The Half-Giant's Guide to Seeing the Future

The Day I Floated Into The Capital

It took the flying horses almost three hours to reach the capital. I tried looking out the window at the passing landscape of Jontun on the way, but the rolling fields and trees made me feel a little sick. Hellene suggested I keep my head in the carriage so the wind wouldn't ruin my hair, so I sat back and listened to her talk on and on about everything that the Nikones did for the country.

According to the betrothed of the crown prince, Nikone City had three main roles. The first was simply to serve as the head of governing. The king made the decisions from his throne and arbitrators were trained to learn the laws of the land and serve as judges when disputes got out of hand. She claimed that there were only a handful of true arbitrators, but most golden guards could interpret the laws as well.

The second role was Nikone City was a garrison. Every giant born into the house learned to serve. Some were sent out as a police force for the giant nobility. Others stayed to protect the royal family and train the next generation. Sir Tomyris was one of the guards assigned to the royal family because of her skill and high ranking in training.

"The last role of the city, though, is more complicated," Hellene said. "The reason that Nikone City is so big isn't because the Nikone house itself is large. In fact, the Nikones are one of the smaller houses as a whole. The true reason that the city is so big is that it serves as the trading hub for the entire continent. The nobles each bring the good their house makes to Nikone City and the king and his arbitrators divide the resources evenly and keep the excess."

"Many of the buildings in the capital are warehouses that are filled with supplies," Moreno said. "Every good in Jontun goes through the capital."

The city itself didn't look too impressive. All the buildings were made of silvery metal. Most of them had flat roofs except for a massive, spiked building with turrets that shot into the air like needles. The entire city itself was surrounded by a massive and thick wall that was made of stone and looked to be at least ten feet thick.

Soldiers ran up and down the wall. As I looked closer, I realized they were all no older than my younger brothers. Each was dressed in a white tunic with a golden sash, and all of them had shaved heads regardless of gender. A few soldiers in golden armor shouted drills for the children like some sort of boot camp.

"The Nikones are always training the next generation," Moreno said. "They start even younger than the halfants. I think the starting age here is eight. Then, they train about ten years before they are actually given assignments, unless a child proves exceptional. Doc always thought taking away the lives of young children was unfair, so she won't let any halfants start training until fourteen."

Sir Tomyris snorted in her seat beside Moreno. "That's why our border guard is woefully under-prepared. You are not true soldiers."

"You want to go a few rounds in the ring?" Moreno asked.

He'd been hesitant to let the golden guard come with us. Hellene had finally reminded him that it was for the best since Tomyris knew the city even better than she did. Moreno had been glaring daggers at the golden guard the entire ride and Hellene kicked him to break his death stare.

"No one is fighting today," Hellene said. "We need to stay calm and collected."

The carriage pulled up to the massive metal gates of the city. The Nikone crest of the eye was emblazoned in the center. Six guards eyed our carriage, and a seventh walked up to our window.

"Lady Hellene," the golden guard raised his visor. "Sir Tomyris, welcome to Nikone City. Though I thought you were sent to the halfants to look after..."

His eyes fell on me, and he turned as pale as a snowman. I didn't blame him. After all, I was a problem child, but I handed him my invitation, which seemed to make him quake in his boots as he read the words and saw the insignia.