Flight 741 was beginning its landing protocols. It was approaching an island or rather a small continent. Tall mountains towered behind the city. Skyscrapers were competing against the clouds and the geography.
Tens of millions of people could live in this neutral country. It had seperate airports for the West and the East. Both had different architectures.
This plane was landing in the Western one, with architecture similar to what Ryker was used to. Once the plane landed, they grabbed their bags and took a bus to the main entrance of the Academy.
Every minute of the bus ride, every new part of the city, made Ryker's jaw drop in disbelief. Even Fenia had her muzzle glued to the window.
Multiple busses were arriving in unison with all sort of students. They came from all over Rateh.
Stepping out of the bus, Ryker stared in awe at the sheer scale of the Academy grounds. There were rivers splitting the entire academy into four zones. On each side of the river there were giant statues of a nine-tailed-fox.
Mermaids, dryads, elves, minotaurs, dragons, golems, wolves, vampires and so many more species.
A golden fox that had six tails approached them. He was wearing a tailored dark purple suit, an academy personel.
"On behalf of Meridian Academy, I welcome you all," he said with a voice that commanded absolute attention and respect.
"The river in front of you is called the Kitsune River. On the West is the Adventurer Course. East is the Research Course. The North is the Culture. With South being the dormitories," the fox gestured gracefully, each point accented by a flick of one of his magnificent tails.
Ryker couldn't help but lean forward, an interest for kitsune since he was a child.
"I'll be guiding you to your dormitories. My name is Ichiro and I am the head of the dormitories."
Following the kitsune, they passed crowd of students waiting to be checked in. For a second he thought that was a sign of him being special, but it was for Alya. Her grandma's name still had some pull.
The path to the dorms was lined with sakura trees.
"Mr Sonet and Mr Torvane you'll be in the Silver Tail's dormitory with other golems, minotaurs and oni's."
Brock and Rul departed with a grin, the stone golem giving Ryker a thumbs-up.
"Miss Flores, your dormitory is the Jade Tails Dormitory for dryads, elves and spirits," Ichiro said with a small bow to her.
Anna smiled but her fingers intertwined with Ryker's, a silent plea to not be seperated.
Ichiro's gaze moved to Mimi and Kael, "Miss Nekita, your dormitory is for the feline kin along with white tigers. And for you Mr Dravus you are in the Crimson Tail dormitory with the western and eastern dragon kin."
He led the rest towards an even more magnificent building made of a smooth, black stone that seemed to drink the afternoon light, with windows that glowed with a faint purple luminescence.
"Usually mermaids would be in the Sapphire Tail domitory with the Jormungandr and Umibozus but a... special request had you placed here as well," the kitsune gave a slight smile to Alya.
A purple dormitory for the vampires.
"Special housing has been prepared to accomade your mermaid needs, Ms Kraken along with a room for your two maids."
"Wait I'm not a maid," Liv's icy words cut through the air.
"My apologies. A personal suite for you and the other lady," Ichiro corrected himself.
"Again, usually dorms are seperated by gender, however a special exemption has been made for your husband, Ms Kraken," Ichiro said.
Ryker's eye twitched.
Ayla simply nodded, as if this were the most normal arrangement in the world, "Thank you, my husband likes to be near me," she said, hugging Ryker's arm.
Ichiro guided them to the room. It was on the top-most floor.
The door to their suite opened without a key, using a biometric scanner. It smelled of vanilla and fresh linen.
It was bigger than Ryker's old house.
There was a shared living space with plush couches that looked like you could sink into them and never emerge.
"Ms Kraken are you certain about these sleeping arrangements? We could still arrange a private room near the ocean with your kin," Ichiro asked. The concern was genuine, he could lose his job if this ended badly.
"I couldn't be happier," she giggled.
After the kitsune departed, they started unpacking and making the new place theirs.
Fenia immediately found the entertainment system and, after a brief struggle with the universal remote, settled on a high-octane k-drama about a love triangle between a Golem, a Kitsune, and an Oni.
"As the maid shouldn't you help us unpack?" Ryker teased her from behind the kitchen counter.
She pointed at her black and white wolf ears that were focused on the drama like she couldn't hear him.
He wouldn't have asked her if he had help from the other two ladies. But Liv and Alya were already fighting, more like having a very tense staring contest, over who was going to sleep next to Ryker in the king-sized bed in the master bedroom.
"I'm his wife," the sapphire mermaid stated, as if reading from the holy scripture.
"I'm his mate," the vampire replied, a chilling finality in her tone.
Just when Ryker thought he'd have to intervene, they started playing rock, paper, scissors. It was a best of three which ended with Liv's triumphant smirk.
"You cheated," Alya huffed, accusingly pointing her finger.
"How?" Liv asked, an eyebrow arching in challenge.
The mermaid was turning red, smoke coming out of her ears. She turned to Ryker for support like any husband would give to his wife. He wanted to help her but a burning question needed to be answered before this went on further.
"Alya why did he call me your husband? I'm pretty sure I didn't sign anything yet."
This made the two ladies stop their bickering. Fenia's ears perked up as she had lowered the volume of her drama, curiously eavesdropping.
His supposed wife quickly took out her phone, scrolling through the various documents, and showing him what looked like a contract with an official seal. It was written in what Ryker guessed to be ancient mermaid language.
"What's this?"
She held the phone close to her chest as if it was her baby, "My claim contract! The Ocean's Law of Nuptial Claim."
He had never heard of it.
"What claim law?"
The mermaid started explaining, "You have to make the claim within 7 days of meeting a potential mate. If he or she doesn't refute the claim by doing the trial of Nalak, they are married!"
A sudden heaviness hit Ryker's stomach. His head started to pound. He didn't want to ask but at the same time he had no choice.
"And what is this trial of Nalak?" he asked.
She gave him a look like 'aren't you the cutest' before continuing, "It's quite simple. All you have to do is swim to the bottom of the Nalak trench and retrieve a crescent pearl."
A nervous laughter escaped from Ryker.
"If you make it back you're not married."
Alya finished her lecture, looking quite proud of herself.
Fenia raised her hand from the couch like a student.
"Has anyone ever done it?"
"Yes," Alya nodded, her pink eyes filled with a sort of childish reverence, "Many people actually managed to get to the bottom and return but... they returned empty handed and have to admit that they failed. It's a real tragedy," she explained with all the drama of a seasoned actress.
Liv finally chimed in, desperate to annul this marriage, "So they couldn't find the crescent pearl?" her ruby eyes were locked onto Ryker.
The mermaid nodded, "Because it's in my baba's vault."
A dead silence filled the room.