The wave fourteen timer read two hours and twelve minutes when the evaluation band on Vane's wrist vibrated once with a short pulse he hadn't felt before.
Not the wave alert. Not the point accumulation tick. Something else — a flat, single buzz, the kind that indicated an administrative function rather than a combat one.
He looked at the band. A small text notification had appeared in the lower corner of the display, beneath the point counter and the wave timer. The evaluation's inter-squad administrative relay. Basic text only, no mana encoding, the kind of communication the Academy allowed between registered squads for logistical coordination. He'd forgotten it existed.
The message was from Lyra's band registration.
Two strongholds dark. SW3 and SW5. Not construct damage. Extraction triggers, mass, rapid succession. No logged cause. Sending sensor summary.
