Rise Of The Dragon Emperor

Chapter 17 Departure To The Academy

Finally the time for Ronan to go to the academy came close. He was supposed to depart the next morning , in what would be his first departure from the palace for more than 3 days , as he would most likely be gone for 6 months till the winter break.

One of the crowns of Alexander’s system of governance was the inclusion of the free and compulsary education for every single youth of Avalon in a single massive academy called ‘ National Academy Of Education ‘ or ( Shikhshakendra ) .

Every single youth aged 7 and above had to enroll in this academy irrespective of their caste , creed or lineage. As it was a merit based system of education with distinctions only made on academic excellence .

Youths had to study in the academy for 6 years before graduating at the age of 13 , when they would be recruited by various sects and prestigious organization’s across the continent for their higher education.

While the enrolment inside the academy was free for everyone , the overall system was definitely merit based with the students showing more potential getting more resources and better quality of education than the ones who did not._.

A system to strive for excellence and healthy competition was necessary to push students to improve , as if there was no need for competition and everyone would be treated equally, there would be no driving force for an individual to stand out and strive for excellence as being average would be enough.

Also to prevent external influence from affecting the inner academy , Alexander had made it soo that every student had to stay in the academy dorms for the duration of their studies.

The only time when students got to visit their family were summer and winter vacation.

This was an extreme step on the part of Alexander as to force 7 year olds to live alone was a bit harsh. But that was the way of the warrior. For the students to have the right mindset and attitude to life , they needed to be taught young, and taught without the influence of the over-loving parents.

This was hence a nightmare for first year students , as most of the noble born children kept acting like pricks , getting into all sorts of trouble from the management.

However the brilliant part about the academy was that the teachers were extremely competent , the library was stocked with the best manuals to build foundation as well as core spells that one could use throughout their lives as a part of their arsenal and the focus was on a wholistic development rather than just combat training , like in major sects.

Once every four years there would also be a international competition between academies , where students from various nations would gather under one roof and compete for the spot of the number one junior warrior!

It was the ultimate honor to be claimed during one’s school life as it brought glory to the academy as well as the entire nation they represented.

Although grandmother Luna and grandfather Alexander were crying rivers thinking about how the palace would become silent and desolate without their little one . Overall the atmosphere was of excitement in the air as Sierra hoped that Ronan would finally make friends , rivals and live a normal life .

Percy had already been enrolled the year prior to Ronan and was now a second year senior to him. Sierra was happy to see that Percy had made some friends at school , and compared to the mad training their father subjected them too , he was living a proper life and was happy.

Hence on the morning of sending Ronan away her last words to him were ” Have fun and make a lot of friends okay? The academy years are the best years of your life and you will never get them back , so make sure to make the best of them!”.

She ruffled Ronan’s hair as the second prince showed his broken tooth smile in response. It was a heartwarming scene to watch . However it instantly changed as Alexander approached Ronan.

Sending his second son away he said ” Don’t slouch on training , Remember the name you carry in there with you . A disgrace on you is a disgrace on the Draco name , NEVER let any disgrace on the Draco name “.

Ronan stared into Alexander’s eyes undaunted. To say that the father and son shared a completely different dynamic than Sierra did with Ronan was an understatement.

Alexander was Ronan’s hero , and someone he wanted to be like , however he was also a competitor for Ronan alongside being his protector and father. Hence emotion and weakness was not expressed to Alexander the same way it was to Sierra as emotion was a weakness that a competitor could exploit.

Naturally he loved Alexander too, however he would never admit to it.

As Ronan replied ” I understand , Old man “.

He would call his mother mother and grandmother grandmother , however he would call Alexander all sorts of name but hardly ever father.

But none of that mattered anymore , as Ronan boarded a carriage to the National Academy. It was a start of his new life as well as the start of his unstoppable rise to the top !