“The green sun in the blue skies: what could possibly go wrong?”

We reached the outskirts of town and the sight hit me somberly.

From a distance you could see the whole town, all the people lined up at the entrance, hands full of gifts, faces full of smiles, shouting and crying the names of the heroes they loved. Emrys, Dain, Maelis, Jorvain..especially his.

We all stopped in our tracks, exchanging glances at one another.

It had been about a year long journey, to and back to Acedia, we left with Jorvain, you could even say we left for Jorvain, but we’re returning without him.

And I’d be the one to break that news, because I couldn’t expect the others to, how could I? They knew him for years, he saved every single last one of them. I knew him for one single year..even now that doesn’t seem true, it felt like I must've known him for longer, maybe my whole life? Regardless, my heart didn’t care to hear what time had to say about the time it spent loving him. We all loved him, i’ll just be the one to say we lost him.

That I did. And some people cried, dropping their gifts, others went silent in disbelief, and then it started to rain. I guess the sky missed him too.

But still, we made our way through town, walking along the path that had been cleared for us, our feet moving over the cobblestone grounds, lined with the people of the village, whispering about the woeful looks on our faces, complaining about the rain, wondering about sloth.

The sun shrieked away behind the clouds, and the town became gray and dull, the red-roofed houses lining the town walls shut their windows because of the rain. The air was full of whispers and mutters.

The town of Acedia. Different from when we left.

The people who greeted us at the town’s outskirts stayed there, crying, so I had to break the news a second time. This time I tried to do it differently, start with the good news then the bad…Because I know how hopeful these people were, how long they waited for us to return.

So once we reached the town square, the rest of the village gathered round to see us. To see them. Still, I don’t think this town knew my name, who I was, what I’ve done, like they did the others, but it didn’t really matter.

No one was cheering, or squealing at the kisses Jorvain would blow their way, because he’s not here to do that.

And no one sang or played music for Emry's, because their eyes worked and she was sobbing into her hands.

No one threw ores at Dain and roared passionately, because he was as still as a statue and they couldn’t see his face under his helmet.

And no children swarmed Maelis and called their name, because their parents held them back, having realized something was wrong.

Once again, there’s me. I stand in the same circle as the others, and there’s no difference.

Right about now Jorvain would be waving me over, wrapping his arm around me while he laughed at a joke and blew another kiss at a love-struck villager. And I’d stare like a fool, full of admiration, thinking that’s who I’d like to become, a great hero..that’s what it was wasn’t it? That’s what my heart used to repeat to give it hope. Not the same anymore, and in this case it’s not just cause he’s…not here.

“Excuse me, could I have your attention please?”

I say with a deep sigh, fiddling with my fingers.

The people begin to whisper even louder, their eyes on me now.

“There’s good news, and um, bad news, I’ll give you the good news first, just try not to let the bad news spoil it,” I say, my voice already shaking. It was a ridiculous sentiment.

“We, the Sol Viridis, have slain Sloth—

Cheers erupt before another word is said, people jumping up and down, hugging each other, starting to play music—

“However that was not without loss.”

I continue, trying to raise my voice over the cheers without yelling, I clench my fist tightly at my side

“Because although we slayed sloth, and got his core,”

They keep cheering, and I take a deep breath.

“JORVAIN ALBERCHET IS DEAD.”

I cry, and the cheers stop, in an instant they stop, the music ends with an off-key note, the smiles fade and form into tears. And I hang my head low.

“He’s dead. Acedia killed him…he fought hard..I’m sorry we couldn’t save him, Sorry I couldn’t save him.

I whisper, staring down at the cobblestone ground, colored a shade darker with rain, it blurs through the tears that well in my eyes, my face stinging from the somber sensation.

The crowd's voices rise above whispers now, some people screaming and sobbing others just falling to the floor in disbelief, some just stare at me, waiting for a punchline to what they’re hoping is a sick joke. But the bad news spoiled the good news, no matter how I tried to break it.

Through the crowd's chaos, a man emerges, walking till he’s face to face with me and the others. He’s short and old, a sad smile on his face as he looks up at us, slowly opening his heavy eyelids.

“Thank you brave heros. Emrys Isambard, Dain Dunstan, Maelis Irvine—Roba Reman.”

My eyes widen, as he says my name.

“The death of your leader and comrade, will not be in vain, we all owe you, and Jorvain eternal gratitude. We will mourn his death properly, we’ll have a funeral, we’ll make a statue of him, right here in the center of town,” he says gently, holding his shaky arm out to pat my shoulder.

“You must all be worn down, heartbroken, but please don’t let your mourning make you stagnant.” he finishes, turning around to leave—

“Thank you.”

I blurt out, my voice rough and heavy.

He turns around and smiles, and I take a couple of steps, bending down to hug him.

“We should all be thanking you, brave hero.”

He says with a smile, patting my back before I let him go, and he walks away.

I take a deep breath and turn back to the others. The crowd has cleared and spread out, the occasion’s ruined, and it’s still raining hard.

“Everyone..”

I say, looking over all their faces, etched with misery and pain.

“The journey doesn’t end here, I know that’s not what any of us want to hear, but we spent the whole journey back mourning Jorvain, we may very well spend our whole lives doing just that, but if that’s all we do, then our memories of him are in vain.”

I clench my fist and bite back my tears.

Emrys eyes lift from the floor, her long golden hair, sad and wet with rain, clinging to her face.

Maelis looks into my eyes, taking their hat off and holding it to their chest.

And Dain, for the first time in months, takes his helmet off his head.

“It’s what he would've wanted, and you all know that better than anyone, better than me. But what I want you to know is that, it’s not just what he would've wanted, it’s what’s right. We were never meant to be heros for him—only with him, that’s all he ever asked, and that’s all we have to be, heros.”

My voice shakes.

Their brows furrow.

“None of you have to come with me, none of you have to view me as a leader, I know I can’t replace Jorvain, I don’t want to, I don’t need to..But I need to keep my promises, I need to be the person he believed in.”

I look down at my sword, the gem glinting back at me, once blue, now green.

My eyes gloss, and something hits me. I smile.

“When Jorvain died, his essence went into my blade, I think his soul is in this sword. He told me it’d come in handy once, and I’m sure he didn’t mean it like this, but he was right!”

I shout, smiling sternly.

“What are you saying?!”

Dain barks, tossing his helmet aside, he storms to me—wrapping his arms around me in a hug.

“Do you really miss him that badly? He’s gone Roba, we all miss him but he’s—

“Roba’s sword can capture the soul of any living thing upon its death, as long as its spirit is weakened.”

Maelis mutters, their eyes widening in disbelief, tears running down their face.

“What? But..”

Dain says, stumbling back from me, looking around at our faces in disbelief.

“Is that..is that really true?”

Emrys croaks, her brows furrowed.

“I won’t rest until all the sins are dead, and once I have all the cores,”

I say, clutching Jorvain’s core behind my back.

“I’ll use the wish to bring him back.”

All their eyes widen, exchanging glances with each other.

“I know how it sounds, but you can wish for anything so why couldn’t we?—

“I loved Jorvain, “

Emrys says, her golden eyes that had been dim for so long, glinting with light.

“I never got to tell him that, but it doesn’t matter, my actions will speak louder than my words, and if we bring him back, I’ll share all the words I’ve waited to share then.”

She finishes, mustering a smile, she steps forward.

“It’s time to prove that what I was…what we were,”

She says gesturing to all of us

“We're more than people at his hip, hungry for his heart.”

She says softly, shedding a tear.

“So I’m going with you Roba.”

She whispers, her voice wavering with emotion, looking into my eyes. She stands at my side and smiles at me.

“We’re bringing him back, no ifs, just when. We’re going to avenge him.”

Dain says passionately, roughly wiping the tears from his eyes.

“He deserves to see the world at peace like he always dreamed, and I say it’s time we all save him.”

Maelis chimes, in a soft smile on their face.

My eyes well with tears, a smile on my face so wide it hurts.

“We’re gonna bring him back, any confessions, or questions, thank-yous, or sorrys, can be said then. It’s time to be heros, because of Jorvain, yes, but not for him. That, more than anything is what he would've wanted.”

I hold out my arms, asking a question I don’t need to verbalize. Group hug?

Dain scoops us all off the ground, holding us tightly in his arms, we all wrap our arms around each other—in a group hug.

Laughing and sobbing, smiling for what feels like the first time in forever.

My heart beams, a blue aura radiating around us.

“We’re the sol viridis, what could possibly go wrong?”

I say with a sheepish grin, and they all laugh, Emrys laughs so hard she starts sobbing all over again.

****

We stayed in Acedia for a week, once the townsfolk got themselves together, they threw us a festival that lasted the entire week, we had Jorvain’s funeral, his statue sits in the town square, just as promised, and here, where I sit, centered at the entrance of the town, is his grave, his sword stuck in the ground behind it. Grass and flowers growing up the blade. There’s not a day when we don’t miss him, but we’re choosing to make him proud. Emrys left her hair long, she said she liked it that way, even though Jorvain once said he thought short hair suited her, Dain doesn’t wear his helmet anymore, he says he doesn’t wanna hide the window to his soul from the world, he kept his beard though, and his hair reaches his earlobes. Maelis cut their hair, the opposite of Emrys, they think short hair suits them better, Dain and Maelis seem pretty in love nowadays too, I guess that was building up between them for a while. Aside from me, Emrys spends the most time at Jorvain’s statue and grave, she talks to him that way. Still, she seems so different now, lighter, like she’s become someone new, all on her own.

And that leaves me, my hair got a bit long too, I trimmed it, it stops before reaching my earlopes, it’s still a mess as always. We were all too miserable mourning on the way back to Acedia so Dain never said anything, but he brought along Jorvain’s cape, and he gave it to me. I wear it always. But most noticeably, on my neck, dangles a smooth sphere-shaped necklace, inside, Jorvain's core.

I contemplated telling the others, who Jorvain was, the things he did, but every time I tried to say it, it felt like I was lying, and maybe that’s cause who Jorvain left behind to become who we loved, was a different person. It feels unfair to view them as one, when through all the tears he drowned in, he rose anew. I don’t know how, I don’t know why, why he came to love the earth his kind corrupted, to love the humans he once hurt, to be a hero, while being born a villain. I’ll have to ask him when I see him again. But for all his pain, and all his guilt, all he did to undo what he’s done. I will not mix the two beings as one, and I will not break my promise to keep his secret. Sinful or not, we loved the Jorvain we knew. Our green sun in the blue skies.

I smile at his grave, the sun beaming bright overhead, directly down on us.

“I forgive you, even now that I know, i’ll let it go, and when you come back to me, I’ll hold your hand and look to the blue skies.”

I say through my tears.

I meant it then, I mean it now, I love you, I forgive you.

End.