The afternoon sun hung high in the pale sky, washing the central arena in a harsh, white-hot glare. The usual rows of black-iron weights, stone training posts, and wooden dummies had been cleared from the perimeter, leaving only the massive square platform of reinforced granite exposed beneath the sun.
Surrounding the stage, the tiered stone stands groaned under the weight of thousands of disciples. Outer disciples jostled for standing room along the upper walkways; Inner disciples lined the middle tiers with arms folded tight over their chests; and Core Disciples occupied the front row benches, their eyes fixed on the empty stage. The ambient noise of the crowd—a low, electric hum of thousands of voices murmuring at once—vibrated through the stone flags.
Up in the elevated grandstand, the elders sat in broad redwood armchairs beneath the shade of the pavilion eaves.
A sudden hush swept outward from the front rows.
