Chapter 1: PROLOGUE

"George, your father and I have something to tell you."

Looking away from the TV, George Chukwueze Okoye, a 6 year old child with a black curly afro and brown eyes, gazed at his parents who were looking at him with a serious expression while holding a school uniform.

The Barilan Federation was a small country at the northern edge of the continent, which was not really recognized as a country by the nations around it. Well, it couldn't really be called a country. It was more of a city-state. It was founded by former slaves who wanted a better life, As a result of that, they didn't know how to govern a state. Their rule ended up as a dictatorship.

They looted the country's coffers and left for greener pastures. This led to the current state of Barilan. The land where Barilan is located is in a northern, rocky area, which doesn't have  fertile soil or natural resources, which didn't encourage investors, so the country just runs on fumes. 

The Okoye family could be said to be an upper-lower class family in the Barilan Federation, but despite that, they were able to live quite a happy life.

The small apartment where they lived was cramped, with barely any room to move around. It had only five tiny rooms, a kitchen, bathroom, living room and two small bedrooms where the family slept at night.

His father, Paul Okoye, worked in a public school as a janitor, while his mother, Amanda Okoye, worked as a bagger at a supermarket.

"Mom, what's in your hand?"

"Never mind about that George. You know we love you, right?"

George smiled at his mother.

"Of course I do."

"You also know we would never do anything that would put you in danger, right?"

"Yes."

'There's an opportunity for you to leave this country."

"Many people don't get an opportunity like this," his father added.

"Paul, shut up."

"Sorry."

"We won a lottery. The prize is a full scholarship to an academy in Pain Federation. It's called Freestone Academy. It's the best academy in the whole continent of Kalida and one of the best in the world of Deva. If you go to this academy, you can become like those Ranked people you see on TV. You've always said you wanted to become Ranked."

"Really?", said George. The expression on his face was one of hopefulness and delight.

"Yes, really."

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"Am I really going?", George said. His face had stretched into a big smile.

"Yes, you are. You know, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for those of us who live in Barilan. There are no academies to teach anyone how to become Ranked. "

"It isn't long until you have to go, so let's go pack."

With that, George ran off, with his mother following close behind him. However, his father stayed behind, with a sad look on his face.

'Why are we still doing this?', he thought.

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A few days later, George, who was wearing the uniform, and his parents were at the train station.

Well, that's if a rundown building next to a railway could be called a train station? It had trains resembling those from the early twentieth century, with a dirty environment.  People stood on the platform overlooking the tracks, searching for their trains manually. George and his family stood on the platform overlooking the tracks, amongst the crowd, searching for George's train. There were two big suitcases by George's side.

As they were doing this, a complicated expression could be seen on his father's face.

"Oh, there it is! Let's go", his mother said, and took off running. George was about to start running as well, but his father held him back.

"George, before you go, I need to tell you something. And you must follow this advice I'm going to give you, no matter the situation. Even if someone insults you or your family."

"What do you mean, Dad?"

A perplexed look could be seen on George's face.

"Listen closely to what I say. Do not be impulsive when you go there. Always think about the consequences of what you want to do before you do it. You might not fully understand this now, but you will when you get there."

George now looked even more confused.

His father ruffled his hair and said, "Don't think about it too much. Like I said, you'll understand when you get there."

"Now let's go before your mother comes looking for us."

They then walked off into the crowd towards the train. However, George couldn't help but look back at the city wondering,

'When will I see this place again?'

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