CHAPTER NINE: THE TRIAL LOOMS (Part one)
It was supposed to be a normal class.
A usual day.
Glyph theory. Resonance mapping.
Maybe a quiet scroll lesson followed by pulse syncs.
Instead—
Instructor Liraen Vosk stepped into the room before the bell.
Her coat didn't sway.
Her eyes were already open.
And she wasn't carrying the Thren Scroll.
The moment she entered,
every hum in the classroom stopped.
Kaelen sat up straighter.
Yolti pushed her notes aside.
Selka closed the book she hadn't been reading.
Zephryn watched her.
Watched the way she stood at the center of the glyph ring—
not like a teacher,
but like someone delivering verdicts.
"No glyphwork today," she said.
Her voice was soft.
But no one mistook it for kind.
"This is not a drill. This is not optional.
The Resonant Trial begins in three days."
Murmurs broke immediately.
Two students exhaled sharply.
One dropped their stylus.
Kaelen leaned forward, brows drawn.
Yolti muttered, "Already?" under her breath.
But it was Zephryn's voice that cut through them all.
"Wait… what trial?"