The two figures came up the path steady and without hurry They moved like they owned the ground Their armor was not metal like police gear or body armor from back home It shifted like liquid around them pale blue with darker lines that moved under the surface like slow current Each step was quiet controlled Their faces were not covered Their eyes were sharp and cold

Lira bowed her head just a little when they stopped in front of us Evan remembered her warning and did not bow He kept his hands at his sides relaxed not clenched He kept his shoulders loose He kept his breathing steady Calm in the fire he told himself Calm in the flood

Identify yourself the taller guard said His voice carried without needing to shout He had dark hair tied back and a scar that ran from his eyebrow to his cheek The scar was not healed by water That told Evan something These people could heal but they let scars stay to send messages

Lira spoke clear I am Lira Tide Circle field healer assigned to the South Lowlands I request entry with one under my protection The guard looked at Evan then back at her One The word under sounded like property not like partner

Name the guard said His eyes did not leave her face He has water on him I can feel it He is marked She kept her tone level He is called Ean She changed his name on purpose Evan noticed He did not react

Where was he trained the guard asked No anger No interest No welcome Just a list of questions Lira said Tide flats southeast of Pale Marsh Off record The guard raised his brow Off record We do not take off record

Lira did not blink Then kill him here She said it like she was talking about firewood not a person If you will not let him enter and you will not let him live outside then kill him now and I will take his mark back to the Circle and tell them your watch failed the promise of safe road

Evan stayed very still at that He felt the shift in the air after she said it It was like the water in the ground bristled The guard did not like being told his watch failed The other guard a shorter woman with close cut hair moved her hand toward the curved blade at her hip The gesture was small but he caught it

You are bold healer the tall guard said Lira answered I am tired and I have walked two days with a new mark that calls water like a storm I am not in the mood for slow questions You want his name You have it You want his story You can ask him inside You want his blood You will fight the river for it The guard studied her face Then he turned his eyes to Evan

Evan kept his chin level and waited The guard stepped close so close Evan could smell metal and salt on him The guard said Speak waterborn Are you sworn to any house any banner any oath Evan did not look at Lira He knew if he looked he would give it away He said in an even voice No The guard tilted his head No oath at all None Evan said I protect people That is my work I do not swear to a crown

The guard held his stare for a long breath His eyes were trying to find fear Evan let him look He let the guard see tired dirt sweat a healing line on his arm and steady breathing He did not let the guard see the tight coil in his chest He did not let him see the anger that someone could look at him like cargo after everything he had done to keep people alive on calls back home

The guard finally nodded You speak like a ground man not like a tide scholar You are not trained Lira said Not yet That is why we are here We ask a first test and temporary holding rights under my name until council review The shorter guard spoke for the first time Your name holds little weight here healer You are Circle field not Academy hall We do not answer to Circle She was not wrong Evan could tell from her voice and her stance The Academy did not like the Circle

Lira said cold and even Then put him on your roll If he loses control it is your report not mine The taller guard made a small sound in his throat like an annoyed laugh Fine We will test him here If he passes you both enter If he fails he does not walk farther than this ridge Acceptable

Evan felt Lira go still beside him He could feel without touching her that she did not like this But she nodded Acceptable Her jaw was tight

The tall guard looked at Evan and gestured with two fingers Come down off the ridge We do not test on high ground He turned and walked a few paces down to a flat circle of hard earth worn smooth by use The shorter guard stayed near Lira not close enough to touch her close enough to cut her if she tried anything

Evan followed the tall guard He felt exposed but not scared He had done demonstrations before back home Public safety nights where they showed kids how fast a room could flash over Sparring drills in the bay with turnout gear and gloves Force practice with a drunk who did not want to be pulled out of his wrecked car He knew how to be watched He knew how to be judged by strangers holding clipboards This felt the same only worse

The tall guard stood across from him and rolled his shoulders loose In the Academy he said every waterborn must know three things One Control Two Obedience Three Restraint Your test is simple I will strike you You will stop my strike without killing me You will not touch Lira You will not run You will not pull the main flow of the valley If you do any of those you fail Understood

Evan blinked once Wait You are going to just hit me The guard smiled without humor I am going to try You are going to show me if you can stop me without drowning me or lighting my heart on fire or ripping the water from my lungs and making me beg Because I will tell you this waterborn If you cannot stop I will end you before you take a breath You do not get a second chance in this valley

Evan lifted his hands slightly not high just enough to be ready His stance settled He could feel moisture in the air even here away from the main water walls There was always moisture here The whole valley was wet like a giant held breath He did not reach for it yet He did not want to move first He wanted to see how this guy fought

The guard did not waste time He stepped in fast faster than Evan expected and drove a palm strike toward Evan’s chest The move was clean professional He was not playing Evan twisted his body and took the hit on his forearm instead of his ribs It still hurt The force drove him back half a step The guard flowed with it and swept a leg toward Evan’s knee

Evan dropped weight to absorb it He felt impact run up his leg and into his hip He kept his balance He had taken worse hits in collapsing stairwells The guard smiled a little Good You can stand Now show me if you can hold

The guard moved again This time he reached with his left hand and Evan felt a pull in the air The moisture around Evan’s face yanked tight like invisible fingers grabbing his mouth and nose Evan realized the guard was trying to choke him using the wet air

Evan did not panic He had done blackout drills with air tanks and masks during training He knew how to work without air for a moment He knew not to freak out He pushed his hand forward palm open Not calling water Not yet Just pushing energy out like Stop

The air snapped loose The grip broke and he could breathe again The guard’s eyebrow twitched in surprise You broke that fast Good Again He came in harder

This time the guard aimed a fist for Evan’s throat fast and direct A dirty move Evan brought his forearm up and blocked then stepped in close He could feel the water around the guard’s armor now It was not just decoration The armor itself flowed like a skin of moving tide The guard tried to pull it up into a spike toward Evan’s ribs

Evan reacted on instinct He reached for that water like you would grab the wrist of a guy about to stab you He felt it move He did not force it He redirected it He sent one clear message in his head Not him Me

The water around the guard’s armor shifted The spike that had been forming toward Evan curled backward hard and locked around the guard’s own right arm pinning it tight to his side The guard’s eyes widened He tried to pull free but for two heartbeats he could not move His own armor held him

Evan did not hit him while he was stuck He only stepped back two paces to give space The guard wrenched his arm loose and stared at him like he was seeing him for the first time His face lost that bored edge

You turned my call he said low That is not standard training Where did you learn that Evan said Nowhere I just did it The guard narrowed his eyes You lie Lira called from the ridge He does not lie It is instinct The guard ignored her His attention stayed locked on Evan

Again he said Last test And then his whole body moved with real speed

He came forward with both hands this time no warning no slow build One hand went for Evan’s throat again the other for his face and at the same time Evan felt a deep heavy pull in the air around his chest This was worse than before It felt like the valley itself had shifted focus on him The guard was trying to pin him in place and choke him in one motion

For a second Evan could not move His arms felt heavy His knees felt stuck His lungs felt tight and dry at the same time Panic flashed Now He grabbed for water Not in the dirt Not in the air He reached down and in He found something inside himself Like a pocket of deep cold

He pulled

The ground under his feet went slick A ring of water formed fast around him and rose in a tight curve up to his shoulders It did not blast out It did not attack It held space A clear curved shield The guard’s hands hit that ring and stopped hard like he had slammed into tempered glass The pull on Evan’s lungs broke at once He could breathe again

The ring of water hung there for a second around Evan like a shell It hummed He could feel every part of it He could feel its shape like it was an extra layer of skin He realized something that made his stomach twist He was not just calling water He was shaping it

The guard stared at the ring then at Evan Then he stepped back with both hands raised Enough he said Voice steady but with something new in it Respect And maybe a little caution

The water ring dropped at once and spilled to the dirt It soaked into the ground and was gone Evan stood there chest rising and falling Sweat ran down his back His heart beat fast but not wild He had more in him He could feel that but he had stopped when the guard said enough He had stopped on purpose

The shorter guard called down from the ridge Well Tall Her tone had changed too The tall guard nodded Accepted Temporary holding rights granted He looked at Evan again You will not be put in open yard with the others yet You will be kept under watch You will not touch the inner wells without permission You will not leave the lower quarter without escort If you try the valley will drown you Do you understand

Evan said Yeah I understand The guard frowned at the word Yeah but let it go You will answer to Hall Master Corren first light He will decide if you are worth keeping Do not waste that chance We lose patience fast with wild marks

Lira let out a slow breath Evan saw it like a wave leaving her shoulders She bowed her head again Small this time Thank you Gate Watch The shorter guard stepped aside and motioned down the path with two fingers Welcome to the Academy waterborn Try not to die here

As they started down the path past the first layer of the blue wet wall Lira walked close to Evan but did not speak right away Her face was calm for anyone watching but her hand shook just a little where the cloak brushed her side He leaned closer and asked low So How bad was that

She let out a tiny laugh You did not drown him You did not break any bones You did not flood the valley You did not heal the cut on your arm when he tried to choke you You did not tell them you are from another world You were perfect

He blinked Perfect is not the word I would use I almost blacked out He almost ripped my throat out Lira said very soft You stayed in control You did not lose yourself Evan That is everything here

He looked ahead at the inner walls at the lines of water running down smooth stone at the towers and banners and armed guards at the movement of figures in training yards He felt the weight of what waited for him on the other side of that gate He felt the threat in it and the pull in it The danger and the strange welcome

He also felt something else He felt the water in the air around him shift like a crowd leaning in to listen He felt watched not by people but by the whole valley He felt the way this place was measuring him Like fire scenes back home when the neighbors stood on the sidewalk and stared while the crew went in Only this time the thing watching was not afraid It was hopeful

Lira spoke again low enough that only he could hear From now on you cannot just survive Evan Brooks You have to learn You have to get stronger fast Or they will take you apart and study the pieces

He swallowed and nodded I get it Lira One more thing she asked You remember the rule about healing He said Yeah Do not do it unless you say She nodded Good Hold to that The first time they see what else you can really do this place stops being a school and becomes a cage

That hit him deep The word cage stayed in his head as they crossed under the arch and into the academy of water and stone and open watching eyes