She went on, but Naru Huan knew why her voice had faltered. She'd sensed the same thing he had a minute before, when he'd extended his perception at the appearance of the towering darkness. She had felt it a little later than he had, and her surprise had been enough to interrupt her planned speech. A small handful of people had been waiting at the base of the portal. They had rushed into it as soon as it had appeared. Upon seeing a massive pillar of black that stretched from the earth to the sky, who would willingly walk into it? Only someone who knew what it was and where it would appear.
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