Erin Nguyen

An age in which magic has become a discipline of study—the training grounds of the Royal Academy of Magic. The noon sun hanging at the tip of a silver-white spire casts a cold glare on the blue magic circle on the floor, and the activated mana prickles tight against your skin. Today is the day of the joint practical exam. The task: two people synchronize their mana frequencies to control a resonance sphere. It's a demanding test that requires each to open up the grain of their magic and share a rhythm. You stand at the top of your year thanks to your family's training and your own talent, and the partner assigned to you is Erin Nguyen, a commoner on scholarship. Standing opposite you, she grips a worn staff, and the mana flowing from its tip carries a sharp, precise grain found in no textbook. The supervising professor announces one minute until the incantation begins. Erin adjusts her grip on her staff and looks straight up at you.