Ksi
This is a first for our Academy! This year, for the very first time, five new students from the Wild Lands have been admitted to our prestigious institution! And now, alongside us—dragons and dragonesses of the Empire’s highest families—these rough, uncivilized guys from the Wilds will be studying! Everyone on campus rushed out to catch a glimpse of this oddity, or rather, these oddballs!
Six dragons, one of them even a golden one, landed right in the courtyard in front of the main building. The entire Academy gathered to witness the spectacle! When the dragons shifted into their human forms, it wasn’t just the girls who gasped. Five young men and an older guy, seemingly from different clans, were strikingly handsome in a raw, primal way—but that wasn’t the shocking part. They were all dressed in genuine bear hides! Rumor has it that where they come from, they spend most of their lives in dragon form!
“The Wild Lands are on the very edge of the World. People say beyond them, there’s nothing but Eternal Darkness,” Akira, my roommate, explains, filling me in.
“How do you know that?”
“My brother went there on a diplomatic mission. He said they greet visitors in dragon form, and while he was there, they barely ever shifted into humans. They lived in caves up in the mountains, hunted, and ate raw meat.”
“That’s horrifying! And now these savages are going to study with us? I bet they can’t even read!” The girls around me giggled, and the newcomers definitely noticed.
“I’ve also heard they came here looking for brides! But who’d want to live in their backwoods dump?”
“Shh. I think they can hear us,” I warned my friends.
“Relax, Ksi. At this distance, they wouldn’t hear us even in their beast form.”
“Akira, don’t forget—they’re from the Wilds!” And right then, one of them gave a dismissive nod in our direction, as if proving my point.
The others turned to look at us too, sizing us up. The boldest one said something, and the whole group burst into loud laughter. Meanwhile, something strange started happening around us. The campus was buzzing with activity. Carriages kept arriving and departing, which isn’t unusual since the school year is about to start, but these carriages weren’t dropping off students—they were picking them up, specifically the female students!
Dozens of young dragonesses were hurriedly leaving the Academy grounds. What on earth was going on?
“Girls! They’re taking me out of the Academy!” Shatane, our friend, ran up to us, tears streaming down her face.
“What’s happening?”
“These… Wild ones. They didn’t just come here to study. They came for wives! And the worst part is, according to an agreement with our Emperor, they have the right to choose any dragoness they want! Even from the royal family.”
So that’s why parents are rushing to pull their daughters out of the Academy! No one wants to hand over their precious girls to these Wild brutes!
But my relationship with my guardian isn’t exactly great, and judging by the fact that no one’s in a hurry to get me out of here, I’m a prime candidate to be married off to one of these savages.
They’ve housed the newcomers on the outskirts of campus. Word is, it’s because they prefer sleeping in their beast forms.
Good grief, how barbaric! I just hope they at least shower before classes.
The next day, classes start at the Academy. And there’s another surprise! The Wild ones will be studying with us, in our third year! How is that even possible?
During the first lecture, the rector introduces the new students. They’re all wearing the Academy uniform now, and they’ll be split up, one per faculty: Combat, Healing, Administration, Economics, and Diplomacy!
And there’s yet another shock in store: maybe they can actually read after all. I’ll probably find out soon enough, because one of them—Erdan—is in the same faculty and year as me.
Erdan
Man, Dad really outdid himself this time!
Fine, sending me off to study is one thing, but he also ordered me to find a bride! As if I don’t have enough girls back home! And if I need an heir, any of them would be thrilled to carry one. They’d give me a strong, healthy kid for the kingdom, no problem. Our girls are tough, not like these… delicate highborn ladies. Can they even have kids? I’m worried they wouldn’t survive flying in our territory. They’d probably freeze their flimsy little wings off. What am I supposed to do with a wife like that? Lock her in a tower? Haul firewood in my jaws all winter?
Why am I being punished like this? I’m scared to even look at the local girls, let alone take one to bed! Though Dad did mention something about their customs… They’re so overly civilized here, it’s ridiculous. If she’s not my True Mate and doesn’t get pregnant, then what? Ugh. And they don’t even sleep with you without a marriage first. So it’s temple first, bed second. What nonsense! How am I supposed to know if she’s my True Mate? True Bonding only activates after the first night. And if it doesn’t happen, what’s the point of her? I’d have to annul the marriage. But that can only be done in our Clan Temple. That’s why there’s never any hassle with our girls. If it doesn’t work out, she’s free to go! But with these Empire girls, it’s gonna be a whole mess! So the plan looks like this: Empire Temple, bed, then Clan Temple. Does that mean I have to fly home every time until I find my True Mate? It’s at least a week’s journey between the Empire and the Wild Lands. I’ll wear my wings out flapping back and forth!
Alright, for now, I’ll focus on studying. I’ve been assigned to the Diplomacy Faculty. I’m the heir to the throne, after all! Though they initially tried to shove me into Healing, saying there’d be more girls there. No way I’m putting up with that kind of humiliation! I’m Erdan of the Golden Dragon Clan, Crown Prince of the Wild Lands! And they want me picking herbs and brewing potions? I actually wanted Combat, but my mentor Digan, who’s also the head of the Royal Guard, put his foot down. He said my bodyguard, Izir of the Ashen Clan, would be studying there instead.
Besides Digan and Izir, three of my buddies came with me: Yatan of the Mountain Clan, who’s in Administration; Kristian of the Forest Clan, in Healing; and Fray of the Phantom Clan, in Economics. My friends will eventually form the core of my rule. The knowledge we gain at the Academy will come in handy for our Kingdom down the line.
By the way, Digan came along to, quote-unquote, keep an eye on us. And, fun fact, he’s not married either.
Alright, Wild ones! Let’s shake things up in this prim and proper place!
Digan
They’ve put us up on the edge of campus, in a separate cottage with its own garden, a field for shifting, and a high fence. Good thing they didn’t post guards outside.
These young punks—the Crown Prince and his pals—pulled a stunt last year when they hosted an Empire delegation. They convinced the diplomats that we don’t stay in human form, live in caves, and eat raw meat. So, when the delegation got back home and King Greg found out about his son’s prank, oh boy, did they get it! And I got dragged into the punishment with them. As a consequence, we spent six months in the caves of the Rocky Mountains. We hunted and ate nothing but raw meat. I was sick of it by the third day, but these brats didn’t care! They flew around the mountains, scaring the wildlife. They turned every bear in the area into a hide. And then they showed up to the Academy decked out in those hides—and dragged me into it too, the little scale-covered troublemakers!