“Are all preparations in order?” A short stout man with a full beard that made up for his lack of hair asked the group behind him. His brown eyes filled with focus as he set them on the horizon as if he was expecting something.

  “Yes Governor, the feast has been set with the most exotic foods from around the lands. Some delicacies even came from the Eastern Isles. We were lucky enough to have a merchant that originated from the Eastern Isles visit yesterday.” A young man in his late teens answered the man who he bore a similar resemblance to. Only difference was the presence of brown hair that was tied in a bun and the absence of a beard.

  Scanning the skies for any sign of their guests, the young man continued “The rooms have all been set and the city garrison have been sent a heads up on our visitors. The Commander of the City Garrison was also told to remind the local gangs to not try anything during our visitors' stay.”

  “And have you sent the invites to the Awakeners of our city?” The rotund Governor inquired.

  “Yes, Governor. All of them have guaranteed their presence.”

  “Any nobles or notable families?”The Governor asked but this time his head shifted a bit showing his interest in the number of the prominent families attending.

  The young man cleared his throat before answering “No. Just us. The rest of the prominent families went to ride the airships of our neighbors.” The young man set his sights on the Governor, curious how he would react but he received nothing.

  “Where is Louis?” The lone man in front asked whilst still keeping his eyes on the horizon, choosing to accept the choices of the families.

  “ Well, he didn't think his presence was necessary. The Lady went to grab-” The young man paused as he heard a commotion from behind him. Turning around he saw atop the stairs of the platform a dark haired middle aged woman and a child of around twelve making their way towards them.

  “I don’t want to go. It's just a bunch of country bumpkins. I see no need for me to be here, mother. I should have been on the ship with the other Inner District nobles.” The child who bore resemblance to the older woman beside him complained.

  “And whose fault is that?” The woman questioned her youngest son’s claims.

  The youngest challenged “That bastard had it coming.We are a part of the Legendary Ancient House Laurel. We should tolerate no disrespect from Houses that don’t even belong in the Ancient Families.”

  The child brows furrowed over green eyes and a snarl formed to complete his look of fury. “He dares to talk about us. Ronin’s the heir of this family and will soon lead this family with power that would make others tremble before us. And then there’s Reed who’s at the Academy probably learning how to fly already if those letters of him being a prodigy are true. And of course I will follow the same path as Reed. We deserve the same level of respect. ” The younger child pouted frustration written all over his face. Reaching Ronin, he looked up at the eldest of the family and stuck out his tongue.

  Ronin chuckled before saying“Yes, I agree. But that is status that comes from the future not now. So try to be humble and play nice with these Outer District Awakeners.” He finished his advice with a tousle of the boy’s dark hair.

  The boys’ mother smiled at them fondly as she passed them to stand beside her husband whose eyes never left the horizon. Frowning at the sight, she looked over her shoulder to see her boys conversing. She said “Peter, I’m guessing you didn’t hear our son's complaints.”

  “He’s a boy. He’ll get over it.” The chubby man answered and from the glare his wife was giving him, it was not a satisfying answer. Continuing “ Lily, the boy is like this because you coddle him too much. He will soon be leaving us and the boy still thinks…” Tapping his foot on the platform below them “we stand on the same platform as those True Nobles.

  “Do we not?” With clenched jaws she challenged him.

  “Of course not. We were merely a merchant family before all this. Our resources wouldn’t even make up a tenth of theirs. All they have to do is push a little more resources and we’ll be done.” The Governor calmly explained to his wife with his eyes still not leaving the horizon.

  “But we are in-laws of House Laurel. Your sister got us this position with the help of her husband. A position many people had their eyes on. And yet we still were able to obtain it. This clearly shows that House Laurel favors us. Our enemies-”

  “Favors?” Finally taking his eyes off the skies, he turned to stare into wife’s eyes “Did you forget that your arrogance nearly made us lose the very ‘favor’ you place so much importance on because you wanted Louis to grow up knowing he was a proud member of House Laurel. The brainwashing you did on him was so strong it led to him punching an heir of House Killian. Nearly getting himself killed. If it wasn’t because of Reed’s status as a prodigy and my brother-in-law begging for Louis to be spared, our son would be lying in dirt somewhere being used as fertilizers to those pretty gardens that House Laurel owns as an apology to House Killian.” The stout man no longer carried a look of nonchalance but anger, anger that was found in both his face and tone. His wife bore the same emotion.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “House Laurel wouldn’t kill their own family. They are one of the five Ancient Houses of the Republic. They literally founded this country. Why would they be afraid of some Great House found centuries after them.”

  The Governor, now red faced, glared at his wife. Astonished by her blindness. “You-”

  “Father.” Ronin cut off his parents' arguments by pointing to the skies, grateful for the ship’s timely appearance.

  Ronin spotted a dot in the horizon that he knew was his family’s guests. The moment the dot in the sky was spotted by him, he saw his father in front straighten out his maroon robes, fix the three silver stars on his breast and put on his signature welcoming smile that he only used for those of importance.

  Befuddled at the sight of his father’s actions, he wondered who on that ship could warrant a reaction from him. He has seen nobles and their heirs arrive here and the man never bothered to welcome them in person. Unless of course a lord from the Great houses showed up.

  Shoving his thoughts to the side, he put on the same welcoming smile he was trained to do since he was a kid, a smile very similar to his fathers.

  As the ship approached, it gradually grew in size and once it got close enough, Ronin was able to examine the flying ship known as a Horizon Chaser as it prepared to land. The ship brought out the same emotions he felt the first time he saw one of these behemoths. The air of dominance it held as it towered over him and made him feel small. The artistic design and attention to detail. Even the simplest ones like the one in front of him held a certain level of grandeur. He always wished his family owned one.

  Once the Horizon Chaser landed, the crowd of people below waited with bated breaths as it seemed everyone shared the same thoughts, ‘who is on the ship and what kind of status do they hold that the person could make the Governor of the Soaring City wait on them.’

  A few moments passed before the ship lowered its ramp and a crowd of excited young kids led by a man that could be mistaken as a giant made their way down the ramp to the group that had been waiting for them since sunrise.

  Ronin and Louis took a moment to scan the giant man who looked like he could punch a hole in the wall with his bare fists with ease as he approached the governor with his arms spread and a big goofy smile whilst ignoring the spears pointed at him. Governor Lennox waved off his soldiers as he smirked at the sight of the human tower making his way over.

  “Lennox old friend, how have you been?” The giant man greeted the governor with a smile and a hug that he had to lower himself so he could reach his friend.

  “ Greetings Lady Lennox” The giant lowered his tone and volume when he greeted the wife of his friend.

  “How did you get the job of being in charge of Awakeners? With how important these Awakeners are, I’m surprised the Academy gave the job of escorting them to you. Shouldn’t a giant lug Captain like you be at the borders?” Governor Lennox ignored his friend’s greeting and questioned him instead to find out how he broke the strict Academy traditions.

  “Well, it is a special day and that comes with its special rules.” Captain Hendrix winked before gesturing to the kids behind him. “Plus, I wanted to see if I could spot a ‘Hero of Tomorrow’.”.

  “And did you?” Governor Lennox inquired with a raised brow a bit too quick.

  Captain Hendrix wore a sly smile choosing silence as his answer. Taking his eyes off his friend, he found a pair of boys who caught his attention.

  “Your sons I presume?” Captain Hendrix nodded at the young men who bore similarities to his friend and his wife.

  “Yes,” Governor Lennox turned around to beckon his sons. “This is my eldest, Ronin, a smart lad and knows just what to do without me having to tell him.” Ronin bowed in greeting which Captain Hendrix acknowledged with a smile before turning his eyes on the smaller brother who was staring up at him as if he had seen a giant of lore.

  Governor Lennox, seeing this, patted his youngest son’s shoulders to wake him from his stupor “And this my youngest. He will be traveling with you.”

  “Ah, another future prodigy then.” The words brought a smile of pride on the Lennox family. “Don’t worry kid, I'm not a giant. I just simply drank too much milk.” Captain Hendrix smirked at the youngest of the Lennox family who let out a giggle before stopping himself and going back to a serious look that seemed he stole from his older brother.

  Governor Lennox continued the introductions. “ This giant here is Captain Stuart Hendrix. He and I went to the Academy around the same time.” Governor Lennox finished with introductions turned to the group of anxious children waiting and smiled. “ Speaking of the Academy, why don’t we meet our future fellow alumni.”

  Turning their attention to the crowd of Awakeners, they found a jump in the usual numbers of Awakeners from before. A very obvious jump.

  “Greetings to our ‘Heroes of Tomorrow’ and welcome to the Soaring City.” Governor Lennox introduced himself. “ I am Peter Lennox, Governor of this fine city…”

  Ronin shifted his attention to the group of children staring at him with curious eyes and did a quick scan of the group and found two groups that stood out:

  One group appeared to be of commoners descent. Or at least most of them as he spotted a teenage boy standing in the middle wearing golden robes that matched his long silky blonde hair with white tusks on his breast signifying his noble status.

  The other group belonged to those of noble descent wearing bright colors with looks of disdain aimed towards those around them that weren’t of similar status.

  Standing in the middle of the bunch of human peacocks was a young teenager that immediately caught Ronin’s eye due to his robes. A quick scan over the boy was enough to find out a probable reason why his father himself came out of his office to greet these Outer District folks. The boy’s red hair and robes to match was enough to find the boy’s background. Only the boy’s brown eyes were something that would raise questions. But the black dragon with ruby red eyes on the boy’s robes would silence those of doubt.

  “Ronin, why don’t you give a tour for our future heroes?” The sudden attention and abrupt question brought Ronin out of his reverie.

  “Y-yes yes, of course” Ronin inwardly shook his head before sending a quick glance at the red haired boy, afraid he made a bad impression except the red haired boy appeared to not care as he continued to wear his nonchalant expression as if everything happening around him didn’t concern him.

  If it was any one else Ronin would think lowly of them but given the boy’s background Ronin would take his expression as goodwill, for who knows when that nonchalant attitude turned into something serious. Ronin hoped that would not happen here in his home. And if it did, his family wouldn’t be the reason.