Round 3

As Jeane's dark red eyes narrowed in concentration, she traced the glowing runes with meticulous precision, her hand moving with a fluidity that belied the ancient spellcraft at play. The symbol she drew in the air mirrored one on the gate, hanging there, pulsing with a faint, malevolent energy. Halie stepped between Seraphine and the gate, her hand closing over the wizard's, a gentle warning in her voice. "Enough. You're channeling the energy without proper safeguards. Feel it? The hunger in these symbols—it's not for knowledge, but for sustenance." Merrin crouched down beside Halie, her nimble fingers tracing along the intricate patterns etched into the stone base of the gate, searching for a hidden mechanism. Seraphine's gaze dropped to the runes, her heart pounding in her chest as she processed Halie's warning, the hunger emanating from the symbols like a palpable presence.