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Fiar’s body had flown right over the walls of one of the stone structures that sat in the middle of the large dungeon. He had been knocked off Kueler’s back and plummeted to the hard stone floor.

The moment he had landed on the ground, a sharp pain surged from his injured foot up to his upper thigh. It went numb, he couldn’t move it at all.

Is it broken? Fiar thought to himself. No matter how much he commanded his leg to move, it stayed idle. The only thing left was excruciating pain the flowed over Fiar like a wave. It was enough to send him collapsed on the floor.

A broken leg was the least of his worries, as the sound of vicious growls projected across the wall and into his frightened ears. Then the clawing began. It was the monsters, and they were hungry.

“No! Please, no!” Fiar backed towards the opposite wall, but heard the sound of stone being clawed at from there too. From the sound of it, he was sounded at all angles by the monsters.

“I don’t want to die here…” Fiar began to silently weep. He brought his only healthy leg to his chest and began weeping on it. There was no one left to save him, and those monsters would break through any minute now. He couldn’t run, nor could he hide. Only thing he could do was accept his fate. But that was easier said than done.

No matter how many times the monsters clawed at the wall with increasing might, he still wasn’t able to come to terms with his situation. It didn’t register in his mind that his own life could vanish in mere moments.

Many scholars of the Kori Soaro Courts deduce that when faced with death, the first thing to come upon a person wasn’t sadness or fear, but denial. Whether in regards to one’s own life or someone they knew, denial remained paramount when death was in the picture. That was because death, as natural as it was in nature, was inconceivable to the human mind. What happens after death? What happens during death? When do people die? The mind attempts to fill in these question, but it cannot be solved.

Fiar, no matter how scared he was, could not conceive death. Even as new cracks form in the walls, he still could not believe death was a thing that could occur to him. “I’m not dead, I can’t be!”

Surely it wasn’t him being hopeful or having determination. No, it was denial. When someone doesn’t expect death to happen to them so young when they had an entire life ahead of them, they would without a doubt deny the idea they’ll die early if someone were to tell them.

Fiar didn’t want to believe his fate. Maybe his friends would save him? He was desperate, reaching out for the smallest of straws. It would all change when one of the walls finally burst open, and all the monsters began flooding in.

“I can’t die!” Fiar yelled as loud as he could, tears streaming down his face and his eyes turning a bloodshot red.

With every step of the monsters’ powerful legs, he was closer to meeting his fate head on. No matter how much he denied it, that didn’t change reality. And no matter how much Fiar believed that he wouldn’t die, his mind forced his memories to flash before his eyes. He didn’t believe in his own death, but his body did. Although the mind was willing, the flesh was weak.

“No…” was the only thing he could say while the memories overcame him. Very, very personal memories.

X X X

Fiar wasn’t one to remember everything going on in his life. He would often forget what he had for breakfast the other day. But there was one person that he always had in his head: his wife. Sure, he remembered his family and how he grew up north of Galligar in the city of Kopris. But he still recalled every single memory that had to do with his wife.

Fiar had met his wife on the road between Galligar and Kopris. He had gotten into an argument with his parents regarding his future. Fearing he may marry a girl that they wouldn’t like or approve of, they had planned to arrange a marriage for him. But Fiar didn’t want that. All he wanted was freedom in his life. So he left his own home, with Galligar as the destination for him to find work as an adventurer.

But while he trekked on the dirt road, a curious merchant drove next to him. Holding the reins of the horses pulling a wagon that carried bushels of wheat, was a young girl with blossoming youth.

Fiar was mesmerized by her beauty. He still vividly remembered the way her light brown hair fluttered in the wind, and it dazzled like shiny caramel in the sunlight. Her green eyes were like the finest emerald gems any person could see. The girl's lips perked up into such a smile that she’d smite anyone with her deadly charisma.

To cut it short, Fiar had fallen head over heels for her on the spot. It was love at first sight. Not only was she beautiful, but she showed immense kindness, and never let a hint of uneasiness stay in the air.

The girl stared at the young man, and offered to give him a ride without a second thought. She sat with him with an enthusiastic energy that made it easy to talk to her, which made it possible for the two to talk all the way to Galligar. She knew when to talk and she knew when to listen, so Fiar never felt out of place nor awkward when he was around her.

It was a stark difference when he was living with his parents. They expected the best from him. They expected him to go down the path they had gone. But some paths weren’t made for everyone, so he felt like the black sheep of his family. He was the only one not to go through with his family’s expectations. His cousins thrived off of meeting those expectations of their own parents, it was their source of happiness. But Fiar wanted something else.

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That girl was his source of happiness. Despite being strangers, she treated him like an old friend she hadn’t seen in years.

When they finally arrived to Galligar, the girl had shoved two bushels of wheat into his hands, saying “Here’s a little gift for the road!” Fiar had taken them, but didn’t leave quite yet.

“Wait! Can I know your name? I know it’s bad manners not to introduce myself first or get the name of my helper, but—”

“Why do you worry so much about manners? You don’t have to worry about that with me. All I care is what you truly want to say, from the heart,” the girl had interrupted him, hopping off her wagon and staring at him with the biggest smile Fiar had ever seen. “My name is Isla, I’m sure it's easy for you to remember.”

“Yeah, uh, I’m Fiar. Nice to meet you!” Fiar instinctively bobbed his head down.

“What did I say about manners? You’re being way too formal with me. But I guess I’ll endure your shenanigans once again.” Isla giggled and slapped Fiar on the shoulder.

From then on, the two became friends in a city brand new to the two of them. Isla had set up a stall in the Merchant District of downtown Galligar City, so Fiar knew exactly where to find her should he want to talk to her again.

She was his go-to merchant for wheat and eggs, so he visited her often as both a customer and a friend.

It wasn’t long until his status of friend got promoted to best friend. Even on her days off, Isla would spend them with Fiar. They’d go to restaurants, go exploring in the woods outside the city, or have their own little parties at each other's house. There was never a dull day when the two of them got together to raise hell in the city.

Soon enough, the two became more than just friends. Their playful behavior towards one another morphed into that of intimacy. The two of them began holding hands as they walked through town, and their activities with one another changed.

They started hanging out at the outskirts of Galligar, by the rolling plains known for their superb picnic spots among nature. They became those two lovebirds affectionately holding each other close, hearing the faint moos of the cows in the nearby pastures. It was a surreal bliss for both Isla and Fiar, nothing but wide grins could be seen on their faces

Fiar’s strongest memory was the happiest day of his life.

One morning, Fiar had woken up with a weird feeling in his heart. He never felt it beat so quickly before. Not even in the middle of battle when he worked on the front lines in his job as an adventurer. This feeling was different from the rush and adrenaline of combat. It was butterflies in the gut. An overwhelming ardor of love.

He would finally ask Isla the question: “Would you marry me?”

As was customary of Soaran culture, Fiar would give Isla a bracelet made of bull horn material to signify their unification as one. Husband and wife.

He had the bracelet in his wobbly hands and sat down at their favorite place in the entire world, the picnic area where they often expressed themselves and showed their love to one another. He would meet her there.

The grass around him submitted under the force of the wind, only to stand right up and dance like nothing happened. White lilacs swayed back and forth like a slow dancer at a grand ball. Even the colorful leaves that blew far from their trees had slowly descended to the ground. All around Fiar was the picture of serenity.

Then Isla arrived. The grass bowed under her feet as she made her way to Fiar. She had on a white dress that matched the lilac bushes that sat right behind Fiar. And she had the brightest grin in the world.

Fiar remembered every detail, from how Isla’s day went at the merchant stall to how they both laughed at Fiar still having monster blood stains on his cloak from an adventuring quest he embarked on the other day.

Fiar sucked in air and closed his eyes. The butterflies in his stomach still ran wild, too volatile for him to contain. But he endured.

“Isla, there was something I wanted to ask you.”

“What is?” Isla tilted her head. Her emerald eyes sparkled.

“Being with you has made me the happiest I’ve ever been, so I want this to continue forever.”

Isla drew closer and placed a hand over his. She stared right into his eyes, and they narrowed while her smile widened even more.

“Would you marry—”

“Yes! Yes! I do!” Isla didn’t even miss a beat with her reply. She jumped into his arms and the two tumbled to the ground, rolling around in the grass and flowers.

“Thank you, Isla.” Fiar hugged her tighter than he had ever done before. Then he slipped the bracelet on her wrist. It was the most perfect day he could hope for.

There was no big ceremony to celebrate or honor their marriage, the two of them were content with just each other’s presence. Thus the days of friends ended, and the days as spouses started strong.

X X X

Fiar began to wail even louder. All that was in his head was his wife, the love of his life. And all he could worry about was coming home.

However, the monster advanced further, licking their lips as their meal broke down in a puddle of tears. It was an easy prey, one that was too injured to fight back or run. So they moved further, growling and opening their mouths to feast.

But they were wrong. Fiar had picked himself off the ground and grabbed a handful of stone debris from the fallen wall and began firing them at the monsters using an Accelerate spell. He let out a loud and nasty battlecry that mixed in with his sobs. They were caught off guard and blown away.

Tears still ran down Fiar’s face, but he was no longer a mess. What changed?

Love. Love changed everything. Thinking of his wife gave him a newfound resolve to fight back. A second wind. He was determined to get back home at all costs to his wife.

The other monsters regrouped and charged at Fiar, but a swift blade had diced them up to pieces before they could mount a charge.

“Kueler!” Fiar stared back at his savior. Kueler, the royal knight of Kori Soaro.

Kueler was soaked in blood and his blade was stained crimson. But he rushed to Fiar’s side and hoisted him up on his shoulders again. They both were determined to conquer death itself.

There was a saying common among military knights that goes: “Death only has power if you let it. But a will that’s as strong as steel will never die.”

A will that’s strong never dies.