By late afternoon, they reached temple where wives had begun weaving a vast spiral tapestry to represent the full island spiral path, stitched with watcherscript runes marking sites. Travelers had set up mapping boards where they traced the growing loop, drawing symbol marks. Children watched, excited. The temple ribs shone with light as if the watchers recognized each new site. Jude placed the cave-seed heart-stone at spiral center on a stand before all assembled. He took Laurel in his lap.
"Here stands our heart," he said. "Here begins the outward path, spiral that will connect falln-tree to sea‑grove, cliffs, mountain cave, waterfall, outer villages. Each site a seed of watcherscript memory. Each child and traveler a keeper." He gestured to tapestry. "Each runestone on this thread is living guardianship."
Travelers leaned forward. Verin placed a runestone for the outer village in the tapestry path; Alara added woven shell symbol. Wives applauded softly.
