The afternoon sun hung low in the sky as Victor, Lyra, Sylvia, and Nakia made their way toward Andosa College's training grounds. The return stones had left them disoriented, but after Nakia's explanation of her abilities, the group had agreed that testing Victor's bond powers couldn't wait. For Victor, there was an unspoken urgency—he needed to know what Nakia's influence would mean in battle. For Nakia, it was something else entirely: a chance to see her "Master" embrace the strength she had given him.
The training grounds were quieter than usual, most students occupied with their afternoon classes. Rows of dummies lined the far side of the grounds, their wooden forms already splintered and scarred from countless training sessions. The flat expanse of dirt and grass stretched beneath the open sky, bordered by stone walls that created a wide, private space for sparring.
