Family Reunion

The village of Kanett, I remembered the name well. It was founded by some crazy priest many years before the Endless Summer as a way for people to live their lives according to his teachings, or so I read. So long as he remained under the watchful eye of the King, that was. He thought weapons of war were sinful, so the village (as far as I'm aware) had little to no means to defend themselves. At first, I was confused as to why the demons would target this village. I stewed on that thought for a while as we made our way there. They were attacking specifically because they were unarmed, an easy victory. It was the only way that made sense to me.

The village was a two-day trip by ship, nestled carefully between the shore and the mountains amidst the Dwarven Free Cities. Before we left, I asked Ipas to confirm what Tomosse told me about the approaching invaders. I lied about where I got this information, so as to not arouse her suspicions. After the whole ordeal with Hilami, the last thing I needed was more people suspecting I was consorting with demons. Though we knew not how many demons were approaching, she was able to confirm they were headed towards Kanett, mostly by ship, though some also by air.

To play it safe, we gathered up all the forces we could: the surviving ogre soldiers approaching from the north, an expeditionary force of five thousand Islander soldiers coming from the south, and a force of three thousand elves and dwarves arriving from the east. We learned from the battle at Freehold what we needed in order to defeat the demon hordes. Some were afraid it wouldn't be enough. We had no way of knowing for sure.

I stood on the top deck of one of the Ogre ships, looking over the edge out to the sea. It was a triple-decker, one of the largest ships known to man. I had reservations about being on a ship with either Hilami or King Edagri, so I opted to travel with the Islander Queen Rini and her small entourage. I had not spoken with anyone else since I last saw Ipas. Not Giorg, not Edagri, and especially not Hilami. Definitely not her after finding out what she did.

“I sense you are feeling down, Halliyah,” the queen told me as she emerged from the decks below. I did not turn to greet her.

“Have you ever had to work with someone you don't trust?” I asked her. “Someone you thought you could trust, but it was later revealed they betrayed that trust?”

“Well, yes…” replied the queen, “but actually no. Working with these Stewards and this Elf King and these dwarves, all of this is new to me. I still don't know if I should trust them or not, but for the sake of the world, I have to.”

“Even if they were responsible for this whole mess?”

“The only one responsible for this whole mess is the Demon Lord Ayya,” she told me. “Anyone who is against him is for the freefolk of the world. That's the way I'm trying to look at it.”

“I see.” She was the only person I spoke to throughout the entire journey. The rest of the time, I looked out over the horizon pondering my next move. I debated whether or not to confront Hilami about what happened that day, whether to hold her past over her head the way she did with me and my past all these years. But there was something else that bothered me about this village that drew my attention more.

•

Kanett itself was an absolutely tiny thing, maybe only forty families and some scattered individuals nestled amongst the hills just past the shoreline. Even Andawas, despite being half-rubble, was much larger than this village. Unlike Andawas, this village sat atop strangely fertile land, so they had no need for moisture farmers. I could not readily recall the last time I saw grass, let alone grass so green and fluffy.

I was part of a small group that joined King Edagri as he met with the village master. As we explored the village, I scouted everything I could see that could have fit Tomosse's description of something I wouldn't like. To the contrary, everything I saw filled me with an uneasy happiness. Everything reminded me of my old life on the farm or of my life as Dan the tavernkeeper. The people here lived without a care in the world. Each one played their role, purely of their own choosing, in keeping the village running smoothly. Humans, but also members of other races, and even a few demons lived here. It was the presence of demons that surprised me the most. They had no desire for blood or destruction, but rather they just lived their lives just like everyone else. They ran the local tavern here.

“Alright, let's get to the matter at hand here,” Edagri told the village master. “In two days' time, an army of demons will arrive here and attack this village.”

“Can you be so sure?” asked the village master. “This village is peaceful, and we have no weapons. Why would they target this place?”

“Of that, we do not know,” admitted the Elf King. “But we have three seers with us, and each one has independently verified this information. I just thank all the gods that we arrived first.”

I ignored the rest of their conversation, something about drawing up battle plans and whatnot. My eyes were drawn elsewhere, towards the center of the village. Andawas had nothing on this place. No place I ever lived in, with perhaps the exception of my old farm, compared to how blissful and beautiful Kanett was. Dare I say, I may have even fallen in love. There was a strange beauty in the raw simplicity of a place like this, even if the whole thing was just little houses and farmland among the grassy hills. I didn't care. This place looked and felt like paradise to me, like the Endless Summer had not even touched this place one bit.

“Halliyah?” asked a voice shouting from a distance. “Is that really you?”

I turned around to find the most beautiful woman I had ever met. “Parawa?”

She had not aged one bit in all these years. I could not say the same about myself. She wore the same clothes I last saw her wearing, that blue robe with rosy red trim. Her hair was that same silvery hair I always remembered. Those eyes… the same golden eyes as always. We stared at each other for a while, each acting like we had seen a ghost. I might have even taken a couple of steps back as if I had seen a ghost. It all seemed impossible, and yet… here we were, after almost sixteen years.

“Dear gods, look at you,” she said. “You've gotten old.”

“You look like you haven't,” I replied.

•

Parawa invited me into her home and served me some lemon water, just like old times. She regaled me with tales of new hobbies she picked up in the years since we last saw each other, such as sewing and horse training. I listened lovingly to every single word. She mentioned getting a job as a teacher for the village children and becoming a part-time merchant after farming became too difficult for her and her back problems.

“Is the war finally over?” she asked me pointedly. “The other villagers had me thinking you were dead.”

“Alas, no,” I answered. “The war is only just beginning. And I thought for sure I was dead. The sights I saw as I fell from the city walls… I thought it was in fact over for me, but no. I'm alive.”

“Where in the Seven Heavens have you been?” Her tone turned sour. “Fifteen years you were gone. No pigeons, no nothing. You didn't even come looking for us.”

“The thought crossed my mind, but -” I said before taking another sip of my lemon water.

“But what?”

“It's a long story,” I told her. I was too afraid to admit my own cowardice. The truth was that I did not want to face her again, knowing that I had lost to the Demon Lord, knowing that I had hid myself away from the world for fifteen years. “But all that matters now is that we're alive, we're here.”

I tried to go in for a hug, but she stopped me.

“Have you forgotten?” Parawa asked me. “The holy law says a man cannot touch a woman he's not married to.”

“But… we are married.”

“We were married,” she corrected me. “They told me you were dead, the village leaders did. To them, according to the laws of gods and men, our marriage was over.” Some distance grew between us, both physically and emotionally. She poured herself another cup of lemon water. “We say as part of our vows, from this day until my last, for a reason.”

“But I'm not dead,” I reminded her.

“Even so, the law is the law,” she admitted. “Rikkos was the one who finally got me to take a step forward, but I found someone else.”

Yet another consequence of my cowardice made herself known to me as she walked into the house. She was pretty, with her messy red hair and freckled face, but not nearly so as Parawa. The pointed ears gave her away; she was an elf.

“Oh, who is this strange man and what is he doing in my house?” the elf woman asked. The position of her hands told me she was prepared to cast whatever spells she knew if she saw me as a threat.

“Stand down, Sarya,” Parawa told her. “This is the… hero… I've told you about.” She put an odd emphasis on the word hero, almost like she was unsure about calling me one.

“We were just busy catching up,” I told the elf woman, Sarya. “I did not mean to -”

“No, it's fine,” Sarya apologized. “I'm just not used to seeing men in the house. I saw the door was open and thought there were thieves again.” She left the two of us alone.

“She's pretty,” I told Parawa.

“She's my wife,” she replied. “Don't even think about it.”

I threw my hands in the air. “The thought didn't even cross my mind,” I lied. “I never thought you'd have an interest in women.”

“Neither did I,” she admitted, “until I met her.”

“You have good taste,” I complimented her. “The circumstances are unfortunate, but I'm glad you found happiness amidst this horrible war.” It was painful to admit, but this was one mess I could not fix. She found a place where she could be happy without me. I had to respect that, as much as it hurt me to do so.

“And what about you?”

“I don't think I'll be able to do the same, honestly. Not until I defeat the Demon Lord.”

She poured me another cup of lemon water. For some reason, it was having an effect on me that Hilami’s healing elixirs could not. I felt oddly at peace despite the pain of knowing my marriage collapsed while I was away.

“And what about Rikkos?” I asked her.

“On the hunt,” was her answer. “It's the only time he's allowed near a weapon. Using a weapon to fight another person is considered sinful in this village.”

“Dear gods, how old is he now?” I asked. “Thirty?”

“Twenty-eight,” she corrected me.

“Has he met someone? Gotten married? Had kids?”

“Not as yet,” Parawa sighed. “He's become a bit of a troublemaker. Rikkos goes off into the mountains and comes back with strange weapons that I have to hide from the village master. He swears up and down that he's a soldier just like his old man.”

I laughed. Bittersweet though this meeting was, it felt good to catch up and know the two people I cherished most were living good lives. But still… it hurt a little, or maybe a lot. They had moved on without me. War or no war, they were going to be just fine. They had each other. I had no one. “Yeah, I suppose that one is my fault, as well. Right before I had to leave, I had started giving him some training with the sword.”

“The apple does not fall too far from the tree, they say,” Parawa said quietly. I laughed again, but she became flushed.

“Do you reckon he'll be back soon?” I asked. “I can't wait to see him again.”

“I think if he saw you again, his heart might stop beating,” was her answer.

I continued laughing. But to her, none of this was any laughing matter. She sighed. Just thinking about our son was making her visibly exhausted.

“I worry about him,” she admitted. “He always wanted to be just like you.”

“Have you considered letting him?”

She said nothing.

“I'll take that as a no.” I downed the rest of my lemon water in one big gulp. “I think you should. He's a man, now. He's been a man for many years.”

“Yes, I know that,” she told me before swallowing the rest of her lemon water at once. “But where would he go? The world became Arakkia while you were away. It's not safe for him.”

“Quite frankly, the world is not safe for anyone,” I agreed. “But if he wants to be a soldier, that's his choice to make. The front needs good fighting men if we stand any chance of defeating the demon hordes.” I made my way to the door.

“I know that,” she admitted. “I'm just scared. I thought I had lost you all those years. The last thing I need is to lose him, too.”

“We're all scared,” I told her as I opened the door. “The difference between a brave man and a coward is what he does with that fear.”

“And which one are you?”

“I am a coward, most definitely,” I admitted. “But I may yet learn to be a brave man.” I closed the door, leaving her to live her best life.