“You just want us to cover the grave?” I questioned. Ruby’s response to the pit had been unexpected. I was entirely prepared to do what we had done for all the other dead, but Ruby had said the scale was too large.

“I don’t want to do what you’ve been doing for our dead. They just need to be given some respect as dead.” Ruby looked completely dejected as she spoke. Mell was still standing by her side, attempting to comfort her. He really was the best person for the job.

“That sounds good. I’ll get Elm on the job. Do you know any type of rites you’re supposed to give the dead in Boralis?” Corith’s practices were pretty simple. There was little that you did other than cremate them, then have a celebration of their memory. I had no idea how other cultures functioned, another limitation of my humble origins.

“I don’t. My tribe had its own practices. I never witnessed a funeral in Bir. I just want to give them a proper grave.” She appeared more forlorn the longer she spoke. I decided it was best to limit the conversation, as she probably didn’t need to focus on it more. I turned to Mell and nodded at him, a silent thanks for his help in consoling her.

“I promise I’ll get it all worked out by tonight. I need to check up with Sera.” I quickly explained. Ruby gave a solemn nod before I walked off into the camp. The smell of the pit was starting to remove itself from my awareness, but I occasionally got painful whiffs of it as I walked towards the center of Bir. All around me, the caravan was exploring the houses and searching for usable materials.

This all feels so wrong. I hate it.

I felt a deep dread in the pit of my stomach that was only growing the more time we spent in Bir. It was only the first day, and I could already feel my body telling me to leave as soon as possible. Once I got closer to the center, I could see Sera sitting in one of the carts, taking notes on one of the few pieces of paper Ruby had been willing to share. Sera quickly noticed my presence and beckoned me over. I jumped in the cart to sit across from her.

“So, what’s the status? Other than the overall mood of everyone here.” I added the quick aside, noting the general unhappiness that surrounded me.

Sera used her open hand to point to the east of the village. “We’ve got the penal laborers and a few others working on making more tents for us. We already had some rope, but apparently they found some left over in one of the houses. Other than that, most of the stuff in the houses are gone. No food supplies, so we only have what we took with us. A few people are saying that we should maybe do some hunting tomorrow so we can snag some extra food for the trip. Plus, I’m pretty sure it might relieve a bit of stress.”

That’s not a bad idea.

“Sure. Any paper? Ruby could probably use it.” I motioned over in the direction of Ruby, who was now wandering through the camp with Mell at her side. I hadn’t actually ordered him to stick with her, which meant he was just doing this of his own volition. “I really hope everyone in Asarn is like him.”

“Full agreement on that.” Sera added. “Oh, and Elm’s over in one of the southern buildings, checking up on all of our magore gear. He didn’t say it, but he probably wouldn’t mind some help.”

Yeah, that might be good. Help me take my mind off of everything. Plus, I wouldn’t mind spending more time with him.

I groaned as I sat up and hopped out of the cart, almost losing balance as I landed in the dirt before I began running in the direction of my mentor, the sun slowly starting to descend in the sky. I had been stalling on discussing all of my weird new powers for too long.

***

When I opened the door, I found Elm carefully tightening the bolts on a primer plate. He was standing at a large wooden dinner table that had been left untouched. A lamp had been hung in the corner, providing light.

“Well look who finally showed up.” He said, not even looking up from his work. “Get over here and grab a burner. Turns out your rebels don’t have any idea how to do basic fucking upkeep with their weapons.”

I shrugged, moving over to his side. “You really expect a bunch of slaves to know how to handle magore tech maintenance after only a week?”

Elm finally turned away from his work to glance at me. “A good number of them were combat mages. I’d expect them to have a basic understanding of how to treat a damn weapon.”

“Fair enough. I’ll get Elina to…” I stopped, having a realization mid-sentence. “I’ll get Alex to teach them some basics.”

“Heh.”

Yeah yeah. Rub it in.

“Don’t bother with Alex. Nacilians got some pride with their mages and weaponry. He wouldn’t know shit about using a burner.” He casually explained. Even as he talked, his hands moved at a brisk pace as he finished putting all of the pieces back together and throwing the finished burner to the side. “Well? You just gonna stand there? There’s a burner right in front of you that needs the spring replaced. They’re in the box, behind you.”

“On it.”

I turned to find a familiar metal box on the floor. Lifting up the top, I saw a massive trove of parts and tools, all for repairing magore weapons. As I searched through the compartments I noticed the amount of parts had changed.

“Did you take stuff from the refinery? I don’t remember us having this much supply.”

Elm chuckled. “Not like they had much use for them. Plus, we need as many as we can get if we’re going to keep fighting. Now will you get to work?”

“Sure thing, old man.”

***

We stood next to each other, repairing and checking up on countless burners. I lost track of time as all of the motions and actions seemed to meld together. It was monotonous, but it was a comforting monotony. I didn’t speak with Elm outside of exchanging tools and supplies with him. There wasn’t a good opportunity to stop at work and talk with him about all of my discoveries, so I just kept working.

The work finally stopped when Alex opened the door while looking completely out of breath.

“Oh. there you two are. Hunting trip went well, and we’ve got a spit roast going. Wanted to give you a heads up so you can maybe grab some.” Alex paused, studying the room. “Is this what you did all those nights at the camp?”

“More or less.” I responded, placing down my tools.

“Definitely less.” Elm added, nudging Alex’s focus over to the pile of repaired burners. “I might have to give a lesson on some basic upkeep so I don’t have to do this amount of shit again.”

Alex nodded before running out the door, possibly because he was expecting to get a lecture.

“We should probably head out. We can finish in the morning.” Elm started to place all of the items away, carefully organizing each of the pieces and tools.

Is now a good time?

“Hey, I wanted to talk about-”

“More weird attunement crap?” Elm interjected before I finished my sentence. “Yeah, I was waiting for you to bring up the fact you were completely unscathed after your primer stunt. Not even a single bruise. Hell, I don’t remember the last time I saw a scar on you since that day.”

Wait, what?

I didn’t have any extremely noticeable scars, but I was sure that I had a few. The mining camps were an easy place to get injured. The most notable scar I remembered was on the back of my right leg. I’d gotten it from slipping while climbing the steps and getting cut on a sharp rock that had fallen out of one of the baskets. It was a relatively small scar, but it was noticeable if you looked hard enough.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“I’m pretty sure I still have my…” I tried to argue as I lifted up my pant leg, only to find the skin unscarred as if nothing had ever happened.

“Guess you didn’t even know about that one. You’re a massive fucking headache, you know that?” Elm admitted, crossing his arms. “It’s possible that you interacting with the large magore somehow affected your internal flow, but it could go back even further. Tell me, what was the last time you felt pain from any of the injuries that Galen gave you?”

I tried to think as far back as possible, but the only time I could remember feeling pain from Galen’s injury was when we had just started our journey.

“That’s my point. I just thought you were a fast healer at first, but after that incident, it’s clear that it isn’t normal. Nothing about you can just be normal, can it?” Elm sighed, finally closing up the toolbox. “Best guess? Your flow is repairing your body on its own. It’s just gotten faster the more you’ve gotten used to your attunement. At this point you’re not even asking it for help. It’s just straight up playing favorites with your dumbass.”

I could only stand there, motionless. I had expected answers to my confusing body, not more questions.

“There’s another thing, actually.”

Elm groaned, pulling a chair from the wall and sitting down. “Well? Go ahead. It can’t get any worse for me at this point.”

I took a deep breath before I spoke. “I heard a voice when I did the primer thing. I think the mana talked back with me? When I did the thing, I asked for it to not let me die, and it said ‘Of course.’ And then everything else happened.”

Elm sat still, doubtfully searching my face.

“No. Fuck that.”

Huh?

“Kid, I want you to look me straight in the eyes and tell me that you heard the mana around you talk.” He twiddled his thumbs in frustration.

I stared him in the face, trying to hold myself from showing any emotion.

“I heard it… well it’s more like I felt it. It’s like the words just entered my thoughts. But I could tell they weren’t mine. I swear.”

At this point, I can understand why this would be so frustrating.

Elm let out a deep breath, shaking his head. I could tell that he had resigned himself.

“I give up. I’m supposed to believe the mana flow is able to talk because your dumbass heard it say ‘ok’. Am I getting this right?”

“Yes?”

Elm let out another pained groan. “God, I fucking hate you sometimes. Kid, let's keep this one for later. We can deal with all the potential implications of the universal flow of mana being conversational for another day. I’d prefer only one headache at a time.”

All that I could respond with was a shrug.

“I’ll try to, but I can’t promise. At this point, I think it’s out of my control.” I responded flatly. I picked up my igniter which I had set against the wall and strapped it over my shoulder. Elm grabbed his own burner and holstered it.

“Oh, and Ruby wants you to cover up the grave.”

“Sure. But I get first calls on the spit roast to ease the headache you just gave me.”

I smiled as I stepped out into the darkened village. “Of course.”

***

“It’s chewy.” I spent some time moving the fragen around in my mouth, trying to get it into a state where I could swallow. I was sitting at a fire with only Mell, having asked to talk with him privately. Ruby’s issues were something that I’d prefer not become a topic of gossip with how much she had on her plate.

“That’s how the wild stuff is sir. Can’t believe they’re all the way out here in Boralis.” Mell tore off another bit from his own piece. It looked a lot better than mine. “Plus, you did come a bit late. You’re going to get those types of parts.”

Well, I did actually come on time. It’s just that Elm took the good pieces that I had been offered and left me with this.

“So how is she?” I said as I finally swallowed the meat.

“Ruby is… she’s still dealing with it. I think you could probably talk with her now, but you might want to go slow. She really cared for these people, even if they weren’t her tribe. Do you want me to continue to stick with her?” Mell’s expression looked pained as he explained. I could tell that he wanted to do more for her.

God, I really hope all of Asarn is like him.

I shook my head in response. “You’ve done a lot already. I won’t stop you, but I’d at least try to work with her. She’s important to the caravan.”

“You’ll do fine sir. I trust in your judgment.” Mell smiled as he took another bite of his meat.

“Why?”

Mell paused mid bite as he raised his eyebrows.

“What do you mean by why?”

I pointed a finger towards myself. “Why do you specifically trust in my judgment?”

“Because you were the one who led the revolt. I couldn’t have done that. I don’t think anyone could have done that except for you. Even if they could, nobody had the real will to fight back like that. And you saved us from the iron chariot with that crazy plan of yours. We wouldn’t be here without you. Even if you make mistakes, you’re still pushing us forward on the right path. I trust in that, and I will continue to trust in that for as long as you continue to desire to save others.”

That was… really beautiful actually.

“Thank you Mell.”

He gave a simple nod. “Of course, sir. Ruby’s over near the grave.”

I got up and gave him a soft pat on the shoulder. It was nice knowing that I had someone like him I could rely on.

***

Ruby was sitting on the dirt, hugging her knees close to her chest. I could see her breath in the air, lit by a nearby lantern. It was a sign that winter was fast approaching. As I walked closer, she turned and wordlessly acknowledged my presence. I moved beside her and sat down in front of the newly created grave for the people of Bir.

“Hey.”

There was a break before she began to turn her head towards me. There was a tear streaking down her cheek.

“North, how much do you remember of Marlisle?” Her voice was cracking as she tried to hold back a torrent of emotion.

“Not as much as I would like. I remember the way Marlisle felt. I remember my family. I remember what our shop was like. I remember the smells of our home and the town in general. I remember the celebrations and the funerals. It’s a mix of big and small things. But the rest of it is murky. A lot of it meshes together and I can’t separate specific people from each other. There’s a lot of names that I remember that I can’t attach a person to, and the other way around. It feels like… there’s something missing. Like there’s one piece that if I found it, I’d remember everything. But I don’t know what that is.” I answered her with the painful truth that had haunted me for years. I could feel it, the memories of Marlisle slowly being replaced and removed over the time I spent as a miner. As years went by, you slowly lost more and more of yourself.

Ruby sniffled as she tried to think of a response. I knew how much she had hoped to reunite with these people. Now, she was probably one of the only people who could remember them at all. The pain was all too familiar.

“I can’t- I can’t remember them all. I want to but I can’t. And I don’t know if there’s anyone else out there who can. I just- I just don’t want to forget.” She spoke in between painful sobs.

“I know. It hurts. Every time you realize you can’t remember something, it hurts.” I could feel my own speech starting to waver. I knew her pain all too well, and this was just a big reminder of my own experience.

“But what do I do? I don’t have someone like Sera. There’s just me, and I’m already failing. I can feel them slipping. I don’t know what their voices sounded like anymore, and their faces are all wrong and I keep trying to put it back together and I know it’s going to get worse.” She was fully crying now. I could feel myself on the verge of tears as well. “Please. There has to be something.”

It was a struggle to think of an answer. Her experience and my own were so entangled in the same questions and problems. I still had to do this, and once I came upon the words, I gave it my all.

“You fight. Hold onto this memory as hard as you can. You can’t change the past, but you can stop this type of thing from happening again. There doesn’t have to be more people like us who are the last carriers of entire villages. It might not honor their memory directly, but it will at least mean that no one else has to suffer like you, me or Sera.” I took a deep breath, holding back the tears from my own eyes. “And if you don’t want to carry them alone, share it. You might not have all the parts, but I’d still like to hear the stories you have of these people. Stories are how places like Bir survive. Don’t let them die with you.”

I locked eyes with her and opened my arms for an embrace, and we hugged. I softly patted her on the back as she cried into my shoulder. I looked off in the distance to see Mell with a lamp in his hands, giving me a soft smile of approval. I had no idea how long he had been there, but he looked pleased. I nodded, sending him on his way in the night.

After a period of time which I couldn’t gauge, she finally backed away from my embrace and sat back down. There was a lot less pain in her expression since I’d given her a moment to be vulnerable.

“Thank you, North. For everything.”

“No problem. So, want to tell me about Bir?”

Ruby could only take a moment to laugh at herself, wiping the tears from her eyes.

“Yeah, of course. Oh, where do I start? I guess the village chief would be good. I know she had a name, but no one called her that. Most people just called her Chief. She was a really tall lady and She had a really big sharp nose. I think the village kids called it ‘the mountain of Bir’, which I found really funny. However, she very much didn’t.”

I laughed in response, thinking back to my own past. She was smiling as she told me stories, something she hadn’t really done since she had arrived here.

I listened to her throughout the night, hearing about the people and tales she could recall from all of her visits. Even as the night grew darker, the air lacked any form of chill. By the time that morning came to the town of Bir, I would be the second person to carry its story.