Kai sat on the chair at the desk between the two beds in the small inn's room he shared with Vepice. The faint glow of the extinguished lantern still lingering in the air like an afterimage burned into the wood. Parchment surrounded him, dozens of sheets, layered with rough sketches, flowing glyphs, and arcane sigil designs that crackled faintly with residual mana.
'Come on... I must be missing something. Am I layering them out of order? Do two of these sigils just not connect?'
His fingers were stained with ink, chalk, and traces of silver dust. His eyes were red with fatigue, but also shining with excitement.
Finally, the design before him pulsed.
The sigil. The culmination of nearly six hours of overlaying six separate magical constructs, meticulously adjusted, trimmed, reinforced, and made compatible.
