A few hours later, after a brief and somewhat awkward initial conversation, the pair made their way through the dormitory's main hall, following the flow of other students. Everything about the academy's architecture felt impossibly vast and imbued with magic—soaring ceilings that seemed to breathe with an unseen energy, elegant levitating platforms that drifted silently between floors, and glowing sigils embedded in the walls that subtly pulsed with light as students passed by.
Every turn revealed something new and wondrous: massive sparring arenas echoing with the clang of practice swords and the crackle of magical energy, vast libraries where ancient tomes floated lazily between towering shelves, and comfortable student lounges with shimmering projection orbs displaying news and events from across the kingdoms.
Kael paused at a towering arched window that offered a breathtaking view of the academy grounds.
Beyond the main campus buildings lay a sprawling training field easily the size of a small city. Animated combat dummies, crafted from various materials and imbued with different magical resistances, zipped erratically across the air, reacting dynamically to unseen attacks. Farther off, a shimmering, iridescent dome housed what looked like a dense, artificial jungle, complete with the sounds of exotic creatures. "Think that's part of the exam?" Kael murmured, a knot of apprehension tightening in his stomach.
Theo adjusted his spectacles thoughtfully, his gaze analytical. "That or a particularly brutal and well-disguised botanical garden."
As they continued their exploration, a pair of older students, their silver-edged uniforms indicating a higher year, passed them, their conversation carrying in the echoing hallway.
"...heard they're going to drop the first-years into tiered combat trials right off the bat. Not just simple sparring matches—team-based challenges, magically triggered traps, and even rogue enchanted beasts."
"About time they stopped coddling them," the other student replied with a dismissive sniff. "Last year's batch barely managed to produce three Master Sigils by the end of the 3rd term."
Kael and Theo exchanged a quick, uneasy look.
"Sounds… fun," Kael muttered, the word laced with a healthy dose of sarcasm.
"Your definition of fun is clearly broken beyond repair." Theo replied dryly, adjusting his glasses again.
Later that evening, as the academy settled into a quieter rhythm, Kael found himself wandering alone, drawn by an irresistible curiosity. The academy was even more stunning and subtly magical under the soft glow of the moon and strategically placed enchantment lights. Delicate, birdlike lanterns crafted from glowing crystal floated in lazy arcs over tranquil courtyards, casting ethereal shadows. Waterways of glowing liquid mana, contained within intricately carved stone channels, flowed beside the walkways, emitting a gentle, soothing hum.
From a raised balcony near the east tower, overlooking a sprawling courtyard, he spotted a familiar flash of movement.
Renna?
'Weird coincidence.'
She was perched precariously atop a decorative spire, her legs dangling casually over the edge, her golden eyes scanning the grounds below with an intense focus. Her academy uniform, the crisp blue of the mages, was slightly wrinkled, as if she had already engaged in some form of strenuous activity—or perhaps had a particularly rough encounter with a wall.
Kael raised an eyebrow, a wry smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Enjoying the view from up there?"
She didn't turn her head, her gaze still fixed on something below. "Just strategically picking out who's going to be the first to spectacularly fail."
Kael smirked, leaning against the stone railing of the balcony. "Bet you've got me right at the very top of that esteemed list."
Renna finally glanced at him, her golden eyes glinting in the moonlight, a flicker of something unreadable. "You? No. You're too damn stubborn to go down easy, rookie."
"You do know my name is Kael right?"
"Yeah, just don't care.... Besides rookie sounds way better."
"..."
She then hopped off the seemingly impossible height of the spire with a casual grace that made Kael briefly question the laws of gravity. "Get some rest, rookie. Tomorrow, they start the real fun. Tomorrow, they start separating the contenders from the filler."
And just like that, with a fluid movement, she vanished into the deep shadows beneath the eaves of the east tower, leaving Kael alone on the balcony.
He remained there a moment longer, the cool night air against his face, his fists tightening almost unconsciously at his sides. The academy felt both exhilarating and deeply intimidating.
The games had truly begun.
********************
The sky above Aetherion Academy was a piercing, cloudless blue, the sunlight sharp and unforgiving as thousands of students poured into the vast courtyard below. Kael stood amidst the throng, his posture stiff and self-conscious, his expression deliberately blank. Around him, the air thrummed with a low, almost palpable tension. He could feel it in the restless shifting of feet on the marble pavement, in the barely hushed whispers that skittered through the crowd, in the collective, shallow breaths everyone seemed to be holding.
There were far more students than he had ever imagined. A dizzying multitude. At least fifty thousand, maybe more, a dense carpet of colored uniforms spread like ants across the sprawling plaza. It was a visual testament to the academy's reach: a sea of black for the aspiring knights, the deep blue of the mages rippling through their ranks. His own newly issued black tunic fit snugly across his shoulders, the unfamiliar material feeling strange and stiff against his skin, too clean, too new. The small red keycard tucked securely in his belt loop marked him for the boys' knight dormitory, a silent identifier in this ocean of faces, though no one seemed to notice or care. Most were too consumed by their own gnawing anxiety.
To his left, a girl in mage blue twisted her slender fingers nervously, her lips moving in a silent, rapid-fire incantation. To his right, a burly knight recruit in pristine black stood ramrod straight, his jaw clenched so tightly that the muscles in his temples twitched, his eyes fixed straight ahead as if he were on the very brink of a brutal war. A few feet ahead, a pale-faced boy discreetly vomited behind the fluted column of a nearby monument, the retching sounds quickly swallowed by the murmuring crowd. The nerves were real. Raw. And undeniably contagious.
Two days had bled into a blur of exploration since their arrival. Kael had spent them wandering the sprawling, almost incomprehensible campus, his senses reeling from the sheer scale of it all. Floating platforms that defied gravity, sleek railways that snaked through the sky, massive towers of shimmering crystal and dark steel that pierced the clouds. A city built on impossible things. It made even the bustling familiarity of Highridge feel quaint and provincial by comparison. And now, the true, daunting purpose for their being here had finally begun to unfold.
A deep, resonant chime, like the striking of a colossal crystal bell, rang out across the courtyard, the sound echoing off the towering academy buildings. A wave of absolute silence rippled outward through the assembled students, cutting through the anxious whispers like a sharp blade.
At the far end of the expansive platform stood a solitary figure: an elderly woman in layered indigo robes that seemed to absorb the light, her long silver hair tied back in a severe, single braid that emphasized the sharp angles of her face. Her very presence seemed to emanate an aura of quiet authority, silencing even the most panicked breaths. The Vice Headmistress.