All the instructors, both primal and otherwise, are lined up beneath the wall where Voss stands. There are also Empire guards present and selectors, which is the first time I've seen anybody who wasn't immediate staff of the academy since the day we arrived.

"First-years…" Voss continues after a long pause. "You've survived against all odds. Legacies. This was expected of you, but your journey to earning a primal tether was no less impressive. Aspirants. You took a risk coming here, and now you can see the fruits of your labor."

He gives another long pause, and I sense people shifting behind me. There are well over a hundred surviving first years spread out to my right and left. All tethered, now, or else they wouldn't have had a way to return through the rift.

I suppress a shiver for any who were unlucky enough to survive until the rift closed. I can't imagine the suffocating horror of realizing you had run out of time—of knowing you were untethered, and the only doorway back to your world was about to close.

The thought alone sends ice through my veins. To be trapped there, abandoned and alone, watching your only escape vanish while darkness closed in around you...

It makes me think the students I saw get turned to ash by the fire wolf may have been the lucky ones.

Behind me, there's a row of students representing each year, up to the fifth years. The entire school is gathered here, assembled in the courtyard. With everyone lined up and organized, it’s frighteningly clear how each class is smaller than the one before it. Fifth years seem to have less than a hundred surviving students.

The attrition never stops. Every year here is a trial to survive. A life-and-death struggle with no end in sight.

"Offerings," Voss finally says, lips spreading to reveal straight teeth with sharp canines. "Congratulations to you, especially. Confluence Academy is not a kind place, and offerings know this better than anyone. I'm happy to announce that your survival means you are offerings no longer. Today, you all become aspirants in every sense. You'll find new uniforms in your rooms, and student officers will help show you to your new quarters. You'll now have access to more areas in the library, you will not have to share your rooms, and you'll find your class schedule has been reduced to give you more time to pursue areas of interest and recover."

I look at my friends, eyes wide with excitement, a strange flush of heat spreading through my chest. We all assumed something like this was coming, but nobody was certain. All we knew was the second-years didn’t seem to have a single offering in their ranks.