The wives formed a circle around them. Grace knelt and poured cave-water at the roots of the central seedling. Children placed new runestones around the tree, a ring of new seal. Watchers pulsed high arcs across the canopy. Juxtaposition of dawn sunlight and watcher-glow created a rainbow haze. Jude closed eyes and spoke a watchersign vow.
They spent the next days reinforcing the temple and orchard around the awakened heart. A new spiral altar was planted at the cave mouth above, wreathing seed with watcherscript vines. Wives crafted bound scrolls from cave runestones and watcherscript tape, texts of the awakening, to be kept at the temple. Children learned watchersign for "heart," "awakening," "memory," "seed." Travelers came to witness heart rising; they made runestone offerings. A gathering was called for the eclipse moon, when watchers, seed, island, people, watcherscript and memory would realign.
