Ryuken announced it without preamble at the start of week six's final morning session.
"Both of you," he said. He looked at Vane and Lancelot. "Inner sanctum. Together."
He walked toward it.
They followed.
The sanctum had a construct generation system built into the north wall, old eastern runic work, the specific dense script that predated the Academy's cleaner modern notation by at least a century. Ryuken activated it without explaining what he was activating and four constructs materialized at the sanctum's far end.
Vane assessed them.
Sentinel-rank. Heavy type, built for sustained pressure rather than speed, the kind of construct that was designed to test defensive positioning rather than reaction time. Four of them in a spread formation that covered the full width of the sanctum and left no obvious single line of approach.
Ryuken sat against the wall. "Clear them," he said. "Begin."
Vane looked at the constructs. He looked at Lancelot.
