The Everburn Mage

9. The Capital of Esteras

The capital city Savannis was the largest out of all the cities and towns in the country.

It made places like Primrose and even Ponsetta appear as nothing more than small dots on the map. In total, Rune had only ever visited the capital a grand total of twice in his entire twenty years of living. Once was when he graduated from the military academy and the other was during the occasional and much-coveted Ranking Ceremony. Other than that, however, there was little separating him from your average tourist.

On his previous visits, he never actually got the chance to identify what the city had to offer although it wasn't as if he'd had the option to. Combat mages like him were constantly fighting the clock, even if they were fresh out of training. So as he stepped out of the train station and took in his surroundings, he was ambushed by cascading astonishment and infant excitement.

Having spent his childhood raised in the countryside it always took him a while to adjust to the heavily contrasting environments. He liked to think he'd gotten used to living far from his sleepy little town. Though, as his eyes sparkled like diamonds, he realized he was merely kidding himself.

The loud and busy atmosphere polluted the air with a plethora of varying noises and odors. What replaced small two-storied houses and shops were tall, box-shaped buildings of every design. World-renowned shops, five-star restaurants, and popular hotels made Rune's wallet ache just by staring at them. 

Snake-like streets populated by vehicles of various sizes and shapes extended from the train station and off into the distance, eventually diverging into numerous directions. And like herding animals, large groups of people stomped their feet on the sidewalk's cement or across the roaring streets so that they may quickly get to wherever it is they needed to be.

Unfortunately, despite how wonderful it was to see the city after such a long time, not even Savannis' splendid valor could disintegrate the annoyance he garnered from the person accompanying him. "So cool!" Daze loudly exclaimed, aggressively rocking his fists up and down. "The capital's even better than I thought it'd be! I should have brought my camera with me!"

Rune raised an eyebrow. "Wait, you've never been here before?"

"Contrary to popular belief, Master, not every noble-born is from the capital."

"Weren't you summoned here after you graduated from the academy like I was? It's the protocol for all new combat mages."

"Yeah, well, my graduation conditions were kinda unique," Daze replied, nervously laughing to himself. "Since I graduated a year earlier than the rest of my class, I didn't have a traditional ceremony, per se. Instead, they just shipped me to Mage Bracket 9 without so much as giving me a slice of congratulatory cake."

"Really?"

"Afraid so."

"Man, you prodigies sure do have it rough. Anyways, let's hurry and get to Military High Command. The others are probably waiting for us."

Since Rune hadn't visited the capital in a while and Daze was as useless as a blindfolded child in the middle of a maze, they were forced to blindly ask around where to find the headquarters. As luck would have it, a pair of military soldiers were helpful enough. They instructed the two mages to head north as High Command was located near the very heart of Savannis.

Amidst their tedious journey, Rune couldn't stop himself from gawking. Compared to Ponsetta, a large portion of the capital's population weren't country-kissed commoners but nobles and royals. Their affluence practically permeated the fancy clothing and jewelry most of them proudly donned. 

As they neared the end of the sidewalk, Rune's gaze momentarily glanced at a flock of women crowding out of a shop ahead of them. They carried their purchases in white bags and chatted about matters he couldn't even comprehend. Normally, he'd just pass them by without a second thought. However, his fixation lingered on their colorful yet bizarre dresses.