ShadowBound: The Need For Power

After a moment, Mystica faced the hall properly. "Good morning, my dear second-years."

The response came unevenly, but clear enough. "Good morning, Lady Mystica."

"I hope you had a lovely weekend," she said, voice warm and playful. "Though judging by some of these faces, perhaps not. A few of you look as if Core Myst visited your rooms last night and threatened your bloodlines."

A few nervous laughs slipped through the hall.

Dylan lifted his hand slightly. "Lady Mystica, for you, I would allow Core Myst to threaten me directly."

The hall went still for half a second.

Maxwell slowly closed his eyes.

Asher muttered something that sounded like a threat.

The Water Magic professor’s expression hardened. "Mr. Wellington."

Dylan looked at him as if only now remembering other authority figures existed. "Professor."

"That is enough."

Mystica lifted one hand lightly before the professor could continue. "It is fine, Professor Caelus. Mr. Wellington has always had a talent for surviving statements that should shorten his lifespan."

Dylan smiled without shame. "Only because your mercy is divine, Lady Mystica."

Charlotte covered her mouth, shoulders trembling faintly.

Ariana looked down at her desk, visibly fighting both embarrassment and laughter.

Professor Caelus looked like he was reconsidering every life choice that brought him into the hall that morning.

Mystica’s eyes glittered with amusement. "Careful, Dylan. If you flatter me too much before the paper begins, your classmates may blame you when the questions become cruel."

"They already blame me for everything."

"Usually correctly," Liam said without looking up.

A few students heard him and snorted before quickly silencing themselves.

Dylan turned as far as his seat allowed, wounded. "Betrayal before examination. I will remember this."

"Good. Write it down on the paper."

Mystica laughed softly, clearly entertained. "How lively. Unfortunately, I must now become mildly responsible."

That sentence alone made several students more nervous.

Mystica clasped her hands before her. "As all of you know, today marks the beginning of Theory week. Your first paper is Core Myst, and depending on how you choose to approach it, this may very well be the most difficult written examination you take."

A heavy silence settled.

She continued, "Core Myst is not a subject that rewards memorized definitions without understanding. You will be asked to analyze, apply, compare, explain consequences, identify instability, and reason through scenarios where poor Myst management can lead to backlash, collapse, exhaustion, or death. If you only memorized pretty phrases from your notes, I offer my condolences."

A few students paled.

Professor Caelus stepped forward slightly. "Lady Mystica and I will be invigilating this examination. The duration is five hours. After the first two and a half hours, you will receive a thirty-minute break. During that break, you will not discuss the contents of the paper. After the break, you will return to your assigned seats and continue."

Mystica nodded. "Before the papers are distributed, there are a few things you must understand. Any form of malpractice will carry severe consequences. Attempting to communicate answers, conceal notes, use unauthorized magic, manipulate another student’s materials, or interfere with the invigilation wards will not merely result in deducted marks. Depending on severity, it may lead to automatic failure of the paper, disciplinary action, and restrictions affecting your practical assessment eligibility."

That killed whatever lingering amusement had remained.

Liam listened without much concern. Cheating would require trusting that the academy had not already prepared for cheating. Only an idiot would make that gamble in a Core Myst hall under Mystica’s eyes.

Mystica’s voice remained pleasant. "You are also not to speak once the examination begins. Even unnecessary whispers before the bell may cost points if we decide they are disruptive. During the examination, if you need assistance with parchment, ink, physical discomfort, or permission to leave for any approved reason, raise your hand and wait. Do not call out. Do not turn around. Do not attempt to be clever. I assure you, I enjoy catching clever people far more than I enjoy catching stupid ones."

Professor Caelus looked over the hall. "Do you understand?"

"Yes, Professor," the students answered, some stronger than others.

Mystica tilted her head. "Do you understand?"

"Yes, Lady Mystica," they repeated, louder this time.

"Wonderful."

She snapped her fingers.

The air above every desk shimmered.

In the next instant, a parchment packet appeared before each student, along with academy-issued writing materials placed neatly beside it. The arrival was clean and simultaneous, every desk receiving the same sealed stack. A faint ripple of surprise moved through the hall despite everyone expecting something of the sort.

Some students immediately leaned forward and began skimming the first page. Others touched the edge of the parchment as if confirming it was real. A few froze completely, suddenly faced with the thing they had been dreading all morning.

Liam left his papers where they were.

He did not touch them.

The title was visible at the top of the first page, along with the examination code and a long set of instructions. He had no interest in working himself into nerves by reading every line before the bell. The paper would be what it was. He would answer what he knew, reason through what he did not, and hope Ariana’s explanation of Core Myst compression had been as useful as it had felt in the library.

Around the hall, the small ripple of movement died quickly.

Mystica raised one finger. "You may read through the paper. You may turn pages carefully. You may not write until the academy bell rings. If I see any writing material touch parchment before then, you may consider yourself failed before your first sentence is born."

No one doubted her.

That was the thing about Mystica. She could smirk, tease, and speak as though everything amused her, but no student with sense mistook that for softness. If she said a student would fail for touching ink to parchment before the bell, then that student would fail. Probably with a smile from her and paperwork from someone less attractive afterward.

The students obeyed.

Pages turned quietly. Eyes moved quickly over questions. Some faces tightened with dread. Others relaxed slightly, though only fools relaxed fully before a five-hour Core Myst paper. A few whispers started in the far left section, barely audible, but Professor Caelus’s gaze snapped toward them with enough warning that the students responsible immediately went silent.

Liam sat still, tapping lightly against the side of his desk with one finger.

He looked at nothing in particular.

Not because he was unconcerned, but because he wanted his mind quiet before beginning. Last-minute panic helped no one. Reading the questions before the bell might have given him a preview, but it would also start his thoughts moving before he was allowed to write, which he found more irritating than useful. So he waited.

As he waited, he noticed Mystica looking at him.

Not constantly. That would have been too obvious, though Mystica had never been especially afraid of obviousness when it amused her. But her gaze drifted toward him from time to time, her expression carrying that familiar glint that suggested she would have enjoyed pestering him if this had not been an official examination gathering.

Liam could almost feel the shape of whatever comment she was restraining. Something about his calm, his hair, his expression, or his refusal to look at the paper like the others.

He refused to look back.

He needed a peaceful mind to write this test.

Mystica Moonstone was not peaceful.

She was chaos in a dress with excellent posture.

So Liam continued staring forward, tapping once more against the desk, while the hall breathed quietly around him. Dylan had finally stopped gazing at Mystica long enough to look through his paper, though the expression on his face suggested he had discovered betrayal in written form.

Maxwell was reading with steady focus. Ariana had already turned to the second page, her eyes moving fast, anxiety replaced by concentration. Sheila sat upright, one hand resting beside her writing materials, her gaze scanning the instructions carefully. Asher looked deeply offended by the length of the paper before him.

Minutes stretched.

Nearly fifteen of them passed that way.

Then the academy bell rang.

The sound rolled through the grand hall, clear and final.

In the same instant, the second-years reached for their writing materials.

Pens touched parchment.

And the Core Myst examination began in absolute silence.

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