The academy grounds were unusually chaotic.
Students crisscrossed between the stone buildings carrying wooden crates of supplies, professors rushed down the steps with thick stacks of documents tucked under their arms, and several squads of heavy paladins had suddenly appeared along the main avenues. The preparations for the Festival of Parnonia were in full swing.
Somewhere in the middle of all that frantic noise, a girl wearing an oversized, faded gray hoodie navigated the courtyard with quick, skittish steps.
She kept her head lowered. Her long, vivid blue hair was shoved messily into the oversized hood, and her fingers held the fabric tightly together beneath her chin.
She cast a panicked look over her shoulder. Three fully armored paladins were marching past the archway.
