The awards assembly took place in a large auditorium that Olivia hadn’t yet visited. It reminded her a lot of one of the larger lecture halls at a university, except for the aesthetics: polished wooden seats with soft cushions, warm glowing light fixtures, wooden paneling hung with elaborate tapestries to dampen the echo, and a slightly raised stage on which all the first-year professors sat in plush leather chairs. The first-year cohorts were seated in the center-front section of seats, while the second and third-year students who deigned to come to see the new class win their awards sparsely filled out the other sections of seating. All in all, Olivia would say half the seats in the auditorium were empty.

Professor Oylla-dak started the assembly off with a short speech. It was Olivia’s first time seeing the evolved Shadeni, and she was both impressed and intimidated by her. She stood nearly seven feet tall, with broad red wings folded on her back. Her obsidian hair and eyes glimmered in the light from the chandeliers, and she exuded a general aura of power. She wore black robes similar to the other professors, but she also wore a sword belt with a long straight scabbard hanging at her hip. She wrapped up her speech by saying, “Fainhallow is a grand and storied institution, and all of you should be proud to have been chosen to attend. While you still have much to prove to be considered true alums, take heart in the sure knowledge that you’ve passed through your first hurdle. The first month of studies here is competitive and stressful. We generally lose ten percent of our new students during this month, but you all have beaten those odds—only two of your fellows fled the academy prior to this moment. Congratulations!”

The assembled students and professors clapped, but Olivia and her cohort looked at each other in puzzlement. Who had dropped out? True, they hadn’t been keeping close tabs on all of the other cohorts, but they hadn’t heard of any students leaving before this. Had they gotten bad news about their performance and chosen to leave before the assembly? Professor Oylla-dak continued, “Someday, you’ll all remember your time here with fondness and hopefully share some of your success with the school that got you started. Because of generous alumni, we’re able to offer the awards for the induction challenge—some of the items would be impossible to procure with simple financial means. We have awards won from dungeons; we have System granted boons, and, of course, we have some awards purchased from City Stones. I’m very excited to see how this year's crop of winners grow and contribute to the academy over the next few years. With that, I’ll introduce your first professor to present his awards: Commander Grobak, please step forward!”

Professor Oylla-dak stepped back and to the side but remained standing. Grobak struggled to extricate himself from his chair but, with a loud grunt, popped to his feet. Some giggles broke out among the students, but when he stood at the front of the stage and cleared his throat, everyone quieted down. “Alright, students, I have four awards, as you know: top three students and top cohort. Am I clear?”

“Yes!” the assembled students shouted, including, to Olivia’s amusement, most of the older students.

“Good, good. Third place in Physical Education and Combat Training goes to Tarl ap’Grund from Bone cohort! Come up to the stage, please!” Lots of cheering broke out from the Bone cohort, and they were joined by good-spirited students in nearby cohorts, clapping Tarl on the back as he hurried up to the stage. “Second place goes to Rolfo ap’Yalli from Ruby cohort!” Another Ardeni student stood and enthusiastically ran up to the stage among the cheering of his cohort. “Finally, my top student for the induction competition is Rald from Copper cohort! Get up here, Rald!” Olivia and the rest of Copper burst into cheers, thumping Rald on the back as he stood and strutted up to the stage.

Hanwol stood on his seat and howled, “Rald! You’re the best!” Veena yanked his arm until he fell back into his chair, though everyone around was laughing and clapping.

“Good! Gentlemen, you’ve done your cohorts proud. Take a bow and then return to your seats.” The three winners received another thunderous round of applause, and then they walked back to their seats, and Grobak continued, “It was difficult for me to choose the winning cohort—it was very close. I saw a lot of improvement from nearly every student, but the cohort that had the most improvement overall was Ruby! Congratulations, Ruby! Stand and receive your applause!” Ruby cohort stood, cheering for themselves, but the applause from the rest of the cohorts was a bit subdued—a lot of them had held out hope that they’d win the cohort prize, including Copper. Adaida was frowning as she clapped, and Rald cursed loud enough that he got a dirty look from one of the second-year professors. “Everyone, your prizes will be delivered to your dormitories this afternoon. Congratulations! Now, next up is my diminutive friend, Professor Ghall, with your Alchemy awards.” Grobak bowed and then plopped himself back into his seat while Professor Ghall, sparing a scowl for Grobak, approached the front of the stage.

“That should have been ours! Grobak as much said so to me yesterday,” Rald hissed. Shani shushed him, though, and he sat back glowering. Olivia wondered if he was overconfident or if something had happened to change Grobak’s mind.

“Thank you, students! It’s been a real pleasure this last month teaching you the basics of Alchemy. Some of you are shaping up to be real stars! My prizes for the top three students are all the same this year, so please come up together: Shani Rishal, Veena Fenash, and Sarice Fwynal!” Olivia and her cohort erupted in a cheer—they knew Shani and Veena were doing well, but to have them both in the top three boded well for the cohort prize.

They walked to the stage, Shani managing to saunter while also maintaining a demure expression. Veena proudly strode ahead of her, excited to be on the stage. As Shani and Veena climbed the stage from the left, Sarice stepped up from the right. She had a broad smile on her face, but her body language betrayed her anxiety. Still, everyone applauded, and Professor Ghall continued her presentation, “Thank you, ladies, and well done! Shani and Veena, you may as well stay here. Copper cohort has won the Alchemy prize!” Again, the applause was scattered and tepid around the hall, but it didn’t stop Olivia and her friends from standing and cheering.

After everyone had taken their seats, Professor Ghall said, “As with the dear Commander’s prizes, mine will be brought to your dormitories after lunch. Congratulations everyone! Professor Brince, please come forward.”

Brince awarded three students that Olivia didn’t know and gave the cohort prize to Jade. Olivia clapped as softly as possible, watching with a twinge of pure irritation as Gwinna stood with her cohort to bow like she’d done something special. She hadn’t really hoped to win anything from the Enchanting professor, but it was a bit disappointing that no one in their cohort had placed in the top three. Hanwol seemed particularly upset, apparently having had high hopes for his chances. When Brince finished, she asked for Sange to step forward, and Olivia felt a little flutter of nervous anticipation in her stomach.

“Greetings, students. What a wonderful first month it’s been! I’m so impressed by many of you that I had a tough time determining my top three students. That said, I had to choose, and choose, I did! In third place, please clap for Sarice Fwynal.” Sarice acted surprised and smiled coquettishly as she walked to the stage. “Second place goes to Gwinna Daneesh!” Gwinna stood quickly, but, rather than pleased, she looked positively disturbed. She stalked to the stage with her lips pressed into a thin line and her back as straight as a board. “Finally, I’d like to congratulate Olivia Bennet for claiming the top spot. Come up, Olivia!”

The butterflies in her stomach began to fly in a tornado pattern as Olivia stood up to walk to the stage. Every eye was on her, and she tried to force a smile, though she knew her face was wan with anxiety. It felt like she was walking in a dimly glimpsed dream as she mounted the stage, nearly tripping over herself as her heel caught. Some giggles erupted as she caught herself, but rather than make her more self-conscious, the laughter brought her back to the moment, and she felt a wave of relief.

“Take a bow, students! Your prizes will be delivered to your dorms. Now, the cohort prize was another tough decision….” Olivia lost track of his words as she heard Gwinna’s smooth, deep voice say, “So the alien has a talent for cultivation?”

“Hush, Gwinna, that’s rude,” Sarice whispered as the three of them stepped off the stage. Just then, the crowd erupted with more applause as Silver cohort stood to bow, apparently having won the cohort prize.

“Not what you said earlier, sweetie,” Gwinna said, loud enough for Olivia to hear, and then stalked back to her cohort. Olivia, for her part, tried to act like she’d heard nothing as she climbed the slight ramp to her seat. She didn’t glance at Sarice, not wanting to see the other woman’s face. The applause had died down while she’d been walking, and Silver were retaking their seats.

“Now, students, please welcome Professor ap’Rall to present the awards for Spellcraft.” Sange smoothly moved back to his seat as Alyss stood and approached the front of the stage. The chatter, laughter, and clapping died down to silence as she stood calmly, waiting for silence.

“Thank you, everyone. I’m very pleased to announce the top-scoring students in my class for the induction month. It’s clear we have some rising stars this year, as I’ve already seen all three of these faces up here today. In third place, please welcome Sarice Fwynal!” Olivia had a sense of deja vu, and her stomach started to flutter again. She noticed Sarice give her a quick glance with half a smile on her face, but it didn’t assuage her nerves. She looked over to where Jade cohort sat and saw Gwinna staring daggers at her. When Sarice was fully on the stage, Alyss said, “In second position is Gwinna Daneesh!” Murmurs broke out in the audience as the scene from the cultivation prize replayed itself. However, this time, Gwinna didn’t manage to contain her frustration with just a frown; she loudly scoffed and stared at Olivia as she stood and walked to the stage. Her cobalt blue eyes were ablaze with an inner light, and Olivia, despite the hot shame that flooded her scalp, looked away.

Alyss glanced to her left at Gwinna, a small frown tugging at the corner of her mouth as the murmurs in the crowd continued. “You may have guessed it—the first spot goes to Olivia Bennet! Come forward, Olivia!” A great stir spread through the crowd, starting with Copper cheering and pushing Olivia to her feet. She moved woodenly, dreading approaching the stage with Gwinna standing there staring at her and shrinking from the muttered outrage that seemed to be rippling through the crowd. “Come, Olivia, stand tall and claim what you’ve earned.”

“Has she, though?” A strident voice called out from the side of the auditorium. Olivia froze and looked to see the professor that had hobbled her standing against the wall near a large contingent of second-year students.

“What do you mean, Professor ap’Gravin?” Alyss asked, standing straight and staring down her nose at the imposing man. Professor Oylla-dak, who’d remained quiet, only politely applauding for the winners thus far, stepped forward next to Alyss.

“Yes, whatever do you mean, Professor?” Her voice was strong, rich, and smooth, and the ripples of power that emanated from it were palpable. When she spoke, Olivia’s limbs unlocked, and she started walking to the stage again.

“What do I mean? Why, simply that no one has witnessed this Human casting a single spell. What, pray tell, did she accomplish to beat out such talent?” He gestured to the other students.

“Is that any concern of yours? This is my class, and I award the placements!” Alyss bristled and turned to Oylla-dak. By this time, Olivia had managed to step up onto the stage, and she stood to Alyss’s left, opposite Gwinna and Sarice.

“I think we can all agree that Alyss is trustworthy. She has no connection to this student nor any reason to favor her in a dishonorable way. Are you making an accusation, ap’Gravin?” Oylla-dak stepped forward again, now looming behind Olivia, her presence so palpable, it felt like she had a small volcano erupting behind her.

“Not at all. Is it some secret that we cannot know what this student has accomplished? All the students have seen what Gwinna and Sarice can do; surely it would be a learning experience for all to see what your first place student has accomplished.” He spoke calmly with a buttery drawl to his words, but Olivia and everyone else knew what he was up to. “Gwinna managed to combine her Spirit Armor spell with a Phantom Blade spell, adding an offensive component to her family’s signature defense. Truly an uncommon feat for a first-year, wouldn’t you say? Can you really say that this Human has accomplished something more?”

“I can say...” Alyss began, but Oylla-dak cut her off.

“Enough. Alyss has said that Olivia is worthy of the top spot. Tomorrow, after she has processed her induction prizes, Olivia will demonstrate what she can do for everyone. If she fails to live up to Alyss’s expectations, then Alyss will furnish a new reward as compensation from her own resources. Since you so confidently accuse Alyss of favoritism, you will put a prize of equal value up as an additional award for Olivia should I deem her demonstration sufficient. In other words, Professor ap’Gravin, it’s time to back up your words with some treasure.” It was like a spell broke on the crowd, and they cheered loudly and raucously. Professor ap’Gravin frowned but nodded and sat down.

“Thank you, Professor,” Alyss said, looking at Oylla-dak, who nodded serenely. “Students! I have one more announcement. My cohort award will go to Garnet cohort! While they didn’t have any true standouts, their average ability edged out the competition. Congratulations, Garnet!” Olivia clapped and then hastily stepped off the stage, but Alyss reached forward and grabbed her wrist and said, “Olivia, don’t worry! If you can pull off what you described to me, you’re going to be just fine.”

“Thank you, Alyss; I’ll try not to let you down.” Alyss smiled in an attempt, Olivia felt, to reassure her, then she turned and spoke quietly to Professor Oylla-dak. Olivia hurried back to her seat, her mind racing over what had just happened and thinking about her nascent spells that she would have to perform in front of everyone tomorrow. Her friends congratulated her and laughed about Gwinna and ap’Gravin, but it hardly registered; she was excited about her awards and stressed about having to perform, and her mind couldn’t find purchase in the present. As Oylla-dak finished speaking and everyone started to applaud, though, Adaida took her hand and pulled her to her feet.

“C’mon, Liv. You’re turning white on us; let’s get you back to the dorm.” Olivia allowed her to lead her through the crowd. All the while, she had the strangest feeling like she was dreaming, and these blue and red and winged and furry people were all figments of her imagination, and she’d wake up any moment in her lovely apartment with the chef’s kitchen and get ready for another day at the institute. By the time they made it back to the dormitory, though, she’d started to regain some color, and Adaida’s warm hand gripping hers helped her to find an anchor in reality. She sat on her bed and forced herself to take several deep, slow breaths. “Feeling better?” Adaida was sitting on the bed near her, and her other cohort members were standing around looking at her with concern.

“Yeah, I think I started to have a panic attack. Thank you for getting me out of there!”

“No worries, lovely,” Rald said offhandedly. “We wanted to get back here to see our prizes anyway.”