The chamber Vara used was nothing like the others. No mirrors, no sigils glowing across the floor. At first glance it looked like an empty classroom. White walls, flat floor, a simple table at the center. On the far wall, however, a black panel stretched from ceiling to ground, covered in faint grid-lines like a blank map waiting to be drawn.
Vara stood in front of it, hands clasped lightly behind her back, eyes already fixed on Ren as if she'd been waiting. She didn't ask how his body held up. She didn't even acknowledge Calven's session.
"You sit," she said, pointing to the lone chair at the table.
Ren obeyed. His legs still felt heavy, but the seat was a relief.
The black panel flickered. Shapes appeared. Outlines of terrain, low hills, a river cutting through, red and blue dots scattered across it.
"This," Vara said, "is not combat. This is survival. I will give you a situation. You will respond. You will fail. When you fail, you will explain why."
