The neutral conference room on the Academy's third floor had been specifically designed for inter-student negotiations—disputes over training facility access, collaborative project discussions, and the occasional mediation of social conflicts that threatened to become physical confrontations. It was deliberately bland: white walls, a long rectangular table with ten chairs, overhead lighting that was bright enough to prevent shadowy corners but not harsh enough to feel interrogative, and absolutely no windows. Privacy was guaranteed by sound-dampening wards and electronic jamming fields that prevented recording devices from functioning.
It was, in short, the perfect place for two unofficial factions to discuss an alliance against a reality-warping entity that their school's administration had inexplicably authorized.
