The turning point came during the Festival of the First Word. Clara, Elian's sister, stood in the square to sing the "Anthem of Ancestors." As her golden light began to fill the streets, Malchor's guards—the Silent Sentinels—dropped from the spires. They carried "Iron Muzzles" that could turn a song into a choke.
Elian watched from the shadows as Clara was dragged toward the Tower of Tongues. He felt a sound rising in his own chest—a scream he had suppressed since birth. But he knew that if he spoke, he would just be another piece of debris in Malchor's world. Instead, he gripped his Gilded Trowel so hard his knuckles bled. He didn't speak his rage; he forged it. He reached into the air and pulled out the "Shock" of the crowd, hardening it into a blade of pure, transparent energy. The Silent Architect was dead; the Rebel had been born.