The day of the guild assessment arrived with a sky of glass and silver.
Evelyn stood in her uniform—simple but marked by a crimson thread along the cuff, symbolizing independent registration. She'd declined her father's sponsorship, knowing what it meant. She would rise or fall on her own.
Calen, dressed in his family's house colors, was already boasting to a cluster of spectators.
"She'll flinch halfway through," he muttered. "She always cracks when it matters."
Evelyn passed him without a glance.
Inside the arena, the air was thick with spell residue and expectation. Students stood in isolated platforms, observed by guild masters, city enforcers, and even robed representatives of the High Circle.
Her turn came quickly.
She stepped into the center, where the ground pulsed with active magic. The assessment orb hovered midair—ready to test raw power, control, and reaction.
Evelyn didn't hesitate.
She summoned not just magic, but purpose. Her fingers danced with sigils, but this time she went further—channeling fire and wind, illusion and truth. A burst of celestial runes surged behind her, casting long shadows across the platform.
Then the orb fractured.
Gasps echoed. The orb had never cracked before.
"Interference?" one of the judges asked, stunned.
"No," another replied. "She overpowered it."
As Evelyn stepped down, a figure stepped into her path—Calen, his face flushed with fury.
"You think this makes you better than us?" he hissed. "You're just a bastard girl playing with fire."
"Careful," Evelyn said, voice low. "You're the one who's always gotten burned."
Before the confrontation could escalate, another presence appeared.
Alexander.
He didn't say a word. He didn't need to. His eyes locked with Calen's for a single charged second before the boy backed off, muttering curses.
Evelyn turned to him. "You didn't need to step in."
"I didn't do it for you," Alexander said. "I did it because he was wasting everyone's time."
But he was lying.
That night, as the results were posted, Evelyn's name sat at the top. Not because of favors, not because of bloodlines.
Because she earned it.