"First years of Eldris Academy", he said.
"Welcome".
The words struck the room like a pin dropped in a chamber.
No echo. No follow-up. Just stillness.
The headmaster let the silence breathe.
Then he stepped forward, hands calmly folded behind his back as his hair swayed slightly.
"My name is Kael Sarn", he said, voice steady, untouched by amplification.
"I am your Headmaster. Archon of Eldris Academy. S-Rank in Magic and Ki".
No pride laced in his tone. No demand for applause. Just a fact.
"You may call me Headmaster Sarn. Or not at all".
The silence was total.
"You were brought here because someone say potential. A teacher, a noble, a number on a test."
Gulp
"You may keep your titles, your hopes, your stories - if they serve you."
"But understand this. Potential means nothing here."
Taking a single step forward, his hands still calmly behind his back.
"Eldris does not build legends. It breaks them. Then watches who stands."
"Some of you are strong. Some of you are lucky. That difference won't last long".
A slow breath, barely audible.
"We train for more than rankings. We prepare for more than exams."
His eyes swept across the hall, not pausing on any individual face; he somehow passed through them all though.
"There are things in motion beyond these walls. We will not speak of them today".
"Understand this. What happens in this academy...will shape what stands outside it".
He took a brief pause. The rest of the room deathly quiet, all engaged:
"This year, Eldris begins with an unprecedented formation".
"Fifteen first-years have already earned elevation. Through performance and combat."
A quiet pulse stirred across the students - whispers that died quickly as they rose.
"They are not your superiors. Nor are they untouchable"
"Today any of you can join them, if you are prepared enough".
"They are your bench-mark".
"They are the Elite Class".
Behind him, the stage shifted. The floor hummed, a soft crystalline movement, as a circular platform rose.
Fifteen students stood atop it.
Not one of them moved.
They hadn't stepped forward. They hadn't climbed up. They were already there.
The light struck them from above, pouring through the glass done, catching silver trim, polished boots and mixed expressions. They weren't showy. They didn't need to be.
Headmaster Sarn's voice resumed; measured, "Fifteen names. Remember them."
Then one by one:
1. "Jacob Lacura"
The boy at the centre didn't flinch. His gaze stayed forward. Calm - not cold. The kind that made people nervous.
2. "Kalen Voss"
Leaner frame. Shoulders squared. His eyes held something unreadable - like the pressure inside had yet to be released.
3. "Aelana Cael"
Hair pale like sunlit snow. She didn't blink. The heat around her wasn't visible, but everyone could feel it.
4. "Seris Halden"
Balanced. Focused. A noble daughter who seemed kind.
5. "Lyria Skorne"
Tall. Arms crossed. Her eyes were still, but the space behind her shimmered faintly - just enough to reveal the vague silhouette of something immense, unseen but watching. Her hair a dark ash-blonde, braided tightly over one shoulder, eyes a violet haze.
6. "Veyna Aris"
Shorter than most. Sporting a tilt of her head. The faintest smirk could be seen. She didn't project power; she hinted certainty, like nothing surprised her. Her hair a jet black cut sharp to the chin with black eyes
7. "Naeva Solene"
Shoulder-length raven hair, swept behind a silver clasp. She didn't blink or shift. Just stared like she was listening to something no one else could.
8. "Rowen Delca"
Hood drawn halfway over his brow, twin silver rings on each hand. His expression was bored.
9. "Izan Thorne"
Tall, broad shoulders, with a scar slicing down from his cheekbone to his jaw. He held the quiet air of someone who had seen something he shouldn't have.
10. "Fayl Kera"
Slender, mid-height, his black hair was rough and long. Eyes almost shut, as if seeing too much would be distracting. His hand seemed to be gripping his hip, the other hung limp.
11. "Torin Vale"
Heavy- set and large. Calm-eyed with dark skin and short hair. The floor beneath is boots was unnaturally still. His clothes not as refined as the others; but who could tell otherwise.
12. "Enyx Virell"
Red eyes, tattoos like winding ink from wrist to collarbone. Sleeves rolled up, a metal cuff loose around one of his forearms. His eyes were sharp.
13. "Mira Dask"
Short, young. Barely looking older than a child, she stood like someone who had passed multiple tests however. Her shoulder floated a faint construct - an orb of metal and spirit-light, shifting silently.
14 "Selle Varn"
Blonde hair tied in a tied braid that didn't saw when she moved; because she didn't move. Fingers tracing the sky, drawing patterns no one else could see.
15. "Caelun Redd"
Slim. Unremarkable. Brown hair, average height. No flash to him. But Headmaster Sarn spoke the name with the same weight as the rest.
The silence after was heavy. The students below stared at the mixture and variety of everyone standing on that platform. The crowd stared at all 15 of them.
There was no cheering. No applause. Just slow murmurs building.
"That's it? Fifteen?"
"Where's the prince? I thought-"
"Maybe he didn't make it..."
"No way. He has to be-"
The murmurs curled like smoke across the hall, soft but persistent.
Riven didn't speak. He barely blinked.
His wandered - not in awe- but in thought, as he glanced at everyone on stage. Some looking like they belonged. Some didn't. But looks were deceiving.
Whilst the murmurs continued:
Headmaster Sarn raised his hand.
Silence
"These fifteen, have been selected based on potential - what they are capable of becoming - not what they are now."
His voice echoed, establishing what Elite Class was.
"Strength without control fades. Power without purpose fails. What matters is what endures".
He let the words sit.
"The rest of you will be given your chance. How much better have you gotten? Let's see."
A hum rolled through the stone beneath their feet. The light twisting and bending.
The seats, the walls , the platform - all gone.
In a blink, they stood in a massive chamber of white stone. No doors. No sky. Just rows of students side by side, and the cold breath of what was coming.
As the students looked left and right. A platform emerged above - narrow, silver and elevated just high enough to command immediate attention.
At the centre stood a woman.
Her posture was upright, straighter than an arrow.
Her uniform tailored with surgical precision - deep slate, lined with a silver trim, bearing three mirrored crests at her collar. It marked her as one of the highest-ranked in the academy.
Her features were sharp, composed, but also soft. Her skin holding a subtle bronze tone, it caught the halls cold light without softening her expression.
Her eyes were a deep storm-violet, dark and unreadable.
Her hair was short- cropped just below the ear, and was jet black with streaks of purple at the sides. A clean style that didn't flair.
She stepped forward, her voice firm:
"For those of you who don't know my name : I am Vei Alros, Vice Headmaster and Head Evaluator for Eldris Academy".
"Your classifications up til now", she said, "were based on theoretical aptitude - mana flow, ki density, spirit alignment markers"
Her eyes moved through the crowd with absolute precision.
"But theory means nothing without expression".
Then she turned and the floor began to move.
A clean circle of engraved stone split open with a low grinding sound at the floor, and from within rose a circular platform wide and etched with runes that spiraled towards the middle.
At the centre stood a structure unlike anything seen before.
A crystal obelisk, nearly two metres tall, floating above the platform; clean, polished and refracting waves of light.
The surface shimmered with four distinct hues:
Gold - Magic
Crimson - Ki
Emerald - Taming
Violet - Spirit Bonding
The colours didn't flare. They pulsed as though the crystal was breathing.
"This is the Soul Resonance Pillar"
"Manufactured through a joint effort between Eldris's arcane faculty, tamers and spirit bonders."
"It will read your presence - both your current mastery and your latent potential; across all four mediums : Magic, Ki, Taming and Spirit Bonding."
She didn't pace, she turned her head slightly as she uttered the words. Stepping gracefully.
"There are no adjustments. No bias, and no room for lies."
"You will step forward when called. The results will be displaced clearly for all to see".
A pause followed - some students shifted nervously, others already predicting what they'd grown to.
Somewhere in the middle row, Riven chuckled...
It was quiet. Dry. Barely more than a breath.
But it was real.
A few students turned his way - one with a frown, another with curiosity etched on his face.
He didn't look at them however; his gaze focused on the crystal in the centre. Not with fear or excitement.
Just an acceptance of whatever would happen next.
"After...you will be regrouped should you move higher or lower"
"Begin"
The glow of the pillar settled.
Vei passed he hand over a flowing glyph at her side, a name echoed through the hall after:
"Aelana Cael"
The reaction was immediate. Half anticipation and anxiety from the crowd.
Aelana rose without hesitation.
Walking with a smooth practised stride.
Her head was held high.
"She's already Elite Class; I wonder what her potential is?"
Whispers spread.
Aelana stopped before the Pillar.
She rested her hand upon the crystal, drawing a multitude of eyes.