Prologue:

This country used to be ravaged by war, with innocent blood spilled on both sides of the conflict.

I lived through this war, and while I lost a lot of people close to my heart, I was lucky enough to know the person who helped to end it. I saw his sacrifice…his acceptance of his fate in the end…it makes all the stories that came from the events pale in comparison.

Two years have passed since Sen-Mithrarin saved an entire race from extinction. This country is now trying to rebuild itself…regain the glory it once had. Its people are no longer fading, and we're taking back what we once nearly lost.

Peace seemed strange after so long at war, but we treasured it while it lasted.

Ginger brushed a stray bang of bright red hair out of her eyes as she crushed herbs together into the medicine Sarahi needed. The young woman…the only survivor of Fuse's massacre at Denham Village…needed all the strength she could muster at this moment and Ginger was determined to help her with this. Having a family when your homeland was in the recovery process after a war was never easy, but Ginger couldn't help but feel that it was what Sarahi and Moska needed.

"There, that should do it," the young woman smiled, wiping a small bead of sweat from her brow. Gathering the medicine into a pouch, she headed outside of the house she now called home and began walking through Aurora Village. The sun was setting over the valley, casting the village in a red-orange glow that somehow put Ginger at ease. It was so much gentler than the roaring blaze of Everdawn…the blaze that she could still see in her dreams.

Shaking her head clear, Ginger headed towards Moska's, medicine in hand. As she went, she passed Corbin and Colleen, playing out the adventures of an old friend as usual. Ginger laughed at the sight, catching the children's attention.

"Evening, Ginger!" Corbin greeted, his cape draped over his shoulders and makeshift satgat drooping over his eyes.

"Good evening, you two," Ginger smiled back. "So what're our local heroes up to now?" she asked.

"Oh, Corbin's been hiding from Mr Gianni again," Colleen winced. Ginger huffed and pinched her eyes shut, making a mental note to sneak a batch of poison ivy into that man's laundry the next time she got a chance.

"Don't tell me he was trying to turn you into his personal errand boy again?" she sighed.

"Yeah…he keeps saying I'm too old to be playing games," Corbin said. "Just because I'm twelve now…"

"There's nothing wrong with having fun," Ginger reassured. "I'll tell Gianni where to stick his errands next time I see him."

"Thanks, Ginger! You're the best!" Corbin grinned.

"Are you heading over to see Miss Sarahi?" Colleen asked, spying the medicine in Ginger's hand. The medic-in-training nodded. "I have to say, you're amazing with those medicines, Miss Ginger," the girl said. "That stuff you made for me last winter made me feel better than I've ever felt when the snow falls!"

"And you pretty much made my hay-fever vanish," Corbin agreed. Ginger flushed in humility.

"Well, I'm still in training," she laughed nervously. "I do my best to help."

"Moska and Sarahi's kid is gonna be the healthiest baby in Falana at this rate!" Corbin insisted.

"Even Mr Moska's having trouble finding a reason to worry about Miss Sarahi," Colleen giggled. Ginger felt her heart surge with pride — if this was the impact she was already making, she knew that she was already well on her way to making her home a better place…the place her brother would have wanted her to live in.

"Well, I'd best get this to her, then," she said. "Don't stay out too long, okay?"

"We won't!" Corbin promised as he and his sister raced off again.

"See you later, Miss Ginger!" Colleen shouted over her shoulder.

Ginger smiled as the two children disappeared around the corner, Corbin's cape flowing behind him and a wooden sword in an all too familiar shape at his side. Seeing him dressed that way reminded Ginger…reminded all of Aurora, actually…of the hero that had worked so hard to bring peace to their land.

To say Ginger didn't miss Dust would be a lie. To say she had been upset to see him willing let himself get consumed by the fires of Everdawn would be an understatement. To say she'd felt her heart swell with hope when she saw the Blade of Ahrah rise from the volcano after a wisp of cyan smoke wouldn't even be saying enough.

Ginger still remembered that day — Elder Grey-Eyes had addressed the surviving Moonblood soldiers whilst she and Fidget, Dust's nimbat companion, had listened. She could still see the Blade of Ahrah rise from the volcano, chasing what could only be Dust's spirit. She could still hear Fidget's squeaked "Hey!" as she began her pursuit, and her own hopeful whisper of her friend's name as it dawned on her that he may still be alive…that he would one day return.

That day had been two years ago. Ginger had since lived in Aurora Village, the settlement where she'd sought shelter after her home had been destroyed by Gaius' soldiers. In those two years, Aurora Village had grown from the tiny hamlet it had once been to an actual village, with Moonbloods and Warmbloods alike living side by side as society rebuilt itself. A lot of the village's income nowadays actually came from visitors coming to see the village and hear the stories of the people that Sen-Mithrarin, the Hero of Falana, first helped.

Ginger had been training as a physician in that time, unwilling to see anymore lives needlessly lost to the woes that conflict had brought upon the country. She'd done her best to change her pessimistic views on the fate of Falana, and she was a great deal more hopeful than she had ever been since before her village had been destroyed.

Ginger snapped herself out of her musings when she found herself outside Moska's house. Tapping the door, she stepped back and rocked back and forth on her feet for a moment until Moska himself poked his head through the door.

"Oh! Ginger!" he greeted. "You're here!"

"Good evening, Moska," Ginger smiled back. "How's Sarahi doing?"

"Resting up," Moska replied. "You wouldn't believe how much the baby was kicking today." Ginger's smile widened.

"That's wonderful to hear — it sounds like you'll be having a healthy child, Moska," she noted. Moska rubbed the back of his neck.

"Thanks to you," he pointed out. "You've helped Sarahi so much over these past few months — I don't know how we'd ever be able to properly thank you."

"Well, I have her medicine here," Ginger smiled. "Is she eating enough?"

"Enough for an army — the baby needs it too," Moska laughed nervously. Ginger agreed — Sarahi was eating enough for two, but she still needed to keep her strength up. The medicine was nothing more than some nutrient supplements in order to help Sarahi with her exhaustion and also boosted her immune system, helping to protect her and her unborn child. Moska took the medicine and bid Ginger farewell, once again thanking her for her help.

As Ginger walked back through the village, her attention was caught by the shadows of birds flying across the setting sun. She couldn't help but pause at the sight — those shadows made her think of another friend she hadn't seen in two years. That friend was Fidget, the same nimbat that had watched Dust disappear into the flames of Everdawn with her. The nimbat had chased after the Blade of Ahrah and Dust's spirit as soon as they saw them rise from the volcano, and Ginger had always hoped that Fidget would return one day with Dust at her side.

It had been two years now since anyone had seen any nimbat at all.

"Ah!" Ginger yelped as she suddenly collided with someone. Luckily a hand caught hers before she tumbled over.

"Whoa! Be careful, Ginger!" It was Calum, one of the town guards (now in much better armour than his gear from two years ago).

"Sorry, Calum," Ginger flushed. "I was…somewhere else."

"I don't blame you," Calum said. "The twilight hours can do that to you. I don't know about you, but there's always something that seems so…peaceful about sunset."

"I know what you mean," Ginger said. "I was just…thinking."

"About Dust again, huh?" Calum guessed.

"Well…Dust and Fidget, really," Ginger admitted. "I miss them both."

"We all do," Calum comforted. "They were good people. I don't think anyone's likely to forget what they did for this village too quickly."

"I know…" Ginger sighed. "I just…wish I could see them again, that's all." Calum sighed — everyone knew by now of Dust's sacrifice. He didn't want to hurt Ginger's feelings, but he didn't want to give her false hope either. Neither would help the young lady in any way, shape or form.

"I'm sure they're all out there keeping an eye on this world somewhere," he said in the end. "Dust, that sword of his and that nimbat." Ginger nodded but remained silent. Calum decided to change the subject. "Say, Ginger, whilst you're out here, would you mind doing me a favour?"

"Did Bean's hip give out again?" Ginger winced. Bean was the other guard of Aurora and refused to retire despite all insistences from the rest of the townsfolk that he should. Ginger was trying to keep him together but even she, who was known for being relatively patient (emphasis on 'relatively' — she was far from having the patience of a saint), was getting tired of his stubbornness.

"No, although I do think we're getting through to him," Calum replied with a light chuckle. "I hear Corbin's hoping to take up guard training when he hits fifteen." Ginger giggled — Corbin so admired Dust, she could see him taking up a similar mantle of being the protector of something. It would certainly put Gianni in his place, although she wondered how Colleen would take it. "Actually, I was wondering if you could go check on Geehan and Oneida. I meant to return a gardening fork this morning but got caught up with lookout duty. Then we had the usual weekend tourist group and call me paranoid but I don't like leaving those guys unattended. And now I'm back on lookout shift."

"Of course," Ginger nodded. "I'll get it back to them." Calum gave her his thanks and directed her to his house where the garden fork was resting on the window sill. Bidding the guard good evening, Ginger collected the tool and then headed outside of the main village to the farm where Geehan and Oneida still worked in their golden years. A loud snoring sound told her that Geehan was already asleep but Ginger waved when she spotted Oneida basking in the setting sun outside the main house.

"Oneida!" she called. The rabbit Warmblood looked up at the sound of her name and stood up in greeting.

"Ah, Ginger — how lovely to see you," Oneida beamed warmly. She spotted the garden fork in Ginger's hand. "Oh, did Calum ask you to bring that back to us?"

"He did — and he also wanted to apologise for not being able to find the time to personally deliver it," Ginger replied.

"Well, I can't blame the man," Oneida said. "A guard's duty is tiring and he does he best to protect this village. Thank you for bringing this back in his stead."

"It was my pleasure, Oneida," Ginger smiled. "How's Geehan holding up?"

"Lazy as ever, that man," Oneida sighed as another loud snore sounded from the house. "I don't suppose you have anything in your medicinal repertoire that counteracts sleepiness, would you?"

"Well, I'm working on a few things," Ginger said. "But a lot of it is still in the experimental stage. I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to anyone."

"I understand, dear," Oneida nodded. "I suppose some things aren't going to change around here as quickly as others." Ginger unwitting let out a sad sigh. "You miss him, don't you, dear?"

"Am I that obvious?" Ginger laughed wearily. "You're the second person who's asked me that this evening."

"We all share your feelings, Ginger," Oneida reassured. "Dust was a brave and kind young man — I know that my husband and I certainly aren't going to forget what he did for us in a hurry." Ginger smiled softly, but sadness was still etched into her face. "You seem troubled, dear — is something on your mind?"

"Just…been thinking a lot, lately, that's all," Ginger answered. "I've been having strange dreams recently…"

"Would you mind telling me about them?"

"Well…I don't really know what to make of it," Ginger said. "I see Dust in the Everdawn Volcanoes but when I try to reach him everything around me explodes into flames…when I look down I see everyone's faces…" She shuddered. The scene that had been haunting her sleep recently reminded her all too much of the night Zeplich Village had been attacked. "I see a trail of blue smoke…then there's this light…then I wake up."

"Maybe you should see the Moonblood Elder about it?" Oneida suggested, unsure what to make of the dream. The first part seemed like lingering memories of the last time Ginger saw Dust — she'd given a personal account of the day once she'd returned to Aurora from the Blackmoor Mountains with a few of the Moonblood survivors who now also lived in the village. "I remember you telling me that those people have a remarkable way with interpreting dreams."

"I was thinking about it," Ginger admitted. "But…after Sarahi's baby has been born," she added decisively. "She's staying strong, but she still needs the medicine I make for her. I can't leave town just yet…" she trailed off, her ears twitching as she heard a faint noise on the evening breeze. "Oneida, did you hear something just now?"

"What is it, dear?" Oneida frowned. Ginger listened more closely, her ears swivelling around to determine the direction of the noise — she heard it again. It was soft, but high pitched, fluctuating in volume ever so slightly. It was a desperate sound that tugged at Ginger's very heartstrings…

"It…that sounds like crying!" Ginger exclaimed. "It's coming from the west." Oneida's ears twitched themselves.

"Well, my hearing isn't what it used to be," the woman huffed irritably. "I can't say that I hear anything…"

"I'm going out to look," Ginger said firmly, striding past Oneida in the direction of the side of the valley. Oneida let out an exclamation of surprise and just about caught up with the young lady.

"Ginger! It is nearly dark!" she pointed out. "It is far too dangerous for you to be…"

"Someone could be hurt out there, Oneida!" Ginger argued. "I can't just ignore this!" Oneida gave in — there was no dissuading Ginger once she had her mind set on something.

"Oh, very well — at least take this Ring of Sight with you," she insisted, slipping said ring off her finger and placing it on Ginger's instead. "Haley made that for me and Geehan but if you're going to be wondering around the valley after sundown you're going to need it far more than we do right now."

"Thank you, Oneida — I'll return it as soon as I get back," Ginger promised before taking off out of the farm and towards the side of the valley.

Ginger wasn't scared of the dark, nor was she particularly worried about monsters. Dust had taken care of a lot of them two years ago, and any remaining ones were often hunted for bounties if they were causing a local nuisance or hid away in the underground caverns where Surface Dwellers were unlikely to go. Regardless, the Ring of Sight that Oneida had given her was proving to be a godsend — Ginger didn't know how she would have tackled the forest at the base of the valley walls without it.

Before long Ginger came across an old hut — she knew that this was where Cora had lived before she'd gone back to the Sorrowing Meadow to be with her husband's spirit in her last moments of life. Part of Ginger had wondered if the crying she'd heard had come from here — the hut had long since been abandoned and two years of nature had begun to reclaim the old shack. Ginger was about to head into the hut to look inside when the crying sounded again.

"That's further away than I thought… What could be so far out there?" Ginger frowned — the crying still sounded distant, although it was slightly louder than it had been when she'd been talking with Oneida. Whoever it was crying certainly had a healthy set of lungs to their name. It was still coming from the west so Ginger pressed forward as the sun kept dipping below the horizon.

Navigating the walls of the valley was no mean feat, even with the Ring of Sight giving off its glow, and Ginger was silently thanking all of the times she'd gone climbing with Jin as a child in the mountains. Jin had always been the better climber out of the two of them and had would sometimes clamber up to crevices Ginger could not reach which left her stomping in childish frustration while he watched in amusement, but she would always get her revenge with her superior snowball throwing skills later on.

Reaching the top of the valley, Ginger couldn't help but stop and admire the view. The setting sun bathed all of Falana in a pink-golden glow. Ginger couldn't believe that she'd never admired the view from this spot before and although she still had the investigative urge to seek out the source of the crying sound, she couldn't help but pause for a moment.

"It's…beautiful…" she breathed. A few shadows of birds and bats fluttered across the skies and once again Ginger was reminded of her nimbat friend. "Fidget…I wonder if you've found them yet…" she whispered to herself. Ginger kept telling herself that Fidget would return to her if she ever found Dust and the Blade of Ahrah, but she wondered if that would truly be the case. It was Fidget's job, as the guardian of the Blade of Ahrah, to accompany it and its Chosen Bearer wherever they went. If she had found them, maybe Dust had gone on another journey?

The sound of crying snapped Ginger out of her musings again — this time, it was much closer and much louder. Continuing west, towards the setting sun as it vanished behind a forest, Ginger's sense of urgency heightened as she recognised the type of sound she was hearing.

That was the sound of a baby crying.

Her walk turning into a jog, which then became a run, Ginger raced through the trees as they grew thicker until a shimmer made her stop in her tracks.

"Is that…a magical barrier?" she wondered aloud, cautiously approaching the glow. It was a wall of cyan blue, glistening like water suspended in the air. Carefully, Ginger lifted a hand to it, gasping in shock as she passed straight through it without hinderance. The crying was now louder than it had ever been — forgetting the barrier, Ginger ran forward to find herself in a glade, the only light coming from her Ring of Sight as the moon had not yet begun to glow in the sky, as well as a faint glow from the magic barrier surrounding the area.

The light was enough to reveal the source of the crying. There was a bundle of bright turquoise cloth in the centre of the glade, surrounded by wildflowers that seemed to glow with a light of their own. Ginger's eyes widened in amazement — what was a baby doing all the way out here? What had happened to its parents? Were they somewhere nearby? Had they created the barrier? Cautiously, Ginger approached the bundle, where the wails came from unrestrained and tearing at her heart. Ginger was certain that if she'd heard these cries all the way from Aurora Village, then surely the baby's parents would have done…maybe they were running and had been unable to return to their child?

Gently, Ginger picked up the bundle of cloth, shushing it soothingly as she cradled it to her chest in comfort.

"Shh…it's alright, little one," she soothed. "You're safe…" The baby's crying subsided into choked sobs and Ginger examined it more closely — folding back some of the turquoise cloth, it took every ounce of her self restraint to not drop the baby when she saw its face.

The child was a fox Warmblood, with ears and a snout that resembled Ginger's. There was one crucial difference about this infant, though, and that was that its fur was a shimmering blue-white, with tufts of silver hair poking up between its ears. And somehow, Ginger didn't even need it to open its eyes to know that they would be pale blue.

"I…Impossible…" Ginger choked in astonishment. The baby sneezed as its crying came to a halt and it snuggled further into its bundle of cloth. Darting her gaze around the clearing, Ginger's breath hitched again when she spotted something else — a doll that resembled a very familiar nimbat. Fidget had told her about these dolls briefly and there were only two in existence. One was owned by a child in the underground town of Mudpot. The other was owned by…

"Dust?" Ginger whispered, looking back at the infant now sleeping soundly in her arms. The baby offered no response aside from a high pitched gurgle as it slept. Ginger broke into tears herself and clutched the child as close to her chest as she dared without suffocating it — her crying caused the baby to shift but it did not wake. "I…I can't believe it… I…I found you…" Ginger sobbed.

To say she couldn't believe it was yet another understatement. Her hopes had been realised — Dust was alive. He'd come back…just not in the way she'd been expecting. Here he was…undoubtedly…as a sleeping infant in her arms. His spirit had been given a new life. He had quite literally been reborn.

Choking back her tears so that she could think clearly, Ginger tore off a piece of her skirt to create a makeshift sling, carefully placing the sleeping baby inside before gathering the tattered and seemingly singed nimbat doll from the floor, tucking it inside the sling next to the child. Keeping the baby close, Ginger made her way out of the Glade and began heading east, back towards Aurora Village.

"Ginger!" Oneida cried as the glow of the Ring of Sight in the distance alerted her to the young lady's return. "Gracious, dear! If I'd known you'd be out for that long I would have insisted that you stayed until morning!"

"Oneida! Shh!" Ginger suddenly hissed. She winced and apologised immediately afterwards. "I'm sorry, Oneida. I got a little sidetracked…" She slipped the Ring of Sight off her finger and gave it back to the farmer who noticed the sling over Ginger's shoulder.

"Heavens, my dear — what on earth did you find out there?" Oneida asked, indicating the bundle. Ginger's face broke into a smile, joyful tears still in her eyes.

"I found this," she said, adjusting the bundle so that Oneida could see inside. The woman gasped when she saw what it was.

"A child?! Alone?" she spluttered.

"Not just any child, Oneida," Ginger explained. "Look closer." Oneida did, angling to Ring of Sight so that it wouldn't wake the baby but so that she could get a better look.

"Well, if my eyes don't deceive me…" she murmured. "That could never be…?"

"I think it is, Oneida," Ginger choked happily. "He's…come back to us."

"Well, I never…" Oneida exhaled in amazement. "But…why like this?" she frowned.

"You know, I think the Life Thread is giving him a chance to have a life of his own," Ginger theorised. "Dust…never really had any memories to call his own. No childhood…no family…no home…" she listed sadly.

"That must have been horrible for him," Oneida noted sympathetically. "What are we to do with him now?"

"I'm going to give him that chance," Ginger said firmly. "I'll give him a chance at a normal life."

"Gracious, my dear!" Oneida exclaimed, a little more quietly this time now that she was aware of the sleeping infant. "Are you even sure that it's him?!"

"I can't help but feel that he is," Ginger insisted. "I…I don't know if I'll ever be certain…or if he'll even remember if he is…"

"And if he doesn't?" Oneida pressed with concern. "What if he isn't the Dust we knew? What if he doesn't remember what he did for us?"

"Then it won't make any difference," Ginger said. "If he doesn't remember, I won't force him to. If he does, and he has questions, then I won't hide anything from him," she added decisively. "But it's him…I can feel it…"

"If you're sure, Ginger, then I won't argue," Oneida smiled. "And that certainly seems fair… I just hope you're ready to take on such a job as motherhood."

"I'll be fine, Oneida," Ginger reassured. "And thank you."

Oneida bid Ginger good night and good luck as the young lady headed back through Aurora Village, explaining her venture that evening to anyone who stopped to ask. They all agreed that this child-Dust would grow up among them, but they wouldn't mention anything unless he specifically asked. That way, Ginger thought, he could grow up normally without having the mantle of Sen-Mithrarin placed on him.

He could have his own memories now.

Tucking a child into bed was something Ginger hadn't pictured herself doing for some time — she was still young, after all, at eighteen — but if it was to give her friend the chance at a life he'd never had, she was willing to do so.

"Dust…" she whispered soothingly as she cradled the child and his nimbat doll close to her. "This time, I'll keep you safe."

She sang a quiet lullaby until both she and her new family drifted off into the peaceful realm of sleep.

After so long, I've now gone home

Now that I have reached my journey's end.

Don't know how long I will be gone,

But I hope that I'll see you again…my friend.

And so we embark on a new journey, this time to the land of Falana. For those of my readers who may not know, Dust: An Elysian Tail is an indie game developed by Humble Hearts (or rather, one man: Dean Dodrill) which was originally released for the Xbox in 2012. It has since been released on Steam, Playstation and iOS, and is easily one of my favourite games. If you haven't played it, then I recommend picking it up or even just watching a Let's Play (which is how I was introduced to the game): if anything, it has some of the best voice acting I've heard in a video game.

This story will be updating on Sundays at 8PM GMT. See you guys around, and I hope you enjoy this story!