Chapter 5. Evening Ball

Flying off the last step, Lyra burst into the hall of the Academy's main building. It's empty here in the summer, but now even the apple has nowhere to fall. Students clung to the far wall, eager to be the first to know the schedule for the year. The most impatient ones showed perseverance and mastery of the "push with elbows" technique. After their maneuvering, the victims groaned and gasped.

The fussiest adepts rushed about in the center: books, notes, new Talmuds in their hands. Motes of dust flew from the ceiling, dancing tango in the sunbeams breaking through the stained-glass windows. There were Oin and Koin, the creators of the lands of Chaos. Above them was the Great Valhal, Lord of that life beyond. He was praised in songs. The priests consulted with him. He knew everything: what was, is, and will be. Therefore, the central place in the stained-glass windows has always been given to him.

"Do you have your head in the clouds, Lyra?"