"Power without structure is noise. Structure without soul is stone. Only when the two breathe together does the world obey."
The change in me was palpable. The cold stone of the inner chambers, usually a conduit for psychic static, now felt solid and controlled. I was no longer just the chaotic, intuitive Panther Alpha; I was the mage who understood the architecture of power. The rigorous training session with Lord Ostel had stripped away the resentment I had carried for decades, replacing it with disciplined, usable strength. I was a double weapon.
I stood fully dressed in my dark leathers my war uniform feeling the smooth, continuous flow of the Channelling Loop that Ostel had forced me to build in my core. It was a silver thread of pure, cold logic, drawing ambient energy from the Keep's deep foundations and empowering my every nerve ending.
