A cool breeze blew across the island from the North, and almost as one, every face looked up. It was rarely cold here, not like it had been. No, this place was what their former home should have been; warm, comforting, inviting. This place, more than Sula could be anymore, was home.

Four of the denizens of this new island stepped forward in an unspoken bond, approaching a small cliff overlooking the ocean. Saker Nomius stepped in front, staring out over the waters and remembering the place they had come from.

With a smile on his face, Saker said, "Welcome home, my friends."

Bellus stepped forward to join his friend, resting a hand on Saker's shoulder. "We did this together."

Tesevian joined them next. "I never thought we would have to leave Sula. I never thought I could. But the White Blight..."

"Don't think about it," said the fourth, the man who once went by the name Alis Fortium, but now called himself Lunias. "That nightmare is behind us now."

Saker nodded. "I still wonder what became of Denner."

Bellus shrugged. "We may never know. He wanted to change the minds of the Shorecerers. We knew that was impossible."

Saker nodded, then turned around to look at the others of the island. They had gained many since they had first fled Sula. Runien the wordsmith, Aargias the wishmonger, and that mysterious bibliophilic orc, all had come along or joined them later, but all were family now. The good Quortius Yaxian had led them for a while, but continued on his journey, returning occasionally to share his wisdom. But it had been a good life over the past year.

Saker looked back north, his gaze cast over the sea towards the place they had come. He realized suddenly that he didn't miss it. It had been home once, but this was home now. And with each passing day, it became more difficult to think of anything that was better about Sula. Perhaps, Saker thought, we should have left sooner. He almost laughed, realizing that the White Blight may indeed have been a blessing after all, though not how the Shorecerers had intended it.

Saker looked around at the small island, and at his friends, and he smiled again. With a proud nod and a joyful tear in his eye, Saker said, one more time, "My friends, Welcome Home."