Simon dismissed the Rending Crown, refilled his wind elemental reservoir, and spent some time recovering the mental energy used to maintain the Silent Nodes.
Forming the Third Crown took longer.
The Crushing Crown rotated diagonally in the opposite direction from the Rending Crown. Since it had to cross both earlier Crowns, Simon now needed to maintain six Silent Nodes instead of two.
Its structure was also heavier.
The Gale Crown preserved movement.
The Rending Crown divided the movement.
The Crushing Crown gathered that divided force and compressed it into a single point.
By the time Simon finally formed it, several hours had passed.
The flames illuminating the room dimmed as day broke.
Pressure spread across every part of the chamber, causing the window to groan inside its frame. The bed sank slightly, and the remaining pieces of the broken cup pressed against the floor as though an invisible weight had descended upon them.
