They soon entered the large building, it was around two hundred years old and was named the Buxton National Theatre. As they entered, the guard began describing the building they were entering, proud to be stationed at the Ninetieth Peak. He explained that the Buxton Theatre was made from a white stone, mined from a nearby hillside. The Theatre had initially been made for political rallies and a central location for those travelling from the north and the south to meet. Buxton was an important hub in the Isles of Britainy and the Buxton National Theatre was a key piece of architecture in the more recent times.
They soon were directed up some stairs once they were inside the theatre's atrium, which was decorated with a red carpet and lavish paintings of different people on the walls. One of the students asked who the paintings were off, and was told they were Heroes of the Isles of Britainy and the Hundred Peaks.
At the top of the stairs, they were directed through a guarded door, which lead them to a large balcony that overlooked the tiered theatre below. The Theatre could comfortably fit seven hundred people in it and Dom felt it reminded him slightly of the auction house in World Conquest Online that he had visited on occasion. The main difference being the space for the private booths in the World Conquest Online Theatre were now a large balcony that could seat over one hundred people.
Dom and the Blue Striped group of students all headed to the front of the balcony, taking seats that overlooked the large auditorium below, that already seated a majority of the Swords Peak Students that had arrived today. Dom could see that there were now over four hundred below, he tried looking for Stephen and Rosie, but couldn't see them specifically in the crowd.
He was surprised by one group that were sat below, they wore thicker outfits than the rest, with a long animal fur strip that dangled over their shoulder. Jessica explained that these were from the Northern Isles, including the former nation of Iceland that was now almost impossible to survive on due to the extreme cold.
Jessica and Roger sat beside him, whilst a male he hadn't spoken to before sat on his other side. They spoke between the three of them for a few minutes until the Theatre lights dimmed and the stage lights lit up. Some music played on some brass and string instruments, before a well dressed woman and an older Male appeared on the stage. The man had short grey hair and walked with a slight limp, he was muscular and was dressed in a tight fitting military suit. The woman was tall with blonde hair and dressed in a black suit dress.
"Good evening everyone." The man announced from the stage, his voice echoing around the arena. "I am Dean Augustus Cleverly, one of the Deans of the Hundred Sword Peaks. I oversee the Thirtieth to the Thirty Fifth Peaks."
"And I am Dean Belinda McCarthy." The woman added, "Another of the Dean's, I oversee the Seventy Fifth to Eightieth Peak."
"We would like to welcome you to the Hundred Sword Peaks." Dean Cleverly stated jovially, "Tonight, some students from further years will demonstrate some of their excellent skills, learnt from the Peaks they are studying in."
"We will also have some music and opportunities for some of you to get involved." Dean McCarthy continued. "Food will be provided in the Atrium at the breaks, where you will have opportunities to socialise and meet some of your peers. The Peaks are competitive so your friends today, may be your competition in the future."
The entertainment began and Dom watched as some students in their early twenties showed off some sword skills on the stage, there was also some guest speakers who were either teachers or elder students who did some poetry or discussed some of the interesting topics that were taught by them.
Breaks soon came and Dom, Jessica and Roger ate some Isles of Britainy specialities that they hadn't tasted before. Dom tried a type of food called Black Pudding, assuming it was a desert, instead he felt unwell afterwards as the taste wasn't to his liking. Roger had laughed at his expense, explaining that it was made from oats with beef blood, fat and herbs. Roger had also explained their was a type of food called Haggis that Dom should try at some point. They had also tried something called a scotch egg, which was a boiled egg in a breaded sausage based ball. Dom had enjoyed the egg, but was wary about some of the other foods he had been shown.
Jessica had kindly provided him with a desert called a Battenburg Cake, which was sweat and sugary, cleansing his pallet from the tastes of the earlier food. They hadn't seen Rosie or Stephen, as the large crowd of people gathering in the Atrium made it difficult to spot anyone. He had seen some of the students from the Northern Isles though, they were tall and bearded with fur around their necks. They were intimidating in comparison to most of the students and Dom suspected they had a tougher upbringing than most. He wondered how strong they would be in a fight, and if they could beat his Batavi Horsemen in a fight.
The evening soon passed, with Dom and his group leaving as the sky darkened. His Aunt Camilla's reminder of the early start fresh in his mind. His mind was still in shock at referring to someone as an Aunt. He had bid farewell to Roger and explained that he hoped they could stay in touch in the future, sharing their contact details so they could message each other. Jessica said she would see them in the morning and had headed to her room first.
Dom had found the event enjoyable, but it wasn't as exciting as the victory celebration he had held in Riverside during the game. The game world's realism was having a negative impact on his experiences in the real world and Dom was acutely aware that this wasn't a healthy development. He wondered if his in game experiences with Meritamen would have an impact on real life experiences if the opportunities arose. He hadn't really thought about pursuing a relationship in the real world, originally he had thought about pursuing Claire, and as time moved on he occasionally even had thoughts about Alice, which he quickly shoved away to the back of his mind and locked away in a deep dark hole. His interactions with Jessica had made him feel that when he arrived in Central, it might be time for him to find a girlfriend and concentrate on his reality a bit more.
.....
Dom awoke in his room, his back aching at the lack of sleep due to being in a new and unknown bed. He had slept deeply, if not uncomfortably, as the night before on the Yacht had been a rocky experience. He quickly showered and changed in to the clean clothes that had been placed on his bed, before heading downstairs to the meeting room from the day earlier.
Dom was pleased to see that Jessica was waiting for him, alongside Kish Mandal and Diane Chong. They were all sat eating some breakfast and Dom soon joined them with his own plate from a small buffet table that was at the side of them.
"I am Kish Mandal, I have come from the Iberico College in the South of the Western Kingdoms." Kish introduced himself, "It's nice to meet you."
"And you Kish." Dom responded, "I am Dominic Lazarus from Military Academy 26 in the Central of the Western Kingdoms."
"I am Diane Chong." Diane added, before taking another bite of her food, not alluding to where she came from before.
"You already know me." Jessica smiled at him. Dom realised he didn't know much about Jessica Moon either, and decided he needed to find out when he got chance.
The four of them ate and chatted about the previous day in the Isles of Britainy, before a Guard entered and told them that Lady Camilla Mordred was waiting for them to depart in the Car Park. The four of them quickly finished what they were eating and followed the guard out of the castle and back towards the Car Park that they had arrived in.
The coaches had all disappeared and Dom wondered where they had moved to, as many of those who had arrived at the Ninetieth Peak would be moving on in the following days. All that was left was a few luxury cars and off road vehicles. The guard directed them to a six wheel raised car, which seated two people in the front and eight in the back in two rows of four that faced inwards. The Car was black on the outside, with tinted windows for privacy.
"Please get inside." The Guard asked politely, as he opened the door and revealed a seated Camilla who was reading a letter.
"You took your time." She complained, before ushering them inside. "Hector, once they have strapped in, please depart immediately."
"Of course my Lady." The Driver replied politely.
Dom sat beside Jessica and Diane on one side, where as Kish sat on the other side, leaving a seat between himself and Lady Camilla. The four sat in silence whilst Camilla finished reading her letter, once she finished she crushed it in to a ball and put it in to a sealed container that was beside her seat for incineration. Whilst she read, the Driver Hector, began moving the car out of the Car Park and out of the city of Buxton. Camilla then lifted her head after seemingly thinking something through.
"The drive north will take us around five hours, driving mainly over the hilly backbone of the Isles of Britainy." Camilla began, "We'll head to the City of Glossop first, where we will pick up one of my guards. Then we will continue north until we reach the Craik Forest in the south of the Scotish Isles. Whilst we drive, I thought it the best opportunity to teach you some fundamentals, as unlike the rest of the Hidden Peak students, you will be learning in other establishments, where some of the knowledge will be biased to their Kingdoms."
She looked around at the four of them, her eyes staying slightly longer on Dom before moving on to the others. He wondered what she was thinking, the woman in front of him one of the most intimidating people he had meant, she partially reminded him of Shang Yang and his deep knowledge, but with the fierceness of Tomyris.
"What would you like to learn about first? We have four hours and lots to discuss." She asked the group. There was silence for a few seconds, before Diane spoke.
"I have heard many tales of the Isles of Britainy, but I haven't heard much about it's past." She asked politely, "Other than it once being the largest Empire in the World."
"Ha." Camilla laughed lightly, "It was once the Largest Empire, when it was known as the British Empire, four island nations spread across two small land masses and attached isles, that worked as one to have a hold over every continent that existed. But as with all Empires, it grew too big and then shrunk in to a shell of itself. This isn't the only empire to do so, the Ottoman Empire and the East and West Roman Empires also grew and fell. The Mongol Empire spanned most of what we now call the Western and Eastern Kingdoms did the same. The many Chinese, Indian and many other Dynasties did the same. Now the biggest Empires are on the southern continent and they are but a group of squabbling kings and queens in comparison."
Everyone sat forwards as she spoke, her knowledge of the world vast. She had been central to one of the major kingdoms, a key member of the worlds most secretive sect and wife of a significant general. This was new knowledge to Dom, but for the others in the car, Lady Camilla Mordred was a world renowned figure.
"But to answer your question, the past is a difficult thing to explain." Camilla continued. "What we see now, is a shadow compared to the past. The skies were full of flying machines that could travel across the span of the world in less than a day. Weapons that could travel even faster and destroy a continent at the touch of a button. Man had reached the moon, was preparing to populate our neighbouring planets and was aiming for the stars beyond. The future was bright, and then it wasn't."