The sound of roots pulsed around Brian—soft, yet bone-rattling. The massive stone walls of the Core Chamber seemed to breathe. A thin green mist spiraled around the altar of roots that towered in the center of the room. The air was thick and damp, rich with the scent of wet earth and a hint of ancient rusted metal.
On that altar, Liora lay motionless. Her long black hair fanned out around her, glowing faintly green with every pulse of light from the roots. Her eyes were closed. Her face pale like wax, but her chest rose and fell. She was alive. Not the specter of Liora that once haunted Valmere. Not the illusion that had invaded Saint Hiller.
This was the real Liora.
The beginning. The source. The root itself.