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Ti'ana was first founded back in 2045, 11 years before the infamous Hellfire War. The reigning monarch of that time, King A'elin declared the province to be independent from its sister, Tourmaline, which had dominated most of the eastern hemisphere since the Draco Order was first decreed. While human government had fully dominated the Americas for some time, the steady growth of Tourmaline was threatening to the original U.S. government. Tourmaline was actually set to also spread into the Americas, but many argue that it was this what made the humans feel as though their authority was being threatened as an outside dictation was "invading" their territory. This is why the Order wanted the joint rule, to ensure that, while Tourmaline's government was the overall leader, the American government would still sovereign over the American territory of Tourmaline. Of course, the humans refused, which then led to the spiraling decline up until the War itself. The humans' defeat was what caused American, and just every aspect of human sovereignty to fall and the Draco Order to take over and essentially pick up the pieces. While human resistance was still present in every corner of the world, Tourmaline had conquered nearly 80% of Earth. While many argue that it was the beginning of Earth's downfall, some believe that it was probably for the best.

Ti'ana is the direct companion of Tourmaline, having once been the centerpiece of the entire empire was now a humble province all on its own, ruled by King A'elin's second eldest son Aragon and his wife Aquila. Ti'ana's capital city was founded on a large silver mine, but its lake was always covered with a light fog that sometimes spread all over the city, hence its name "Silvershroud." When Aragon first ascended as king, he decided to make Silvershroud his home as just months before his son, Prince Ah'aron, hatched. The silver mine turned out to be a blessing from the gods, as Silvershroud grew quickly over the short decades into the prosperous city it is today thanks to the large silver deposit. But silver wasn't the only ore that sat under the city, as ivory, moonstone and malachite as also abundant in the mines; the profit these ores generated not only help Ti'ana grow, but also funded the Tourmalian troops back in 2056. Since then, Ti'ana only continued to grow and grow, other smaller cities beginning to sprout up around Silvershroud, even a human immigrant city was developed for refugees seeking asylum after being chased from their homes if proven to not share the same prejudice ideals of those around them. It was under Aragon's rule that Ti'ana became what it is today, he and Aquila's generosity was as well known as their benevolence; even the immigrant humans sworn their loyalty to the Royal Family, only infuriating their outside cousins.

Aragon's and Aquila's influence is as strong as it was back then, and now that their son has come of age, he too has started undergoing training so that he may be ready to ascend to the throne once his parents eventually step down. Ah'aron is the only current heir of the king and queen, and as expected, his training is a bit more rigorous than a reigning monarch with, let's say, two or three children. Even still, Ah'aron has excelled past normal expectations, gaining an equal reputation amongst the citizens of Ti'ana. He has become his own parents' ambassador, making appearances at major and political events if the king or queen were unable to do so. Even at his age, Ah'aron has gained his own followers amongst the teen and young adult crowd, becoming an idol most aspire to be if not giving him their admiration on a daily basis. Of course, any city within Ti'ana would stir if word got out that young Ah'aron has graced the city with his presence, making it hard for the young dragon to really enjoy his young life proper. While the attention was fine and good, there are time were Ah'aron would like to walk in the streets of his own home without needing bodyguards or getting special treatment just because he was the prince. It was one of the reasons why he recently secluded himself to his home, only going outside unless he absolutely _needed _to. This seclusion worried his parents, of course, and while it has been addressed multiple times, the young prince often brushed off their concerns, assuring them that he was fine, and that there was no reason for them to worry.

One thing Ah'aron was thankful for was being home schooled; sure he occasionally wished he could attend the college his mother was currently teaching at, but the last time he tried to attend one of the classes, he was immediately crowded around by the other students. Even the professor abandoned the lesson just to quiz the dragon's current knowledge. It was...a waste of valuable class time, as Ah'aron saw it, and hasn't been back to the College since. Fortunately, his father was able to find him a private tutor who would be able to get him caught up with the semester, and rather than having the usual laid back teaching that is usually associated with home schooling, Ah'raon was treated as another student, having deadlines and mountains of homework like any other student would. It was just like attending the College, except he could do it in the comfort of his own home, and lacked the interaction of others his age. It would explain why the young prince didn't have any friends outside of the staff that worked for his parents; He often pined for just one person who would be a genuine companion rather than wanting to be near him only because of his royal status. Too bad he had yet to find anyone like that; he could barely walk out the damn door without half of the city pouncing on him.

Ah'aron sighed as he rolled a ballpoint pen between his claws, his sapphire eyes staring idly at the laptop screen. Ah'aron was often called a fusion of his mother and father, gaining traits from them both that it was often hard to tell who he took after more. He had his mother's eyes, ivory scales and lithe build, but also had his father's height, wings, onyx underbelly and hair that went down from his head and all the way down his back and tail, and even the same symbols that decorated Ah'aron's forms was passed down to him. Even some of their personality traits passed on to him, more specifically Aquila's stubbornness and Aragon's charm. Or so they say. He knew that he was stubborn, but charming?

Right. The essay. He tapped his claw on the desk, his brow furrowing as he found himself snagged at the last page. He had a five page essay on an astrological theory that was due next week, and he had finished the first four days ago but has been stuck on the fifth and final page for days and it was really starting to get on his nerves. He just wanted to be done with this essay so he wouldn't have to worry about any more homework until next week, but of course he had to get stuck on the last fucking page!

He snorted, white smoke spewing from his nostrils before he saved his progress and stood from his desk, going over to the open window and sat against the pane, letting his leg swing out and over the edge. Ah'aron's room sat on the side of the mansion that overlooked the lake, and he often enjoyed sitting there for hours at a time, watching the outside world go by while enjoying the refreshingly moist air that accompanied the lake area. It was his thinking place, his private seat whenever he needed to reflect or just clear his head. It was the closest he was going to get to going outside, but that was fine by him. Maybe one day he will be able to walk the streets again without having being ambushed by the citizens and being able to be normal for once. Maybe one day...

A gentle knock at his door stirred him from his thoughts, his ear swiveling towards the other end of the room just as the door opened. The young prince, meeting another pair of soft, sapphire eyes.

"Mother." He murmured softly.

"Hello honey," she smiled, stepping in. "I'm just letting you know that I'm going back to the campus for a few hours."

This was nothing short of routine for the royal family, with Ah'aron being their first and only child, Aquila was, of course, a little more attentive to him than a parent with multiple children, which led for the mother and son to grow a special bond over the years. Of course, Ah'aron had a bond with his father as well, although the two behaved more like brothers than father and son (unless the latter had gotten into any trouble of any kind, in which the older brother will turn back into the father). Regardless, even though Ah'aron was at the age where he could take care of himself in the household, the regal dragoness still made sure that he was aware of whether or not either parents would be present, rather than leaving him home alone without any indication that they were coming or going. They have kept this system for the last several decades.

"And Father..?"

"His presence was requested back in Tourmaline. He's won't be back until tomorrow."

"I see..well, I will be okay until you return. I'm not going anywhere, after all."

Aquila hummed softly, a frown daring to appear on her gentle face. She had made it clear long ago that she did not like the idea of Ah'aron spending all of his time in the household all of the time. He won't even go out to the lake shore, even though there's a section that's part of their property. But,she would rather not force her son out of the house and make him uncomfortable, but she hoped that he would go out and enjoy himself at least once.

"Well," she hummed "Ceeara will prepare dinner lunch and dinner accordingly. Call me if you need anything, will you?"

"Of course, Mother." Ah'aron smiled her way. "You know I would contact you if something were to go array."

"The assurance is still welcome." The dragoness padded over to her song, holding his cheeks and rubbing the base of his spikes before kissing his forehead, earning a purr from her child in return. "I'll see you later."

She left as she arrived, gently shutting the dragon's door upon her departure and leaving him alone once more. After a few minutes of pure silence, Ah'aron got up from the window and sat back at the desk, waking up his laptop. No sense in sitting there with nothing to do; he still had an essay to finish.

~ ~ ~

Jelani had heard that the Queen herself was also a professor at the College, but never saw herself being in her actual class! The day Jelani received her schedule was the same day the young woman almost had a heart attack; Since she wanted to major in mythology, the College of Silvershroud was the prime place for those who sought careers as archaeologists, explorers, treasure hunters, and the like. Aquila, while queen of Ti'ana, had always had in interest in ancient history and forgotten cities of the past, and spent most of her life exploring the land of Ti'ana and hunting for its secrets until she decided to pass on her passion to the future generation to those who shared that same passion and thirst for the ancient and mysterious. Aquila was the best professor on campus, but was known for taking her class on expeditions into the dark and hidden underbellies of Ti'ana for the sake of knowledge. So to be able to have the privilege of being assigned her class...Jelani felt honored to be selected as one of her students.

One could imagine how the young woman felt as she stepped into the queen's classroom that morning, which already had students piling in. With the new semester starting, all students were required to come to class and have orientation before any school work could be issued out. Jelani was giddy despite herself as she situated herself in a seat in the middle row and waited for the rest of the class to get settled in. Both anthros and humans alike were in this class, although anthros seemed a little more abundant than the young woman's human brethren. Which was fine - it didn't matter what race attended the class, as long as they were here for an education rather than segregating them for the sake of pride and prejudice. Already, Jelani felt more welcome here than she did in her own home, and the positive atmosphere was especially needed after having been forced out into the unknown without a real path set for herself for the near future.

"Hey there."

Jelani jumped with a start, turning to see two other students standing before her. To describe them, one was essentially a punked out shark with multiple piercings in her ears and bottom lip with several tattoos on both arms. The other was a more mellow tabby, wearing a graphic t-shirt and a pair of faded jeans, a single stud in his right ears. "O-oh, hi."

"Mind if we sit here?" the shark asked, motioning to the empty seats next to her. Jelani had no reason to decline - there were no assigned seats, and she wasn't saving the seats for anyone. The two took the seats gratefully, although rather than sitting on one side, they took the empty chairs on either side of the young woman, which she immediately deemed as odd, but remained silent since she did not want to come off as rude. "I'm Lazuli, by the way."

"Marcel," the tabby nodded with a smile.

"Jelani," the woman shook Lazuli's hand. "Nice to meet you both."

"Likewise." Lazuli rose an eyebrow, realization flashing in her vibrant pink eyes. "I thought you looked familiar...you just moved into Minera Heights, didn't you?" When she received a nod in response, the shark grinned widely. "I figured. I live in the condo across the street; I saw you move in the other day. You from outta town?"

"Yeah." The young woman ran her fingers through her short hair. "I...uh...I came from Jefferson."

Marcel frowned, his ear twitching. "Whoa, wait, you came from that place? Jefferson's probably the most prejudice human colonies in the east."

"More so was thrown out." Jelani sighed. "My family's full of racists, but I was the only one who didn't share their bigoted ideals. ...I told them I wanted to study here and...well...they basically banished me from there. I'm not welcome back home, or even the city."

"That's rough." Lazuli shook her head. "I've heard nothin' but bad stuff 'bout that place. About half of the population fled and immigrated to Ti'ana over the last couple of months because they started hangin' any there were accused of treason."

"I was lucky enough to get away when I did." Jelani shuddered, having seen many innocent people hung because of not resenting the anthros. "Just about everyone knew me and resented me for not being a racist asshole...I still don't know how they didn't drag me off to hang me.."

"Well, you're safe here in Silvershroud - the borders are secured by the tightest security in all of Ti'ana. Even if someone made it in, they wouldn't get far."

Just the thought was enough to ease Jelani's mind some, especially since human rebels had been known to break past the borders in the past year. While the invasions were far less than they were last year, that wasn't going to fully stop them as there were still a few who tried to break in regardless. Plus, meeting two friendly faces on the first day of college made her feel even more welcomed to this strange new province and city. She had only been here a week, and already it felt like Jefferson was a distant memory. But while the young woman would love to get to know her classmates some more, their professor, the queen entered the class, the room immediately silencing and giving the regal dragoness the attention she deserved.

Jelani was immediately entranced by the queen, having never seen a dragon up close before. She was beautiful, with a tall, lithe body, ivory scales, ocean blue horns, fins and claws, deep but gentl sapphire eyes, and a silver scales running down her neck, torso, stomach and tail. She lived up to the royal reputation that belonged to the draconic heritage, but to believe that this elegant creature not only had total sovereign over the province, but actually took the time to educate the students that attended the College...it was admirable as it was inspiring.

"Good morning everyone!" Aquila's sweet, but firm voiced echoed through the classroom. "I know most of you are returning students, but I also see a few faces mixed in as well. While I don't like repeating myself every semester, even I must follow the College's protocols and go over the basics for orientation. However, I'll make it as quick as possible, and then we can go over what I have planned for you all this semester."

As expected, the entire orientation was nothing short of going over basic College rules and expectations. But while the entire campus had the same set of rules, different classes operated differently. Queen Aquila's class was no different; Aquila believed that students should be allowed to learn things at their own pace, since every individual had a different thinking process than others. Some are slower than others, some excel past normal expectations, and there were those who were on the middle road. She didn't believe in book work or sending her students home with piles of homework, but rather, she specialized in allowing her students to have more hands-on interactions with the subject of interest. And since her class specialized in anything regarding archaeology, mythology and everything in between, each students' "classwork" consisted of them going out and exploring the world at their leisure, and discover the many mysteries and secrets Ti'ana had to offer, in which they had to write a descriptive paper on their findings and include a theory about what they believe their findings are and their origin. The Exam portion of her class are the expeditions; full scaled trips out to the further reaches of Ti'ana or any of her neighboring provinces where they explore a site of interest and gather information through acquiring artifacts and relics, which are brought back to campus for further study. It was almost impossible for anyone to fail Aquila's class, unless you were a student who literally didn't care and did nothing the entire semester. But there has yet been a student like that, since each student who attends Aquila's class are fully interested and motivated to pass, even if their only drive is to sate their own curiosities, everyone leaves with anew level of enlightenment than when they first entered. Not to mention the Queen's positive reinforcement help urge on that motivation, as Jelani would soon realize.

Nonetheless, the initial orientation only lasted for 15 minutes before she went over the basic study plans for the semester. There were told that they were going to need books this time around, which no one was happy about - including Aquila - but their only saving grace was that the entire class did not require the same book. "I know not everyone shares a common interest, so you each need to acquire a book about a specific civilization, mythological creature, a book of various lore, about dinosaurs, forgotten history...anything. As long as the subject is interesting to you and deals with any of what I listed above, it counts."

With everything addressed for the time being and with more than 20 minutes left of class, Aquila allowed the students to talk amongst themselves until class was over (again, even she had to abide by campus rules). However, rather than the students talked with each other while she sat at the desk doing what she pleased, quite a number of students approached her and spoke with the dragoness as if they were old friends. Aquila seemed to welcome this, smiling, giggling, speaking with each student on a level as if they were her own children. It was...so different from the colleges or schools back in Jefferson, where the entire classroom seem to have this friendly and bright aura that was completely opposite of what she was usually used to. But while joining the other students that were with the Queen was tempted, Jelani first wanted to know the two anthros that were right next to her.

The trio seemed to hit it off within a few short minutes; As it was stated before, Lazuli lived in the condo across the street from the apartment Jelani resided in, but had just moved in a few months ago. Marcel, on the other hand, lived in the same apartment, but was down on the second floor and have been there for only a few weeks now. Both had been attending the College for a while, as this was their third year. The two have known each other longer it seemed, having been friends since high school, but it was Marcel who was finally able to move out of his parents' place and find a place of his own in the past couple of weeks.

Those 20 minutes seem to fly by, as the bell rung over the intercom, signaling the end of the class period. Again, Jelani was met with another surprise as the students lined up next to the queen's desk, signing an attendance sheet before fully leaving class. In hindsight, it was more efficient this way rather than taking attendance as students entered and having to remember their names. It was especially handy since there were a couple of new students as well, making the process much more easier for both the students and the professor herself. When it was Jelani's turn, she signed her name on the sheet accordingly, but noticed something else on the dragoness' desk. Next to the sheet was a small pile of business cards for some sort of internship. Curious, the young woman took one of the cards as she made her way out, quickly skimming over the card's contents.

**Wanted: Intern

Job Description: Organizing paperwork, documents and other data, storing into their appropriate files. Proper alphabetizing of files is required. No previous experience required.

For further inquiry or to apply, please call: 945-664-7413

Mon. - Sun. 7am - 10pm**

Jelani raised an eyebrow as she flipped the card over for further inspection. The queen needed an intern? That was interesting, considering that internships were hard to come by nowadays. And to offer the job so freely...was she desperate or really needed the help..? Still, Jelani was currently jobless, and while her funds would last her for maybe one or two months, she was going to have to find a job before then in order to keep herself from getting evicted from her apartment. Besides, there's no doubt that having been the queen's intern would look good on a resume in the near future. Hopefully no one would have taken the position before she could get the chance.

"Hey, Jelani," Lazuli called joining the human in the hall. Jelani immediately felt dwarfed, as Lazuli towered over her with a height of at least 6'0". Maybe more. "You have any other classes after this?"

"Not until Wednesday," she explained, tucking the card into her jacket pocket. "Why?"

"Marcel and I was gonna grab a bite to eat, and we were wonderin' if you'd wanna hang for a bit. I mean, technically we're all neighbors."

"We could show you around town in the process," the tabby offered. "You're new in town after all, and no doubt you'd want to know how to get around the city."

Jelani smiled and nodded, the hulking shark wrapping an arm over the smaller human as she led them out. If Jelani were an ignorant sort, she would have sworn the anthro was planning on devouring her eventually. "Sweet! There's this cool pizza place just a coupla blocks from campus. You're gonna love it!"

"Gods, Laz, give her some breathing room."

"Whaaaat? You act like I'm stranglin' her or somethin'!"

"But a hug from you is equal to that of getting a headlock."

"Say another word and you're gonna end up in a headlock!"

The human woman chuckled as she walked out onto the campus plaza with what she would call her new friends. And to think, just a week ago she arrived with nothing to her name but the little belongings she brought with her, and within that same week, she managed to get settled in, go to a new college, made two friends, and had a possible job ready. Being forced out on your own was one thing, but having to go to another city, let alone another province entirely, was downright terrifying for the young woman. She knew nothing of Ti'ana or Silvershroud other than what she had heard. But now, after the recent events, she began to realize that being exiled from her family wasn't an unfortunate event, but rather a blessing from the divines themselves.

She only wondered what else they had in store for her from here on out.