Dozens—no, hundreds—of rune-lines interwove with one another, forming nested patterns that spiraled inward toward the center. Some pulsed slowly with a deep, subdued light. Others flickered faster, like the rapid beat of a hummingbird's wings.
Adrian let his spirit sense sink into the formation, careful not to touch any of the active nodes.
"What do you see?" Bloodstar asked quietly.
"Too much," Adrian thought back. "But… there's a structure. The outermost ring is the detection layer. It reacts to intruders and feeds data inward."
He traced that ring with his mind.
"Beyond that, there's a conversion layer. It takes the Essence's power and shapes it into different effects—heat, arrows, pressure… maybe more we haven't seen yet."
"And the branches?" Bloodstar prompted.
Adrian followed the thinner strands of energy flowing outward.
