Before they went below the hall, Pema wanted everyone at the platform to practice ending a test. The cracked collar remained wrapped on the workbench. The secondary ring was open, and the old pylon line carried the ward as it always had.
“Anyone on this platform should be able to stop the flow,” Pema said. “If the gauge climbs, we don’t wait for one person to reach a handle.”
She showed the team the bypass handle, the return valve, and the bell cord that carried a warning to the harbor. Han listened, then asked Ruo to stand at the signal post. He would repeat the bell pattern and confirm that the sound reached the tower.
Ruo pulled the cord once. The bell gave a clear note across the harbor. He raised a green flag to show the signal had carried, then lowered it after Han acknowledged him.
Pema asked Tavi to move to the bypass. Qinghe stood by the gauges. Yan returned to the secondary ring. “Only a small amount,” Pema said. “We’re testing the instruments and the sequence, not the collar.”
The collar remained disconnected. Yan completed one measured Tidal Draw cycle and guided a modest current through the ring. His breath fell into the familiar rhythm. The technique’s intrinsic cost turned into vigor, and the gathered qi settled cleanly into the empty receiver.
