The first flame climbed above the forge basin before Cassie's drill ended, pulling every worker near the registry toward the eastern sector.
Hajin sent Lana back to Marrick with her slate, then crossed the yard as another orange tongue rose past the unfinished chimney.
Ferra stood beside the furnace mouth with her sleeves tied above the elbows, directing six workers around a pair of leather bellows built by Seliza's engineers. The ceramic basin had hardened into a pale bowl beneath the brickwork, while timber braces held the chimney until the final mortar set.
"Push together," she said, striking the left bellows with her palm, "the pressure drops whenever one handle moves first."
Two workers leaned into the handles, forcing air through iron pipes beneath the charcoal bed.
The flame rolled deeper into the basin, turning the first row of bricks red before a seam near the pipe coughed smoke across Ferra's apron.
