At the foot of the broken mountain, Gaita, his face painted with ash and wearing a crown of bones, leads the preparations to set fire to the funeral pile. The ritual took longer than it should have because of how much it cost to excavate and find the pieces. And even after the collection, they would be lying if they said they knew whose part was whose.

As the bodies burn, Gaita loudly announces the lies woven to maintain order. The legend of how Zell, eager for power, consumed the forbidden seed and transformed into an evil monster that destroyed the mountain and the temple, dragging down the great sages of the tribe, Neddin, Nadjela.

The princess, supported by the shadowy champion of the Tasmanian demon on her left, and an absent Chester on her right, accepts responsibility for her people, while proscribing the name of the only man she truly loved.

Shortly after the ceremony concludes, Chester returns to the chief's house, where the only important body that was not burned lies on the mat that was the girl's former bed. It is resumed the creation of a line of people, young and old who, descended supervision of the Lancaster, plant themselves on their knees next to the pale corpse of Nadjela, and squeezing the positivite between the palms, they make an effort to bring her back.

The most they achieve is a small point of light in the center of the orb, manifested between the fingers of the youngest and most innocent. But with each new failure Chester's mood worsened, until he finally exploded, and with screams and kicks, he scared away all the visitors. Only Gaita stays in place.

"Being a hero does not give you the right to behave like a rabid coyote" she scolds him.

Chester sits down next to the dead princess and clasps the small, cold hands between his own. His anger is already watered down, but he keeps a certain acidity in his voice.

"Hero, me? You'd better go fornicate with a small-minded man, go on" he says without looking at her.

"I would if I could, but I have no choice but to attend to the responsibilities I inherited. I know we don't know each other, but for Nadjela's sake, a little support?"

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Chester looks over his shoulder. Deep, black bags hang under the eyes of Gaita, who in less than a couple of days seemed to have aged ten years. Chester lowers his gaze, chagrined.

"Excuse me... It's just that, after what happened.... Fuck, I don't even know what I'm doing. The only thing that's clear is that I'm not a hero"

No one says anything for the next minute. Gaita observes her sister lying there, the deathly countenance looming rottenness.

"Nadjela is..."

"Yes"

"She needs to"

"Yes" Chester cuts her off.

Another minute of silence.

"There is a favor I must ask of you" It is Gaita who breaks the stillness, and again, involuntarily places a hand on her belly. "I am pregnant. I bring Zell's child"

"Congratulations" Chester says without really paying attention to her. Gaita, realizing that the Lancaster doesn't get the name, fills him in on the background.

The muskite looks at her.

"Zell. That one that turned into some kind of mutant, right?"

"He sacrificed his humanity with the intention of defeating you"

"In a happier time, I would have admired that level of commitment"

Gaita shakes her head.

"There is nothing to admire. Zell committed the greatest of blasphemies, and now no son of his will be accepted into the tribe, much less lead it"

"I get the concept. But what are you getting at?"

"I want you to be his father"

"I misheard" He sticks a finger in his ear and pulls out a layer of matchstick.

"You don't have to raise him or love him. Just say he's yours, and when it's your turn, he'll rule the tribe as tradition dictates. No one will judge the Lancasterian's son"

Chester refocuses on Nadjela.

"Say what you please. That he is my son, that the stork brought him to you, that he hatched from an ostrich egg. With so many dead on my shoulders, I won't even feel the weight of a baby"

Gaita lets out the air that, without realizing it, she had been holding back since she began to ask him for the favor. Her countenance, until then serious and tired, becomes distorted, and tears of relief damage her makeup.

"Thank you-"

Her trembling thanks are interrupted when Maaca appears from the hallway with news.

Princess and swordsman turn at once. The champion avoids eye contact with the Lancaster as much as possible, and thankfully Chester doesn't recognize him.

"Princess, a patrol discovered a giant. It's only a few hours away, at most four"

Gaita and Chester's eyes widen.

"Did it come down from the sky?" Gaita asks.

"It makes the earth tremble. It looks like a cross between a mountain and a lizard"

Chester doesn't need to hear any more. Crocodile. He looks out the window, hoping to see North Star appear.

But the sky is still blue and clear.