The next morning, Seong called everyone to the main square. The queen, Kalib, Kaien, Al, Elara, Fareen, Daren, Luma, and the keepers of the seven roads. They gathered around the great tree, and Seong told them everything. About Varen. About the watchers. About the destroyers gathering in the dark.
There was silence when he finished. Then the queen spoke.
"I have felt them," she said. "For weeks now. A presence at the edge of my awareness. Something cold that was not my cold. Something hungry that was not my hunger."
"Why didn't you say anything?" asked Kalib.
"Because I was not sure. Because I hoped I was wrong. Because I did not want to frighten anyone without reason."
Elara was already writing. "We need to know more. How many are they? Where are they? When will they attack?"
Varen stepped forward. He had removed his cloak entirely now, revealing a simple gray tunic and trousers. He looked like a ordinary man, except for his eyes. They were ancient. They had seen everything.
"There are seven of them," he said. "One for each road. They were created the same way I was, but they chose differently. They chose to embrace their shadow. To become it. To feed on it."
"What do they feed on?" asked Kaien.
"Fear. Doubt. Pain. Every negative emotion that lingers in the spaces between memories. They have grown strong over the centuries."
"Can they be defeated?" asked Al.
Varen hesitated. "I do not know. I have never seen anyone try. But I know this: they fear this place. They fear what you have built. They fear the tree that grew from the first tear. And they will try to destroy it before it grows any stronger."
"Then we protect it," said Seong simply. "With everything we have."