Epilogues- The new future

Epilogue 1

After sleeping for an entire day, Leyade and Silas gathered the villagers to bid Dilharia farew

ell with full honours.

Silas explained what had happened to Faelwenor’s guardian spirit and told them that the village would be without one for the next few years. Until the forest recovered, Dilharia could not be reborn. That was why they needed to work together to restore the forest to its former splendour.

Together, they prepared a ceremony for sunset.

They made their way to the mountainside, where the rift now lay completely sealed. The spot where Kalindra had been driven into the ground still gleamed. An arcane seal had appeared there when the sword was removed.

Everyone brought a lantern to release during the farewell.

Holding Silas’s hand and Elindra’s claw, Leyade approached Dilharia’s grave. She knelt before it and dug a small hole. Then she took out the box the dark entity had left behind and carefully planted the seed, along with the soil it contained.

“I hope that, as this box says, this will be the light of a new day, and that one day, when the village and its forest return stronger than ever, you’ll be able to return too.”

Leyade watered the seed and said a prayer while Silas traced protective symbols in the earth.

Then she stood, bowed and picked up a lantern. Silas and Elindra did the same.

The three of them began a countdown, and when they reached the end, all the villagers released their lanterns together.

“Thank you, Dilharia!” they cried.

Afterwards, the villagers held a celebration in the square, with help from those who had taken them in during the evacuation. The festivities were in honour of Leyade, Silas and Elindra. There was music from bards, plenty of food and a presentation of medals handcrafted from lacquered wood.

During the festivities, Leyade drew Silas aside and led him somewhere quiet.

“I can’t believe it’s finally over...” Leyade sighed, resting her hands on the stone parapet of the bridge they had wandered onto.

Silas nodded.

“I told you you’d do it, Leyade.”

He smiled warmly at her, placing a hand beside hers.

Leyade glanced sideways at him with a smile.

“You know, I’m so glad I met you both...” She paused. “That I met you.”

Silas raised an eyebrow.

“Did you ever doubt my irresistible charm and my way with people?”

Leyade smiled, amused.

“I doubted whether you’d dare to face your feelings,” she replied, pressing a finger to his chest.

“I’ve always known how I feel. Whether I tell you is another matter, my dear.”

Silas made a show of being mysterious with a wave of his hand.

“So you don’t want me to tell you how I feel? Because I know how I feel too, but I haven’t told you, darling,” Leyade replied, matching his teasing tone and playing hard to get.

“That’s more like you. Much more enthusiasm.”

Silas took her hand and stepped closer with a mischievous smile.

Leyade met his gaze and moved closer still, until her lips brushed his.

“So... shall we face our feelings together?” she asked, lowering her voice.

Silas nodded, his heart racing and his eyes fixed on her lips.

Leyade smiled and whispered:

“Stay with me and be my other half.”

Then she kissed him gently.

Silas smiled against her lips.

“I never planned to leave.”

He wrapped his arms around her and deepened the kiss.

The loneliness Silas had carried for so long no longer weighed on him as it once had. Leyade’s light had found a place among those shadows.

The moon bore witness to their promise as the wind carried their words away, keeping them as an echo among the trees, which would whisper of their love when a new future finally dawned.

Epilogue 2

In time, the forest of Faelwenor finally regained its splendour.

From the seed Leyade had planted grew a beautiful, gleaming white flower: a dawn flower. Such flowers were said to bloom in places that had suffered great calamity, or on pure and sacred ground. They were also said to purify the earth in which they grew, banishing corruption and curses and bringing new life to all the plants around them.

And judging by how beautifully everything had grown back in Faelwenor, those stories seemed to be true.

Thanks to that recovery, the day had come to bury Dilharia’s gift.

Just as they had gathered to bid her farewell, the villagers had now come together to witness her rebirth. Silas and Leyade were conducting the ceremony.

After the battle against the dark spirits, they had both decided to stay in Faelwenor and help clear, tend and restore the village.

Silas taught magic to anyone who wished to learn. He also taught the villagers how to interact with spirits so that, when the village had a guardian spirit again, they would know how to value it and live alongside it in harmony.

Leyade, meanwhile, used everything she had learnt with Kalindra to teach others how to defend themselves and fight. She had formed a support unit of rangers trained with both sword and bow, ready to face any danger, not just dark spirits.

Through all their efforts, Silas and Leyade had become the village’s most beloved couple.

Holding Silas’s hand, Leyade approached Dilharia’s grave and carefully set the small box she was carrying on the ground.

Silas crouched down and traced magical lines and symbols in the earth. Leyade gently lifted the glowing sphere from the box. Once Silas had finished drawing the symbols and made a hollow in the ground, she placed the sphere inside and covered it with soil.

Silas began casting a spell, reading from an ancient scroll from the temple.

Then they waited.

All the villagers watched expectantly. On Silas’s advice, each had brought a different offering, and they were eager to present them to her.

Suddenly, a light rose from the earth.

A small, multicoloured flower began to sprout from the ground. Then another appeared. And another, until a whole bed of the same flowers had formed. A faint blue glow outlined their petals.

Everyone gazed at them in wonder.

Silas examined the flowers and nodded.

“Everything has gone as it should. In a few years, these flowers will become the new Dilharia.”

The villagers burst into applause and began stepping forward to leave their offerings.

Elindra, who was sitting on Leyade’s shoulder, burst into tears.

“Why are you crying, Elindra?” Leyade asked gently, stroking her head with two fingers.

“I don’t want to leave, Leyade!” Elindra clung to the elf’s sleeve.

Silas shook his head and sighed.

“Elindra, you’re the Guardian of the Veil now. It’s time to show what you’re made of.”

He tried to encourage her by reminding her of who she was, though, despite his efforts, it was clear that he was sad too.

“Besides, we won’t be apart for long.”

“Silas is right. We’ll see each other every fortnight, and besides...” Leyade gently touched the dragon’s nose, then the ribbon she had made for Elindra to wear her medal as a heroine of Faelwenor. “You’ll be at the wedding, won’t you? We can’t have it without the most wonderful bridesmaid in the world.”

Elindra looked down at Leyade’s hand. A gold ring engraved with vines and leaves gleamed on one of her fingers.

The dragon sniffled and nodded.

“All right... But you’d better keep your word and come and see me.”

Leyade and Silas each took one of her little claws.

“May the winds bring us together like petals in spring,” they said in unison.

And the three of them embraced.