From the Ashes

Chapter 30

The castle throne room was a mess. The guards that remained were scattered through the city, not knowing what had happened to their usurper king and the four people that had managed to get into the palace. Three emerged with two Nimbats later in the day, their faces grim. They spoke to nobody as they made their way out of the city and back into the wilds of Felana.

The fire they built that night flickered with a dark light. Nobody smiled, and tears ran down the faces of those watching it. Nix lay on the ground, facing away from the fire as he stared at Cassius's sword. Ahrah had gone back to sleep, and was waiting to be carried back to the Nimbat clans along with Elsorah. The fact that Ahrah hadn't flown away with the blue glow that was Dust told them he wasn't coming back anytime soon. If he would ever come back.

When the sun rose the next day, the group continued on their journey, eventually reaching their destination. Ginger's house in Aurora Village was much the same as it had been when they'd left. It was quiet and peaceful. It was the place for tears and mourning. It was the place the group would remain for several weeks, nursing their wounds and eventually working up the courage to return to their lives as they'd promised Dust they would.

...

It had been a month since the final battle with Steam. Nynia's and Fidget's wounds had healed, and their strength had returned. They agreed to take the swords back together, even if having any contact with the weapons would bring back memories of their previous owners. Fidget knew Ahrah wouldn't awaken for anybody but Dust. She wasn't sure about Elsorah, but the weapon wasn't her concern. Nynia was the one looking after it.

The two Nimbats flew out of Aurora Village, the swords clutched in their paws. The blades were lighter than they looked, probably because they were the guardians of the weapons. They flew in silence, neither of them speaking as the day wore on.

They reached the clans around sunset, being greeted by countless Nimbats, cheering their joy for their safe return with the weapons. But they didn't feel the same joy. They flew through the clans until they reached Elsorah's resting place. Nynia set the weapon down, allowing its magic to pull it back into the earth where it belonged. She sat down in front of the weapon, her ears curling in sadness as she sniffled.

Fidget set Ahrah down and sat beside her, staring up at Elsorah. She glanced over at Nynia, seeing her crying softly.

"Guess it's my turn to cry over a sword," Nynia whimpered, sniffling.

"Well...now we're the same. One of our closest friends held these swords. They're gone now, so..." Her heart twinged slightly. She didn't like thinking about that.

"Can you take Ahrah back on your own? I want to stay here a little longer."

Fidget nodded. "I'll see you later, Nynia."

The Nimbat held back her tears as Fidget flew away. But as soon as she was out of sight, they poured from her eyes and she wailed, loud enough that Fidget could hear her as she hadn't gone out of earshot. She fought back her own tears as she returned to Ahrah's resting place, letting it fall back into the earth where it belonged. She stared at it and sniffled, wishing the sword would say something to her. She needed his advice more than ever now.

"Fidget?"

She turned, seeing Fenrei looking worried. He flew over to her and landed beside her.

"What happened?" He asked.

Fidget sobbed and hugged the Nimbat tightly, wishing her friend would come back.

...

Soon after Fidget and Nynia left, Nix set out on his own journey. He didn't know why Cassius had wanted him to have his weapon, but if Dust had said it as one of his dying words, it had meant a lot to him.

He said farewell to Ginger and Haley when he left. He knew it would be hard for both of them to get over Dust's death, especially Haley. She didn't seem to be recovering. Nix hoped she would.

The journey took no longer than it had with Dust. He took the boat across the lake, alone this time, and had a rather pleasant conversation with the captain as he tried not to reminisce about the last time he'd been here. Because Dust had been there. He'd been angry at him at the time for being so sulky. But he knew now that losing a friend was more painful than anything he'd ever felt.

When the boat docked on the other side, Nix thanked the captain and headed off again, still wondering about Cassius's sword.

Nix reached the farm around sunset, sighing slightly as he gazed up at the volcano on the horizon. He shook it off and headed towards the farm, his footsteps crunching in the gravel walkway. He stepped up to the door and knocked on it almost nervously, waiting for someone to open the door.

His father did.

"And what are you doing here?" He asked in a slightly harsh voice. Judging from the smells coming out of the house, they were eating dinner.

"...Can I come in?" Nix asked, his voice surprisingly faint and crackly.

"Ronald, let him in!" His mother said, pushing him out of the way to hold the door open. "Nicholas, how have you been?" She pulled Nix into her arms and hugged him tightly, pulling him inside.

Nix fought back his tears as he hugged his mother back. He could only hope his face didn't betray the pain he was in. He couldn't tell his parents what had happened to Dust. If he did, he'd have to get into the whole Sen-Mithrarin explanation. He didn't want to do that.

Helen gave him some dinner and soon after, he went off to bed, thanking her. It was nice to sleep in his own bed again, but he couldn't get the nightmares out of his mind. He could still see himself killing that man in the palace. He'd seen the life fading from his eyes. It wasn't something he'd forget so easily. He wondered how Cassius had been able to do it. But he supposed hardening his heart had made him tolerant of such things.

When he awoke the next morning, it was to Lia shaking him awake. He headed downstairs in silence. His mother said she was going to the market today, and Lia and Ronald went out to work in the fields. Nix joined them, hoping the work he hated so much would drive his thoughts away.

When the family gathered around the dinner table once again, Nix sat quietly, listening to his family talk.

"I heard when I was in the market," Helen said suddenly, smiling. "The usurper king has fallen! Prince Tyrell now sits on the throne!"

Nix flinched, closing his eyes. It was typical for his family to find news late. Considering their isolation, it happened almost constantly.

"Who did it?" Lia asked. "Tyrell?"

"Everyone expects so. Regardless, it's wonderful to see the crown back in the hands of its rightful owner."

Nix didn't speak. He sat there in silence and went to bed when dinner was over. He woke at the crack of dawn and continued working on the farm. As the weeks went by, it became normal for him, and soon, he had gotten used to the smell of manure and the feeling of mud in his shoes. He figured it might've been best if he remained here longer. The memories weren't nearly as bad as they had once been.

...

Twenty years had passed since that day. Haley had built a new forge as she'd promised Dust she would. She thought about naming it after him, but decided calling it Aurora Forge would be the best thing. She worked there day after day, building weapons and items for people to use. She got much more business than she did up at the pass, and somehow, she looked sort of happy.

She met a boy while working, an aspiring apprentice blacksmith. She took him on and taught him the trade. In the end, the two of them fell in love and got married, even if Ginger figured she would always love Dust more than anyone. She ended up naming her first child Dustin, affectionately calling him Dust whenever she got the chance. He looked nothing like Dust, as he had long, round ears instead of pointed ones, and pink hair instead of silver, but it was a small tribute to the hero she'd loved above all others.

Ginger had always had problems falling in love. Yes, she was very beautiful, but she didn't like to be fawned over, or wolf whistled at. She struggled to find that one person she could spend the rest of her life with. She didn't find him until he found her. His name was Marcus, and he reminded Ginger so much of Dust, that at first it was painful to be around him. His fur was blue, but his hair was pale green, as were his eyes. But after a while, she couldn't help but fall in love with him.

Their first child was a boy with brilliant blue eyes. Dust's eyes, Ginger thought. But when she really thought about it, she realized that they were Jin's eyes. The hair and fur colour were the same too. She couldn't name him anything but Jin.

As he grew, the similarities between her son and the Jin that had been her brother almost frightened her. They were the same, right down to their personalities. He laughed. He played in the rivers and came home covered in mud. He detested fighting.

He was fourteen years old on the present date, a few years older than her brother had been when he died. Ginger was content with her life with Marcus. She'd nearly forgotten about some of the people she'd left behind.

Nix came to visit, completely out of the blue. She almost didn't recognize him, as his hair had grown slightly longer and had been tied back. Not to mention he arrived with his son who was a few years older than Jin. The sight of him sent a chill down Ginger's spine. Nix told her that he and his wife, now deceased, named their son Cassius. The statement didn't surprise her, but she was still in a state of shock. Like her own son, Nix's bore striking similarities to his namesake. Cassius was the spitting image of Dust, and his green eyes were sharp and alert. Not to mention the sword he held was the one Nix had taken from the oak tree; his uncle's blade.

Ginger called Jin down to meet their guests. Just as expected, her son greeted them with a bright smile.

"Hi!" He said, staring at Cassius.

"...Hello," he responded after a few seconds.

"Do you use that sword?" Jin asked, pointing to the one Cassius held.

"Of course I do,"

"My mom tried to teach me to use one but I don't like weapons."

Cassius didn't respond to that.

Marcus was currently out running errands, allowing Ginger to invite Nix in so they could sit down and catch up on the years they'd been apart without any awkward questions. Jin and Cassius made relatively fast friends, which was surprising. The two of them moved to another room where they talked about random things. Cassius got irritated at him a lot, but somehow, Jin managed to keep his newfound friend's anger in check.

"That's almost scary," Nix said softly, staring at the two of them. "It's making me think about what Ahrah said before..." he trailed off.

Ginger nodded slowly. "Perhaps they did become friends."

"I can't help but wonder what it means though," Nix said, watching them. "If Cassius and Jin were reincarnated, does that mean someday Dust is going to come back?"

"It might," Ginger said. "But that would mean our children would have to..." she couldn't bear to finish the sentence.

Nix breathed a slow sigh, as though he too didn't want to think about that. Either way, as long as Cassius and Jin's souls were able to walk the earth, there was always a chance they could once again fuse and become one, allowing Dust to rise once more and save Felana.

.

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A/N: Thank you for sticking it out - also I apologize for the ending. A lot of people were unhappy with it when I uploaded it to deviantART.

As of now, my Fan Fiction account is going inactive. So I will say farewell now.

If you're into K-Pop, I am uploading fanfictions to:

Asian Fan Fics (asianfanfiction. com)

Under the name: starlitskies

Aside from that, this is farewell, until maybe I someday revive this account from the dead.

Thank you for being part of my final story on this website. ^^

Take care

SilverEyeShinobi