When it was over, they stood in a circle, exhausted, covered in sap and soot and magic residue. No one apologized. But Kael handed Mira a new abacus, silently. Juna oiled Rynn’s scratched wrist. Dorn offered his canteen to Theo. Vex nodded once—a gesture that, from them, was a hug.
They named the new bridge Highered Unity . And every year, the seven students—now teachers, friends, and sometimes still rivals—walked it together. higheredunity
Professor Elara Venn, a historian from the neglected College of Lore, was the first to notice the cracks. When it was over, they stood in a
And Theo sang.
One by one, they stopped shouting.
On the first day, Kael called Mira’s potions “glorified soup.” Mira melted his abacus. Juna refused to share tools. Dorn drew battle plans against the others “just in case.” Rynn cried quietly into a fern. Vex stood in a corner, whispering equations to the empty air. Juna oiled Rynn’s scratched wrist
The Dean of Alchemy sneered. “Artifice builds. Nature-Song sings to trees. We have nothing in common.”