Location:Seven Peaks — Main Gate, Command Center
Date/Time:TC1854.01.08 — Morning
The gatehouse didn't read green.
That was the first wrong thing. In the months since the formation had been operational, every visitor — refugees, couriers, delegations, even Prince Kael — had triggered the same response. Green. Genuine intent. Whatever doubts or complications the visitor carried, the fundamental reading was safe.
The five figures approaching the main gate triggered amber.
Not red. Not hostile. Amber — the formation's assessment of intent that was neither harmful nor benign. The spiritual equivalent of a smile that didn't reach the eyes.
Thorne was at the gatehouse in ninety seconds. Raven in two minutes. By the time the visitors reached the gate, the command center was active, privacy formations were charged, and Naida had four Shadow Pavilion agents in positions that didn't exist on any map.
The lead figure was a man who looked fifty and felt like a mountain.
