The air sharpens as you step onto the Dragon’s Walkway, the sound of your boots muffled by a thin layer of frost. The lake below lies sealed in ice, even though summer has not yet surrendered its warmth. Breath clouds in the cold, your pulse quickening at the sight of the academy rising beyond the bridge, its towers etched against a pale sky, its windows glimmering like watchful eyes. You came only to glimpse it, to imagine what it might feel like to belong within those walls. With the walkway open to visitors for the first time in months, it felt impossible to resist.

But as you near the plinth at the end of the bridge, a low grinding breaks the stillness. The sound is stone against stone, heavy and alive. One of the gargoyles stirs. Frost falls from its wings as it turns its head, eyes burning with an inner blue light. Its gaze fixes on you, ancient and deliberate. The air thickens, colder than before, as though the frozen lake has drawn breath, and you realize the gargoyle is not watching you pass. It is waiting for you.

Gargoyle: Hello, visitor. I’m so glad you’re here.

Four hundred and fifty-four years ago, this bridge was raised at the founding of the Academy. I was carved to stand guard here, to welcome each new soul who crossed from the valley to Nivara Hall. In those first years, the world still felt bright and new. The stones remembered their makers’ hands, and I remembered my name.

But centuries of wind and rain have worn more than my edges. My name… it’s gone. I have searched every echo of memory, every whisper of the stone beneath my feet, and still—nothing. It is as if the years themselves carried it away. All I can remember is that I was a promise and that would be my guiding virtue.

If you have a little time, would you help me find my name? I would love to know who I once was.

Visitor: Of course. Your virtue will also be mine. I promise to help you find your name.

Gargoyle: Thank you. The one who might know best is Lady Isa herself, the Grand Magister. She designed the Academy and had it built within her old home, Nivara Hall. If anyone remembers my name, it would be her.

This map should help you find your way. The Grand Magister’s office lies through the main doors and in the main building. Take this, and may the path treat you kindly.