In the days that followed, Lucien walked.
That had become his preferred method of judging whether a place was truly alive or merely impressive from above. A territory could look magnificent from a palace and still fail in the smaller truths that made it worth living in.
So Lucien walked through Lootwell.
He moved through the Sovereign Circle and watched officials learn where authority began and where it properly ended.
He crossed the High City and listened without appearing to listen. He noted which practitioners adapted smoothly to the new chain of command and which ones still carried the old instinct to ask permission from the nearest powerful person instead of the correct office.
He passed through the other sectors and the districts.
He watched and made lists in his mind.
Things that were already good. Things that needed refinement. Things that could wait. Things that would one day be necessary but not yet urgent.
