"Yo! Ednar!" A young man dressed in a thick hooded sweater yelled, catching sight of his friend who had just stepped down from a mana-powered carriage. The vehicle's enchanted wheels still hummed faintly as it rolled away, disappearing into the flow of similar carriages dropping off students at the academy gates.
"Brent? Heh, you actually came early for once in your entire life," Ednar laughed, watching his friend weave through the crowd toward him. It was unusual—Brent was notorious for cutting it close, sometimes arriving mere minutes before roll call.
"With all the pressure back home, I had to," Brent replied with an exhausted look, dark circles evident under his eyes.
"Let me guess… the festival?" Ednar already knew the answer. Everyone had been talking about it for weeks.
