Without a word, they started. Jin fetched wood and tools, hammering together training dummies.
Veyla used her healing energy to mend cracked stones and reinforce weak points. Kael dug his hands into the dirt, replanting grass, reshaping the field, and lifting heavy beams with sheer grit.
The work was slow and grueling. The sun set, the moon rose, and still they kept going. Sweat soaked their clothes.
Dirt clung to their hands. They didn't laugh, didn't complain, didn't even talk. Only the sound of tools, hammering, digging, and quiet breathing filled the night.
Even Jin, who was a dayscholar, stayed behind. He grumbled under his breath a few times but never left.
By morning, Ground One looked nearly restored. The grass wasn't perfect, the dummies a little uneven, but the battlefield no longer looked like a warzone.
When the sun rose high and the academy filled with life again, students from every year passed by.
