The chill wind cut across my skin like fine needles as I stood within the open training ground. White mist coiled around the marble floor of the arena, drifting lazily from veined stones beneath my feet.
In front, three enormous serpent sculptures lay before me in a linear formation. Their eyes, dull at first, roared into life with bright, right intensity as crimson runes ran across their surfaces.
I tightened the grip around the hilt of my sword. Today was going to mark my last day of training. The air was heavier, alive with anticipation.
From the rear, Linda and the trio watched speculatively.
"Just a pointer note," Muna muttered from my front. "The snakes are so brutal with their attacks."
"That's not a pointer," I whispered, alert at the same time.
Then, mist that had coiled beneath my feet converged at one point in the middle of the arena and shot upwards into the air.
