“Your Quintessence,” she said, her voice steady. “We request the floor.”
Kailorien inclined his head.
“You have it.”
Auryn turned to Lu’ma at her side, dressed in regal violet and gold. Her friend held out the satchel in her arms, and Auryn reached within, pulling out a large, sealed scroll.
“There is much to be discussed, and We will not waste the Council’s time with pretense.”
The Circle of Rule brightened beneath her hands, light spilling across the carved sigils as the magic within the chamber awakened to the presence of an official submission. Above, the managrams projected an image of the document.
“This Council has debated the function of the Estár ritual for decades,” Auryn began. “Arguments for its necessity have relied largely upon Doctrine and tradition.”
Her hand passed slowly above the surface of the Circle.
Light bloomed beneath her fingers.
More mana diagrams unfurled across the stone like living constellations—interlocking networks of conduits, leyline flows, and shield structures spiraling outward from the city’s core.
“These,” she continued calmly, “are the recorded measurements of the Shield lattice over the past century.”
A second layer of data appeared beside the first.
Historical records.
Campaign intervals.
Periods when the Resh’Agar had been absent from the city.
Periods when Estár had not been performed.
“You will observe,” Auryn said, “that no measurable decline in Shield integrity occurred during those years.”
The chamber murmured.
She continued.
“The conduits respond to mana stabilization from multiple sources. The ritual itself contributes negligible reinforcement compared to the output of the Shield Cores and the maintenance cycles of the Office of Strategic Mana Flow.”
Draevan Sol leaned forward, stylus already in hand.
“May I examine the data projections directly, Your Radiance?”
“Of course, Councilor.”
Auryn stepped aside without hesitation as he moved down from the dais and approached the Circle of Rule. Draevan studied the glowing diagrams with meticulous care, his stylus tapping softly against the table as he traced lines of energy flow across the surface.
Minutes passed.
The Council watched him with wary eyes and bated breath.
Finally, he looked up.
“The Sokâr’s models appear…internally consistent.”
It was the closest thing to endorsement the chamber would hear from him.
Auryn lifted the second scroll.
