The massive, suspended training arenas of the Cosmic Academy were completely bathed in the brilliant, cool light of the distant blue nebula, and the air was charged with a heavy, suffocating tension as the three hundred initiates of the Winter Star Vanguard stood in a trembling defensive line across the polished, pale Sylfen wood.
They had spent the last three days mastering the basics of physical footwork under Yena's relentless instruction, and they had successfully learned how to pull the raw cosmic energy from their newly bound System-Cores to manifest beautiful, glowing weapons of starlight, but standing perfectly still in a quiet room was entirely different from facing a genuine, coordinated cavalry charge.
At the far end of the sprawling arena, Grand Marshal Zara sat comfortably atop her massive black Sand Wyrm stallion, her dark star-iron barding absorbing the ambient light while fifty of her elite riders formed a flawless, terrifying wedge formation behind her.
