Vuroth's Tear: Even the Gods Cry

Chapter 48

Chapter 48

Donovan stood alone at the front of the ship while it docked in Krenton. Past the decaying docks, what was once a beautiful port town of simple stone buildings that housed fishermen and their families, was nothing more than a decrepit pile of rubble. Donovan felt a sinking in his gut, he had always known the place was a tomb, but to him, this place had always been home.

Each crumbled building he saw sparked a memory for him and for every happy memory he had, there was sorrow to accompany it. He slammed his fist down on the rail and turned to see Aven standing silently next to him. He wondered how long Aven had been there without him knowing but in the end, it didn't matter.

"I hate to see Krenton like this," Donovan whispered and Aven nodded.

"This place has seen better days, but then again, so have we," Aven tapped the hilt of Quicksilver on the railing, "we should head out, Don. If we survive Travidon, we can come back and maybe try to rebuild. We could restore Krenton to the place we once knew."

"Do you really think we have a chance against Tola?" He shook his head at Aven, "I think we are heading to our death."

Aven sat on the railing and let out a long sigh, "What we are heading towards is a battle worth fighting, a cause worth dying for. Verik knew that and so did Quinn, if I'm going to die in Travidon, it will be with Quicksilver in my hand, and I'll be damn sure that Tola's heart stops before mine."

Donovan stared silently at Aven and after a long silence, he grinned, "Alright, let's go"

They met Velana and Kass at the top of the ramp to the docks and all four of them stared down at the rotting wood, unsure that it would hold them.

Cap pushed through them with a confident trot, "What's the matter, don't like a little danger?" He laughed and started down the ramp until he made it onto the soft, creaking wood of the dock, "Come on. Just, um, it would be best to go one at a time."

Donovan looked at the others and ran his hand through his hair before heading down to follow Cap. He could feel the wood bend under his weight, and heard it crack with each step. He hurried across until he was on solid ground and waited for the others. One by one they made it to Donovan and each gave a sigh of relief as their feet hit the soft dirt just beyond the dock.

"Well, my boys and I are going to head back to Strahan Port. Please come find me when everything settles down," Cap held his hand out to Aven, "it's an honor to have helped you, my boy. Your father would be proud."

"Thank you, Cap, I don't know what we would have done without your help," Aven shook the old man's hand, "be careful."

Cap grunted and looked back at his ship, "Oh, I'm always careful. You just do what you gotta do to make this kingdom safe again."

Velana gave the old man a hug and then he walked back to his ship, shouting orders for the crew to prepare the ship to leave again.

Donovan turned and stared at one of the crumbled piles that had once been a building and began to walk towards it. Aven told Kass and Velana to stay put for a minute before he chased after his friend. Donovan stopped and stood in front of the ruins.

"This is it, huh? Aven asked, confident that he knew what it was that Donovan stared at.

"Yeah, this was home," Donovan responded almost mechanically, "It looks like someone buried the dead."

"Yeah, I saw that," Aven looked at Donovan, he knew the look in his eyes, he knew what emotion he saw in his friend. Loss, regret, the pain that accompanied it all.

Donovan looked in the distance at the group of large stones sticking up to mark the graves. He didn't have to be close to know that none of the graves were named, "I don't even know which one is his."

Aven didn't know what to say, "At least he got a burial," was all that came to mind.

Donovan slowly nodded, "Yeah, at least he got that."

Donovan walked to the graves and stood silently, staring at them all. Aven stood next to him while Velana and Kass stood by the dock, staring out at the water.

"We should be leaving. We need to get to Travidon," Kass said to Velana with his gift.

She looked at him, "I know, as do they. Give Don some time to grieve."

"His father has been dead for years. How is he still so affected by it?" Kass responded.

Velana looked at him, wondering how he could be so detached and cruel but she quickly realized, it wasn't cruelty, it was true curiosity. Kass truly didn't understand. She tried to explain, "It's not about how long someone is gone, people need closure. For Donovan, it is about honoring his father. It may have been quite some time since his father died but he was never able to pay his respects. You and I, the way our people were, honoring our dead is different from others. My pack, death was a natural part of life. We lived and hunted, mated and raised pups of the pack as a community. When one from my pack died, it was tragic but the sadness passed quickly."

Kass understood very well, "My tribe, death was more than just natural, it was common. We were warriors, trained to be deadly from a young age. Some children would die in training and we saw it as a blessing, weakness being purged from the bloodlines and from my people. To others, it may seem cruel but to us, death in battle, even during training, is an honor."

Velana didn't voice her feelings about how cruel she thought it was, the death of a child should never be acceptable. She looked at Kass and realized that she and him were, in many ways, complete opposites. They were so different, even down to the way that they were raised and yet somehow, they fought for the same purpose, saving the kingdom.

Donovan turned around and called to them, "Let's go."