“Tell me how many power stones you can feel, Rohan,” Thalanil requested.

Rohan’s eyes were shut, but he could see the power stones. They were little pinpricks of light in the darkness behind his eyelids. If he turned his head to the right, eyes still closed, he could see a seemingly unending line of them. Turning to the left showed him nearly the same thing, but he could tell that they stopped by the sea. If he peered into the Empire, there were countless pinpricks arranged in orderly lines. Some of them were dark, either exhausted of magic completely or broken, he wasn’t sure. But their absence was noticeable like teeth missing in a jaw.