ShadowBound: The Need For Power-Chapter 597: Evaluation Week: Day One
The days set aside for rest were put to proper use by the students. The academy grounds, usually alive with the sounds of footfalls and lively chatter, lay unusually quiet throughout most of the day. Pathways stood empty beneath the stone arches, training yards were left untouched, and even the towers seemed to breathe more softly. Only when the bells rang for meals did small groups appear, moving with unspoken agreement before dispersing again just as quickly.
No one dared to be stubborn enough to train in secret or test their limits against Kaelen’s direct advice. Fatigue had been earned honestly over the past weeks, and the weight of the coming evaluation was enough to keep even the most restless students in check. Rest was not laziness now—it was preparation.
Even Liam never stepped beyond the threshold of his dormitory. He remained inside, allowing his body and Myst to settle in a way they rarely did, surrendering to sleep and stillness more fully than he had in a long time. The only moment he was seen was at dinner, and even then his presence was brief, his movements efficient, before he returned without lingering. He wasn’t alone in that restraint. Sheila and the others followed the same unspoken rule, conserving themselves with quiet discipline.
And then the rest day ended.
The morning of the evaluation arrived with a heavy stillness that felt different from any ordinary training day. The first- and second-year students gathered within the grand training hall on the eastern side of the academy, clad in standard training attire, their expressions composed but alert.
Before them stood familiar faces—Sir Kaelen Bane at the forefront, flanked by the instructors who had overseen their progress throughout the month. Yet this time, those figures were joined by others whose presence alone commanded silence. Headmaster Thion Layenhart stood among them, his posture dignified and unwavering, beside the newly appointed assistant headmistress, Lucia Greydon, along with several other authoritative figures whose eyes missed nothing.
The students stood straight, disciplined and unmoving, waiting.
Kaelen stepped forward, his boots echoing faintly against the stone floor as his gaze passed over the assembled ranks. His expression remained unreadable, as it always was, giving nothing away as he studied them. He let the silence stretch, allowing the moment to settle fully before speaking.
"You all look alive today," he said calmly. "That’s good."
A subtle shift moved through the hall, not relief, but readiness.
"As you already know," Kaelen continued, "today marks the first day of your evaluation."
No one spoke. No one even shifted their weight.
"This evaluation will span three days only," he went on, his voice steady and precise. "Each day will focus on a different area of assessment. Think of it as training—but stripped of comfort, intensified in execution, and unforgiving in its standards. Everything you’ve learned over the past weeks will be tested. Not just your strength, but your discipline, your judgment, your adaptability."
He paused, letting the words sink in.
"The first day will assess individual capability. The second will test coordination and effectiveness within groups. The third will be dedicated to controlled combat and sparring. You will be pushed harder than before, not to break you, but to show us exactly where you stand."
Kaelen’s gaze sharpened slightly.
"This is not the time to hold back. Nor is it the time to be reckless. Perform with intent. Perform with awareness. Half-measures will be seen, and they will be remembered."
With that, he straightened.
"Everything that needs to be said has been said. You will now proceed through the portals before you. Second-years will take the two on the right. First-years, the two on the left."
As if responding to his words, four shimmering portals bloomed into existence at the far end of the hall, their surfaces rippling with layered Myst. One by one, the students moved forward, ranks dissolving into ordered lines as they stepped through their designated gateways. Within moments, the hall was empty once more.
When the final portal closed, Kaelen turned and returned to his seat among the instructors. As he settled, Headmaster Thion glanced toward him, a faint smile touching his expression.
"You and the others have done well with them," Thion said quietly. "They’re prepared."
Kaelen gave a small nod. "I’m only doing what’s required of me," he replied. "For Amthar. They’re the future."
Thion acknowledged the words with a thoughtful hum.
Moments later, multiple magical screens shimmered into existence before the instructors, each one revealing a different scene. The students—both first- and second-years—stood scattered across forest clearings, but not the familiar training grounds they had grown accustomed to. This forest was different. Denser. Wilder. The terrain uneven and unfamiliar, the atmosphere charged with latent Myst.
Thion’s eyes lingered on the displays as a quiet sense of anticipation filled the room.
"Shall we begin?" he said.
And the evaluation was underway.
***
Back within the unfamiliar forest, all two hundred students found themselves scattered across different locations, each isolated within their own stretch of dense terrain. No two clearings were the same. Some were narrow and choked with roots, others wide yet uneven, but all shared the same quiet pressure that settled heavily in the air.
Standing alone within his clearing, Liam slowly turned in place, his eyes moving with practiced awareness as he took in his surroundings. The trees here were taller, their canopies thicker, blotting out much of the light. The ground beneath his boots felt subtly wrong—not dangerous, but unfamiliar enough to demand attention.
"This place is different," he muttered under his breath.
It wasn’t just the forest itself. The Myst in the air carried a strange signature, faintly distorted, as though the land resisted being read too easily. Even his Myst sense, something he trusted implicitly, felt dulled and uneven here.
’It makes sense they wouldn’t hold the evaluation somewhere we’re familiar with,’ he thought, his expression unreadable as ever. ’That aside... what exactly are they expecting us to do?’
Kaelen had explained how the day would function in broad terms, but the specifics had been left deliberately vague. Liam already had several theories forming in his mind, each one weighed and adjusted against what he knew of the instructors’ methods. Still, he didn’t move. Acting without confirmation, especially during an evaluation, would be careless.
As if answering his thoughts, a familiar voice echoed through the clearing.
Liam’s head snapped up, his gaze sweeping the trees as he searched for the source, though he already knew he wouldn’t find it.
"As most of you can already tell," Sir Kaelen’s voice rang out, calm and unwavering, carrying effortlessly through the forest, "you are in a completely different forest."
The words reached every student, no matter where they stood.
"Listen carefully," Kaelen continued. "Your objective is simple. Make your way to the center point of the forest. There are two such points—one designated for each year."
Liam remained still, listening intently.
"Second-years will proceed south. First-years will head north," Kaelen said evenly. "Fail to follow this instruction, and you will have failed today’s evaluation before it even begins."
A quiet tension spread through the forest as students absorbed the warning.
"This is an individual assessment," Kaelen went on. "You have the entire day to reach your respective center points. Do not treat this as the morning course you’ve been running all month. Completion time is irrelevant. What matters today is far more valuable than speed."
There was a brief pause, just long enough to let the words settle.
"Approach this wisely."
The silence returned for only a moment before Kaelen’s voice echoed once more.
"You are restricted from excessive Myst output. Violate this condition, and today’s evaluation ends for you immediately. With that said—begin."
The forest came alive.
Across the vast expanse, students launched into motion, each choosing a path, each reacting in their own way—some cautious, some impulsive, all driven by the same goal. The stillness shattered beneath the sound of footsteps, rustling leaves, and snapping branches as bodies moved through unfamiliar terrain.
Liam exhaled slowly.
"Let’s get this over with," he muttered.
Turning north, he stepped forward, his movements controlled and deliberate as he disappeared into the forest, already adjusting his pace, his senses, and his mind to the test that lay ahead.
