Lessa Vorn placed ten empty spaces on the test record before the first copper plate touched the bench.
She had done the same thing on four previous mornings.
The first attempt ended with the sixth plate. One line near the corner curved enough for the runesmith trainer to reject it. The second reached eight before the projected pattern shifted during resizing. The third produced ten shapes that looked identical until Quin measured the heat and found that two warmed more slowly than the others.
The fourth attempt failed on the second plate.
Nobody mentioned that one.
The repaired pattern archive rested inside the shielded room at Gibble-Hammer. Twelve narrow plates of black stone sat in its bronze frame. Copper keys lined the lower edge. The small crystal in the upper corner remained dark while Hammer adjusted the removable bridge across the damaged control line.
Lessa checked the position herself.
"If anyone touches that after we begin, I will count it as a failed sequence."
