Beyond Alder's boundary, no road crossed the pale grass, though every blade leaned west while the clouds above moved east.
Hajin stopped beside the first rise and watched a dark cloud cross against the wind, its lower edge dragging silver dust toward the mountains behind them.
Juna opened one Wing and said, "The air moves west, the cloud moves east, and the dust follows neither, so weather is answering a rule we can't see."
Eirwen touched a blade of grass and replied, "The old refusal field may separate movement from mana, which means the clouds don't use wind to choose direction."
Ferra held a copper needle above her palm and said, "The needle points north, though its shadow points south, and both directions shift when I add mana."
Hajin looked toward the mountains and answered, "Don't add more mana until we know whether the field changes the spell or only the result it shows."
