Stasia thought a moment before answering. Mari had been too young to remember much of anything when the empire invaded. To know of her homeland, she had to rely on stories from her family, or the rare book containing drawings of the godwoods.

“Our blood-mother once took me to the Pantheon Tree in the heart of Azema City,” Stasia began, referring to the Miquoan capital. “She woke me up early, a good two hours before the dawn. Just climbing all the ladders and riding the four pulleys to reach the top had taken an hour, and that doesn’t count the other hour we stood waiting in line. The Pantheon Tree supported only five or six viewing platforms built above the tree line, and she wanted to make sure we were early enough to secure a spot. The autumn sunrise was worth it, she insisted. And she was right.”

Stasia leaned her weight on her other hand as she stared, not at the ocean, but memories far more distant.

“The sun crested the Vermell Mountains, and it washed over the forest like fire. A red-and-orange sea of leaves, as far as the eye could see, shimmering in the dawn light. It was so beautiful. There were dozens of us crammed into those little platforms, and none of us could speak. Not a word. When we climbed down and walked home, I craned my neck looking at the branches and leaves above us. It wasn’t until then that I understood, truly understood, the wonder of our city. The gods and goddesses had blessed us to live beneath a burning sky.”

The way she spoke those words, “a burning sky,” was filled with such longing, it made Mari’s heart ache. What she would give to have been there with her sister, holding hands in anticipation of the rising sun.

“I vanished into our mansion library for three days after,” Stasia said. “Me, if you can believe it. I wanted to learn everything about our trees. I read about the rarity of the seeds, and how we cultivated the soil around newly planted godwoods. They were the tallest and oldest in the world, and even the other nations agreed there was no comparison! I’d grown up surrounded by trunks and leaf rooftops, so it’d always been normal to me, but for the first time I was old enough to understand how unique it was, how special.”

Her jaw hardened. She shook her head.

“Less than a year later, those trees burned for real. The empire realized it was easier to torch everything instead of enduring the ambushes of our rebels. Our family left not long after.”