The lecture halls of Vaelcrest Academy wasn't designed for comfort. The stone benches were cold even by morning standards, and the grouped seats curved like an amphitheater, pushing all attention downward to the stage where knowledge waited with an iron stare.
Instructor Veyra stood at the front like a blade. No robe, no fanfare....just her grey tunic, a single silver pauldron over one shoulder, and a presence that filled the air with tension. On the wall behind her, floating glyphs cycled through diagrams of magical weapons....blades inscribed with soul-script, staves engraved with memory threads, and a gauntlet that radiated its own ambient temperature.
"Magic," she began without introduction, "is a tool. But tools are only as clever as the hands that use them." She flicked her fingers and the glyphs shifted, now displaying a transparent diagram of a hybrid weapon. A polearm fused with runes that pulsed in rhythmic light.
"This," she continued, "is a Glaive of Chainlight, used by windborn warriors in the East. The runes engraved on it are not just for show. Every swing cycles back energy through a feedback loop. If you lose control of the rhythm...." She snapped her fingers. The image collapsed in a burst of harmless sparks. "You die."
A few students flinched. Nyxar didn't. He leaned forward slightly, watching her hands. Her gestures were always efficient and Sharp. She moved like someone who'd fought more than she'd taught.
"The expedition to The Whispering Vale begins in four days."
Murmurs broke out instantly. Nyxar's pulse ticked upward. Kaela glanced at him from across the row.
"The Vale," Veyra went on, voice cutting through the noise, "is not a battlefield, but it is dangerous. That forest was once a living construct....a garden of thought. Now it grows wild. The deeper you go, the more... aware it becomes." She gestured again. The glyphs flared into a rendered map....a twisting tangle of green and shadow, paths that bent unnaturally, trees whose roots floated in the air like they were suspended in thought instead of soil.
"It changes form and reflects emotions. If your mind shatters, the woods will gather the fragments. We refer to it as a testing area, but the reality is much more than that.
A new sigil emerged: five interconnected circles.
"You will be divided into groups of five." Make your choice carefully. This is not solely about power. You will be assessed on coordination, determination, magical synergy, and the one aspect that cannot be learned from a book: instinct."
Kaela lifted her hand. "Instructor, what is the goal?"
"There are four keystone artifacts embedded within the deeper glades. Your teams will be assigned to retrieve one....intact....and return with it. Only four teams will succeed. The rest will be marked incomplete."
"And if a team fails?" another student asked.
"You'll be extracted after a threshold safety triggers. But your name will not pass forward with honor."
That shut the room up. Veyra folded her arms. "You have until sundown tomorrow to form teams. Then your registry seals will lock."
The glyphs faded. The silence lingered. "Class dismissed."
The wave of sound that followed was instant and chaotic. Groups formed as quickly as shadows under torchlight....students whispering, bargaining, boasting.
Nyxar remained in place.
Kaela came in from the side, taking a seat beside him silently. She rested her elbows on the table and surveyed the hall as if it was a negotiation room.
"You already have me," she remarked nonchalantly. "So, that's one."
He grinned. "I didn't even ask."
"Wasn't necessary."
They exchanged looks, and for an instant it seemed... safe. Yet just for an instant.
Someone slid into the bench behind them with a flourish of too long sleeves and a cocky grin.
"Heard about you," the new arrival said, gesturing with a thumb at Nyxar. "The guy who made a Solarborn eat dirt. I like your style." He had dark curly hair, a soft scar down one cheek, and the eyes of someone who had far too much fun being in danger.
"The name's Rythe," he said, offering a hand. "I conjure barriers. Good ones. I'm quick with spell-lacing and I don't scream when surprised."
Kaela raised an eyebrow. "That's oddly specific."
"Past trauma. Anyway....let's form a team. You two look like the type who attract monsters."
Nyxar shook his hand slowly. "That's… not inaccurate."
Rythe grinned wider. "Then I'm definitely in."
Two more students joined before the hour passed. First was Alisya....a short girl with quiet eyes and a glaive taller than she was. She said little, but Kaela recognized her from sparring class and vouched for her immediately. The last was Renn, a stocky, red-haired fire-binder with tattoos on both arms and a laugh that could knock over a bookshelf.
The five of them stood together just outside the hall as the sun dipped toward the edge of the world.
"So," Rythe said, clapping his hands. "Team name?"
"No," said Kaela.
"Aw, come on."
"Still no."
"Fine. Team Whatever-It-Takes. I'll make badges."
Nyxar chuckled.
Renn cracked his knuckles. "I've read about the Vale. They say it's part dream, part prison. One student got caught in a loop of his own memories and came out speaking in reverse."
Rythe blinked. "Wait, are you serious?"
Alisya looked up. "Let's assume the forest has rules. And that it doesn't care whether you understand them."
They all fell quiet.
Kaela broke the silence. "Well... we've got each other."
"yeah. "Until one of us goes insane," Rythe remarked,
"Until then." Nyxar gave a small nod in reply.
They strolled back slowly, their movements in silent harmony, five shadows stretching long in the light of the setting sun. After parting ways shortly after, each headed to their respective wings of the campus.
In a location far from the academy's boundaries, a forest came to life. It had heard the announcement, and now it was waiting.