Chapter 1

Walking down the giant hallways of the academy, the herbal smell of plants filled her senses. The laughter and chatter of the other students reached her ears as she walked past the still active parts of the academy. Everyone was excited to finally be able to go on vacation after a hectic semester filled with early classes with strict teachers, piles of assignments and practicals. It was a well deserved rest for most.

Walking towards the cafeteria Emery could already hear the chatter of the dining students. A distant conversation about today's menu caught her attention amongst the tens of them. Wasting no time she hastened her pace for she knew that if she wanted lunch today she would have to hurry. Today's special: Chocolate chip cookies. Perfect.

15 minutes later Emery was sitting at one of the empty tables in the cafeteria enjoying the cookies that took her 10 minutes to get to after having to fight through a crowd of hungry students. Taking a bite of them she was certain that the fight was worth it.

Enjoying her cookies Emery reached for one of her books that she put down on the table before. She had read no more than a page when a voice called for her from behind.

" Hey Emery!" Said Pae Sung-Hoon as he rushed towards her with others trailing behind him. Sung-Hoon was a huge guy with a bubbly personality. He had tanned skin with brown eyes and hair. He was one of the students studying in the Knight's Wing of the academy. Behind him were another two of Emery's friends.

Ryong Sun-Ya and Ru Ji-Yun were a pair of best friends that traveled to the captain together and just never parted. Sun-Ya was a priest in training, aka a mage who specialized in healing arts and Ji-Yun was a student in the Knight's Wing like Sung-Hoon. They both had ordinary features of the people of the empire. Light brown hair and almond shaped eyes with freckles on their faces.

They all made their way towards the table where Emery was sitting. Emery looked at them and waved with the hand that had a cookie in it.

Not long after they all sat down and started to chat. " Man, today's training was hard as hell. I almost broke a bone." Sung-Hoon complained. " Tell me about it! I absolutely hate Mr. Carlo's class. I can never stand to start after each of his sessions." Added Ji-Yun.

Both Sung-Hoon and Ji-Yun were around the same age and had a lot of the same classes together. Ji-Yun was also the one who introduced Sung-Hoon to the other two. At first Sung-Hoon was a little shy to be the only boy among three girls but he soon got used to it.

" No matter what, you can't argue that he is the best trainer when it comes to a Knight's training. He isn't famous for no reason. He once served as a royal knight after all. It's no wonder that his expectations are high." Said Sun-Ya as she slowly cut an apple before popping it into her mouth.

Emery first met Sun-Ya when they were paired together for a project in one of the mutual classes that they took. She was a great partner and they earned a good score that semester. After that they kinda became friends and she later introduced her to Ji-Yun.

Hearing what Sun-Ya said, Ji-Yun pouted. " Says Miss perfect." She mumbled under her breath. Sun-Ya was the brightest student amongst them. She got the best grade in the whole batch, always placing first in all her exams. Compared to her the rest were still far behind.

After that little session they all got back to eating their lunch and soon the topic of vacation came up. Sung-Hoon was going back to his hometown to go visit his family. Ji-Yun wanted to do the same while Sun-Ya wanted to get started on her practicals for next year which meant that she was going to do an internship in the magic research facility of the academy.

" What are you doing this vacation, Emery?" Sung-Hoon asked. His question brought Emery back from the daydream she was having. Looking at him she thought for a bit and answered " I will probably be traveling this vacation."

" To where?" Asked back Ji-Yun. " Most probably to the capital. My father said he had some business there." Answered Emery. " How did he manage to get a pass!? " Exclaimed Sun-Ya. The other two also looked at Emery curiously.

It is no unknown fact that it was the year of the 'Sun Rise'. A year that came only once a decade. It was the year that brought with it the declaration of the great gathering. Every person with a name in the continent ranging from the age of 15 to 25 was to gather in the capital city of Aythenis, the holy land of the dragons. As the gathering time approached closer, it became a lot harder for non-residents of the capital to enter the city for safety reasons. Only people with special permits would enter and those were always hard to acquire. Only nobles and rich merchants could dream of going. And Emery's parents were neither.

Emery looked at the curious looks and debated to herself whether she should say it or not but in the end she ended up answering. "A distant relative of mine became a concubine of a high ranking noble not long ago. My father had always treated them well and they were generous enough to give him a pass that was acquired through an audition. My father plans to use this chance to the fullest. If he could make a name for himself at the welcoming parade, his business would take off. So he decided to take me along since I always helped him with work with a pair of extra hands." Explained Emery.

The others nodded with understanding. While the entrance pass was hard to acquire it was only the case for commons. A somewhat high ranking noble could easily acquire them and they could be bought with money by the merchants.

It was also not the first time Emery's father had taken her on a business trip. It had already happened a few times so it didn't come as a shock to the three. " Lucky you." Said Sun-Ya with slight envy but none thought too much about it. After that they continued chatting and soon it was forgotten.

The day ended peacefully for the four. After lunch they made their way towards the dorms and by sunset all three were ready to leave for vacation the day after. Carriages prepared by the academy would be waiting for them at the gate first thing in the morning. They could rent any empty one and make their way towards their destination. All that was left was to wait through the night for the anticipating students.