Rorri

　　Pak and Kano stayed with Rorri for long enough to put on some weight, but they couldn`t stay forever - it wouldn`t be right to keep them there. They had their own lives to build, their own home to find. But they were always welcome back to Belethlian. He made sure they knew that, as any doting father would.

　　Rorri struggled with the decision, but he couldn`t bring himself to go back to Iridan. Even though the Widow had long faded into myth and legend, he was still blind, and navigating those filthy streets again without his sight would be dangerous at best. But he missed Adar terribly, even more after his son`s visit. He had forgotten what it felt like to be cared for, to have a family - a found family - and he realized he had been letting his deep, unacknowledged guilt over what happened keep him from trying to reconnect. After reading Rorri`s mind, Pak had all but commanded his father to reach out to Adar in some way, and his excuses were wearing thin.

　　So, with the M閟poulis and an enchanted egg, he persuaded a bird to fly to the city with a handwritten message that Pak helped him write:

　　Adar,

　　I love you. I`m sorry. Thank you for everything. You`re the best friend I`ve ever had. I`m in Belethlian. Come visit if you have the chance.

　　Rorri

　　 He could only hope that it would find the right silver elf, and he never really expected a response. But, weeks later, the bird came back with Adar in tow. His steel blue aura was just as Rorri remembered it, and apart from the tearful hello, they slid back into their old dynamic as if they`d never separated.

　　Adar`s boxing ring had grown into an underground militia, poised to defend Iridan`s commoners should the Guard turn against them. After the rumors spread of the vanishing Du�n murderer at the Eastern Gate, the Guard had started to post troops all over the inner side of the Wall, armed and watching the shadows. Adar was worried something would happen soon that might spark a civil war. And, he lamented, the drug trade was booming in the wake of the Wall`s occupation. Rorri wasn`t surprised - how else would the poor escape the stress of the Guard breathing down their necks? Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

　　At that thought, inspiration struck. Knowing exactly how much better and safer it was, Rorri convinced Adar to smuggle Bubbleweed to Iridan. He cultivated a huge patch of it just for the city, and Adar made regular trips back and forth. Rorri had no need for profit`, so Adar could sell it incredibly cheap, and it quickly overtook Snow in popularity and demand, no doubt saving countless souls from undignified death-by-overdose in the streets. The Bubbleweed`s stem had no thorns, no capacity to kill - just a smooth, crisp high that even Adar could approve of.

　　So Rorri stayed in Belethlian for his remaining centuries. The Forest had stabilized with Rorri at its heart, and the more tranquil it became, the more readily the stragglers followed his path. One day, he found the meaningful love that Shacia had prayed he would find, a strange and wonderful woman who lived with him for the rest of their long elven lives. He told his new partner about Shacia, and she told him about her own lost love, and they never kept secrets from each other. They grew the sort of love that soothes and heals, and nothing less.

　　And when Rorri`s son came to visit, he spoiled him as much as he could with what simple things he had. He wanted to make up for their lost centuries. He wanted to be his dad.

　　Pak

　　After Kano and I leave Belethlian (to Cabbage`s great relief), we search for a place to settle. Yelind is to the southeast, I remember, so we travel that way for a few weeks. Its giant red trees greet us just as summer gives way to autumn, not quite as dense or steeped in magic as my father`s Forest. We find a clearing and build a modest house. There`s a village nearby. I usually stay at home, and Kano goes to town for food and trade. The natives here have no interest in the War, no interest in Obsidian tungsten, and no interest in murdering me. It`s as peaceful a place as we`ll ever find.

　　We set up a sanctuary for wounded animals, just like we talked about. The villagers bring us their pets to tend to, and Cabbage leads me to places where the wounded wildlife hide. Sometimes I must summon the knife to end an animal`s suffering. It`s the greatest gift I can give when their pain is too much to bear, the only reason I ever summon it anymore.

　　And when the flashbacks come, when the nightmares creep up on me, when the voices stir from their slumber, Kano is always there. He holds me. He rocks me. He whispers in my ear. With him, I know that it`s going to be okay.

　　He`ll die before me, his life cut short by human blood, and I try not to think about it, but sometimes those thoughts come. We talk about it, and he reassures me that even then, I will never be alone. He`ll be with me, in some way, until the world`s final breath.

　　The End