The whispering voices came as softly as a gentle breeze, building in volume until she could feel it. Not with her ears but it rang in her skull anyway like a trumpet and like the gentle sigh of wind in the trees. They called her name, heralding her arrival and welcoming her in like she'd been away from home and had now returned. And as her hand was placed on the tree, she no longer felt Darin's presence, it was just her and the eternal vastness of The Tree. It enveloped her. Cool like the rush of the ocean on a hot day and warm like the comfortable embrace of a lover. And it consumed her. Consumed her and yet made her a part of it, made it her. And together she could feel Astra, far beyond the scope of anything she could ever imagine possible on her own. She couldn't help a small gasp of surprise. 

She knew that voice. It was the voice that spoke to her in her vision, distinct and yet so vague as to not be gendered or accented. It was neither young nor old, yet she could sense the enduring presence it had, like it came to be when time did. This voice was responsible for sending her on the wild goose chase that led her to Darin. It was responsible for saving her life.

"I'm here!" She found herself blurting. She spoke her native Azurian for the entire exchange but language meant nothing to The Tree. It knew her words all the same. "You are...proud of me? Of...me?" Her voice was steady, but there was a constant stream of tears on her tattooed face. Some part of her reflexively wanted to apologize for what she'd done, to say she was ashamed and sorry. Truth was, she wasn't. Not really. She had said before she would do it again and she really would. It would pain her, but she would. 

It asked her how she felt about her assignment. She gave a little nervous laugh as she tried to think, and suddenly a flood of emotions hit her all at once. The urgency with which Ajoran sought her eyes as she was led away by two of his colleagues. The grave expression on Amaiera-Sol's face when she sentenced Ridahne to death. The cool touch of the red stones of her jail cell. The hitch of her breath as she tattooed the treason mark on her face. The hot, undaunted fire of conviction as she boldly explained why she had killed her own Sol. The determined, cold certainty as she explained her vision and why she needed to not only live, but be allowed to leave. The joy she felt at seeing Hadian again, one last time and the relief on his face at seeing his sister alive. The press of Ajoran's lips on hers before she rode away...

"Honestly...? Urgency at first, like if I didn't go right then I would fail. And I was excited, relieved that I had another chance. Confused. Angry that I was given so little to go by. Defeated. Lost. I thought it was some cruel joke meant to rid Azurei of my shame. And now I...I am honored, my Sol, spirit of highest honor." She did not know how else to address the Tree. It was not a 'majesty' or a 'lord', nor was it even a 'sir' or 'madam'. Sol was the only word she knew that could even come close. I am glad to be here and I would be nowhere else, I assure you. I have wondered why you chose me but I think I am finally beginning to understand. I will not fail." She said this with all of the fire and passion she had, with every fiber of her being. She would die first before she let Darin fail in her task.