The Last Red Year

EPILOGUE

It is the end of March in the 2106th Red Year, and there is no running water in Penncradle. It might be an exaggeration to say there still is a Penncradle at all.

    The townsfolk have tried their best to keep things up and running, but the city was built on magic, and now the walls are crumbling. A yellow mage walks down a cracking street, wondering if now that the golden light has drained from their deep brown eyes, they count as a mage at all.

    Kizlane of Sintasibla has made plans to return home. But they have a few matters to attend to first.

    There's no Royal Guard anymore. Not in what's left of Penncradle, at least. Lilinore's parent is going to have to find a new job. They're planning on leaving, too, once the snow melts. Heading north, or maybe south. Anywhere away from this cursed mountain. Anywhere away from these wretched memories.

    The smell of bacon drifts from their house--there's a fire going in the stove, pleasantly warm against the late winter chill. Spring is coming, soon. It won't be long now. Kizlane knocks on the door, wincing at how their joints ache with the motion. They can't tell if all their new aches and pains are from that last blast of magic or if they're just getting old.

    Conny swings open the door, their puff of black hair tied neatly in a bun. "Mage Kizlane! It's so good to see you," they say, offering Kizlane their hand to shake. "I was hoping you would come. Lili has been asking for you."

    "Just Kizlane, s'all right. I'm not a mage anymore." Kizlane steps inside, taking off their hat. It's a very Amphirian design--a wide brim and a high crown, fitting perfectly with their poncho and their thick Bay accent. If they're going home soon, they figure they ought to look the part. "Ain't nobody's a mage anymore. An' I say it's better that way."

    "Of course. Of course," Conny says apologetically. "Lili, sweetheart, can you come downstairs? Kizlane is here."

    "I'm coming!" Lilinore calls back, running down the stairs. Conny smiles sadly at them--they and Kizlane have kept up over the weeks since the Barrier was sealed. They know full well that this is the happiest Lilinore has been in a long time.

    "Hey, you!" Kizlane scoops Lilinore up, though they aren't able to hold them for long. Either the kids are getting heavier or they've just gotten weaker. "I told you I'd come. Bacon an' fashion magazines." If Kas can't make good on their promise, I'll make good on it for them, they think only to themself. "I guess we gotta make it special, eh? They ain't got the printing presses runnin' anymore, last I heard."

    Lilinore nods, sitting down at the dining table and patting the chair next to them. Kizlane sits down too, taking their hat off and hooking it on the back of the chair as Lilinore pulls out their magazine. "This one's from January," Lilinore says. "They didn't make one in February, because..." They don't finish their sentence. They both know how it ends. With the monsters all chased out of Amphire, everything beyond the essentials must've been shut down. Kizlane has no idea what kind of country they'll be going home to. They don't know if it'll still be a country at all by the time they've crossed the waters of the bay.

    They feel sorry for Lilinore. It must be hard, growing up at the end of the world.

    Conny serves them bacon, and they flip through the magazine with Lilinore for a while, none of them saying anything meaningful. There will be real goodbyes later, when Kizlane has packed up what little they own. The only thing that matters to them is Stachi, really. That damned cat has kept them sane these past few weeks. They don't know what they'd do without it.

    "I ought to get goin'," they say, putting their hat back on their head. "It was good to see you. You hang in there, Lili. I know...I know things are hard right now, but you're a tough kid. I know you'll be all right." They pull Lilinore into a hug, blinking hard to rid their eyes of tears. There's no time to cry quite yet.