Arrival at the University

For now, Isaac decided to keep his thoughts to himself. So far, everything was going smoothly, if you didn't take the mess with the Church into account. Their little voyage to the University continued, rythmed by Betina's explanations and in no time the coach found itself driving down the main street of Lower Town.

Unlike last night, the streets were empty of traveling stalls selling food, masks and other festive pageantry.

Isaac was a little surprised at how quickly the city had changed its face, but it wasn't too surprising. Things had to move forward and every day could not be a day of celebration. But still, there were nothing that could tell a festival had occurred last night. No trash or bottle although he wasn't sure they were used or if glass was a luxury.

Nonetheless, his astonishment quickly passed when Betina informed them that they were approaching the Academy. It was easily noticeable just by looking at the street they were on.

Once surrounded by dwellings of wood and stone, they now stood on a white marbled road. Around there was nothing but a large plaza marking an empty border between buildings in the town beyond and a moat overhung by ten-meter marble walls on which guards seemed to be patrolling.

Isaac was indeed right to think that the Academy was a kingdom within a kingdom. From his point of view, the border with Agartha was easy to spot.

- "Why walls inside the city? I would have understood if they had installed gates but ramparts, that's a bit too much, isn't it?" asked Rebecca, also intrigued by the fortifications and the strange change of scenery.

At that, Betina gave a light laugh, looking at them before starting her umpteenth explanation since they departed.

- "It is because of an incident which took place a few centuries before and which opposed the Academy and the Royalty during a civil war which shook Kilguana…" she began to relate.

Puzzled, Isaac turned his gaze to Betina to listen a little better, arching an eyebrow.

- "Civil war?" he asked, curious.

- "Yes" replied Betina, nodding her head. "A succession dispute after the assassination of the King between the two twin princes led to a great divide among the people. No crown prince had been chosen, leaving all undecided as to the course to follow. Logically, one of the princes turned to the Academy and its mages and ordered them to intervene, but the latter refused, citing their impartiality and declaring that since no King had yet been crowned, they didn't need to follow their orders until their quarrel was resolved… "

Isaac sighed lightly when he understood where this was going to lead and unsurprisingly, Betina confirmed his suspicions.

- "The two princes tried to take control of the Academy in what is now called the Red Night. Several tens or even hundreds of thousands of soldiers lost their lives there under the most powerful spells of the Archmages of the 'time and hundreds of students and mages also died "she said finally.

On Earth, the stories of the battles for the throne between heirs could not be counted. This was normal, after all one of the emotions moving humans forward was often that of lust for power.

That this kind of situation happened on Phalanx was only an unsurprising detail.

- "Shortly after, the Academy thus took more independence, the marble area around the enclosure is technically part of the Academy and is the only place which is a reminder of the battle between the Royal Army and the Archmages. Under the rocks, you could probably find the rubble of houses destroyed and armors of soldiers killed in the fighting. "

It sounded a little dark, but normal nonetheless, most of the countries, if not all, have their own history and most of them aren't without blood. It had to be accepted and so far things seemed to have gone well. The kingdom was at peace and the people were happy enough to throw parties.

However, something puzzled Isaac.

- "I wonder, how did the Royalty manage to win? I mean, they were fighting Archmages…" he questioned with interest.

- "They did not win, to tell the truth, nobody really won that day" answered Betina quite simply.

Isaac arched an eyebrow, confused by the answer she had just given him and asking for a few more details.

- "Whether they were in the Royalty or in the Academy, many had their doubts. Some Archmages had their allegiance to one of the princes, others didn't. Some Generals did not wish to turn against other citizens and servants of Kilguana. So things were kind of balanced, that's mostly why the entire city wasn't wiped out, some Archmages that tried to remain neutral built a barrier to contain the damage, although not perfect, it still contained most of the damages but many innocent lives were lost. In the end, after this bloodbath, the two princes lost the trust of the people who had to suffer the consequences of the battle, the Church was of the same opinion, as were the Generals and the Academy. And so, they decided all to strip the princes of their royal status and banished them into a little manor for them to live. After that, the Church then crowned the Queen Mother that had the support of the Royal Army Officials and most of the People. As of now, she is the only woman that had the chance of ruling the Kingdom."

The story seemed to have ended well in the end. Nothing too crazy really, although it was reassuring to hear that some of the military weren't as stupid as to blindly follow orders. Same as for the Archmages who sought to protect the city in order to preserve those who lived in it.

- "But, what about the School of Arms and the Faculties of Magistracy? What happened to them during this dispute?" Iracuz asked.

- "At the time, the University hadn't been created and the Academy, School and the Faculty were not as united as today. The School of Arms sided with one of the princes, although some still had doubts as to which prince to choose while the Faculty remained neutral and officially took no sides. It's not like they can do much when it comes to fighting," Betina replied, laughing lightly, as if seeming to mock them.

Isaac felt there was kind of competition between the three institutions which seemed quite normal. He would not be surprised if contests were held between the three establishments.

While this sounded intriguing and a lot of fun, Isaac had more than enough to worry about than a childish muscle contest and just smiled before looking out towards the slowly approaching ramparts.

From here, Isaac could see inscriptions on the stones indicating that they were enchanted and mana-fueled. Without waiting, he decided to inspect them visually and try to know their use and had moderate success.

While he didn't fully understand the way they were powered or worked, the mana fumes they projected indicated to him that it was a barrier, probably the one Betina had spoken of previously.

The use or functioning of the latter escaped him but it had very little in common with the garden barrier or the runes that Isaac was creating which piqued his curiosity.

First was that this was a pure mana barrier, not using elemental magic like he did with the Lockdown rune he uses to literally lock air particles. A little bit like his aura really, or the way he can almost instantly cast barriers around him but inscribed on a surface like a rune.

But unlike his method of creating an entire mana circuit, the runes used there seemed like rivers of mana, completely without a logic that he could spot. Where its runes had knots and meticulously placed geometric lines, those of the University were closer to rivers flowing imperturbably and presumably randomly.

Isaac continued his observation in silence for the very short minutes before they arrived in front of the towering white walls surrounding the Royal University.

Although only the Academy is considered as an independent organization, with time and the creation of the University, this independence had quite logically spread to all university components and obviously extended to the School of Arms as well as the Faculty.

In other words, once the doors of the University passed, they would technically be in another country with its laws, its "inhabitants" and its infrastructures.

Speaking of inhabitant, it puzzled Isaac slightly. As the small group got out of the coach to reach the drawbridge and the University checkpoint, Isaac asked Betina a question.

- "You mentioned non-teaching staff, do they also live inside?" he asked.

Without delay, Betina answered.

- "Some live there with their families, most are commoners who benefit from accommodation and food in exchange for their services. Some Nobles have also bought mansions and moved their staff there. However, their movements are limited, they mostly only have access to public areas. "

The more he thought about it, the more Isaac felt that the University was a city within a city. A population, an army, businesses, taxes and officials. There was everything needed for a functioning government.

Surrounded by the royal guards, recognizable by their golden armor, they slowly approached towards the checkpoint in front of which was a line of five guards in silver armor.

Slightly different from the Royal Guard, the University Guard is a mixture of the different institutions of the University. Composed of members of the Academy, the School of Weapons and the Faculty, it is a body taking its orders directly from the Board of Directors.

The vast majority of the staff of the Guard are senior year students allowing them to gain experience in the field while serving their University.

They are responsible for security and maintaining order within the University but may also be assigned external missions. Namely, the escort of students during outdoor excursions or training in real situations.

They apparently also participate in competitive and demonstration activities to show cooperation between different university components.

Therefore, the fact that the guards standing in front of them seemed to be aged between 16 and 30 years old was not much of a surprise. Many of the students were part of the guard, a majority being commoners working to earn money on the side and pay school fees.

Another part of the workforce were Nobles, from families whose lineage was not pure enough to qualify for high-ranking positions.

Because after all, although the University was on paper the elite place of the nation, it also educated those who would support the elite. After all, no one rules alone. Most of the students were not destined for such glorious positions as General or Archmage, many would go on to become secretary, scribe, captain or mage.

In front of Isaac, the Royal Guard and the University Guard faced each other, neither feigning the slightest weakness in front of the other. Each stood upright, showing the highest of their stature.

Isaac felt like he was attending a penis measurement contest and he was already fed up. Without further ado, Betina walked towards the checkpoint and stopped in front of a soldier.

- "Badge" he said simply.

The young girl immediately grabbed her booklet and gave it to the soldier who took it. With a wave of his hand, a badge appeared on the metal gauntlet of his armor in contact with the booklet, confirming the authenticity of the latter.

- "Betina Loanburg, eh? His Excellency Kol informed us that you were coming with guests" he continued, turning his gaze to Isaac and his apprentices. "They are the ones ?" he asked.

- "Yes, it's them" she replied simply, moving away slightly to leave the way to the guard.

The latter was not long in coming and set off proudly, passing between two royal guards, chin up and head erect before stopping in front of Isaac.

- "As foreigners, it is already very surprising that you were allowed to tread the soil of the Upper Town. But do not let this honor go to your head, here you are only what you deserve to be. I hope the little one taught you well our rules and laws? " he asked sincerely.

There was not so much arrogance in his voice as pride in what he was saying. He was proud of the University he was serving, as proud as a peacock strutting in front of a lion.

Isaac felt some frail trembling in his voice, although subtle and barely perceptible, they were present and proving the courage of the young soldier in his twenties before him.

So he decided not to say anything and continued to play the role that seemed to have been imposed on him in this short speech.

- "Indeed, fear not for I am not here to cause problems but to see for myself the wonders of your noble institution."

Hearing the answer he expected from his interlocutor, the guard then nodded and motioned to his colleagues posted above the ramparts.

A few seconds passed in silence before the significant noise of cogs and chain clicking were heard.

Slowly but surely, the drawbridge retracted on the edge of the ramparts then lowered before coming noisily to rest to give access to the doors still closed by a metal portcullis.

Two guards then came forward and came to give Isaac and his apprentices metal bracelets which they themselves placed on each of their wrists.

Once the bracelet in place, it suddenly disappeared as if it had never existed, slightly surprising Artiel and Iracuz. However, neither Isaac nor Rebecca were fooled by the deception.

Even though they couldn't see or sense it, the bracelet was still there and emitting a low amount of mana. He didn't know their use and the guards didn't seem in the mood to explain to him as they returned to their posts, so Isaac just left it as another thing to study for later.

- "Proceed" announced one of the guards.

Immediately Betina motioned for Isaac and the others to follow her as she set out in the direction of the imposing portcullis, which was still closed.

The Royal Guards meanwhile stood still and decided to move the coach on the side, each finding themselves something to do to kill time, as if knowing they were going to be there for a long time.

Although the University is not a vassal of the Royalty, the royal guard does not have the necessary jurisdiction to enter the enclosure. To bring armed personnel into the enclosure, it is necessary to obtain special authorization from the Board.

In addition to cases of force majeure or under the orders of the King, the royal guard therefore limits its comings and goings in the University to the strict minimum, delegating most of their work to the University Guard.

This was what Betina had explained to them among so many other things including so many rules. One of which was stating that the use of lethal magic by any unauthorized personnel is strictly prohibited and any combat, whether it involves magic or not, must be conducted within the rules of a duel in the appropriate fight arena.

It was a rule that seemed quite logical and was one of many Zachary had asked Betina to tell Isaac and his apprentices. After all, they couldn't learn all of the University's rules, so he had summed up the hundreds of pages of laws pretty broadly trying to cover the most important things.

Once the drawbridge had been crossed, the small group found themselves under the ramparts in a small space between the portcullis and the drawbridge. Without waiting, the latter began to get up as the portcullis opened to let them pass.

On the other side, Isaac was greeted by a gentle breeze of wind as he began to survey the surroundings, ready to discover how this famous University looked like.

- "I welcome you to the Royal Kilguana University, Excellency" Betina announced with a slight smile.