Outside Soames Noble Academy, thousands of people were queuing up, waiting for the gate to open.
Bahram entered the procession to the Nobles Academy before dawn, and for the next three hours he followed the crowd inching forward.
Every half-hour the bells of the college church chime in praise of the Lord of Mankind and his perfect angels.
People rushed to the college on the clean streets to the sound of bells. Many of them were parents accompanying their sons, and there were many nobles and officials in gorgeous clothes.
Only Bahram was alone and dressed like a workman.
After being picked up from Graycliff Town, he never saw the Astartes again. He and Hao Mo were just arranged to rest in a unified mansion and were given simple clothes.
When the day of the primary election came, Haomo set off early, leaving Bahram to do it alone.
These days, he didn't get along well with each other, and he didn't ask Haomo why Wayu didn't come with him.
The two spent two days almost in silence.
Finally, he was in line to enter the college. When the gatekeeper in front of the college gate asked him why he came here, he said that he came here to participate in the screening and bring out the certificate.
Then the guard at the gate nodded and pointed toward the main street, as if that was the answer he was waiting for.
"Go to the Emperor's feet. There is the place of selection and the place where you will participate in the trial. May the Emperor bless you with success."
This blessing was full of sincerity. Bahram could not say anything and could only look at the gatekeeper with his mouth open as he blessed him.
These gatekeepers all have the cross-swords emblem of the Astral Knights embroidered on their shoulders, obviously they are all mortal servants of the Chapter.
Perhaps he had been idle for so long that the gatekeeper's attitude gradually changed, and he had to be driven into the academy in the end.
"The grace of the God-Emperor will last forever! The rule of the God-Emperor will last forever! Praise the God-Emperor! Be wary of heresies! An unfettered mind is the vanguard of heresy!"
When Bahram was about to enter the college, a group of people wearing shabby clothes suddenly walked past him.
The necks of these people were tied to a rope, and their left hands were placed on the shoulders of the previous person. The leader recited admonitions and shook the bell on his hand.
He felt strange looking at this group of ragged people, and the people around him avoided them one after another.
Suddenly, one of them raised his head, causing Bahram to step back in fright - this man's lips and eyelids were tightly sewn shut.
Although he had heard his grandfather talk about the ascetics and fanatic believers in the church, when he actually witnessed it, he couldn't help but be amazed by the crazy beliefs of these people.
I also felt a little scared.
When he entered the academy, he found that the inside was completely beyond his imagination. The school was larger and cleaner than any town he had ever seen. It was not like a school at all, but more like a city.
On both sides of the street, various living facilities and entertainment facilities are available, and fountains and courtyards can be seen everywhere.
And he had never seen so many people. Students crowded the main street of the college. Many of them were sprayed with perfume. The smell they gave off made him feel dizzy.
There are not only people from Soames Hive, but also many outstanding young people from other hives.
Occasionally, he would see landing craft descending from the sky onto the small landing platform of the academy.
He later learned that only the most distinguished candidates were eligible to be admitted directly to the academy.
As a result, Bahram saw astonishing wealth in the academy - the children of the foreign nobles were dressed in high-quality clothes, followed by servants, in high spirits, and were very strong and fair due to their privileged life.
This was the first time he realized how poor the bottom of the hive city where he was was.
As the road continued, he saw an icon.
The emperor's appearance spread out above them, and his handsome face did not look at this dirty place, but faced the flawless heaven, as if he also felt that his people were unsightly.
This statue is unimaginably large, five hundred meters high.
As the sun passes by, the Emperor's statue casts its shadow over the town like a sundial.
Although the majesty of the icon made Bahram feel humbled and pitiful, he was still grateful for the shadow that shielded him from the sun.
He walked around the academy for a while and suddenly felt stage fright - he decided he definitely didn't deserve to be chosen.
It is said that there were 5,000 people participating in the primary election alone - almost all of the best of the Nathan IV generation were included in this list, and no one knew how many would pass.
The people around him all talked in elegant and pure High Gothic, while he could only speak poor High Gothic mixed with dialects. Moreover, most of his peers were taller and stronger than him, and what they talked about were all kinds of things. Something he had never heard of.
He thought he was good enough, but the reality didn't seem to be the case.
There was some food in his pocket, but he had no appetite at all.
In the end, the flow of people brought him to the front of the square.
Bahram suddenly entered an open area from a group of buildings. The ground was neatly paved with granite and surrounded by buildings made of stone and metal.
In the middle of the square is a two-story platform. The white spotted marble that forms the base does not look like a local material.
The first-floor terrace is surrounded by an ornate railing that leaves a gap in front of a wide flight of steps.
This staircase leads up to the second platform, facing a pair of bronze doors with the symbol of the Astral Knight's crossed swords printed on the door.
The Astral Knights have used this recruitment point for hundreds of years. Generations of outstanding graduates from the Soames Noble Academy have walked here and rushed to the star sea to fight for the Emperor.
But today, it welcomed the largest batch of candidates in its history.
Ugly servitors move across the platform, washing the dust from it with copious amounts of precious rose water - although there may be no dust at all.
These cleaners were followed by scrubbers, whose hands were replaced with soft polishing tools.
At the base of the platform is an exquisite garden, irrigated by a trickling stream of water. The bright flowers and branches seemed too strange and even scary in Bahram's eyes.
Gathered beside the garden were all the boy candidates.
They have different skin colors, different body shapes, and different clothes.
Bahram hesitated to join them.
Among the boys, he saw some that looked like locals, and their expressions were much more calm than most.
It is easy to guess that they should be students of Soames Noble Academy.
Thinking that they have not experienced the hardships and obstacles that he has gone through, but still have the same opportunities as him, just because they are students here, just that-Bahram feels overwhelmed.
This is an unbearable injustice.
He unconsciously clenched his fists, wanting to punch their arrogant faces.
