We marched through the night. By morning we reached the Northern Plain where there was no chance of surprise attacks. Still we kept moving forward through the day and stopped only an hour before sunset. We set up camp. The legionaries started fires and preparing dinner. Everyone was exhausted and still in shock from the Orc attack. It was a cold, clear night, with a full moon. After we ate Tiberius got up to his feet and toasted to the dead by spilling some of the beer on the white snow. We followed his lead. Then he sat down and he and the commander started talking.

“What were Orcs doing so far south? And how did they get past the Dwarven fortresses and their rangers?” commander wondered.

“No idea. It worries me. Was this attack an odd coincidence? Or something more sinister?”

“What else could it be? Bloody bad luck, that’s all,” the commander frowned.

“If I were Alec, what best way to neutralize both Vetulonia and Dwarvenlands than to initiate another Orc invasion?”

“Pretty far fetched if you ask me, Tiberius. Orcs cannot be reasoned with. They don’t even speak our words. How could the League coordinate such a thing with these vile beasts?”

“Perhaps you’re right. One thing is certain… Time will unveil this mystery.”

Nobody got much sleep that night. I was turning in my sleeping bag till morning, half asleep, half awake, half mad, half lucid. At one point the smell of Orcs woke me. I jumped to my feet, ready to fight only to realize everything was calm and still. Later on Julia appeared and crawled into my bag, whispering words I didn’t recall after awakening. Then in early morning I heard the sound of clashing metal outside my tent. I was convinced the Orcs attacked again, killing all of our guard. Once more I jumped to my feet only to realize it was my imagination. This time I decided I’d had enough and crawled out of my tent. I felt drained from all the walking and lack of sleep. It was still dark. I headed towards the nearest fire to get warm and try to eat something. I found Otho there, chewing on a piece of old bread and some dry meat. He was sitting on a small chest.

“You look rested,” he joked, but with dry sarcastic tone. I said nothing and sat next to him.

“Are you well?” he asked and stopped eating. I shrugged my shoulders.

“Tired, I guess. I can’t wait we get back home,” I yawned.

“There is no home, Antonius. Not anymore.”

“There isn’t?"

“No… Remember the night we all went to the spa? The last day of Academy… How playful and exciting the future seemed then! How entering this so called adult life felt good, felt right, felt meaningful. Even liberating! We will never again be like that. We will never again feel so confident about things to come. The moment you enter adulthood is the beginning of the end. Our parents will start dying, one after another, our friends as well. From now on it’s loss after loss… But somehow, this uncertainty raises the stakes, you know? Making beautiful things matter even more.”

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

“I must admit,” I said with a raspy voice, “the nature of everything being transient does fill me with fear. Yes, I know, I know… Focus on this moment, right now, the only true way of existing! But this fear I speak of... Despite me being present, sometimes even detached from my thoughts and feelings... This fear lurks around, whispers words of uncertainty. I don’t know. I probably don’t make much sense. Mornings are not my domain.”

Otho offered me a plate with bread and meat, but said nothing. Just as I finished my meal Tiberius came out of nowhere and sat on the chest next to ours. Although he appeared as if he was drained of life force, somehow he still radiated confidence.

“How are you boys holding up?” he asked while taking a deep breath.

“Fine,” Otho and I mumbled.

“You did good, Antonius.”

“What do you mean?” I blushed.

“You knocked down an Orc twice your size. Without shield, without sword, without armor… That takes bravery. If you hadn’t done that he could have stricken down a few more legionaries on the other side, opening another gap. And that would not be good.”

“Julia died defending me,” I managed to utter before bursting into a violent cry. I started choking and tears flooded my cold cheeks. I wanted to say something, not sure what, but all that came out of me were non-comprehensive words. Somehow I calmed myself down, but tears still ran down my face. Tiberius stood up and walked towards me. He dropped to his knee and put his arms on my shoulders. I was ashamed, ashamed of everything, of not being tougher, of crying, and most importantly – of Julia’s demise.

“What happened to Julia is not your fault. What happened to Julia is not your fault. It's not your fault.”

“I know, I know,” I nodded, not believing my own words. Then I gave into another tantrum, crying and shaking. Tiberius hugged me like only a father could. He held me tight, whispering it was not my fault. Eventually he succeeded in calming me down and right about then, it was Otho who started sobbing! He wept while staring down at the white snow. His sorrow nudged me out of my own miserable state of mind. Immediately I forgot about my grief and instinctively wanted to hug and comfort him.

Tiberius smiled first at Otho, then at me, and said:

“One I can handle, but two?” His joke lightened the mood and we all silently laughed, despite Otho and I still crying. After a while our tears ran out. Tiberius then sat again on the chest next to us and started eating.

“I will miss Julia. The same as I miss Octavia. Titus told you be about her? You know what I find funny, even absurd? I don’t remember her anymore. I don’t recall how she sounded like, I don’t recall her smile. I know that she had brown hair and green eyes. I know she had full lips. I know what her favorite book was. But I don’t remember her. Sometimes I wish I had a painting of her, or a statue, anything. Her father, although wealthy, was a heavy cheapskate. Miserable fool! He never commissioned a painting or a sculpture of his daughter. I always wondered if he regretted that.

Time is a merciless teacher, it doesn’t let you keep anything, not even memories. The other day Julia reminded me of one night we all went to the spa. Right before the island thing happened. I had forgotten about that! How could I have forgotten, it was such a beautiful night?! Makes me wonder what else I have forgotten. I talk to her, you know? Every day. Every single day. Mundane things, nothing important. Yet I don’t remember her. Who am I talking to then? A symbol of sorts! But what kind of symbol? A symbol of what? My longing? My hurt? My pain? And now I have someone else I can converse with… Julia. But Antonius – what happened was not your fault. It could have gone the other way and you could’ve died defending her. It’s battle. It’s life. Things happen. People perish.”

He finished the plate and stood up from the chest. He looked at us with his dark blue eyes, his face unshaven, but still young looking and handsome.

“Everything flows, nothing remains,” he sighed and went back to his tent.