Ashes and Kingdoms

Without further explanation, he pulled himself into his room. The leftover faces look at each other anxiously, speculate in a whisper, and inflate ominous imaginations. Walt gave an assault order to Dragon Marquis, who would not come out of the room after a full day, to remain morale involved.

"This is the time for you. Come hang out with your pretty face, Dragon Marquis."

"Doesn't sound like a compliment"

It was Nellis and Mac who said it back with their mouths together. Nellis snorted, not giving a gap to the docile Valt to say anything.

"I was just about to go check on you, even if you didn't tell me."

Yeah, and Mac nodded, too, and took the basin with all the evidence and all the meals in his hand. No matter how dragon marquis, I don't think he's fine with spending an entire day without drinking or eating. Like a light mouth in the mountains, your heart will be hungry, even if you never feel comfortable with it.

Seeing that concern between the two of them, Fauna, who prepared the meal, stroked Mac and Nellis' head with heartfelt delight.

"You guys are really good kids."

"Stop it, Mother."

I don't like Nellis because he sneezes my head. Mac was silent, enduring a temptation between his wounded self-esteem and just a little joy.

Either way, the two entrusted with full powers never turned to Finn's room. As always, the door remains shut. Nellis glanced at Mac and slapped him gently.

"Brother, can I come in?

"I brought you some bread and soup."

There was no immediate response to the voice disguised as normal as possible. The two face each other again. Mac lowered his voice.

"Simply sleeping."

"Then I'll jump on the bed and crush you"

Where Nellis roared, the door opened and Finn peeked at the bitter smile.

"I'm not Little Suke anymore, so if you crush me now, I'm really going to go to sleep"

"disrespectful! If you were awake, come and eat for yourself!

Totally handy, and outraged, Nellis walks into the room slightly. Finn clasped his neck like he was afraid, so Mac also laughed a little and followed Nellis.

"Everyone's worried. Look at this, my brother's share."

"Oh, thank you. I totally forgot."

Finn tells the audience in a light tone and receives a basin of meals. I put it on the small table of the prep, lowered my hips in the round chair and took the spoon in my hand, but did not immediately try to eat it. My mind is not here, and I am holding a blur and a spoon.

Nellis and Mac sat side by side on the bunk and waited patiently, but Finn watched the universe in silence forever. Finally Nellis cut the paralysis.

"Brother, if you don't tell me what's bothering you, at least eat it. The soup's gonna get cold."

"Hmm...... oh yeah"

I'm sorry, I apologize and finally carry the bean soup into my mouth as I recall. Mac sighed frightened.

"Eat in the sky and don't spill it."

Oh, and Finn peeled. I cough up a stiff cheek, and finally, as my consciousness is clear, I turn around laughing.

"You don't look very good spraying either. Give me a break."

"I don't expect your brother to look good."

Nellis stabs me in the face relentlessly. Mac also laughed at this. Finn looked a little hurt and showed it, but soon he laughed himself off.

Finn finally gets back to how he always is, so Nellis and Mac relieve themselves and smile at each other from either side. To their attitude, Finn apologized once again, "I'm sorry."

"I was thinking a little bit. You got me worried."

"Nothing. I'm not worried," Nellis slaps his usual hatred. "Everybody's so loud. I left you alone, because I'm talking about your brother, and I've decided to act on my own."

"... really bad, sorry, apologize, this is right"

"Are you reflecting?

"From the bottom of my heart"

Finn answered very seriously and even raised his right hand to the sign of the oath, so Nellis decided to forgive him there too.

"I hope so. Then you'll tell us too."

Correct posture and ask the expression again. What happened?

Finn was often silent and took a bite or two of the soup before answering slowly.

"You guys would be okay to talk about it. But promise me you won't say anything."

On the ominous foreground, Mac also becomes a serious face. To the two nodded, Finn told them without covering up what had happened in the mountains.

"How can you deceive a family of darkness? Easy, but hard."

Blue fog said so with his usual serene expression, rather than shuddering. To Finn, who became puzzled as to what he meant, he signals to follow him and walks away from the settlement.

A short walk led me out onto a cliff overlooking the rock at the bottom of the valley. Finn, standing beside the blue mist, fell dangerously at that moment at the signs of crawling from his feet, and flew in a hurry.

"Become... what the hell is this place!

If you see it normally, it's just a small valley. But as soon as I was slightly aware of the dragon's eyes, it was transformed into a pit of darkness falling into Naruto. There are still a few signs of the Dark Families, but rather there is just, nothing - light, life, hope, all emotions.

Every day he looked back at the fin, and the blue mist answered pale.

"It's where we give our lives."

……

Rather than wanting to know, Finn was driven by the urge to get away with blocking his ears. But if you ask, you won't get an answer. Continue to talk to Finn's grid who somehow stuck around, whether he noticed the blue fog or not, in an unchanged manner.

"Now that you have become Dragon Marquis of Deia, you will somehow know what conflicting darkness prefers. Death and silence, sleep, despair and giving up..."

Line up words that are difficult to make good sense to humans. But the words closing them were completely unexpected to Finn.

"i.e. accept anything as it should be"

I couldn't even ask him why, and Finn just stood stunned. feel paralyzed by shock, but at the same time understand. What Lena's light brings is certainly the opposite, he said.

Life, activity, hope, the power to move forward. They lead to not fixing them and not giving up - trying to change the status quo.

The blue fog looked down at the bottom of the valley and said, even though Finn was stunned.

"We Sardas have lived that way more than in ancient times. For us, death is another acceptable nature. Therefore we dedicate our own death to the family of darkness. In this mountain range they are not indifferent to food or shelter... but what do you say, well, you're dating."

So he finally smiled, just a little funny.

Finn thinly perceives what he is trying to say and approaches the edge of the cliff again in the cold.

"... do you even throw yourself from here?"

"You can, but it's gonna hurt"

The blue mist slipped away and I grinned bitterly when I saw Finn turn tannic.

"No, I don't jump. Besides, there's no sacrificial ritual like you think. It's just that those who have been tolerated by death can descend into that valley bottom at night and lie down. Old, wholeheartedly convinced that he had lived enough already. He who knows that his life will not be exhausted by disease or wounds, and who welcomes his own death. Various. Places of the same purpose are also near summer villages"

In other words, eaten by the beast of darkness. When he realized that, Finn was relieved again and stared seriously at the side of the blue mist unexpectedly. Isn't it horrible, that the painful screams of the Terminator will stick to this valley - that's what I thought, but the look of blue fog calms me down like such a concern or something completely unbridled.

For the Sarda, I guess that's the ancient custom, neither abominable nor terrifying. Finn managed to convince himself and push out rational words.

"Is this like a cemetery?"

"A little different. Those who are just dead will also be buried in the tomb, but there will be no tomb for those who have given their death to the darkness. Because it's dark and you sleep in the shadows of the mountains."

That's it, the blue fog turned to Finn. And with the same serene expression, I told him.

"What do you say, it'll be easy? But you can't imitate the people of the plains."

"... you can't. Indeed."

Mac groans and Nellis also holds his eyebrows down so that he can get a headache. Finn wiped the soup clean with the last slice of bread and cleaned up the meal.

"The beast of darkness for us people in the flatlands is exactly what it is. I can't believe I'm devoting my own time to one word or another. If we talk about this in a detour, it will fuel prejudice and hostility towards the Sarda tribe. If you do poorly, you may gather stones to throw at the Sarda tribe just like the Dark Beast."

Nor does the Sarda come to this city at all. There are rare visitors to barter for valuable seafood. Some merchants handle their goods, although not Sarda. Even more rarely, but also those of mixed blood with the Sarda tribe.

When I thought about the harm it would do to those people, come on, it wasn't a good story to say.

"Brother, didn't you ask me if there was any other way?

"I asked. But it seems that the only way Blue Mist knows how. If you try them in the first place, they won't have anything else to do with the need to deceive the beast of darkness. So I've been wondering if I have any good hands."

"So I've been caged because I can't think of anything," he said.

"Well, that's the place"

"Ahhh... man. Are you sure you're not stupid? You didn't even eat what you eat. Yeah, I was roaring, and your head doesn't work. At least say something else because you couldn't do it, and if you'd told everyone, there might have been a plan by now that would've gotten a little carried away."

Finn clapped his neck when he was told he was heartbroken.

"I've come up with one thing, and I'm not sure it's going to work. I'm going to try it out tonight."

"What, really? Say it quickly."

Because I'm an idiot. I already am, and I end up being called an idiot again. Mac and Nellis didn't hesitate to laugh when Finn looked a little sorry for the boulder.