It was early morning on Alsoi, the tenth realm, the air was cool and the breeze through my window carried in the chorus of life that woke me up. Each living being brought something to the melody, and with a sigh it was time to add my part. Opening my eyes I lifted my hand gently, allowing a small tendril of ivy to spring into action, pulling away the light woven cloth that covered my window, the suns were just rising through the scattered clouds, bringing the sky from deep midnight to morning lilac, and for a moment I allowed myself to breathe.

I stretched from my bed, and pulled myself together. I pulled the woven quilt of leaves and silk over my bed before trying my best to tame my hair, and plait it out of my face. Pulling on my garden garb I began to walk out of the dense leaves that made a door to my home. With a barwen so close to the home tree itself I have the best view as our clan, The Nyx, came to life slowly.

After just a few steps I arrived at the home tree, where the grass and flowers floated all the way up to the clouds, every colour imaginable swirling around it. And despite everything going on in our little world, I smiled. No matter how many times I see the tree I am still amazed by it. The tree holds within it the whole beauty of nature. She and I stand together for a moment, here we are, tucked away at the heart of nature, for all ten realms, for always.

Moving into the tree trunk itself I found the cooking fire freshly lit, knowing that my sister must already be awake I reached for a pot off one of the shelves and placed some tea leaves inside. Once the pot had boiled I poured some tea into a long cup and made my way up the tree to the secret hiding perch myself and my brother had as children. In the years where our parents had acted as emissaries we had often hidden here for hours, using the great hight and view to spy on strange folks from all over the realms as they visited. When they got sick, and passed we hid here too. Nylan to hide from his new found responsibilities, and I from the pain leeching off everyone else, it clung to my skin and dragged me further into my grief. Nylan's emotions were the only ones I had been able to withstand during those times.

From this height I looked around as people began to go about their daily routines. In some ways our clan was finally starting to resemble a new normal. Tasks were being handled more effectively, trade with other clans had improved, crops were growing, and food wasn't as scarce. The last 5 years had been longer than the 420 I'd lived before it. Anyone that had lived after the dusting seemed far older than they should, with children rushing to grow up to help the rest of us. Without my brother I realised I've grown up a lot too, with him gone the responsibility for our people had fallen almost totally in my lap and while there are only half the amount of people that he'd had to look after, he had been almost twice my age, so all in all the challenge felt similar. At times like this I often think to other realms, from our communications with other realms we know that the dusting happened all over, but I couldn't help but feel it had to be different for us.

While no species truly lives in isolation, and love could be found everywhere, the unbreakable bond our species, the Noldoli, forms with a partner, platonic or otherwise, is stronger than even death. All over the realms people watched their loved ones turn to dust, here on Alsoi one half of your soul dissolved in front of your eye. Once again I found myself grateful that I'd never found my soul pairing, my Umesco, the pain I'd watched my people go through as they were ripped apart from theirs couldn't be worth it.

As the suns rose higher in the sky I could not escape duty any longer and I made my way to the forest floor. As I got to the bottom a figure I knew too well, was walking towards me. My brothers Umesco, Votina.

I often find myself struggling still to look at her, as so many Umesco's do the two of them had shared several characteristics. The woman in front of me stood just slightly taller than me, her long blue hair wrapped around her shoulders as she brushed stray strands out of her face, while the blue strands in her hair did have similar hues to Nylan's it was her eyes that often got to me. It was the same deep and intense blue eyes that had looked back at me so often as children, funny it seemed, to never see the eyes of a loved one ever again, but to look at them still each morning.

I shook myself out of my thoughts as she approached, holding her empty teacup. "Good morning sister" I smiled and took her hands as we pressed our foreheads together, a typical greeting between family members on Alsoi. Even if he wasn't here to connect us anymore, my brother's Umesco was the closest thing to family I'll ever have again.

After pouring a second helping of tea we sat outside on one of the giant roots of the home tree, we sipped our tea in silence. "How fairs the skies today?" she asked me, looking up into the branches towards my hiding spot, "I find myself concerned with more earthly matters" I replied, stretching my arms out towards the numerous barwens our people lived in, from tunnels in hillsides or inside great trees. "Aren't the heavens more your domain sweet sister?" I asked, she smiled at this. Votina was a powerful druid, who spoke often with the gods, it has been said she can keep an ear out for followers of the goddess near or far.

One by one people came to bid us good morning, while I only saw my sister and I on tree, our people saw the clan leader and their high druid, and so as always they approached us with worries, complaints or just wanting to talk.

The last year has been challenging, as for the first time in the history of Alosi our people were coming to age, turning 90 and found no call reaching out to them. The stories of a song that will travel to them and bring them to their Umesco have in all effect become fable, and these younglings are realising that whoever their Umesco was, they were swept up in the same dust that took parents and friends from them. I often took these conversations as my leave, I could feel the emotions of these young people, and I knew that the words of the town anomaly would not help. They wanted comfort from someone who knew what it was like to have loved and lost, not from someone who had never heard the call in their 400 years of life.

Votina gave me a soft smile, letting me know she would handle speaking to people and allowed me to head towards my garden. Whilst there were many gardens and greens throughout our clan the plants that grew here were special, amongst many things we use them for ceremonies or for medicine, it was a high honour to look after them one given to only those who connected most powerfully with life. A circle of tall roots from the home tree protected the plants that grew here and as I entered the garden I quickly laid down amongst the rows of plants who called this place home, they hummed to me and I felt peace for the first time that day.

For a time I simply stayed, with my head resting on the grass, listening to the plants chatter away to me. Then I began cleaning, watering and caring for each plan individually, each plant enjoyed a specific song, or liked to be looked after a certain way, they worked together to grow something amazing, whilst still being totally independent beings.

Just as I sat back in the garden, finished with my work tending the plants I heard a scream, coming deep from within the roots beneath my head, almost immediately chaos erupted from the entire forest, throwing my peace into commotion, every animal shouting, every plant called, and my people crying. I jumped to my feet, sprinting towards the home tree. Through all the noise and cries I heard Votina shouting for me, I ran faster than I knew how before being caught dead in my tracks.

I stopped still, I couldn't breathe, I didn't know what I was looking at. The tears filling my eyes made it even harder to see. But as he walked towards me there was no mistaking those blue eyes, he opened his arm and for the first time in 5 years, I was in his arms.

My brother was back.

They all were.