I had a theory about the Snarl...

[Ironsmith]

Okay, so let's review the sequence of transmission. First, Soon saw what happened to Mijung. Then, he told Shojo about it. Then, Shojo told the Order. Where's the unreliability?

Soon saw something come out of the rift; if it's the Snarl, as seen when Laurin looks in a rift later, the mere fact that we see visible claws (as opposed to blue-purple-magenta energy tendril-things) implies that he might not quite have understood what it was and filled in a few of the details.

Pulled what out of the rift? I thought your theory was that the Snarl was a metaphysical phenomenon, not a physical entity.

I didn't say it wasn't physical, or didn't have physical manifestations, just that it wasn't alive. It can't think or feel, can't hold a grudge, and can't be malicious. Less Cthulu and more hurricane, essentially.