The quiet echo of Athena's boots followed her down the polished stone corridors of the main instructor wing. The morning sun slanted through the high arched windows, lighting her black coat in bands of gold. She walked with calm purpose, her braid swinging gently down her back.
When she reached the oak door at the end of the hall, she paused, inhaling softly before raising a gloved hand to knock.
"Enter."
Dean Garos's voice was quiet but carried its usual deep resonance.
She stepped inside.
The office was silent except for the faint scratching of a quill as Garos wrote notes into a thick leather-bound ledger. Shelves lined the walls, filled with ancient grimoires, mana research reports, and countless crystal memory tablets glowing faint blue in the dim room. A steaming cup of black tea sat beside him, untouched.
He didn't look up as she approached the heavy mahogany desk.
