The Advanced Theory classroom at Azurefall Academy was silent, save for the scratching of the rain against the high, arched windows.
It was a circular room, built like a medical operating theater, but today only four students sat in the front row: Dain, Ilya, Lia, and Kaelan. The rest of the seats were empty, the heavy oak door locked and barred. This was not a lecture for the masses. This was a war council disguised as a lesson.
Elara Zephyrwind stood at the center of the room. There were no dusty tomes, no complex star charts, no artifacts of power. There was only a single, simple white candle burning on her desk, its small flame flickering stubbornly in the drafty air.
"Extinguish it," Elara said. Her voice was calm, devoid of the theatrical projection other instructors used, but her hand, resting on the edge of the desk, had a barely perceptible tremor.
