☀️ Arselia and Akonia

"Pets won't go to heaven or hell, and their lives are almost never longer than those of their masters, even in such a dangerous endeavor as ours," thought Erefir. "The Nightmare took them quickly, depriving them of the small spark of spirit they had. They suffered little, unlike Candle, who, I don't know, did what when I was gone, and how long she lived... But in general, reasoning this way, I should think again about whether the situation with my empathy is normal, or am I just trying to play the role of a human? Maybe I was moved from my world because it was easy with my lighthearted soul, and I am almost a bio-golem?"

- I know it's hard for you to be broken by someone else's death... But you're not made of iron. Not yet," she smiled sadly, "even though you're doing everything to become one. I saw you looking at Eclipse... I'm sorry. He was wonderful.

The girl nodded, as did Alaria, allowing the latter to burn the pegasus.

Miss Darvening herself stood by the memorial... From the outside, it seemed as if she was paying tribute to the fallen Cridearans, and that was partly true, but partly because she was thinking. Her fears that the enemy would try to take advantage of the situation had not disappeared. The probability that the enemy had known about Cridear for a long time and had sent an agent to the area, who, of course, knew how to survive a dragon attack in a way that was incomprehensible to her, was close to 100%. But he didn't steal the stone. Most likely, he, like the Carneolians, was not aware of the nuance that a hopeless heart is more dangerous and unstoppable than all the others combined.

It was sad that, due to the tragedy, various political squabbles would begin soon. The deceased people, whose tragedy should be elevated in the plaintive songs of minstrels, would instead serve as a foundation for disgusting political speeches, and it would be difficult to do anything about it... Yes, it would not be easy. Again, everything went too smoothly on their mission. It would be much easier to sell the story of how the servants of the crown sacrificed themselves to save the empire from the dragon, but now opinions were destined to diverge: some would praise their heroism, while others would ask: "Where were you when the dragon attacked, why did you come so late? If so many people died, what is the point of your 'feat,' it would have been better if you had died too! It's your job to die in war, not innocent civilians, isn't it? So why are you alive, and they are dead?"

The balance in the empire now felt fragile. It was funny that a few months ago, Erefir had said the same thing to Amamius when they were flying to Tais, and he hadn't believed it. Nevertheless, the situation was not hopeless, no matter how cunning Tao was, they still had opportunities to prevent the empire from going into a steep dive. They had to restore people's hope at all costs.

***

A little earlier, somewhere under the mountain, in a cozy, warm stone hut near a crib, sat an elderly gnome in large glasses, and in the crib was a baby gnome, especially tiny, if you compare him to human children. The great-grandmother was telling her great-grandson some kind of fairy tale, and you could hear her slightly shuffling, but so soothing voice...

"And then the little gnome said to the tin soldiers, 'I'm not afraid of you! I may be smaller than you, but my heart is bigger than yours! As long as I stand in your way, you won't touch the queen!' The girl conjured a strong, strong flame from her hands, and the tin soldiers were afraid to approach her, fearing that they would melt... Meanwhile, the queen stood on a cliff with balloons in her hands and didn't know what to do and how to escape from the soldiers, but suddenly a strong wind blew, whoosh..."

Feeling that the baby had fallen asleep, the old woman sighed and stopped, and adjusted the baby's blanket. "Well, I have such granddaughters. Lovers of adventures... One went to earn money and then didn't return, and news of her is sad... The other abandoned a child and is somewhere with a boyfriend... She travels around. They don't think about me at all."

A terrible rumble rolled through the dungeons, unlike anything that had happened before, causing two stalactites to fall directly onto the sturdy roof of the hut. The baby woke up and cried in fright.