The bell rang with a long, resonant chime that echoed across the Royal Magic Academy's sprawling campus. Its tone was deep and commanding, not unlike the sound of a warhorn softened by centuries of tradition. To the seasoned students, it signaled just another day of lessons. But to the newly admitted, it marked the beginning of something far more significant.
Inigo Velasquez adjusted the strap on his satchel as he crossed the courtyard toward the main lecture hall. The building loomed like a castle wing—arched windows, flying buttresses, and polished ivory stone that gleamed under the morning sun. Statues of the Seven Founding Magi lined the entrance, each immortalized in marble poses of power and contemplation.
