd get on the good side of his boy, it will make your lives a hell of a lot simpler, that’s for sure.”

“I won’t speak for my friends, but I’m not going to be polite to a prick like that just because of what his father might do.” Lyra shrugged her shoulders, she really couldn’t care less about people in power, what could they do to her really? She never came in contact with them, she mostly just minded her own business.

Lev nodded in agreement, “Yes, that is not nice boy. I will not be his friend either.”

The man chuckled at their statements and the naivety of the four of them. “Have it your way, but I wish you luck all the same. If you ever need something, feel free to stop by. I always enjoy helping our young dragon corps members, and there’s nothing I hate more than a bully, so I’m rooting for you all.”

They wandered around a small part of the city for a couple more hours, with no more excitement, and then made their way back to the training compound. It took them a few minutes, but eventually they found the dining hall. The compound itself was not incredibly large, but there were enough halls and rooms that it wasn’t easy to find everything.

When they got to the dining hall there were rows of tables and benches with plates designating where people could sit. The four of them managed to grab spots together at the end of one of the tables. There were also older recruits there, they sat at their own tables away from the newcomers. There seemed to be about three groups, the newbies, a middle group, and then the oldest group. There were about forty or so in each of the older groups, and then about fifty new recruits. There was a decent amount of chatter going on until Captain Tempest stood up. He was flanked by Sergeant Ajax as well as another person that Lyra did not recognize.

“Good evening all,” Tempest did not have to raise his voice, it was so quiet Lyra was sure everybody could hear her breathing. “Welcome to the House new recruits. This is your home from now on, therefore you will refer to it as the House. I hope you will enjoy your stay, for some of you that may not be very long.” Lyra shared a confused glance with Kai at that, were some people going home?

“Our training here is very rigorous, and because of that we only accept the best.” Tempest continued, “Over the course of the next several months, you will be training with one thing in mind, and that is to prove to me that you are worthy to be a part of the dragon corps. If I deem you to be unworthy or incapable of fighting with us and defending your squadmates, then I will send you home. Is that clear?”

A deafening, “Yes sir!” was shouted out.

“Very good. Now I am sure you all are starving, so grab your plates and get in line. Eat well and sleep well, tomorrow will be a difficult day for you all,” he chuckled to himself, “and an impossible day for others.” With that he sat down and dismissed them.

The older recruits got up with their plates first and went to the serving line. After them came the second years, and then finally the first years. As Lyra was getting in line she saw the boy from the blacksmith shop and his two goons pushing past people to get to the front of the line. There was a small scuffle as some people pushed back, but it seemed like either people knew who his father was or didn’t want to mess with the ogre looking boys that never left his side.

Once they got their food, they went back to their table. They were soon joined by the three familiar faces that had traveled with them for the past month or so. By this time she had learned all their names and started to form some bonds with them. There was Olrick, who wanted to be a fire mage, but he wasn’t strong enough with his element so he joined the corps instead. Then there was Renea, she could only be described as sweet. Lyra was actually surprised she had lasted this long, she had guessed that Renea would have just gone home after the kobold battle. She was very soft spoken and rarely spoke up unless asked a direct question. Last of the trio was Niles. He had a lot of information in his brain, his father was a librarian and it definitely rubbed off on him. He usually had his head buried in a book and was very amicable. Lyra smiled at the three as they sat down.

“You guys see the twin giants over there?” Olrick said as he sat down, “I would hate to get in a fight with them.”

Niles pushed Olrick over to make some room and sat down on the end. “They’re names are Brutus and Ox, they’re cousins and they’re family friends with Tobias Sterner. His father is much more influential than theirs of course, but they usually go everywhere together. Probably because Tobias knows nobody likes him and he needs his protection or he’ll get beat in an alley.”

Kai looked at Niles with a surprised look on his face, then chuckled. “I would ask how you know all that, but honestly you just know everything and I’ve accepted it at this point.”

The group laughed at that, and then Lrya added, “Now we know who the rich boy is I guess. Tobias Sterner…” She played with her food for a bit while she thought about the very unpleasant encounter they had with Tobias.

Kai bumped her gently with his elbow. “Hey, I know that face. Whatever you’re thinking of you need to drop, messing with that kid is only going to get you in trouble.”

“You know how much I like trouble,” she said with an overly sarcastic smile. “But fine, I’ll leave him alone.” She shoved Kai back and smiled ruefully, sometimes she hated how well he knew her.

After dinner, the boys and girls split up and went to their respective barracks. Lyra and Renea followed a thickset girl in the second year, while the boys followed a tall, skinny kid, also in the second year, to their room. The older kids didn’t seem like talking much, they pointed out a few things to the younger group as they walked, but mostly kept to themselves. Lyra got the feeling that they thought the younger group was beneath them. Lyra was okay with that, she was sure there would be plenty of opportunities to prove herself in the days to come.

When they finally got to their room she nearly collapsed from exhaustion. She threw her things on a bed close to her and fell down next to them. Renea picked a bed next to her, and she was suddenly very glad that she made a friend that was a girl. It would be nice to have a friendly face amidst all of the unfamiliar.

“Showers are down the hall on the right, only cold water and try to use it sparingly.” The girl that led them here was talking again, Lyra still didn’t know her name.

“Meet at the front gate at dawn,” she continued, “we will always meet there to start the day. If not, then one of the sergeants will tell us the night before. Lights out in thirty minutes, if you’re caught outside of your bed after that there will be consequences, got it?” Without waiting for an answer, she turned and walked out the door muttering something about “weak newbies” under her breath.

After washing up and putting her small amount of things in a drawer under her bed, she pulled out her sword and began to polish it. There were three other girls besides Renea and Lyra, those three girls had traveled here together with the other Sergeant. They mostly kept to themselves, which was fine with her.

Renea looked over at her from her bed, “That’s a beautiful sword. I can’t believe I didn’t notice it while we were traveling.”

Lyra smiled sadly, thinking about the time she received it from her mother. “I got it from my parents, the morning I left to come out here. It… it means a lot to me.” She left it at that, not wanting to go any further into detail.

Renea was great at reading people, that was one of the things that made her so likable. “I’m sure they’re proud of you,” she said simply.

Lyra smiled again and let the conversation die there. She didn’t really enjoy talking about home, it made her miss it. She finished polishing her sword as quickly as she could, then with a small “goodnight” she rolled over and tried her best to fall asleep.