The announcement came halfway through the first year.
"All first-year students will participate in the Dungeon Trial." Director Thorne spoke from the grand hall's platform. "It is a tradition dating back to the academy's founding. Survive, and you will have proven you deserve to continue your training."
Nervous murmurs ran through the rows of students.
"Survive?" Theo whispered, pale. "What does he mean by survive?"
"Exactly what it sounds like," Vaelor replied calmly. He had heard rumors about this trial: an ancient dungeon beneath the academy, filled with wild beasts and deadly traps. Every year, some students did not return.
"You will be divided into teams of five," the Director continued. "You must reach the dungeon's center and retrieve a relic marked with the academy's seal. Teams that return with a relic will pass. Those who do not…"
He left the sentence unfinished. The message was clear.
◇ ◇ ◇
Team assignments were, according to the professors, "random."
Vaelor doubted that when he saw his group's composition: himself, Theo, Mira, and two students clearly not chosen for their skills. One was an overweight boy who barely kept up in combat classes. The other was a girl who seemed more interested in her appearance than training.
"This isn't random," Mira muttered as they gathered before the trial. "They put us together expecting us to fail."
"Or because someone wants us to fail." Vaelor glanced toward Cassian Valoris, surrounded by his well-equipped noble team. The blond returned his gaze with a cruel smile.
"No matter why they put us together," Theo interrupted, surprising everyone with his determination. "What matters is we're going to prove them wrong."
Vaelor felt a flicker of pride for his friend.
"Well said. Listen up, everyone." He addressed the whole group. "I won't lie: this trial will be dangerous. But if you follow my instructions exactly, we'll all come out alive."
"Why should we follow your orders?" The overweight boy looked at him resentfully. "You're not our leader."
"You're right. I'm not your leader." Vaelor looked him in the eye. "But I'm the most capable of keeping you alive. So you can listen to me, or you can die proving I'm right."
The silence that followed was answer enough.
◇ ◇ ◇
The dungeon was worse than the rumors suggested.
Teams entered through different entrances, dispersing into a labyrinth of tunnels and chambers that seemed to stretch endlessly beneath the academy. Darkness was almost total, broken only by occasional bioluminescent crystals growing on the walls.
"Stay close," Vaelor ordered as he led the group. Gris flew ahead, transmitting images of the path. "Mira, can you sense anything?"
"Snakes," she replied tensely. "Many. And some things I don't recognize."
"What kind of things?"
"Big. Hungry."
Perfect.
They advanced for what felt like hours. Vaelor avoided encounters when possible, using Gris's information and Mira's snakes to skirt dangerous beast territories. When combat was unavoidable, he directed the team with military precision.
"Theo, your Salamander up front. Short bursts of fire to dazzle." Against a group of aggressive bats. "Mira, your snakes on the flanks. Anything trying to surround us, neutralize it."
It worked. Better than he expected.
◇ ◇ ◇
The first disaster struck three hours in.
They were crossing a stone bridge over an abyss when the ground trembled. The overweight boy, Marcus, lost his footing and fell.
"HELP!" he screamed, clutching the edge.
Vaelor reacted instantly. He lunged forward, grabbing Marcus's wrist just as his fingers slipped. The boy's weight nearly dragged him over the edge, but Vaelor planted his feet and pulled with all his strength.
"Push with your feet!" he ordered as his muscles burned with effort.
Marcus obeyed, and together they hauled him back onto the bridge.
"You saved me." The boy gasped, looking at Vaelor in disbelief. "You could have let me fall."
"I don't let my team die." Vaelor replied simply. "Now move. We still have a way to go."
From that moment, Marcus stopped questioning his orders.
◇ ◇ ◇
The relic was in a central chamber guarded by a rank C beast.
A giant scorpion, its black carapace gleaming under the crystal light, its stinger dripping venom that melted stone on contact. Vaelor quickly assessed the situation: they couldn't fight something like that directly. Not with their current team.
"We need a distraction," he whispered. "Something to draw it away from the relic long enough for one of us to grab it and get out."
"I can do it," Mira offered. "My snakes can attract its attention."
"No. If it spots you, you'll be dead before you can run." Vaelor thought quickly. "Theo, how hot can your Salamander make things?"
"Pretty hot. Why?"
"Because scorpions hate extreme heat. If we create a fire zone intense enough, it'll instinctively back off."
The plan worked.
Theo and his Salamander created a wall of flames that forced the scorpion to retreat. Vaelor seized the opening, running to the central pedestal and grabbing a relic before the beast could react.
"RUN!"
The team fled as the scorpion roared in frustration behind them.
◇ ◇ ◇
They emerged from the dungeon at dawn.
Of the thirty teams that entered, only twenty-three returned. The faces of waiting students told stories of horror: lost comrades, near-death encounters, traumas that would haunt them for years.
But Vaelor's team was intact.
"You made it," Professor Kael looked at them with something like respect. "All of you."
"My team works hard," Vaelor replied simply.
As they walked toward the dormitories, Marcus approached him.
"Thank you," he said quietly. "For saving me. For… everything."
"Don't thank me yet." Vaelor looked toward the students who had lost companions, weeping silently. "This was only the beginning."
The dungeon had taught them an important lesson: in this world, death was always a possibility.
And Vaelor was determined that possibility would never come to pass for those under his protection.