The morning of the tournament, the big hall of the academy was packed, loud, and a complete mess.
Hundreds of first-year students from the four classes — Ascendant, Veritas, Fortis, and Audax, were standing in their team groups.
The noise bouncing off the high walls was enough to give anyone a headache. Students were laughing, showing off their shiny armor, and testing their weapons. Groups of five stood in tight circles, high-fiving and bragging about how many points they would get.
Everything was going exactly how a massive academy event was supposed to go. People were excited. The mood was bright.
...Or, at least, that was how it was supposed to be.
On the far side of the hall, where the Ascendant students were grouped, a heavy silence had formed. The laughing, joking, and high-fiving stopped completely within twenty feet of that spot.
