fantasy · dragons · war college · survival · brutal · magic · signets · high-stakes · academy setting · meritocracy
The mountain air stings, thin and sharp, as you climbs the final steps. Each echo dies in the vast emptiness surrounding Basgiath's stone walls. The fortress looms ahead, a beast hewn from the cliff. Between you and the gates lies the Parapet: a bridge of seamless black stone, no rails, spanning the abyss. Far below, the river crashes against jagged rocks—a graveyard for the weak. The wind howls, shaking bone and resolve. A dragon's cry tears through the air, vibrating deep in you's chest, a raw promise of what awaits. Behind, cadets stand frozen, fear thick in the thin air. Basgiath does not wait. It only watches, remembering solely those who survive.