Dawn- An age of Darkness

The half-elf also chuckled. "From that day on, I always sneaked out of the castle and met up with the boy. We talked and explored the city together. Turns out, he was also a half-breed like me but he was kind of a genius. He wasn\'t happy with his life and because of that, he wanted to go out exploring. For that, he often practiced magic- he was really good at it. I also picked up some spells from him and time moved on. That decade was one of the best decades of my life." She smiled, looking over the horizon. "When the day came for us to part- I- ran away with him. I made a very convincing case of suicide in the castle and faked my death: I asked my little brother\'s help and he jus." She snorted loudly. "It was not easy, I assure you." she sighed, controlling her laugh. "But it was worth it. I traveled the world and after a while, we made it to this village, this village where he was born: we had friends, and some of them settled down in this place. A lot of things happened after that- a lot of devastating things but- my time with him were really precious and he loved this place: I loved this place." 

She smiled. "Sorry, you had to go through this boring story of mine. I really can\'t tell you, how much it means to me that you did this for me. Even if I went back to my country and asked my kin to get this land for me, it was impossible. Besides, to them, I\'m dead."

"Don\'t worry about it. And your story wasn\'t boring at all."

I\'d already made the promise anyway. If I hadn\'t met Boriosa, a lot of things wouldn\'t have worked out this way and my journey would have been a lot, a lot harder. So I was really grateful to him and for that, I wanted to keep my promise. 

I opened the portal to the ring and carefully took out two heads. The last remaining pieces of Boriosa\'s family. The head of his mother and his sister.

While we were talking, Gorgon and Ve were actually competing to dig up two graves for us. Ve won but- seriously, they were competing for something like this?

I seriously didn\'t get people. 

Alisa cleared her throat. "Don\'t just hold them like that, use your magic and free them from the crystal or they\'d forever stay like that."

The heads were actually made into crystals. I Imbued the heads and my body. I gradually poured mana into the crystalline heads. The severed heads actually looked pretty much like they just died moments ago. They were still pretty much dead though. 

"Won\'t they turn into undead?" I said. 

"Your mana is rather pure so I don\'t think so. Besides, the elf will probably stay here, so it should be fine."

The crystals broke down and I gave one head to the elf. "You will?"

"Yes, I plan to stay in this land and create an orphanage of sorts for all the half-breed children who have nowhere to go. It\'ll be free from racial discrimination. And as I have a long life ahead of me, I think I\'m the best fit. And since this land is owned by you, I don\'t think anyone would dare mess with us."

She was a demigod so I didn\'t think anyone would be dumb enough to even think of messing with her. 

We both placed the heads in the grave as Gorgon said some prayers. Apparently, he\'d taken priest lessons before. 

Afterward, we started to throw dirt.

"About that-" Gorgon stood before the half-elf. "I can help you maintain this place."

Well, wasn\'t that nice of him?

"Really?" But the elf was skeptical. "I\'m assuming you are looking for something in return?"

Gorgon was a nice guy but this offer seemed a bit too nice, even for him.

"Yes, I would like to be trained by you. I\'ve learned that my training is not enough for what is yet to come, therefore training under you would be the best solution."

I rolled my eyes as I finished the grave.

We were basically done. 

The elf didn\'t actually answer him though.

"Should we make a third grave for Boriosa?" I still had his clothes and scepter.

"No, he did always say, no place could bind him, so I don\'t think he ever wanted a grave."

I chuckled. "I suppose so." If he did want one, he\'d have asked me to make one for him too. "You want his things? I have his scepter and-"

"Keep them, they were a gift to you. I can\'t-" She paused. "I can\'t take them."

I moved back a little towards Ve, Alisa, and Biteria. 

Our minister and Zack were further back, resting beneath a tree. They never interrupted us unless it was absolutely necessary. I forgot they were even here.

"That takes care of your promise then?" Alisa said, as she stood next to me.

Ve and Biteria were just behind us. 

"Yeah, pretty much. Took me a while but- I\'ve finally kept at least one promise."

The graves were done and I did feel much better. 

Alisa didn\'t say anything. But then- "You\'d marry all three of us if you survived?"

Well, it was complicated. "There\'s a lot of ifs involved but yeah. Lianne would probably kill me, but yeah."

She smiled and grabbed my hand, squeezed it gently. "Fine by me. It\'s a promise then. And don\'t worry, I\'ll protect you," She winked.

***

We spent the next half an hour here and after a while, we decided, it was time to leave. 

Gorgon and the elf would stay behind while I\'d be going back to Xylax with the rest. 

"You know, if I happen to survive this whole thing, I\'d be dropping by this place once and see the progress myself. Good luck," I said. 

Ve was already in her dragon form, waiting. Alisa and Biteria were behind me while the minister Zack were atop the dragon. 

"Yes, of course."

"By the way, you\'re a relative of Lianne in that case?"

She looked pretty much like her and she did say she came from the royal family- so this could very well have been possible. 

"I am Joanne Reraine." She gave me a courtly bow. "From your description, I\'d say, she should be my niece."

"And now you tell me your name!?"

I\'d asked her at least a dozen times about her name but she just plain refused! And now she just casually gave it to me? 

What the hell!?

She giggled. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Daarc Green. May you be prosperous and not die a painful death."

That was both nice and ominous at the same time. 

We shook hands. "Likewise." I was definitely not comfortable thinking about the second half though. 

And with that, I turned around. I saw her nodding at the rest of my comrades and them nodding back. 

This almost didn\'t seem like a farewell. 

Then again most of these folks were either immortal or they just had long times, so they probably didn\'t think they wouldn\'t be meeting. 

I was the only exception. 

I got on top of Ve, still a bit uneasy. 

Biteria sat in front while Alisa was behind me. As Ve took off slowly, I waved at the ground. Joanne and Gorgon waved back.

"Farewell- Daarc Green!"

As their faces become too small to see, I let out a small sigh and looked ahead. 

\'How the hell am I going to write that letter?\'