"Stop answering the bells."
For a heartbeat, the route-keepers only stared at Mireva. The order itself was simple, but its consequences were not. Their entire upper city had been built around resonance that hid families, redirected danger, authenticated roads, and allowed information to travel faster than any runner.
Then the private gathering pattern for young Sairren rang again from the abandoned district below, and whatever hesitation remained disappeared with it.
"All upper resonance," Mireva continued. "No return calls. No shelter calls. No family routes. Nothing."
One route-keeper looked toward the crowded bridges behind them. Families were still packed outside workshops and storage halls, waiting for wardens to tell them where they could safely move.
"If we shut everything down, the Dark Force trails disappear too."
"I know."
"The upper routes will stop hiding civilians."
"I know."
