The Tree let out a laugh that was the farthest thing from mocking as possible, “It seems I have confused you. My apologies Ridahne. I did not mean your current assignment. I meant your first.” The Tree continued to explain, “How was it, leading the lost souls in the Dune Sea to safety?”

Maybe that would shock the young Azurien, but just about everything good in Asrra was inspired by The Tree. Young Darin had been right. The Tree could not cause good directly. It couldn’t. The Tree could only inspire good in others. Sometimes Its influence was subtle. Other times it was like being hit with a huge brick. Leading Ridahne to recusing missions in the Dune Sea had been on of The Tree’s quieter moments. Leading the so-called traitor to betray her people had been less quiet, and The Tree had to practically shout to get Ridahne to Darin. It was tired. The Tree knew that it was dying. Hopefully It would live long enough to see the start of something glorious.

The Tree continued, “You’re so easy to Speak to Ridahne. Though you don’t always pay attention in the end you always listen.” The Tree sighed, “It’s always so hard to find people that are genuinely good.” It gestured at the body it was inhabiting, “People like you and people like Darin.” The Tree sighed, “You know, The Gardener wanted to bring her here, to be a Worker. She had the temperament for it. She would have been loved. Yet nothing would have brought her here. She values family too highly. So we didn’t try.” The Tree was looking at the horizon but now looked back at Ridahne, “And now she is here, with you, two of my favorite Astrians, destined to save the people.” The Tree shook their head, “But enough about that. Tell me; rescuing people from the Dune Sea. How did you feel about that?”

Though The Roots of The Tree Darin found her way home. She couldn’t see her little village the way she was used to, but she was sensing them the way that The Tree did. She was able to sense induvial people. The human knew that The Tree could put names to ever soul in Astra, but she could only name the people that she knew. She ‘looked’ from the ground to see Thomas talking to Milla as they finished their evening activities. It didn’t take Darin long to figure out that they were heading to her farm. They were most likely checking in on her mother. She ached a happy sort of ache to see them keeping their promise. Darin moved to ‘look’ in after her mother. The woman looked well. Darin couldn’t physically smile, but The Leaves on The Tree rustled in a manner that could only be described as happy. Her mother hadn’t fallen into the same type of illness she had when Martin left. Then again, a child leaving was not the same as a lover leaving.

With that thought Darin thought of another pair of separated lovers. It was easy enough to travel along The Roots to Azurei. Once there Darin reliezed that she had no idea how to find who she was looking for. She couldn’t find Ajoran. She had no idea what he looked like. Then again, didn’t Ridahne have a brother? Darin ‘looked’ for Azurians with tattoos similar to Ridahne’s. She didn’t know a lot about the ojih, but she might know enough to find Ridahne’s family. She knew they were fishers, so she kept to the coasts. As she looked Darin studied each face closely. She would not miss him by going too fast. Then she found him. She couldn’t remember his name, but there he was. He looked almost exactly like Ridahne, well not exactly, but Darin didn’t need the ojih to confirm the familial link. The tattoos just provided a nice confirmation.

She spoke, though the odds of him hearing her were practically nothing, “Like your sister, you are beautiful.”