The morning air carried a faint chill as the first-year students filled the academy's plaza. Professors and attendants directed the lines with practiced precision, their voices mingling with the hum of mana conduits powering the rail.
Trafalgar stood with his group—Zafira, Xavier, Cynthia, and Bartholomew—watching as more students arrived, dressed neatly in travel coats and light armor. Beyond the courtyard, a long train waited.
The train was reserved entirely for them—an entire convoy of carriages bound for the Velkaris Hub, where the Gates are.
'The whole first-year class, all at once…' Trafalgar thought. 'Looks more like a military march than a school trip.'
When the boarding signal flared, they stepped into one of the central cars. The interior gleamed with rune-forged wood and soft azure lanterns suspended in midair.
Xavier immediately sprawled across his seat with a grin. "Now this is travel done right."
