More months passed...
The forest past the academy wasn't wild in the way an unclaimed wood was. It was deliberate.
Every branch, every patch of moss, every twist in the paths had been shaped over centuries by mana and enchantments. Things here shifted in small ways.
Roots could knot into symbols overnight, stones might hum faintly when stepped on, and water sometimes flowed uphill for no reason except that the forest decided it should.
The instructors called it a "training environment." The students called it a trap that was never quite the same twice.
This morning, it was the stage for the second-year scavenger hunt.
Logan stood with his teammates - Orion, Liam, and Vera - just outside the forest line.
Other teams clustered nearby, some talking strategy, others looking over their assigned scrolls. The air had that sharp, damp scent that came after a night of rain, though no puddles lingered.
