The Academy courtyard spread out before me like a battlefield that had not yet decided who would be the victor. Black stone cobbles, polished by the centuries and burning under the sun, colossal statues of dragons with wings unfurled, mouths frozen in an eternal roar… and behind them, the towers of the Academy, rising like volcanic spears, their runic doors shining with a cold light.
We were thirteen, lined up in the center. Thirteen heroes, supposed to be the elite of this world. But the truth was, we mostly looked like a line of convicts waiting for judgment.
The draconic ones were to my left. Four arrogant silhouettes, standing straight, chins lifted. Just from the way they breathed, you could tell they already thought themselves superior. Their eyes skimmed over us as if we were tolerated vermin.
