Etherlight School of Awakeners – Classroom D
"…and that is why magic redirection is one of the most valuable techniques in real combat," Kael Arkzen's voice cut across the room, steady and deliberate. "You will never know what spell is stored in your opponent's memory. It could be a harmless light spell… or a killing technique. If you hesitate, you're finished. Keep redirection prepared at all times."
He paced slowly before the blackboard, gloved hands clasped behind his back. The sunlight through the tall windows caught in his neatly tied black hair, glinting off the fine stitching of his overcoat.
This wasn't the Kael they remembered. A week and a half ago, he was the disheveled, half-bored professor who strolled in late, shirt untucked. Now… his posture was military, his expression unreadable, his voice carrying the weight of someone who had stood on the edge of death and returned.
A hand went up hesitantly in the back row.
