Lowly Ascent

When Cain woke up, he stared up at the ceiling, basking in the comfort of the bed.

Forcing himself out of the soft sheets, he headed down to the first floor of the inn after getting dressed for the day.

Under John's instructions, Cain was wearing semi-formal attire. He was dressed in a white shirt with a thin vest, a dark green jacket, plaid pants, and leather shoes.

The stairs creaked as he stepped onto the first floor.

Standing at the bottom was John, waiting, "What took you so long?! The carriage is ready. Eat so we can leave."

Cain gobbled down the food and got in the carriage.

Today they were off to the core ring of the city. As the carriage headed down the road John made sure to clear up some things.

"We're meeting my friend Darius at the Union headquarters. He is helping you get into the school and even has a talented apprentice the same age as you, so make sure to be cordial and get along, okay?"

Cain nodded, half dozing while listening to his master's words. He was still tired, getting some more rest before reaching their destination.

The schools in the core area were few. There was one main school, followed by others that were run by singular high-ranking plague doctors, doing it either for money or to make connections.

The school Cain will be going to is the main school backed by the Union called Nevarus.

Cain would be joining as a third-year student and would have to finish one year of school, graduating to become an official member of the Union.

If he didn't go through this route, it would take even longer to become a part of the system that was the Plague Doctor Union.

There are hundreds of applicants from traveling plague doctors every day. Even pulling some strings during the application process would take Cain more than two years to get accepted.

…

The carriage ride passed as Cain drifted in and out of sleep, visions of the fabled Union Headquarters dancing in his mind. When the carriage jolted to a stop, he jerked awake. Opening his eyes in a haze, he got to know just how big the massive building in the center was.

"We're here," John said, nudging Cain to awaken faster.

Cain blinked open his eyes and gasped.

An enormous domed structure loomed before them, so large he had to crane his neck to see the top. Intricate carvings and statues adorned the smooth white surface.

People streamed in and out of arched doorways. Cain had never seen anything so imposing and grand.

"This is Union Headquarters?" Cain asked.

"Impressive, isn't it?" John said with a proud smile. "Come on, let's go meet my friend."

Standing before this giant in architecture, Cain was excited to see the inside but was forced to walk, to look 'orderly'.

He was now considered upper-class and had to obey their rules under his master's watch.

The inside was like a mall, or at least this part of the building was.

It was made up of a huge atrium with different stores, restaurants, and such around the sides with a big open space in the middle.

After walking up some stairs, Cain found that they were walking towards a café, the inside was so silent he could hear his footsteps.

The café was nice and modern.

The styles in Free City were very different from the rest of the world, it seemed every store had different themes and furniture, and this café was under the category called new age.

The café's sleek metal chairs and tables contrasted with the ornate stonework of the building's interior. The aroma of roasted coffee beans wafted through the air. Cain ran his hands over the smooth, cool surface of their table, impressed by the shine. He had never seen such fine polished wood.

He watched John walk up to a man of similar age. They shook hands while giving one another amicable smiles.

John and Darius talked as old friends do.

"How have you been, John?" Darius asked, clapping a hand on John's shoulder. "It's been too long."

"Can't complain. Though not as spry as I used to be," John chuckled.

'That must be Darius... who's that?'

Cain saw a young lady behind Darius, she was young. Her skin was clear and smooth, her chestnut hair shined and her hazel eyes seemed to pierce Cain's heart.

Feeling inadequate, Cain then decided to walk up and introduce himself with a bow.

"Hello, I am Cain, John's student."

Looking at him, Darius seemed to understand something and smiled "My my, John, you've got quite the apprentice, even better than my Luna, haha."

"Indeed I do. I was quite lucky!"

The group sat together with Cain and John on one side and Darius and Luna on the other.

"I'm thankful for you helping Cain get into Nevarus. I've been gone too long and have lost most of my connections, so this is well appreciated. I'll be sure to make it up to you!"

"No need for that John. I'm happy to help. Plus, now Luna will have another friend in her third year."

While John and Darius were talking, Cain and Luna were in an awkward silence.

Cain had always talked to John for the most part and had never socialized with others any more than business, so it was quite silent.

However, growing some courage, he decided to spark up a conversation!

"Hello... I would appreciate it if you could help me and show me around the school grounds. I have never gone to school and have always studied under my master."

As if this was her queue, Luna jumped at the chance to speak.

"I would be happy to! There are not many new faces joining the school like you. I would be more than happy to accompany you!"

Luna seemed shy at first, fiddling with the clothes and avoiding eye contact. But as they spoke, her initial hesitation disappeared. Her eyes would light up describing her favorite foods and coffee. Cain was struck by her passion for learning. He felt drawn to her kind spirit.

"So do you like it here?" She asked. 

Cain's excitement showed itself. "Incredibly so, though I'm all turned around here, everything is so hard to navigate!"

"I can show you around, how about I meet you at your house tomorrow, then I can show you around the neighborhood a bit on our way to school?" 

"I would love that!" He smiled, cheerful. 

Although their conversation was still a bit awkward when it was all said and done, they became good friends, Cain ended up even looking forward to the tour Luna promised.

Soon, their coffee cups became empty. John and Cain decided to head to their new abode. The two groups parted.

They were at the place Cain was excited about. Entering through a gate he saw his new home.

It was a manor near the school and had many servants and maids.

"This is the head butler, George. If you need anything, go to him. The building has a basement for experiments, which is where I'll be, as well as an upstairs where the study and bedrooms are."

George bowed to John and Cain before returning to his duties.

Another servant walked forward and bowed.

"This servant will lead you to your room where I've prepared everything for school. You start tomorrow. Luna will be here to bring you since even being so close to the grounds, your inexperience will get you lost. Now leave me alone."

Cain followed the servant upstairs and walked into his room, this was the place he was going to sleep for a long time.

He entered a clean and neat bedroom filled with school supplies. Books, recipes, and apparatuses filled the top of his desk.

Cain packed up what he could, and tomorrow, the other things would be brought to school by servants.

Tired, he sat down at his desk and chose to do some research, after that, he laid down in bed and began to ponder his future plans.

…

Waking up to the bright light of the now sun-like moons, Cain stretched, not even a yawn exiting his mouth.

A meal was prepared for him downstairs.

Finishing everything and preparing to leave, he waited for Luna by the gate. She ended up running a little late, and when she arrived, it was obvious she had been rushed this morning.

"Sorry, I woke up later than I would of liked." She apologized. 

Cain was quick to reassure her. "Its fine, I'm the one asking for help after all!" 

"Ah, then we can head to school, although I can't give much of a tour of the city, another time perhaps?"

"Sure." He agreed. 

The two began to walk, and while they did Luna would talk of Nevarus.

"You're going to like the school. It's the best of the best in terms of teaching and we're given information and research others would kill to get their hands on, most of it even coming from the Union's libraries. The libraries which are hailed the best in the world!"

She also told him other interesting things.

"Oh, another thing, our school doesn't teach plague doctor studies much. Like how to understand different bacteria and pathogens. Stuff like that they want us to learn on our own. But some of the teacher don't mind and will add that stuff to their lessons from time to time, just a heads up." Her face was soft with joy. 

She went on, "What the school teaches us is defensive and combat-based classes to train students, and information-based classes like identifying and tracking. I took a tracking class, the teacher was nice!"

The school has a wide variety of classes ranging from combat to survival.

It was all catered to upper-class students who had never had to do anything in their lives. It was to prepare them for when they had to uphold their duties as plague doctors.

After all, the world was dangerous, and their parents couldn't protect them forever. This school trains these children to become actual plague doctors, not in the sense of academics but in the sense of why they are called plague doctors instead of just doctors.

Cain was excited hearing this news, this meant he could strengthen himself but it would also be more fun!

Reaching the gate to the school premises, a wide range of buildings were settled in the distance, atop green grass.

There was a grin on Cain's face.