Eren's back was sore after traveling for ten days straight, fortunately, his journey was nearing its end and he was looking forward to it. For the last two days, his only companions were the bleak walls of the coach and the grumpy driver. Today was going to be his first day at the Academy, the most prestigious educational institute in all of Tarkhel.

"Your destination has arrived." The driver said in a matter-of-fact tone. Eren parted the curtains which separated him from the grumpy man and handed over the coins.

The moment his feet made contact with the ground, he was hit with a cocktail of sounds and smells. The road was bubbling with activity and there was a festive air. It was the capital of Tarkhel - Urova. The city was considered the heart of a nation which stood atop the world in terms of wealth, military and prosperity. The first two were true but the third one was as true as 'the Executioner is a merciful soul'. The civil war which lasted two years ended a month ago and the effects of war could be felt. As the economy crashed, unemployment rose through the roof, consumption fell and the country drowned in debt. Even though the Council tried to hide the dire state of the nation, it was not a disaster that one could easily hide from the people, so with a whiff of propaganda, they directed the anger and frustration of the commoners towards the rebels, which resulted in a massive withdrawal of support and the war came to an end a bit earlier than projected.

The two suns at the horizon were setting down and cold started taking over. Eren coaxed the sleeves of his coat as he remembered the story of the sky and sun gods back from his homeland. A smile crept on his face as he was hit by nostalgia. He pulled out a handkerchief which was a gift from his aunt from his rucksack and stored it in the inner breast-pocket of his coat.

"Now then, where is this jade g..." Eren gulped as a massive gate came in his view. It was as unnatural as a parrot in a murder of crows, towering over all the roadside shops. Both the doors adorned floral jade patterns and two large rhinestones replaced the doorknobs. From kids nagging their parents to customers haggling and bargaining with shopkeepers, all kinds of people were present in the vicinity, but the gate could have been a pebble on the street and still gotten the same amount of attention. Either it was only visible to Eren or people living in cities were used to large, roadside ornate doors. The latter reason was quite unlikely so Eren chose the first one.

Calming down his nerves, Eren walked briskly towards the gate and stood in front of it.

"May I know your name, sir ?" A sweet, mechanical female voice inquired.

"Eren Penhallow." Eren declared.

"Would you like your luggage to be sent to your dorm ?"

Eren thought about it. He didn't have many possessions, everything was in his rucksack, but he felt it was too early to part with it.

"Nah, I'll keep it."

"As you wish sir." Their conversation ended at that note and the doors opened.

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Eren's suspicion turned out to be correct. The gate was a teleportation portal, it must have been set up by really skilled mages.

Eren looked around and found himself standing at a corner of an enormous room. He walked while running his hand over the walls, feeling its grainy texture. Several torches giving out white light were placed at random intervals along the wall. One would think that the light given out would be patchy, but in stark contrast, the room was well illuminated as if it was natural light.

Eren was not the only one present. He estimated around a hundred children but there were probably more. The age of admission to the Academy was 15 to 16. Although it was considered near impossible to crack the entrance exam in the first attempt, Eren had cleared it in one go, so most kids were a year older than him. Some were standing in groups of three and four speaking in hushed voices while most were standing alone in silence. There were few, who was lying on the floor, they were probably very tired. After all not everyone was as lucky as Eren who had a family well of enough to at least grant him a carriage.

Being busy, processing the sight, Eren nearly bumped into a meditating Titan. Titans were Highborns who bore the Talent of increasing the size of their bodies multiple times the original. They meditated to conserve energy as their metabolism would speed up exponentially when they were in their giant form.

Eren wondered if it worked with non-Titans too. As he thought about conserving energy he realized something, "Why can't I use Aether ?" The case was not that Aether had disappeared from his body, it was just something blocking him from tapping into the pool. "Probably the room has something to do with it. After all, I doubt they want their students to murder each other even before entering the school," Eren concluded. Others were quite calm so they might have reached the same conclusion.

"Die bitch ! It's all your fault."

"I told you, I am not a Raven."

Eren craned his neck to look towards the direction of the commotion. There were three boys who had cornered a girl. One of her cheeks were swollen, which meant she had already been hit, quite likely by one of them.

"Oh. Do you know how many clans there are in Tarkhel with blue eyes? Only one." the guy in the lead raised his index finger as if to emphasize his point, "and you are telling me to believe that you are not a Raven. "

As if this was a signal the two lackeys of the aggressive dude started showering kicks and punches on her. She raised her hands to shield her face but it was a feeble defense.

Eren knew better not to intrude in other's disputes, but he couldn't stand it. The clothes of the boy in the lead literally screamed Highborn. Messing with him could have some serious repercussions. Furthermore, he didn't know the cause of his anger or even which one was the right side.

"Bravery is weakness," a voice echoed through his brain.

He looked down at his hands and for a split second and saw them shivering and drenched in blood. "No. I am done running away." Eren shook his head and steeled his nerves.

He gulped and his mouth went dry but somehow he stepped forward and declared, "leave her alone."