Spot Whitepaw pressed his paw against the practice stone and whispered the ignition spell for the third time that morning. Nothing happened. The stone stayed cold. His ears flattened as he reached deeper, pulling at whatever magic he could find inside himself, trying to prove that today would be different. But something else answered. Power flooded through him like a river breaking through a dam, wild and burning and utterly beyond his control. The air around him cracked with purple light. The stone beneath his paw exploded into dust. Behind him, the courtyard wall tore open, stone and mortar peeling back like paper as a swirling gateway burst into existence, its colors spinning in impossible spirals. Spot staggered back, his whole body shaking as the magic finally released him. The gateway pulsed with light, fully visible to anyone within a mile. He'd wanted proof he had more magic inside him. Now everyone would know it too.