Chapter 6: Nâçiteñe'v city

"River pal! River pal!" Jake shouted.

"Okay, okay, I'm coming! Bye, mother, bye father. I'll see you later," Timothy said as he ran out of his house, adorned in a hauberk, long trousers, leather boots, and a sword strapped to his back.

"This is not the time we agreed upon," he said as he closed the wooden gate.

"I did not agree to anything, if I remember correctly," Jake responded innocently. Jake, wearing a black cape with a hood over his linen shirt, brown trousers, tie-on straw sandals, and two concealed daggers, joined Timothy. The two boys were heading to the city to register for the knight exams.

"So, what was it that Ver gifted you yesterday?" Jake asked as they walked down the mountain.

"Oh, she gave me a cuirass and two daggers crafted by her grandfather," he said with a smile. Jake gave him an envious look; after all, who wouldn't desire equipment fashioned by a master blacksmith? Ver's grandfather was the most prosperous blacksmith in Nâçiteñe'v city.

"Wow, she really went all out this time, huh?" he laughed. The boys continued talking as they reached the bridge and crossed it. Both of them stopped before the enormous city gate, where many people were lining up outside.

"Do you really think there's anything in this world that could knock down the city walls?" Jake asked. Timothy wanted to laugh and tell him he was crazy, but then he thought about yesterday's events and kept quiet, responding to the question with a shrug.

As they stood in line, the ground began to tremble slightly, and a loud horn resounded, making everyone look towards the bridge. A convoy of wagons approached the city gates, with four knights at the front holding flags bearing a dragon symbol. The knights wore red armor with a prominent dragon symbol on the chest plate, and all the wagons had two knights guarding them.

"Who are they?" Jake asked. Timothy also had no idea, so they both continued to observe the approaching convoy. The wagons and carriages passed the city gates without stopping or paying the entrance fee. Even the city guards had looks of admiration on their faces. After they entered the city, the people in line started talking about the convoy.

Timothy and Jake paid their entrance fee and went through the city gates. They always came here, but they still couldn't get used to it. Nâçiteñe'v city is built on alluvial mud, and all buildings in the city are supported by a large number of timber piles driven into the mud. Above that, the normal building material is brick, although the grander facades are usually faced with Istrian stone, a fine limestone that is not strictly a marble. Other stones with different colors are used for contrast, especially red stone, which is the city's typical finish for interior walls.

The city is very large, largely built up, with buildings tightly packed in the center. The two boys walked along the very loud and busy marketplace as they headed to the cathedral to sign up for the exam. Along the way, they observed prostitutes, drunkards, and even thieves robbing people in alleys.

"I wonder how Ver survives in this place; it's beautiful yet ugly," Jake said with a sigh.

"You idiot, you forget this is the outer part of the city. This place is the slums; the real city is beyond that wall," Timothy pointed at another wall in the center of the city.

Nâçiteñe'v city is a vast city located in the Kingdom of Zebha. It's also the home of Saint Iver, the greatest knight in the whole kingdom. Nâçiteñe'v city is divided into two parts: the outer part, home of the commoners, and the inner part, home of the noble families. These two parts are separated by the inner wall, with guards stationed on top of the wall in rotating shifts. The only way to enter the inner city is with a free pass badge.

"This is why I prefer living in the wilderness; this whole thing about different social classes is the reason why I left my home to live in the wild," Jake said with a distant look on his face, as if recalling something.

The truth is not even Timothy knew where Jake came from, except for the fact that he came from afar, as he always says. Jake lives in the forest deep in the mountain; he met Timothy at the river three years ago, and they have been hanging out ever since. Timothy once invited him to come live with him, but he declined, stating that he loves living in the forest; it's his way of tempering himself.

"If it isn't Mesa and forest boy," a youth clad in full golden plate armor blocked their path with his horse, and two other youths wearing cuirasses stood beside him.

"If it isn't Princess Morgan," Jake bowed.

"Mmmm, you two misfits think you are something special, don't you? Well, soon I'll show you what the art of combat truly is." Morgan spoke with a sneer

"Yeah? Is that so? Then I'll be waiting for the third best to show us what he can do."

"Third best my ass! Mmmh."