The air seemed heavier the moment our academy’s name echoed through the arena.
Blackwood Academy.
For weeks, we’d trained for this competition. Endless drills. Sleepless nights. Bruises that never quite healed. We’d spoken confidently about victory around campfires and during sparring sessions, but now that we stood at the edge of the unknown, confidence felt strangely fragile.
Around me, the other students fell silent.
Some straightened their uniforms.
Others tightened their grip on their weapons.
No one joked anymore.
The excitement that had filled the stadium only moments ago faded into a distant roar inside my ears as reality finally settled over us.
This wasn’t another training exercise.
This wasn’t a friendly tournament.
Every academy gathered here represented the strongest
