The morning sun barely cut through the thick haze over the East Tower, but the news had already settled like dust on every stone step. Eryx was Rank Ten. The slate board in the quadrangle said so, carved in cold silver letters for everyone to see.In the lower grid, a rank was a shield. In the upper grid, it was an invitation.Eryx walked toward the southern conditioning yard, his shoulders heavy under the weight of his morning wraps. Drogo slunk behind him, keeping his snout low to the flagstones. The shadow dragon's obsidian scales were unusually smooth, catching the sunlight in flat, dull glints instead of the rough shine he had weeks ago. Every step the beast took left small, white scratches on the hard stone, but Eryx kept his own pace steady, eyes fixed on the empty horizon.He knew what the board meant. The rules of the academy were simple enough: anyone below Rank Ten needed permission to fight, but anyone sitting on the board was open ground. Any upper-tier recruit could issu

The lower pit of the central arena was carved deep into the limestone bedrock, surrounded by tiers of rising stone benches. Today, every seat was taken. Upper-block nobles, grey-robed instructors, and lower-grid strays squeezed shoulder-to-shoulder, their voices creating a low hum that echoed off the high retaining walls.Eryx stepped out from the dark archway of the eastern tunnel, his boots crunching against the coarse, yellow sand covering the stone floor. He wore his simple dark tunic, his forearms wrapped tightly in grey linen. Beside him, Drogo walked with a slow, deliberate stride, his dark snout held low, his tail dragging a thin line behind him.Across the circular pit stood Varek.The lieutenant was fully armored today in polished plate, his broken wrist bound tightly beneath an iron gauntlet. In his left hand, he held a massive, broad-faced tower shield forged from dark, dense star-iron. Its surface glowed with faint, golden runes that thrummed with a heavy, steady pulse. I

The tracking seal on Drogo’s shoulder flickered with a faint, steady violet pulse under the dim candlelight. It was small, but to Eryx, it felt like an iron collar pinned straight to his dragon's flesh. Every soft pulse seemed to carry a silent warning, reminding him that someone somewhere inside the tower could be watching them."The Overseers hold the master key rune in the lower archive vaults," Lira whispered, adjusting her dark linen cloak near the open window. Her fingers moved quickly, tightening the fabric around her shoulders against the night air. "Every tracking mark issued by the Council links back to a ledger in the basement beneath the administrative tower. If we don't clear the master entry, scrubbing the mark off Drogo will just trigger an alarm in Kael’s office."Eryx pulled his leather wraps tight around his forearms. He checked the knots twice before looking toward the dark window, his expression unreadable."How many guards on the lower perimeter?""Four on the out

By sunrise, the black scroll was no longer a secret.The news cut through the academy lower grid like wildfire. The announcement spread faster than any official notice should have been able to travel.By the time the first morning bells finished ringing, recruits were already arguing over what Darius wanted from the match, while others simply wanted to watch the spectacle unfold. Eryx’s name had become the center of conversations he had never asked to join.Rank One had issued a direct, personal challenge to Rank Ten for the upcoming Vanguard Exhibition. It was completely unheard of. Typically, high-house nobles ignored the bottom of the board, leaving lower-tier recruits to scrape against each other for crumbs. But Darius Kain had broken protocol, and by noon, the Council’s central bulletin board held a fresh, golden-embossed decree confirming the duel.The Council had approved it in record time. To the elders sitting in the high administrative tower, this was the perfect show. Eryx’

The central colosseum was a roaring sea of high-house red silk and low-grid grey wool. Over two thousand spectators filled the tiered stone benches, their voices crashing against the high outer walls like thunder. In the imperial box, high lords from the southern territories sat beside the Vanguard Council, their sharp eyes locked on the dry, un-buffered pit below.For days, rumors of the challenge had spread through every corridor of the academy. Some had come expecting entertainment. Others had come expecting humiliation. No one in the upper tiers had seriously believed Rank Ten could stand against Rank One for more than a few seconds. Even among the lower-grid recruits, nervous whispers had passed from row to row, mixed with uneasy hope.The heavy iron portcullis slammed upward with a deafening screech.Darius Kain stepped out first. He wore glowing dragon-scale armor forged from deep crimson steel, a long broadsword resting lightly on his shoulder. His pale eyes swept over the scr