He swallowed hard, trying to ignore the clammy feel of his palms. Around him, the other students buzzed with a nervous energy that was a potent mix of excitement and dread. He could pick out whispers – snippets of whispered prayers to forgotten deities, muttered incantations designed to boost their performance, and boasts of their inherent magical prowess. Ethan, however, remained silent, a solitary figure adrift in a sea of confidence, or at least, feigned confidence.