Later that same day, Yarro had made it home with Kael, and had promptly collapsed on the nearest couch. His mother had let them in, and having been on the way out with his siblings for groceries. Kael sat next to him with a loud groan, and he adjusted his head so it rested on the man's lap. "I think it's finally time to go back to Dawic," Yarro said.

“Dawic is miles away from every town in the country,” Kael replied.

“Not to New Inaston. It’s right there on the other side of those mountains. We could borrow some earth elementalists and tunnel under the mountains. Make the trip quicker and safer from the rain and snow. We can sell any ore we find to the treasury to make some quick cash, and invest it back into Dawic.” Yarro laid out his plans for the town's future. Ideas flowed like water as all of his thoughts on the matter finally came to the front of his mind.

Kael was silent for a moment as he considered the idea. “And with the lack of resources in our country, a new, shorter trading route with Lacruss could bring Dawic back to life. But that's a lot of earth to get through.”

“It doesn’t have to be all at once. We can take our time and carve it out bit by bit, while we set up trade and build up the town.”

“We?”

Yarro stopped. A split second of fear showed on his face. He was subconsciously including Kael in all of his plans. He thought the man had already agreed to stay with him. Maybe it was just for the quest, and he didn’t mean a life-long commitment. “Oh, I-I just thought…”

Kael smiled softly and kissed him on the forehead. “No, you were right. I love how you include me without a second thought. But this doesn’t have anything to do with your overwhelming guilt in not saving Dawic, does it?”

Yarro sat up in a rush to prove his innocence. “No! I'm honoring them, and with my Demideity abilities, I have a real shot at protecting the town now than ever. I want to set up a graveyard for them, yes, but they would want the town to keep going. Most of them had families that were there since it first settles.”

Kael took his hand and gently ran his thumb over it. “You don’t have to be the town’s sole protector. You’ll have me.” Yarro sighed in relief and his heart rate returned to normal. Kael really scared him for a moment there.

“Thank you. Maybe in time I will feel like it’s not all my fault, but not right now.”

“Alright, alright. Take your time, love. I’ll still be here.”

Yarro smiled. “Really?” Kael nodded and gave him a little kiss on the cheek. They talked for hours on how to get the help they needed revive Dawic. Suppliers. Contractors. Construction. Paperwork needed to turn into the Lord Chancellor. And most importantly, people to live in it.

Then his mother came back, siblings trailing from behind with arms full of food. He sat up to greet them all, and told him of his plan to help Dawic. His mother smiled. "Oh?" she said, "You're going to become mayor?"

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

"I... yeah. I will." A small smile crept up on him as it finally dawned him.

"If you become mayor of Dawic, you could do all those things you want, and very little could deny you with that authority. But it would be a lot of work. You will be more likely to deal with farmers squabbling over the property lines their cows cross, or spats between divorced spouses arguing over who owns the broom." Her eyes turned sharp and she examined him closely, looking for any signs of faltering. "So? Will you become mayor?"

If he wanted to revive Dawic, and honor all of those lost in the attack, he would do anything. Becoming mayor was simply the easiest method to do so. Yarro nodded. "Yes. I will become the mayor of Dawic."

They set things in motion the very next day. With a plan formulated and written down, and the paperwork filled out, they easily gained approval from Lord Chancellor Quince, though Yarro suspected he would have done so without it. It was easier to keep a town running than going through the process of shutting it down, and here someone willingly stepped up to handle all the work of mayorship. At first the idea of a tunnel from Dawic to New Inaston seemed preposterous, but with much convincing from the two of them, the plan was approved and they were allowed to rebuild the town with Yarro as its mayor.

Yarro began by letting the elderly couple know they were going back, and asked the weekly trader who had come by before to return. Luckily he did, as the trader had heard the disaster that had happened and wasn't planning on coming back. It would have been quite the emergency if the trader hadn't shown up on schedule.

Next, he set up a job notice for earth elementalists specializing in construction. A decent amount turned up in Dawic the next day. He bid his time for as many to arrive as he could by making blueprints for the tunnel to New Inaston and sending letters to the neighboring town requesting help on their end. With some makeshift shelter, and a huge help from the elders for feeding them, the first arrivals cleaned up the town and made a graveyard, which Yarro helped dig and bury.

Over the next days, weeks, and even months, the town of Dawic slowly gained a steady stream of new people, not just earth elementalists. It became a bustling trade town after the bodies were properly buried in the new graveyard. Slowly, more and more people had come to help create the tunnel to go to New Inaston. Those on the other side did eventually end up helping tunnel out their end after some bureaucratic issues. It was quite the headache for Yarro to deal with.

Once the tunnel was complete, the trade that came in helped transform Dawic from a tiny little mining town into a small bustling city after only two decades. With the energy crystals from Lacruss, and the food Listhua could spare sent out, along with various other personal traders passing through, the trade made both countries prosperous.

Even their wedding was held in Dawic, with the entire town in attendance. Yarro's family took the trip out to attend, as well as Kael’s commander, since that was all the man had in terms of family. But now, he also had Yarro to call family. The entire town gussied up and decorated their homes in celebration. A huge feast was held in the town square. Everyone brought a little something to share.

At one point it was almost like the mine massacre never happened. It was hard for Yarro to believe it at times. Some days, the thoughts slipped out of his mind. Other times it was all he could think about, and would spend hours at the grave or in the mine where they had found the resting place of the Master Earth Elemental. Yarro had built a small shrine in it, the room now empty of any elemental. The town knew to leave him alone on those days, and instead went to Kael.

It was always going to be hard living in Dawic, no matter how successful it became, and Yarro knew that. He was fine with it. The feelings of that day may dwindle to just a small ember and become more manageable, but it would never leave him. And the world will always be needing to be cleaned up from any "corruption" the Deities deemed. But right now, for the moment, fixing up Dawic was just enough.

The End.