At least three hours had passed before the last of the refugees had begun to make their way out of the tavern. After having been fed, they were off into the night to search for a place where they could sleep. A few whispered words of thanks as they left, but most were still too traumatized to speak. Sera watched them with heart wrenching sympathy. Recent events would soon have her leaving her home as well, but at least she would be leaving with her home in one piece. The thought of watching everything she knew crumble behind her was too great to fathom.

The aura that exuded from these broken people felt like a weight on Sera’s soul almost as heavy as the feeling of responsibility that she now felt for them. If she had decided to ignore what she had discovered of herself since the night before, these would not be the only people to suffer at the hands of the Chimera. These would not be the only people whose fate would be left at the mercy of Sephra.

Sera shuddered at the thought. Not only had she read of Sephra’s “mercy”, she had seen it first-hand in Celeste’s memory. Stripped of their dignity, robbed of their happiness, their very spirit wrenched from them; that’s what awaited mankind should Sera turn away from the path that destiny had laid before her.

Mankind had lost sight of the truth, regarding the tales of angels and demons as fantasy. Telling that the Chimera were simply animals that threatened their wellbeing. All of it was a lie that they fooled themselves into believing, fooled into believing that they could escape their fate by their own merit. It was a lie that they had accepted in order to combat the fact that without Celeste, all was lost. The truth was that only by the power of Celeste, could they be saved, a power that now rested in Sera. It was Sera and Sera alone that could stop Sephra. Only by her efforts could mankind be saved. It wasn’t a path that she wanted to walk, but there was no real choice.

Chilse had left a short time after their talk. As the girls closed the door behind the last of the refugees before cleaning up the place, Sera caught her father and the two rangers together long enough to inform them of her decision. Sera would have laughed at the sight of Cabrin in an apron had she not been so weighed down with the significance of what she was about to say.

It wasn’t a lengthy speech of virtue or valor like in the children’s stories. It wasn’t the lofty words of honor or commitment spoken by some inspiring hero. It was the simple reluctant acceptance of responsibility from a young girl which could only come out in those two quiet words. “I’m going.”

The four of them stood in silence for a moment before Akane spoke.

“A hero is not one who claims greatness.” She said, in a tone that was uncharacteristically calm and reassuring. “A hero is one who acts when greatness is thrust upon them.”

Sera looked up with a pained smile, thankful for the words of encouragement. Even her father bowed his head in an unwilling acceptance of it all.

“It’ll take us about a week to get to Bastion,” Cabrin said. “We should go as soon as we can.”

Sera nodded, sorrowfully. “Tomorrow, then?”

“We’ll meet you at the north gate.” He said, bowing his head in confirmation.

Together with Simon’s staff, the four of them finished cleaning up the tavern in silence. When they had finished, Cabrin and Akane wished them a good night and left Sera and Simon to be alone.

The two of them spent the time they had left to think fondly of their past. They reminisced about the days when Sera was young and growing up. Simon laughed as he recalled every adorable thing that his daughter did in her childhood and smiled with every experience that he had shared in raising her together with her mother before she passed. Sera wondered what became of a person’s soul when they no longer lived. She wondered aloud if her mother’s spirit somehow lived on and what she would think if she could see her daughter now. The two of them laughed together and they cried together, completely unashamed and without restraint.

As Sera laid in bed that night, she wondered at what the future would have in store for her. What would it be like to be away from her father, her home, her life? What terrors would she face and what kind of person would be left in her place when it was all over? As her worries mounted within her, a thought crossed her mind.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

You have no need to worry, the promise of success is in you.

With all her fears and dread, Sera had no idea where such a thought would even come from, but it did much to ease her troubled mind. Peacefully, Sera slowly slipped into sleep.

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Sera awoke like she had every morning save for the one before. She spent a moment sitting by her open window, watching the few early risers go about setting up for their day as a pink dawn cast its hues upon the town below. She got herself dressed and made her way downstairs to begin her chores, gleaning beer mugs, emptying waste, and the list of other things that she took care of every morning. She had been finishing inventory when her father came into the kitchen and began preparing breakfast which they then ate together in silence. It was a morning like every other for as long as Sera could remember, save for one inescapable fact. It would be their last morning together.

As they cleaned up after themselves, Sera told him that she had a few things she wanted to take care of before setting off on her journey to Bastion.

“I’ll meet you at the gate, then.” Simon said, quietly. “Don’t leave before I see you.”

She smiled a sad, warm smile. “I won’t.”

Sera spent her last hour in Rivera going around and wishing farewell to those who she had spent her entire life knowing. She offered goodbyes to Chelsie, Steven and his mother, even Tristan Feller, as irritating as he could be. She shared embraces with her friends, gave sad smiles to various shop owners, and shook hands with Mayer Reigner. As she crossed the bridge which led to the merc camp to say goodbye to Chilse and John, Sera looked sympathetically over the various refugees who huddled here and there. It was all for them, she thought. It was all so that what happened to them would not happen with anyone else.

When Sera arrived at the camp, she was confused when she found that Chilse’s tent was gone. She couldn’t even find John to ask after her. Though she had only met them just the day before, the two mercs had done so much for her in their own way. It tore at her heart, leaving without seeing them one last time, but as the sun climbed over the mountain range in the east, she knew she couldn’t delay any longer.

The north gate awaited her with the sounds of men beginning their work to complete it. Two rows of long, thick logs had been planted into the ground with stone and dirt filled in as it ringed the town. What drew Sera’s attention, however, were the massed figures who weren’t there to work.

People milled about, embracing friends and loved ones. Wives, children, mothers and fathers all stood with tears in their eyes and grim expressions. Sera could see her father speaking with Cabrin and Akane as they awaited her. She then saw why Chilse and John couldn’t be found at their camp as they were among those piling crates and sacks into two horse-drawn carts along with several other mercs.

As she approached, John called out to Sera, drawing the attention of Chilse as well as her father and the two Asunese rangers.

“Morning, Sunshine!” Chilse called as the two women came together.

"You heard I was leaving." Sera smiled, relieved that she wouldn’t miss seeing her friend “You came to say goodbye?”

“Came to say goodbye?” John said approaching them. “We’re coming with you.”

“At least as far as Volknest.” Chilse added in answer to Sera’s confusion. “We’ve decided to leave the band and help get these people’s homes back.”

Sera looked around at the crowd there. Mercs worked with determination in their eyes. A handful of town’s men stood awkwardly speaking with a couple of seasoned veterans. Even a few women, who couldn’t fight would be joining to help in any way they could. It was an atmosphere of grim hope, a scene as sad as it was inspirational.

As the sound of wooden wheels grinding against the gravel sounded their departure, Cabrin made his way over to Sera, followed by Akane. “Looks like they’re setting off. I didn’t expect this, but we should stick with them as long as we can.”

His lips pressed together as he gave her a sympathetic look. “It’s time for goodbyes.”

Sera looked across the way to Simon who stood alone, stoically. His face didn’t betray it outright, but she knew her father long enough to see the grief in his eyes. She ran to him and he hugged his daughter in a firm embrace. “I love you, Daddy.”

“I know, Sweetheart. I love you too.” As she pulled away, he looked her in the eyes as tears began to betray him. “You come back to me, you hear?”

Sera smiled as she wiped away her own tears. “I will.”

And with that, she was off, stealing glances over her shoulder as the north gate grew further and further away, saving every last image of her father’s haunting, pained gaze in her mind. When she had lost sight of him completely, she cried.