The stoic arena hissed as a colossal, mystical wooden board was fixed on the walls by two academy staff members — both bladeborns of respectable physical strength.
The satisfaction of the earlier commotion was slowly overridden by the spectators' curiosity. They wondered what the board was, or rather, they had an idea, but they wanted to see how it would work.
The competitors in the main stage, too, had their brows rising in interest.
Each of them had been requested to draw a strange, colored shard from a runic container, and while some of the tiny crystals seemed to be of the same hue, their shades differed.
They could only wait for Hostess Nathalie's further instructions while fiddling with their stones.
Fortunately, the competitors didn't have to wait long.
