Through It All ~ Dream Team SMP ✅

->One<-

I couldn't comprehend the size of the city. Towering structures of stone pierced the skyline. I had never seen anything like it. Growing up on the outskirts of the capital had all but prepared me to see the busy life that the dwellers of the city lead. I tried to push away my homesickness as I continued to stare, missing the peaceful silence of the farm where I was born.

I'd risked everything to be here.

My family back home had worked their entire lives on the notion I could make a name for myself here. Everything I'd lived for had led me to this defining moment. This is where I would be broke; either remade anew or simply left in pieces.

In my awe, I had failed to notice the carriage driver sighing overly loudly as he tried to thrust my luggage in my hand.

"Oh, heh, sorry, I'll get that now." I chuckled nervously, taking my single bag. I paused, taking a few shaky breaths. This was it.

"That'll be thirty-six silver, laddie." The old coach driver wheezed, as he handed my possessions over.

"Uh, yes, certainly, if you'll just give me a minute," I fumbled over my words as I rooted in my top pocket for the coins. I counted out thirty-six and spilled them clumsily, half in the old man's hands, half on the ground. "Oh, uh, terribly sorry, let me get that for you."

I dropped my bag with a loud thump, kneeling on the mossy cobblestone, scouring for shiny currency. It took me a good five minutes to find just half of them, and by this point, the driver was getting impatient, tapping his foot on the cobbles.

"You know what?" I said brightly, straightening up, "Just take this." I pulled a handful of silver out my breast pocket and, carefully this time, poured them in his hands. He grunted assent, not bothering to count. This ruffled me a bit, as there were certainly more than thirty-six pieces.

"Aha, yup, keep the change!" I yelled, trying to sound happy and positive as the coach pulled away from me. I doubted the man had even heard.

I sighed, dropping back to the floor. In my haste to collect the coins, I'd failed to notice my bag splitting upon impact with the ground, my luggage spilling everywhere. I cursed lowly, firstly collecting the remaining coins. When I had the money securely back in my pocket, I set about replacing the items in my bag, hurriedly. I didn't worry about precision, excited to enter the city as quickly as possible. I shoved my last item, a brass compass belonging to my grandfather, into the leather bag.

I exhaled slowly, jumping up and dusting myself off, the bits of dirt that hung to my clothes sent back to the ground. I took another look at the place that was to be my new home. It was still as stunning. It would take me a while, if ever, to get used to the colossal size of the place. The sheer magnitude of the population was simply a mere observation compared to the main event. The city itself.

The streets sprawled like ink-covered ants crawling over fresh parchment. It felt loose, manic, and overall, free. I slung the leather bag over my shoulders, taking my first step forwards towards the gate. The gate was a gigantic, wrought metal structure. Legend has it the bars are enchanted to keep out the unlawful, like thieves and murderers. Or at least, that's what Great-Nana told me when I was a child. Now, as a young man of sixteen, it seemed like a simple fantasy, a bedtime story. I admired the skilled metalwork that must have been put into forging such gates. The intricacy was unimaginable.

My ears filled with the sounds of life. The laughter of children, the songs of birds, even a talented lute player in the foreground of the first street, playing merrily while a beautiful woman filled the air with sweet melodies as she sang. The radiance was shattered, however, when I found myself stumbling into the queue to enter the city.

The normal folk simply entered and exited as they pleased, but, as this was my first time here, I had to go through official channels. At the end of the line, there was a young man in a blue uniform waiting to validate my credentials, two armed guards standing behind him, casting threatening looks upon everyone who passed through. Despite knowing I had my identity card and birth certificate with me, I couldn't help but feel uneasy that something may go wrong, and that these guards end up dragging me away to rot forever.

Great-Nan's stories have filled my head with falsehoods, I thought to myself. I have nothing to fear. They are simply there to protect the city. I bounced on the balls of my feet, anxious to get inside the walls and start my new life. My future was calling. I could hear it nearly as clear as the singing woman a few yards into the city.

The first thing I will do upon entry, I swore to myself, is tip her for giving my ears pleasant company while I awaited admission.

I smiled widely at the uniformed man as I approached the desk. His tired, green eyes regarded me wearily. He had probably seen the like of me before, young and brimming with hope of fortune. I'd heard so many stories of people from the Outer travelling to the city and finding a new life.

"Name?" His voice was monotonous and bored, but my bubbly excitement overplayed his dull outlook.

"Tommy."

"Full name." He tutted. My face flushed with embarrassment. My first time speaking to anyone from the city and I'd already made a fool of myself. I cursed how giddy I was.

"Tommy Innitson." I tried again, my smile weakening with each second.

"Identity card."

"Ah yes, I have it right here!" I had already taken my card out of my bag to avoid any 'unprofessional' fumbling. I wanted to make a good impression. "Et voilà!" I produced it from the inside of my travelling cloak. The uniformed man seemed sick of me already, but I wasn't going to let that get me down.

"Birth certificate?" I made to reply, but a cacophony of noise interrupted me. I searched for the source, finding it to be coming from the city.

My eyes widened at the sight of a young man, who was very tall, yelling at a somewhat rageful-looking mob.

"How can you comply as he sits listlessly on the throne, refusing to show his face!? Independence is the only option and I will not sit by and-" The man's words were cut off by one of the mob members slamming a fist into his face. I jumped at the sound of the impact, watching the man stagger around before falling to the ground.

He sat up a second later, pushing his curly, brown hair back, and readjusting his black, cotton beanie. The group advanced on him further, yelling obscenities, naming the man a traitor, and calling for his death. This was not what I had expected from the city.

When I thought the sight couldn't get any weirder, the person to break up the fight was none other than the singing lady. She marched forward, face furious.

"- to hell all of you! How dare you inflict harm on a man simply sharing his opinion. You should be ashamed!" Her scolding was something I was glad I wasn't on the receiving end of. She helped the man up, smoothing out her blonde hair. The man muttered something under his breath, wiping the blood off his chin before allowing the woman to escort him away.

I blinked a few times, barely believing what I'd witnessed.

"Ignore them, just some treasonous revolutionary getting what he deserved." It was one of the guards who spoke. He smiled maliciously at me, revealing a set of discoloured teeth. I tried not to physically shrink back as I handed over my birth certificate to the man. I barely registered the stamp going down on the yellowy paper, my eyes wandering back to the street, the same spot where the mob had punched the man. I felt pity for him, even if he was a revolutionary. I took my papers back, face splitting into a grin as I read the newly printed ink.

Cleared for entry

It read. I thanked the man and he simply nodded, saying only one thing before ushering me on.

"Welcome to L'manberg, Tommy Innitson."