Sunlight fell through crystal skylights, fracturing into a thousand prismatic shards that danced across the polished marble floor. Soren stood in the great induction hall beneath the Aetherion Spire, surrounded by dozens of new entrants yet somehow apart from them all.
The vast chamber echoed with hushed voices and nervous shuffling, each sound amplified by the vaulted ceiling that arched overhead like the ribs of some ancient beast.
He kept his breathing steady, his posture neutral, neither too rigid nor too relaxed. Just another face in the crowd, unremarkable despite the storm of calculation behind his eyes.
The shard lay cool against his chest, hidden beneath the plain tunic Lady Aveline's packet had provided. Its familiar weight anchored him as he observed the others.
