It was well past midnight when they finally reached the outer walls of Solhaven City.
The city gates were closed for the night, manned by a squad of sleepy city watchmen. As the party approached on foot, a guard leaned over the parapet, holding a torch.
"Halt! State your business!"
Svane stepped into the pool of torchlight. He didn't shout; he simply raised his hand, displaying the heavy, enchanted insignia of the Gold Aegis.
"Academy Security, returning from field operations. Priority Entry. Code: Silent Night."
Svane rumbled, his voice carrying effortlessly to the wall.
The guard squinted at the badge, then stiffened, recognizing the authority of the Academy's elite soldier.
"Apologies, Captain! You are clear. Do you need to be logged?"
The guard stammered. The heavy iron lock clanked, and the pedestrian door creaked open.
"No log. We were never here."
Svane said, slipping a bag of gold coins into the guard's hand as they passed through.
They moved quickly through the sleeping city. The streets of Solhaven were quiet, a maze of cobblestones and gas lamps.
Finally, they stood before the physical structure of Solhaven Academy.
To the uninitiated citizens of the city, the Academy looked like a prestigious, albeit modest, university building, a three-story manor of white marble nestled in the heart of the district. But Ray knew the truth. The building was just a shell. It was a glorified foyer, a mask of normalcy hiding the true scale of the institution.
They walked up the marble steps and pushed open the heavy oak doors.
Inside, the air pressure dropped instantly. The smell of the city, smoke and damp stone vanished, replaced by the scent of ozone and ancient parchment.
Standing before the inner archway was a heavy obsidian desk manned by a Gatekeeper, a robed mage wearing a silver half-mask, watching the entrance with bored intensity. Behind him, the air shimmered with a translucent violet haze, the Event Horizon.
The Gatekeeper didn't speak, simply holding out a gloved hand to bar their path.
Svane didn't break stride. He flashed his Gold Aegis badge. Kaelen hurriedly produced her silver Student Medallion. Rina showed her bronze attendants medallion and Ray also showed his student medallion.
The Gatekeeper scanned the items with a quick pulse of mana. The silver mask glowed faintly for a second, verifying the enchantments.
He nodded, a single sharp motion, and lowered his hand.
"Clear. Welcome back."
The Gatekeeper droned.
They approached the inner archway at the end of the hall.
Ray stepped through first.
The world expanded.
One moment, he was in a hallway in Solhaven City; the next, he was standing on the sprawling grounds of the Solhaven Academy demi-plane. The sky above wasn't the smoggy black of the city, but a crystal-clear tapestry of artificial stars. The campus stretched out for miles, a pocket dimension defying physics and geography.
As soon as his foot touched the ground of the Demi-Plane, his Custodian Crest which had been dormant when they were out of Solhaven Academy suddenly came to life and vibrated continuously against his chest.
BZZZT, BZZZT, BZZZT.
The connection to the Academy’s internal network flooded back in. A week’s worth of notifications hit him all at once. The ‘vacation’ was officially over.
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Ray ignored them for a moment. He turned to Kaelen.
"This is where we separate."
Ray said.
Kaelen stood by the path leading to the student dormitories, which floated on a gentle hill in the distance. She looked different from the 3rd-Circle Adept who had left this place weeks ago. She was tired, but her eyes were clear. She was clutching her bag tight, his fathers ledger hidden deep inside, wrapped in a rune-crafted cloth.
"Go to your dorm. Hide the book. Do not speak to anyone about it."
Ray instructed.
He looked at her intensely.
"Practice your new skill. Look at your classmates. Look at your professors. Figure out what they want. I will arrange a meeting with the Headmaster as soon as possible."
"I will be ready."
Kaelen said as she nodded.
"I know you will."
Ray said and nodded back.
She turned and walked away, disappearing into the shadows of the dormitory gardens. She didn't look back.
Ray, Rina, and Svane headed toward the Spire of Sages. The tower pierced the night sky, its windows glowing with the lights of a thousand sleepless researchers.
As they arrived, Svane stopped.
"I will call in the night my lord."
Svane rumbled, adjusting his pauldrons.
"I will report to the headmaster tomorrow that we have returned from our field exercise. Please rest well."
He offered Ray a sharp soldier's salute.