Once the resonance reached perfect alignment with the ancient frequencies used to write it, the faded inscriptions glowed faintly in his perception.
One by one, the missing words revealed themselves, flickering as though the mural itself remembered what had been lost.
Slowly but carefully, he let the harmonics adjust, shifting pitch by pitch until the faint frequencies overlapped perfectly with the hidden inscriptions.
Then, the staff's full inscription aligned before his eyes, appearing brand new, like it had just been written.
His lips moved slowly as he spoke the incantation in IIthorien:
"Sha'reth Vahl… En'dru Solari… Ka'them Ashorii…" (By the Sacred Oath of Power… By the Bearer of the Eternal Flame… I unseal the Gate of the Ashori.)
The final syllable reverberated like a struck church bell... and then, the wall trembled, kicking up dust everywhere as cracks spread around the emperor's painted staff.
Rrrrmmmmm…
