The eastern practice yard felt colder in the pre-dawn darkness. Master Donovan studied Ethan with sharp eyes that missed nothing.
"You helped that boy today. The tanner's son," he said, his voice devoid of judgment. "Most candidates focus only on themselves."
Ethan remained silent.
"Show me your stance again."
Ethan took the practice sword and settled into position. Donovan circled him, making small adjustments to his grip.
"Natural instinct. Worth developing." The master stepped back. "Return to your quarters. Tomorrow decides everything."
As dawn broke, a nervous energy filled the Central Hall. Only twenty-four candidates remained from the original group. Chancellor Thornfield's voice echoed off stone walls.
"Your final test begins now: wilderness survival in teams of four. You will spend three days in Thornwood Forest." His cold gaze swept over them. "Three checkpoints must be reached. Fail as a team, and you all go home."
Stewards distributed leather pouches containing a small knife, a fire starter, a water skin, and two days' worth of dried food. Nothing more.
"Magical creatures roam these woods," Thornfield continued. "Consider this combat training."
Academy instructors began calling names for team assignments.
"Team Seven. Ethan Cole, Lydia Hayes, Marcus Brightwater, Finn Ashwood."
Ethan joined his group. Lydia Hayes stood with quiet confidence; her silver-blonde hair caught the morning light, and her green eyes sparkled with an intelligence beyond her years. There was something about her that set her apart from other candidates.
Marcus resembled every mage Ethan had ever encountered–thin, nervous, and constantly adjusting his spectacles. He clutched a small crystal pendant as if it were a lifeline.
Finn appeared to be a typical farm boy with broad shoulders and work-hardened hands. His worried expression suggested this was his first time away from home.
Master Donovan approached, holding a folded map. "Three checkpoints await you. Devil's Pool, Lightning Tree, and Raven's Hollow. There are fifteen miles between each." He handed the parchment to Ethan. "Magical flares will mark your arrival at each location. Work together, or fail together."
Within an hour, wagons transported each team to different entry points around the vast Thornwood Forest. Team Seven found themselves at the eastern edge, where ancient trees stretched endlessly ahead.
"We need to organize," Lydia said, naturally taking charge. "Ethan will navigate with the map. Marcus will handle our magical needs. Finn and I will scout."
Ethan studied her carefully. That tone of command suggested noble training, yrt her clothes marked her as common-born. The contradiction nagged at him.
"The first checkpoint is northwest," he said, checking their route. "We'll need to cross that ridge."
They entered Thornwood as the midday sun filtered through the dense canopy. The forest felt ancient–massive oaks and towering pines created a perpetual twilight below. Moss covered fallen logs, and strange flowers bloomed in patches of scattered light.
Ethan led them along what appeared to be a game trail. In reality, he was following military pathfinding principles: seek high ground when possible, avoid dense undergrowth, and stay near water sources. His teammates accepted his choices without question.
"You know forests well," Lydia observed after two hours of steady progress.
"I hunted near my village," Ethan replied. It was true enough, though that was thirty years ago in his previous life.
Marcus struggled to keep pace despite the cool shade. Sweat stained his robes as he stumbled over roots and rocks. Finn helped him over difficult sections without complaint. Good team dynamics were forming naturally.
By afternoon, they had covered half the distance to Devil's Pool. The forest grew stranger as they moved deeper. Flowers pulsed with a faint light in the shadows, and animal sounds echoed from unseen directions, but they felt wrong somehow.
"Something feels off," Marcus whispered, gripping his crystal pendant tighter. "The magic here is... twisted."
Ethan had noticed it too. The air tasted metallic. Birds had gone quiet an hour ago, and even insects seemed to avoid certain areas.
"We should find camp soon," Lydia said, scanning the darkening woods. "Somewhere defensible."
They discovered a small clearing beside a stream, surrounded by thick trees that provided natural barriers. Finn gathered firewood while Marcus set up magical wards around their campsite–simple protection spells that would alert them to approaching threats.
Lydia and Ethan agreed to split watch duties through the night.
"You're not from a hunting village," she said quietly during the first watch, as stars barely peeked through the canopy overhead.
"What makes you think that?" Ethan replied, curious.
"Your movement patterns. The way you scan for threats. That's soldier training, not village hunting."
Ethan kept his expression neutral. "Maybe I just don't want to die out here."
She studied his face in the dim light but didn't press further.
Near midnight, Marcus's ward crystals flared bright blue. Something large was crashing through the underbrush toward their camp.
"Wake them," Ethan whispered urgently.
Finn jerked awake as three creatures burst into their clearing. They resembles wolf but were wrong–too large, with glowing red eyes, and saliva that hissed and steamed upon hitting the ground.
"Corruption beasts," Marcus gasped, scrambling for his spell components.
The first beast lunged at Finn with jaws wide. Ethan moved instinctively, his knife finding the creature's throat in a precise strike that dropped it instantly. It wasn't luck; the blade hit exactly where it would cause maximum damage.
The second beast circled toward Marcus. Lydia intercepted it with movements that were clearly not self-taught. Twin daggers appeared in her hands from hidden sheaths, and she fought with fluid grace that belonged in royal courts, not village squares.
The third beast charged directly at Ethan. He sidestepped, allowing its momentum to carry it past, then struck at the base of its skull. Another clean kill.
Marcus completed a purification spell that cleansed the corruption from the dead creatures, leaving behind normal wolf corpses.
"Where did you both learn to fight like that?" Finn asked, staring wide-eyed between Ethan and Lydia.
"Village scraps," Ethan said just as Lydia replied, "My father taught me."
Neither explanation satisfied Finn, but he was too exhausted to argue.
At dawn, they broke camp and pressed on toward Devil's Pool. The corruption intensified as they ventured deeper into the forest. Twisted animals lurked in the shadows, and plants swayed without a hint of wind. Some water sources glowed with a sickly green light.
"The Academy planned this," Marcus said, sensing the magical traces in the air. "They knew about the corruption and sent us here anyway."
"Testing how we handle real danger instead of practice dummies," Lydia agreed grimly.
By late afternoon, they arrived at Devil's Pool–a perfectly circular pond surrounded by black stones that absorbed light. Marcus activated their checkpoint flare, sending blue sparks soaring into the sky to signal their arrival.
"One checkpoint down," Finn said with a sigh of relief, refilling their water skins from a clean section of the pool.
While his teammates rested, Ethan studied the map. Lightning Tree lay twelve miles southeast, through the forest's most treacherous section.
Suddenly, movement among the distant trees caught his eye. He focused carefully and spotted four figures in Academy gray positioning themselves along the obvious path to the next checkpoint.
"We have company," he whispered.
Lydia followed his gaze and cursed under her breath. "Team Three. That's Aldric's group."
The four figures crouched behind fallen logs and thick bushes, setting up a perfect ambush where the main trail narrowed between steep rocks. Anyone following the obvious route to Lightning Tree would walk straight into their trap.
"They're not just trying to reach the checkpoint first," Marcus realized, his face draining of color. "They're planning to eliminate us entirely."