Thirty minutes earlier, Callum followed the crowd of eighteen-year-olds through the corridors of the Hunter Association headquarters, feeling like a piece of driftwood caught in a current. There were hundreds of them here, maybe close to a thousand just in this building alone, all moving in the same direction with the same nervous energy.
The woman leading them guided them into a massive assembly hall that had clearly been converted from some other purpose into a staging area. The room was huge, big enough to hold everyone comfortably with space left over, and the doors closed behind them with a heavy thunk that made the space feel suddenly more enclosed.
Once everyone had filed in and the murmuring conversations started dying down, she climbed onto a small raised platform at the front so everyone could see her. She waited for complete silence before speaking, her voice amplified by speakers mounted around the hall.
"Hello everyone. Welcome to your awakening ceremony."
