The midday sun beat down on the cobblestone plaza outside the main cafeteria, casting harsh shadows across the bustling crowd of students. It was lunchtime at the Obsidian Fang Academy, which meant the area was a war zone of hungry teenagers, floating food trays, and the cacophony of a thousand conversations happening at once.
In the middle of this chaos stood two figures.
One was a whirlwind of energy, a beacon of social enthusiasm who was practically tackling passersby with paper.
The other was Kael.
Kael was standing under the shade of a large oak tree, leaning against the bark as if it were the only thing keeping him upright. He held a stack of glossy black-and-silver flyers in one hand, extending them limply toward anyone who happened to walk within arm's reach.
He looked less like a recruiter for an elite faction and more like a tired NPC whose quest line was bugged.
