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Thalia's boots, still caked with snow from their final ascent to the academy, squeaked against the polished floor.The sound seemed obscenely loud in the hushed atmosphere of the hall.Other students filed in behind her, their faces tight with exhaustion and anxiety.

A thin wisp of vapor accompanied each breath she took.Despite being sheltered from the howling winds outside, the temperature inside barely qualified as warm.The cold here was different from anything she'd known in Verdant Port; it wasn't the temporary chill of sea winds but something older and more permanent, as if the very stones of the mountain held memories of ancient winters.

"It's magnificent," Luna whispered.

Thalia glanced at her new companion.Luna's eyes were wide and darting, taking in every detail of the room with exaggerated wonder.She spun in a small circle, nearly colliding with the students behind them, who glared and stepped around the pair.

"Come on," Thalia said, gently guiding Luna by the elbow."We're blocking the way."

They moved deeper into the hall, which Thalia now recognized as some kind of dining area.Long tables of dark, polished wood stretched in neat rows across the cavern floor, each adorned with iron candelabras holding more of the strange blue flames.At the far end, a raised platform dominated the space, clearly meant for instructors or announcements.

As the first-years found places to stand along the perimeter, Thalia became increasingly aware of the whispered conversations floating through the frigid air.Unlike the open wonder she felt, many of the other recruits seemed engaged in urgent, hushed exchanges.

"Did you hear about the trials?"

"My cousin came here three years ago.Haven't heard from him since."

"Stay away from the Northern recruits — they always stick together."

Luna suddenly chuckled beside her, the sound incongruously light amid the tension.

"What's funny?"Thalia asked, keeping her voice low.

Luna's smile twisted into something almost cunning before reverting to her usual vacant expression."Oh, just watching everyone scramble like mice in a cage.See that group over there?"She nodded toward three students huddled near a column."The tall one's trying to convince the others she has connections to the instructors.She doesn't.And those two —" Luna pointed to a pair of recruits who stood rigidly by the wall, "— they've already decided they're enemies.Haven't spoken a word, but their bodies say everything."

Thalia blinked in surprise, following Luna's gaze.Sure enough, the two students Luna had indicated were pointedly not looking at each other, their shoulders angled away, hands tense at their sides.

"How did you —"

"People forget to watch their bodies when they're worried about their words," Luna said, her voice suddenly clearer and more focused than Thalia had ever heard it."Everyone here is already picking sides, forming alliances."She sniffled again, rubbing her nose with the back of her hand in a gesture that seemed almost deliberately childish.

Thalia studied Luna with new eyes.The girl's apparently random movements suddenly seemed less like distraction and more like cover — a way to observe without being observed in return.It was clever, Thalia realized.Who would suspect this bumbling, forgetful girl of paying attention?

Before she could pursue this revelation further, a hush fell over the cavern.All eyes turned toward the raised platform, where a tall figure had appeared as if materializing from the shadows themselves.

A woman stood at the edge, her imposing silhouette backlit by a row of blue flames.Thalia had heard her name in stories of the academy — this could only be Instructor Maven.Even from a distance, the legendary scar across her face was visible, a jagged line that cut through her right eye socket, covered by a polished metal plate.Around her neck hung what Thalia now recognized as a glacier bear's claw, massive and yellowed with age.

"Silence," Maven commanded, though the word was hardly necessary.The hall had already fallen into a stillness so complete that Thalia could hear the faint crackle of the flames.

"Welcome to Frostforge Academy."Maven's voice carried effortlessly across the space, sharp and clear as breaking ice."You stand within walls that have witnessed generations of recruits come and go.Some left as master mages, warriors, and leaders.Many more left in boxes — or not at all."

A visible shudder passed through the assembled students.Thalia felt her own spine stiffen at the casual mention of death.

"I am Instructor Maven, Master of Combat and Survival.I will oversee your physical training and preparation for war."She paced along the platform's edge, her single amber eye scanning the crowd with predatory intensity."Let me be clear: Frostforge does not nurture.You will not be tended or cared for here.Frostforge refines through pressure and eliminates through trial."

Maven paused, allowing her words to settle like frost on the students' skin.

"Look to your left.Look to your right."Many students did so automatically, including Thalia, who found herself meeting Luna's suddenly solemn gaze, then that of Joren Tidewell, her old neighbor from the slums of Verdant Port.She’d never been close with Joren, but in this place, so far from what she knew, his eyes were somewhat familiar."By year's end, at least one of you will be gone.The weak have no place here.The unprepared have no future here."

Thalia swallowed hard, fighting to maintain her composure.She hadn't expected warmth, but the naked hostility in Maven's welcome chilled her more than the mountain air ever could.

"Resources at Frostforge are precious," Maven continued."Food, warmth, instruction — all must be earned.Those who cannot contribute will find themselves without these necessities.It is not cruelty; it is preparation for the realities of magic in the Northern Reaches."

As she spoke, Maven's eye seemed to find Thalia in the crowd.For a brief, unsettling moment, their gazes locked, and Thalia felt exposed, as if Maven could see straight through to the desperation that had driven her to this place.The instructor's lips curled into the barest suggestion of a smile — not one of welcome, but of challenge.

"Tomorrow, your formal instruction begins.Tonight, you will be shown to your quarters.You would do well to rest while you can."

With that, Maven stepped back, and a group of older students emerged from side doors around the cavern.They moved with purpose, dividing the new recruits into smaller groups and directing them toward various exits.