Summary
The long exile begins to end when the Volanen enclave on Orbos finally calls in the old promise to help reclaim the lost homeworld. *1 *2
The return begins when the Phantom Epoch reaches the Volanen enclave on Orbos and the sealed route home is reopened. Passing back through that route is not treated as a triumphant homecoming yet, but as a desperate effort to secure enough ground for the exiles to begin returning at all. Because the opening only weakens the enemy briefly, the crossing carries urgency as well as hope. Erlayan and the enclave's long memory of exile give it both practical direction and generational weight. *1 *3
This event is the moment exile turns into action. It binds the return to Volan directly back to Orbos and the wider galaxy, and because the route is reopened rather than newly discovered, it feels like the continuation of an unfinished story instead of the start of a separate expedition. *3 *4