Athena stepped forward, her boots silent against the polished arena stage as thousands of eyes followed her every move. The sun was just rising over the stone battlements of the academy walls, casting long golden beams across the vast seats and illuminating her dark braid like a thread of black steel.
She stopped at the centre of the platform and raised her hand casually. Mana flickered at her fingertips, thin arcs of violet light connecting to the floating broadcast crystal high above the arena. Instantly, the giant projection screen flickered to life.
A hush fell over the crowd.
On the glowing screen, five names appeared in luminous white letters:
Lucian, Evelyn, Silas, Reia, Vyn
Lines began to appear, shifting between the names, splitting and merging again in a slow silent shuffle. It was like watching fate rearrange itself in front of everyone's eyes, each student's path forming and breaking apart before settling into place.
