faced many probl

med to arrive. He had handled all of it with a quiet, t

had prepared

form, no eyes, no mouth. Just a shifting dark mass that pulled the warmth out of the air wherever it passed. Every student in the hallway had gone completely s

stare

el floated qui

ck:

Then at the creature.

at time to do somet

l did no

ing and reshaping itself as it moved. Kael took one step back. T

tri

d, grabbed a torch bracket to stop himself from falling completely,

hand in a wide spinning

d directly on

st the floor tiles. The cold in the air vanished instantly. And then the creature was simply gone, leaving nothin

ne hand still gripping the e

was absolu

dent star

. Then at the crowd of students watching him wit

d not do anyt

dy m

from somewhere in t

d it with a

spers followe

ee how fas

t even cas

is that t

orn off a wall. None of it had been intentional. None of it had involved skill, control, or any kind of deliberate action on his part. Bu

f the wall and strai

al," he sa

ng behind hi

grabbed

ression had shifted just slightly. Not much. But enough to notice. Her eyes were sharp and f

said. "A low level one, but still dangerous

said. "A Sha

ting stance, without a spell, an

" he sa

narrowed sli

arently decided to take over without asking his permission first. Then he thought about how that would sound standing i

reacted,

gratitude. It was something colder and more focused than either of those things. She was studying

his arm and turned

proceed," she said

d began

king slightly at the fingers. He had done absolutely nothing. He had tripped over a tile and k

llway now believed he h

. At the center of the room stood a tall man in grey robes with sharp eyes and a jaw that looked like it had been carved rather

Then it landed on Kael. Then it stayed there a mome

class and initial rank. You will each approach the circle and channel yo

tone sat at the center

his status pane

ana

slowly thro

oing to be

e results. A few produced strong ones. One girl near the front made the stone flare a brilliant

r looked up from

l Dr

ng stopped

he room turned to

ce steady, the way he had learned to walk into a bad situation at work when retreating wa

his hand o

ened for one

stone e