The competition ground was selected at Magical City's southern edge gate, which was near the forest and had been transformed overnight.
Once, there was just an open area of packed ground between the city's final permanent structures and the tree line of the Forbidden Forest. But now, it is a whole different scene—teeming with people, designed with a clear purpose, and buzzing with the kind of energy that suggests this place has been anticipating something big and has finally seen it come to life.
Temporary elevated viewing platforms stood along the eastern and western edges—wooden structures built solidly enough that the several hundred people now occupying them produced no concerning movement in the frames. The platforms were full. The open ground between them held the overflow—cultivators and merchants and city residents standing in the morning light with the particular forward-facing quality of people waiting for something to begin.
