December 31st arrived the way all difficult days did in Argent.
The runic announcement had gone out at dawn, and by mid morning the space in front of the Spire was filled with twenty-year olds. Around seventy of them, shuffling into a rough formation with the particular energy of people who had been told to be somewhere and didn't know what would happen when they got there.
Damian stood at the front with Opi at his shoulder, and neither of them moved until the noise settled.
It didn't fully settle. It never did with this many people. And they were about to go through something gruesome so it made sense.
"You will all be transported outside the barrier for the first time." Damian's voice carried without effort. "Secure this to your belts before you leave. If you don't." He held up one of the canteens. "Then you will probably die."
That part landed. The shuffling stopped.
