The Grand Hall hummed with anticipation. The air, usually thick with the scent of beeswax polish and ancient tomes, crackled with barely suppressed nervousness. Ethan stood in line, sandwiched between a hulking boy who kept cracking his knuckles and a waifish girl who seemed to be vibrating with anxiety. He tried to focus on the intricate patterns of the vaulted ceiling, anything to avoid the judging gazes of the older students, many of whom were already sporting the telltale emblems of their elemental affinity. A small, stylized water droplet for Water Mages, a stylized leaf for Earth, and so on.