Sylvara POV
The horn sounded low and ancient and the entire arena fell silent.
Not the excited kind of silence.
Not the hungry kind.
This was the kind that comes right before something terrible breaks.
I stepped forward when my name was called.
The stone beneath my boots felt colder today, like it remembered what I'd done to it yesterday. I could feel eyes on me from every direction, but no one spoke. No cheers. No taunts. Just tension… tight, coiled, ready to snap.
The elders stood in a half-circle, their expressions guarded. One of them Elder Vaelor cleared his throat.
"We've come so far.. This is the fifth trial," he announced, voice echoing, "it's not a contest of brute strength."
A pause. Long. Deliberate.
"It is a trial of restraint." His eyes locked o
