By the fifth morning the workshop had acquired a shape that no longer belonged to any single person. Lira and Elene ran the two main benches. Mira and Tovan handled annealing and the ordinary commissions that kept the furnace fed. Jor had begun taking simple gathers on his own. Sela divided her time between the glass and long conversations with both Ryn and Vesh. Cal managed the slate and the door with increasing confidence. Sera moved between public threshold and private warning routes. Kael remained the visible outer edge, empty sleeve and sealed hand serving as both deterrent and reminder.
The arrangement was still fragile. It was also no longer temporary.
Ryn brought the news at mid-morning. “The stewards have stopped trying to contain the chalk names. They are accelerating instead.
