A fourth line began forming beneath the Warden's mask, stopping halfway across the archive door when three alarms sounded through the tower.
The open handspan stayed narrow as separate route images spread across the registry floor behind them, pulling everyone away from the unanswered invitation.
Hajin saw cart wheels sinking into black water on the eastern road, a western bridge splitting above a ravine and northern riders surrounded by dark-backed beasts.
Ferra reached the three pins before the images could overlap, catching each signal in its own instrument.
"The hearts activated together," she said, holding the eastern reading aside, "the command layer is sending the same emergency order through all three."
Hajin opened his hand toward the table, stopping when the bandage tightened across the damaged paths beneath his tattoo.
'One body.'
The carts tilted farther in the eastern image, giving him a useful place to put his attention instead of arguing with the count.
