The Horizon Primary Academy was a structural marvel, designed to be a "Cradle of Sovereignty." Every hallway was embedded with resonance-conductors that allowed the faculty to monitor the growth of the students' ribbons in real-time.
As Kaelen and Mina walked through the central atrium, they passed the Pillars of Authority, where the names and levels of their instructors were displayed. In this world, power was not a secret; it was the curriculum.
The Faculty of Horizon Academy
Professor Elena (Level 110 – Early-Strand Phase): Meditation and Mental Calibration. She had just transitioned out of the Thread phase. Her teal aura was gentle, perfect for guiding five-year-olds through the delicate process of internal stabilization.
Professor Andrew (Level 195 – Peak-Strand Phase): Kinetic and Physical Training. He stood at the absolute limit of the Strand phase. His amber aura was corded and dense, vibrating with the physical power required to teach the "Kinetic Stretch." He was the bridge between biological limits and mechanical potential.
Professor Marcus (Level 220 – Loom Phase): Finance and Resource Management. Having entered the Loom phase, Marcus's mind could "interlace" complex variables. He didn't just teach math; he taught the students how to weave their personal economy into the UCC's global lattice.
Professor Vane (Level 340 – Weave Phase): History and General Knowledge. A true heavyweight. As a Weave-Phase master, Vane's consciousness could span an entire battlefield. He oversaw the Academy because he could "see" the potential of every student simultaneously, his purple-tinted aura acting as a quiet, invisible net over the school.
The Tour: Facilities of the Future
Professor Vane led the class through the West Wing, his Weave-phase presence making the air feel thick and dignified.
1. The Bio-Synthesis Refectory "Fuel is the first step to Level 100," Vane explained. The refectory featured automated dispensers that analyzed a student's Ribbon Leakage via a palm-scan. If Kaelen's thread was flickering, his Vitreous Pear and Iron-Leaf Salad would be infused with specific mineral salts to patch the "holes" in his resonance.
2. The Archive of the Fabric A hall filled with Neural Crystals. Instead of reading, students would place their hands on the crystals to witness 4D reconstructions of history. They felt the heat of the First Scientist's original reactor and the cold terror of the Node Breach.
3. The Simulation Hub This was where the "Finance and Daily Life" training happened. The Hub featured hundreds of pods where students played "Resource Sovereignty." They had to manage the budget of a Tier-1 space colony, learning that a single mistake in Ribbon-taxation could lead to a revolution.
4. The Vault of General Knowledge A massive, rotating globe of the Core Sector dominated this room. Here, they learned the "Geography of the Fabric"—the trade routes, the locations of the Twelve Families' fortresses, and the "Dead Zones" where the Ribbon was too thin to support life.
The Veyron Perspective
As the tour concluded, Professor Vane stopped in front of a statue of Alaric Veyron. He looked at the class, but his gaze lingered on Kaelen for a fraction of a second longer.
"Primary education ends at age ten," Vane said. "By then, the UCC expects you to be Level 100. You will have the body of a child, but the mind of a financier and the history of a veteran. Only then will you be allowed to touch the science of the Strand."
Kaelen looked at the statue. He didn't feel the pressure that the other kids did. To them, Level 100 was a mountain. To Kaelen, whose Crimson Thread was already vibrating with the "Compression" of his ancestors, Level 100 was just the starting line.
He didn't need to over-analyze the teachers. He could feel the difference in their phases instinctively. Elena was a breeze; Andrew was a storm; Marcus was a machine; and Vane... Vane was an ocean.
Kaelen took a deep breath, the "optimized" air of the Academy filling his lungs. He was in the perfect cage. All he had to do was grow until he was big enough to break the bars.