The feeling of wrongness deep within the World-Tree was like finding a single, dead, gray leaf on a perfectly healthy, vibrant plant. It was small, but it was deeply unsettling. Ryan's mind, which was now spread throughout the entire Forge, focused on that one cold, silent spot.
As he zoomed in with his consciousness, the cold spot began to stir. It was like he had accidentally poked a sleeping snake. The silent, dormant presence uncoiled itself from the deepest roots of his soul-tree, and he finally saw it for what it was.
A figure began to form in his mind's eye, a woman made of calm, gray energy. She had a serene, elegant face and wore robes that seemed to absorb the light around them.
It was a face he recognized. It was the Silent Minister, the powerful Herald from the Veiled Nebula. The one whose weird, no-consequences power had been broken by Scarlett's pure, stubborn instinct.
