Flags instantly snapped downward as various gears and machinery engaged.
Everyone's eyes were fixed on a single point, a cannon shell which tore through the sky before landing in the open sea in silence.
For a heartbeat, nothing happened.
Then the ocean shifted as it parted ways.
Water sank inward as if pressed down by an invisible palm. The beam pulsed once, as the pressure across the harbor changed so suddenly that several dwarves staggered where they stood.
Light detonated against the surface of the basin before it was encompassed by darkness.
Beneath the water, the guardian's form rose once more.
Every dwarf on the platform understood—
They had not struck a beast, they had announced themselves to a demi-god.
"Rotate the battery three degrees west!"
Ryn's voice cut through the panic.
Signal flags shifted immediately. Horn blasts relayed orders across tiers of the harbor. Dwarven crews scrambled, as the pushed the cannons toward the incoming monster.
