Alvar said nothing as she lit her candles. She had yet to share any of her own stories of the ones she had lost, but she didn’t mind, it gave her an odd sense of attachment to Elswyth to hear about the people who had once inhabited it.

“In Aiyanna,” she said at last, speaking softly to Thalia and Frieda, the only two with eyes on her. “We do not often reflect on those who have gone to Eindride. I understand why you do it, but for us, Eindride has a very different meaning.

“My people have come from all across the land, from the furthest oceans and most distant trees. The gods led them to me a long time ago, Eindride and Tikva leading the charge. They wanted to protect all the creatures they created. Unfortunately, as so often is the case, without a druid to guard the land, many are in danger. That is why the druids were created.

“Aiyanna is special, even among the other god gifted forests. Other forests will come and go but as long as the gods need us, Aiyanna and I will remain. Our duty is to protect, to guard, so that nothing ever becomes completely in the hands of Eindride.

“When my people reach their ending and do indeed go beyond, we know that they are going somewhere that they will be loved and appreciated. While Eindride is praised as the god of the lost, we know that all will go to Eindride’s lands, becoming not lost but instead, found.”