The work in Drevenmoor took seven days.
Not because the root network was the most complex — it was deep, the wound's long duration having produced crystallization beyond anything he'd encountered. But the gradient was the strongest he had felt. The between-space pulling toward this location with the accumulated pressure of however long the withdrawal had kept it from returning here.
He didn't need to provide force.
He needed to stay present and let the gradient run.
Vael watched from the surface.
Not supervising — witnessing. The specific quality of someone who had been holding a space for an unquantifiable duration and was now watching the thing the holding had been for. The clear eyes tracking the work with the attention of someone who understood what was happening at a level that went beyond his own current understanding.
On the third day he came up for the midday rest and found Vael sitting with Oren.
They were talking.
