I found seven places to strike and strength for one burst.
That was the useful part of the pattern. It was also the part I kept needing to remember when seven openings made it look generous.
The links beneath the platform were thin. Four supplied the nearby projections and moving guides. Two ran to the Regent's lower frame. The last, set farther back, joined the chamber's return circuit beside the clear barrier.
I could see all seven from the sound stone behind the second pier.
For about half a breath at a time.
Then the Regent moved and one vanished behind its leg.
"I need the whole lower space clear for two breaths," I told Liora. "No crossing in front of it. The attack divides once. It won't carry full force at every point."
She watched the nearest arm settle back into position.
"Which link matters most?"
"The return connection. The other cuts should reduce what it can move while we reach that one."
"Should."
