Why did spectacles have such power over people?
Elara understood the ashen flower. Lucavion had fed the blood from his finger through that strange black flame, shaped what remained before it could scatter, then maintained the construct while crossing Gervase's suppression field. The control was impressive, certainly, but she had seen Eveline perform far more difficult feats while devoting half her attention to an argument over tea.
Understanding the method did nothing to lessen the effect. If anything, it made the result more troublesome, because Elara could identify each modest decision from which the spectacle had been built. No single part of it should have overwhelmed a trained mage. The suppression was the more significant display of power, while the flower contributed little beyond elegance. Yet Gervase's art had already begun fading from the room's attention, whereas Lucavion's answer remained vivid after the ash itself disappeared.
