? Silver Gate after silver Gate opened above Valhalla, and wizard after wizard stepped through, standing in midair with staffs in hand, their robes billowing in the biting north wind.
"tissadormara!" (In the name of the stars—)
A wizard raised the staff in his hand. The gem at its tip glittered, and a silver beam shot out from it toward another direction.
"natazzvro!" (Lyra, one of the constellations of the Twelve Witches.)
The first wizard clockwise likewise raised his staff, aiming the gem embedded in it at the incoming silver light. The beam passed through the gem and immediately bent toward another direction.
One wizard after another extended their staffs. In the sky, the red-robed Lawwalker Mystics, blue-robed High Tower Illusionists, and gray-robed Grey Mages all reflected one another in a dazzling array of colors. Each time the silver beam passed through a wizard's staff, it refracted toward another direction even faster. After refracting again and again, it eventually formed a circle that was constantly being divided.
A gigantic circle surrounding the sky above Valhalla.
Hollis raised his staff, Togrifin, last of all. The silver beam passed through the dreamlike ring of the Azure Tear above the staff's tip, drawing the final stroke of the great circle.
He stared down at the giant tree with cold, silver eyes and slightly tilted the staff in his hand.
"natadorshlari," (Crown of the North Wind.)
"ratadori." (Scepter of the Earth.)
"-eaam-oss-vit'ss," (Elements of the Four Directions.)
"tissadorliary!" (Guidance of the Stars.)
A dazzling beam shot from the Azure Tear, pointing directly at the center of the great circle.
A huge silver rune appeared above the great circle—(Flame). With it as the center, a silver halo suddenly expanded outward, forming a ring. Countless arcane runes naturally took shape within it—a magic formation. Then seventeen