Several months later.
Lucia walked through the bustling corridors of the Academy. Corridors that had once stood empty were now filled with heirs. Most of them were heading in the same direction, anticipation written across their faces. Those who lacked that excitement were the ones who had only recently returned from the Trial and had yet to recover from it.
A few minutes later, Lucia entered a vast hall crowded with students. Most had gathered into small groups, usually with those they had gone through the Trial alongside, while a few stood alone.
"So many people. One, two, three... one hundred and five, one hundred and six..."
Lucia tried to count the crowd, but a voice interrupted her.
A man stood upon the stage. He was neither old nor young. His short hair was lightly touched with gray, and a neatly trimmed beard accentuated the sharp lines of his face. His blue eyes were calm and remarkably clear.
"Welcome, students."
He paused for a moment, allowing the words to settle.
"I am the Headmaster of the Academy. I was responsible for it last year, I am responsible for it now... and I will remain so for the next three years. My name is Marcus Kane. But you may simply call me Headmaster."
His gaze slowly swept across the hall.
"The fact that you are standing here," he continued, "means that you have already proven yourselves worthy of your Inheritance."
"Each of you has endured something that would have broken others. Each of you has taken a step into a place where most would never have dared to go."
He inclined his head ever so slightly, acknowledging that truth.
"Many of you will become the unstoppable strength of humanity. The force that expands its frontiers, safeguards its world... and defends it from what lies beyond."
At those words, his voice became quieter, yet somehow even more profound.
"You will be the ones who move forward when everyone else retreats. The ones who remain standing when others fall."
A brief silence followed.
"And some of you..." His eyes lingered on a handful of students. "...will become the ones who lead that strength forward. Its leaders. Look around you."
Like many others, Lucia slowly glanced around the hall.
"Standing beside you," he continued, "are your future comrades. The people who will fight at your side. The ones to whom you will entrust your back... and upon whom your survival may depend."
"Among them are your future leaders. Your future subordinates. Your future friends."
"You will spend the next year here. You will grow. You will make mistakes. You will lose... and you will find."
He made a small, welcoming gesture with his hand.
"Welcome to the Academy."
"Here, you will learn to wield your Gifts. You will learn to understand them... and to accept them."
Once again, his gaze swept across the hall.
"And here, you will find those with whom you will walk the road ahead. Not because you have to... but because, in time, you will no longer be able to imagine walking it alone."
He fell silent.
One pair of hands began to clap. Then another.
Within moments, the entire hall erupted into applause.