When the final duel ended, the echoes of roars and thunder still lingering in the air, a silence fell over the students. No one dared clap or cheer as it felt wrong, too small a gesture for what they had just witnessed. Instead, their gazes followed the dragonshifters with wide eyes, hearts heavy with awe.
One of the instructors, a tall dragonshifter with silver hair and faint horns curving back from his temples, stepped forward. His robes shimmered faintly with runes stitched into the fabric, and when he spoke, his voice carried with a deep resonance that seemed to hum in the very bones of those who listened.
"You feel fear," he said, his sharp gaze sweeping across the rows of students. "That is good. Fear is the body's reminder of the power before you. And you feel awe. That too is good. Awe is the spirit's recognition of something greater. Together, fear and awe form the roots of respect."
