Rebirth of the Phoenix God

(Map of the city is in the comment to this paragraph - if you want to have a graphic view of what I'm writing about)

With the change of the environment, the way in which the leader of their group treated Fen and Arla also greatly improved. Instead of keeping them in the dark, this middle-aged man patiently answered all the questions that Fen initially had, all the way to the point where the girl also won against her own anxiety and hesitation and started asking as well.

The time that the entire group spent on the boat could be considered to be a breaking point for the young man. For the very first time ever since he was executed, Fen actually had some ideas about what he could expect in the destination he was travelling towards!

According to the words of the man that was leading the entire group, all the information that Fen learned about the arcanist would turn obsolete the moment he would set foot in the republican academy. 

At first, the young man though it was Kinarian attempt to curb any influence that the empire could hold over the people that would move to the higher tier of the arcanist education in the academy. By proving how little of value all the imperial teachings were to the students, the academy would make sure that its student wouldn't hold the empire dear in his heart. 

But as the middle-aged man went on an extensive lecture on the differences in the teaching approach between the empire and republic, Fen slowly started to accept the fact that Draconis arcanism actually had very little to do with Phoenixian one!

"It's not like those two arts come from entirely different areas, but the nature of their working is just completely and utterly different. I can tell that you learned a bit in the empire… But don't you think that stopping for a long moment during the fight is not something that a properly arcanist would do?"

This was the question that made first doubts appear in Fen's mind about his initial guess, slowly crumbling all the protective barriers that he put around himself. Bit by bit, the obvious assumptions that the leader's words created started to fill Fen's head with the possibility of the bring future!

"Hey… You got a moment?"

After the initial excitement with the new reality died out, replaced by the mundane realism of travelling by boat, Arla was rather quick to quietly approach Fen and tug the end of his robe.

"Sure, what's wrong?"

Seeing how anxious the girl was to speak out loudly, the leader of their group proved that he could be thoughtful as well and instantly pulled the two soldiers of his outside of the room. In this new, private space just for the two of them, Arla instantly threw herself at the young man, grabbing hold of his waist and refusing to let it go.

"You won't abandon me once we get to the city, won't you?"

Compared to the last time when she had this kind of worry, the situation was extremely different now. While her body was still slightly shaking, betraying how worried she still was, it was clear that she no longer feared that she would be just discarded and left to die to some beasts, but this girl actually longer to keep her position by Fen's side!

"And why would I do that? It's not like finding someone as dedicated as you would be possible for me either way. I was more worried that you would actually want to leave me once we get to the city!"

That was the truth of the situation. From the events that occurred back in the officially and practically Imperial land, it was clear that Arla wanted to find someone that would make her escape from the town and empire possible. Now, that her most troublesome wish was fulfilled and her status guaranteed by the fact that she had a bit of arcanist talent, Arla didn't really have any reason to stick with Fen!

"Leave… wait, what? You really thought that I would be so cold?!"

Shaken by this notion, Arla leaned to the back as if she wanted to have a clear look on Fen's troubled face. But when she noticed that instead of being calculative and cold, the young man actually had an anxious expression on his face, her lips moved up as her hands once again brough her head tightly against Fen's chest.

"You did so much for me, you saved my life on multiple occasions. There is no way I would leave you willingly right now!"

Fully accepting Fen's desperate hug, Arla pushed her soft body against Fen's chest, rubbing her cheek against Fen's collarbone. This moment of emotional reunion was sadly broken when a knocking sound cut right through the denser and denser atmosphere in the room, instantly deflating the urges that started to grow in the duo of the young people.

"I'm sorry to bother, but I don't think you want to miss this sight."

Most likely expecting the two of them to already spring into the action like the young people they were, the leader of their group didn't even push his head inside, limiting himself to just opening the door and shouting the news through the gap.

"Let's see what they want to show us."

Reaching with his hand to Arla's cheek, Fen raised her head a bit and placed a delicate kiss on her soft, trembling lips. 

"Okay…"

With her eyes already moist, Arla wasn't in the state to refuse any of Fen's request. By reaching for and grabbing her delicate fingers, the young man quickly moved out of the room only to stand still right at the doorway, unknowingly blocking the sight for the girl following him.

"Hey, I can't see…"

Protesting silently when she noticed the effect that the sight had on the young man, Arla quickly helped Fen shake his stun away from his mind and let her experience the same picture.

And it was truly magnificent.

Just the line of the enormous buildings that busied both the shores of the river was enough to shake Fen's understanding of the general economy. After all, they were still way off from reaching the gate of the city that shone with a strange light in the distance, so the price of the land should be still rather low! 

But in spite of Fen's initial guesses, the buildings only continue to grow both in size and in majesty, as the elevations of some of them quickly turned out to be worth more than what a commonfolk could earn through their entire lives!

Yet, the greatest shock still awaited them. Once the boat got close enough, which by itself took a long time due to how congested this waterway was, Fen and Arla could finally see what the leader of their group had on the mind when claiming they wouldn't want to miss it.

Stretching for over twenty meters into the skies, the huge gatehouse that could potentially block the waterway both with a set of spiked chains and with the steel harrow hanging menacingly from the upper part of the gate alone served as the proof of how insanely wealthy and important this city was.

"No matter whether you look left or right, once we pass the gate and before we will reach the middle of the city, everything that you will see on both banks of the river will belong to an academy. While it's nothing that you should be worried about yet, the area on the left bank is called Raven's House and is settled by the so-called 'academy royalists', while everything on the right bank is called Ratheath and is managed by the 'academy modernists'. Those are two main factions that are set in the political struggle over the city, while the rest of the world doesn't give a slightest fuck about their shenanigans."

There was a clear hint of dissatisfaction in the group leader's voice when he mentioned the factions. It seemed that no matter the country, no matter its political landscape or culture, factions were something that would appear everywhere.

But there was nothing wrong with that. Where a clash of ideas would happen, growth would splurge due to the rivalry between different ideas. It would be far harder to believe in anything that the group leader said about this place if not for this kind of darker side of the things!

"Prepare, we will be passing the gate now."

After this communicate, the entire boat went silent. Even after the vessel moved to the open area of the inner city behind the walls, Fen and Arla were too sudden by the sights to even speak, while the rest of the group wasn't keen to start the conversation of their own.

"Okay now, wake up from your daze. We are reaching the Dawnford district. While there are two areas dedicated to the academy inner workings, for some reason the academy itself is here. And it will suffice to say, that once I bring you to their custody, my mission will end there."