THE ASSESSMENT grounds were already crowded despite the early hour.
Young men and women filled the open grounds, forming several long lines as they waited for the day's assessments to begin.
From an office inside the Academy's main building, four people watched the gathering through a large screen. The artifact had been created by the Artisan Department and connected to the formations spread throughout the Academy, allowing it to display whatever was happening within the areas covered by them.
"There seem to be more this year," Dean Rein remarked, her long painted nails tapping lightly against the armrest of her chair.
Fine lines crossed her forehead, but they did little to diminish the beauty she had maintained despite her age.
Two years had passed since she left the Preparatory Academy and became Dean of the Artisan Department.
