The lessons began at dawn on the penthouse balcony. The air was cool and clean, the rising sun casting long shadows across the city of Avalon. Alice stood opposite me, her presence as calm and unreadable as the morning sky.
"You have chosen your project," she said, her voice a quiet law. "To fulfill an old promise by creating a new path for an old art. Before you can build, I must see the foundation. Show me the art as it exists. Perform it, as perfectly as you know how."
I nodded. This was familiar ground. I settled into the opening stance of the Mount Hua form, the movements a deep-seated memory in my bones. I let my High Radiant power recede, drawing only on the simple, clean mana required for the art. I was not Arthur Nightingale, the High Radiant with Sword Accord. For this moment, I was just a swordsman, honoring a tradition.
I began.
