Epilogue

Epilogue
by Tzu

“ Pull that hood down, son. You’re no longer at war!”
Lohiz’ loud and strong voice startled Grim, who immediately followed his mother’s command. He was always surprised by how Lohiz knew he wore his cowl without looking. Grim slipped down from the clay windowsill and into the cool shadows of the small, dimly lit sitting room. Hot sunlight spilled in through the single window, and illuminated a small, round, wooden table in the centre, surrounded by large couches littered with ornate pillows of all shapes, sizes and colours.
On the table stood a golden carafe, from which Grim poured cold water into a glass. He was just about to take a sip when his mother entered the room, carrying a silver tray with fresh fruit and placing it carefully at the table.
“ I thought you only drank wine these days.” She said, with a brief smile.
Though she still carried the demeanour of a brisk twenty-year-old, Lohiz had aged considerably since the last time Grim had seen her. In his mind, and in the glint in her eyes, Lohiz was still a tall and strong warrior, with thick, dark skin and burgundy brown plaits running down her neck.
Since Grim had visited his mother last, her hair had turned grey, thin and loose, and her skin was wrinkled and speckled with freckles and memories of hardships Grim could barely imagine. In her black robes hid a body still fit, but bent and bothered by too many things kept to herself.
“ I’m only enjoying the good times whilst they may still be had.” Grim said.
“ I am sure they will extend beyond our lifetime, especially when you keep shortening yours with poisons and unnecessary expenses.” Lohiz replied sharply, and took a seat in one of the sofas.
“ I didn’t have much time to spend on these things before, ma.” Grim argued.
“ I seem to remember a time when you made sure you did.” Lohiz claimed, and Grim fell silent for a moment.
“ Don’t be like that.” Grim remarked, and sunk into the pillows on a sofa opposite to his mother. Neither of them touched the fruit, though Grim drank his glass of water to avoid having to speak.
Lohiz looked away, out of the window Grim had been sitting in, with a view over the centre of the bustling bazaar. The murmur of hundreds of people chatting, trading and walking around outside entered the room and Grim let it fill his head.
Suddenly, a loud crash sounded from the kitchen, Lohiz jumped. Then, a small howl.
Grim sprung from his seat, Lohiz in tight pursuit.
“ That curious little brute is at it again!” Lohiz barked at Grim’s neck before they made it to the origin of the commotion.
In the midst of what resembled a food-fight battlefield, smothered in half-finished gravy and bits of Thornbrush branches, Roan had laid claim on the dinner; a rather large chunk of Heket steak. Growling a little, uncertain of whether his guardian would take the loot from him, the Charr pup looked up at the two humans with big, slightly regretful eyes.
Lohiz was speechless, Grim was surprised – though slightly amused.
He sat down and beckoned his adopted son towards him. Roan laid his ears flat on his head, his tail between his legs, and moved towards Grim with the steak still in his claws. He cast a wary eye on Lohiz.
“Roan… hunger.” He said, his voice gruff and unsteady.
Grim thought he could hear a low rumbling before his mother, as expected, exploded;
“OUT. OUTSIDE, NOW.”

* * *

Roan used to barely reach Grim’s knee, but now the wild child was almost half his height, and they could easily hold hands. Though Grim had brushed off the food as best as he could from Roan’s thick fur, the smell of the Charr still made people in the Bazaar turn their heads, expecting to see someone enjoying a tasty take-away kebab.
Grim knew some of the merchants at Kodash Bazaar, but was happy most people did not recognise him for who he was in his white peasants robes and with his beard long and loose. A lot of people came to Kodash these days, from all over Tyria. The wares on the merchants counters could be anything from chunks of amber to dwarven ale, and the traders were equally exotic.
Ever since the Four Great Evils had been banished, new travelling routes had opened up, and creatures from all over the world had begun exploring places which had been considered unsafe until now. The people of Vabbi were no longer as surprised to see a Charr puppy, and it was considerably easier to be a foreigner in an otherwise overly patriotic and discriminating country.
Grim had even witnessed a Centaur get a fair deal on elonian leather, from a native trader.
Though the sun shone bright and hot on a cloudless, azure sky, Grim was fairly tolerant of the heat. He remembered a time when he could barely stand it, but ever since his visit to the Ring Of Fire islands, he could honestly say he had been through worse.
Roan though, his fur meant for a northern climate, had his tongue out and was breathing rapidly. Grim lead him to a public drinking fountain, and lifted him up so he could drink.
Roan was not entirely satisfied though.
“ More cold!” He immediately growled as his feet touched the ground.
“ I should’ve brought those Icy Lodestones with me…” Grim sighed.
He filled a bucket with water, and splashed it onto his adoptive son. Roan roared with glee, and danced a little in the downpour. When the bucket was empty, he shook his fur from mane to tail, and showed off all his teeth in what Grim recognised as a Charr smile.
Walking around the market under the burning sun, Grim kept thinking of the spoiled dinner his mother would have to remake. If he surprised her with a gourmet dinner on his expense, perhaps she would find it in her heart to forgive him.
In the middle of the bazaar there was a large fountain, and Grim knew his old friend and royal food taster Rendu would be doing business there around this hour. Clasping Roan’s paw firmly, Grim hastily pushed his way through the masses to get there in time. Rendu was a wealthy merchant, and his closing hour could be any time he felt like going home for the day.
Luckily, when Grim and Roan reached the fountain, Rendu was still there, discussing something with a ranger woman.
As Grim approached the pair, he could not help but overhear some of their dialogue.
“ Are you certain of this?” The woman asked.
“ Yes, of course, I know the name of every customer I ever had!” Rendu lied.
“ Then where should I go next? Who should I ask?” The woman continued.
“ Well, I know this certain young fellow, that is to say, he’s not exactly young anymore – ah, there you are!” Rendu suddenly exclaimed as he saw Grim. “ As I was just saying to this young madam, you would be the perfect man to go to!”
“What’s this about?” Grim cut to the chase, a little more bitter than he would like to admit about Rendu’s comment on his age.
“ This is Tsunilaine,” Rendu started.
“ Tzunedaine.” The woman corrected him.
“ Yes, well, that’s not important.” Rendu brushed it away. “ She’s looking for someone called Utsunia, and -”
“ Uzuria.” Tzunedaine corrected him, again.
“ Same thing.” Rendu claimed, and continued. “ She says that Utsunia may have been living here at some point, but she isn’t certain. Now I know I would’ve remembered her, if she was as pale as her,” Rendu gestured towards Tzunedaine, “ and she was living here before you defeated the Four Great Evils. I mean, back then we would never -”
“ You defeated the Four?” Tzunedaine interrupted Rendu, and stepped forth.
She looked at him with some scepticism, but then her eyes opened wide and she broke into a smile. “ Yes, yes, I remember you!” She said. “ We owe you so much.”
“ Yes, well, it wasn’t without the aid of others…” Grim acknowledged, a little embarrassed. It had been a few months since people were still recognising him on the road, hailing and thanking him for what he had accomplished.
He looked at Tzunedaine, who seemed somewhat familiar to him. She was tall, almost nornlike compared to Rendu at her side. Clad in dark green druid’s armour, with two blonde braids and a fringe. Though she was pale, she didn’t look entirely foreign.
“ You probably don’t remember me at all.” Tzunedaine said.
“ No, I do, I think.” Grim said. “ You’re a friend of Zho, aren’t you?”
“ I’m a friend of Aidan.” Tzunedaine said, and smiled. “ He trained me, I’ve been travelling with him for some time. You may have seen me around before the big fights.”
“ Oh, right.” Grim said, though he didn’t entirely recall seeing her. At the time of the great wars, Grim had decided to label the people around him as simply ‘soldiers’, if he had remembered their faces their death would be too great a loss. This was in his spirit as a leader, and he knew he could not have led the armies to victory if he had been any more sympathetic.
“ Yes, a lot of good soldiers helped during those last clashes.” Grim said, and quickly moved on. ” Who did you say you were looking for?”
“ Uzuria.” Tzunedaine said. “You wouldn’t remember her, I don’t. But I’ve been told to find her. Supposedly, she’s somewhere in Elona.”
“ I’m afraid I wouldn’t know her whereabouts.” Grim admitted, “but you could ask the Princes, they keep records of all of the people who’ve lived in Vabbi.”
“ I will.” Tzunedaine said. “ They’re just a little hard to get a hold of these days…”
“ Tell you what, I’ll help you look for her tomorrow.” Grim said, on a whim.
He tried not to show that he didn’t know why he had gone ahead and suggested that.
“ Really?” Tzunedaine asked, sceptically. “ You have time for that?”
“ Well,” Grim was tempted to take back his offer, especially now that Roan was tugging his hand impatiently, but Dwayna got the best of him.
“Sure, I have time for that. I’ll make time.”

* * *

The cool night time air blew in through the window of Grim’s bedroom.
Barely snoozing, unable to fall asleep easily, Grim lay in his bed trying to sort out his thoughts.
Though he missed his own house when it came to sleeping, there was some comfort to be found in staying at his parents house, knowing that he could keep his mother company.
After Mahk, Lohiz’ second husband and lover, had been killed by Margonites, Lohiz had become a little gruff and moody. She didn’t bother taking care of herself any more, the only thing she did seem somehow wary of was the well-being of her son. Grim felt as if he was taking care of her just by being there, since it gave her something to make a fuzz about.
He sat up in his bed and looked out the window, resting his arm on the windowsill.
The bazaar was perfectly quiet, everyone had retreated to their homes except a few travellers who had found some comfortable spots here and there to throw out their bedrolls.
For a brief moment he wondered where Tzunedaine had gone, and how he was supposed to find her in the morning. Was she the type to stay at an Inn? She was a ranger, perhaps she was sleeping in the trees outside the walls. Grim was a little embarrassed that he couldn’t say for sure whether or not that was something rangers actually did, or if it was just a myth.
He never saw where Zho, Aidan, Reyna, Abasi or Yuun went off to as the sun set.
Looking back, he regretted not having spent more time with his henchmen. He knew Gehraz fairly well, other than that he had been camping with his guildmates or his three-man team.
He wondered if trying to get to know his hired allies would’ve helped him, perhaps they could’ve aided him in his difficult decisions of both battlefield strategy, and personal matters. Maybe listening to others could’ve saved lives.
He shut his eyes and frowned. He could not think like this. The Gods had given him a path, and he had walked it. There was nothing to regret, for it all had a purpose in the end.
He lay back down in bed, and tried to sleep.

* * *

There was little which could compare to the brisk morning air in Elona, when the golden sun had just risen over the hills in the horizon and the clouds were clearing as if to pretend that the Vabbian sky could never be grey. Not yet too hot, but warm enough to be wearing whatever is comfortable, dawn in Elona was the perfect time to go hunting.
Grim and Roan met up at the Forum Highlands Gate that morning.
Tzunedaine climbed down from the walls surrounding the bazaar shortly thereafter, and in the back of his mind Grim realised that she had been following them since they left the house.
As they walked together down into the valley, an awkward silence hung on their shoulders like an iron carpet, and Grim realised he wasn’t much of a talker once he didn’t have a quest, a mission or game to talk about. Roan quickly grew impatient with the two, and ran around alone hunting for snakes and birds.
After scavenging the caves and looking where most people wouldn’t go, they sat down by the lake and watched Roan cool himself down. They hadn’t been talking much, so Grim decided to raise a topic he otherwise would not.
“ So who exactly is this Uzuria we’re looking for?” Grim asked.
Tzunedaine looked a little taken back, but shrugged it off.
“ I’ve been fighting in the wars too.” She started. “ Once Abaddon was defeated, Kormir rose to the challenge of becoming a Goddess, as you know.”
Grim nodded, and felt the memories come surging back.
“ She and I were very close.” Tzunedaine continued. “ She helped raising me, when my foster father died. My father only admitted he wasn’t my real father on his deathbed, and I’ve been searching for my roots ever since.”
“ Any luck with that?” Grim asked.
“ No, not yet. In the Throne of Secrets, the Seer Of Truth offered me her services. She told me I need to find a female warrior called Uzuria, said to have a heart of stone, and that meeting her would tie up all the loose ends.”
“ Kormir couldn’t tell you any more?”
“ No, she wanted me to find out on my own, I believe.”
“ Maybe our meeting was not a coincidence, if you are guided by the Gods.”
“ I don’t believe in destiny.”
Grim cast a glance at Tzunedaine, and noticed she wasn’t smiling.
He felt chained to his past, being reminded of all the losses of the wars, and the Charr.
A pang of guilt hit him, as he realised the emotions he was carrying in the aftermath had little to do with mourning of the martyrs. He actually felt he wanted it all back.
Those who were not running from a war were living it, and once it was gone several lost their way. If the world did not return to chaos and conflict after a while, those who lived off the fight were left with an empty feeling. That lonesome notion was not unfamiliar to Grim. Though he felt he found purpose in his family, he too was never sure what he would do next, now that every tomorrow was golden.
Grim realised, and camouflaged this with a stern expression, that he enjoyed the quest far more than the reward. It was a difficult fact to handle, he felt it was almost perverse. He, the champion of all of Tyria, longed for it’s chaos and dawning destruction. He bit his lower lip, frustrated.
A shout from behind them broke the silence.
“ Grim! Grim Mortbane!”
Grim turned around to see a weathered old man wearing tattered rags and a large backpack, aside a huge, weary looking Dolyak.
“Nicholas!” Grim exclaimed, jumping to his feet. “ What are you doing here!”
“ I could ask you the same thing!” Nicholas said, scratching his barely hairy skull.
“ I live here.” Grim explained. “ Remember?”
“Oh, really?” Nicholas said, looking puzzled. “ My memory isn’t what it used to be…”
Tzunedaine approached the two, and Nicholas eyed her.
“ Do I know you, miss?” He asked politely. “ Is this your wife, perhaps, Grim?”
“ No.” Grim quickly made clear, but couldn’t help but feel a little flushed. “ She’s just a traveller.”
“ You look awfully familiar,” Nicholas said, “ have we met?”
“ Yes,” Tzundaine said. “ But I am only one of your many customers, I’m surprised you remember me, even after all these years.”
“ Your hair used to be white…” Nicholas said, perplexed.
“ My hair has always been this colour.” Tzunedaine said. “ You must be mistaking me for another.”
“ And you wanted to be a warrior, didn’t you?” Nicholas continued, as if he hadn’t heard her.
“ No…” Tzunedaine said, looking confused.
“ Nicholas,” Grim intervened, “ do you by any chance know an Uzuria?”
“ Yes, yes, Uzuria!” Nicholas said, nodding vigorously and gesturing towards Tzunedaine.
“ That’s your name! But you used to be much cruder, you barely even talked to me, you must understand, I’m not surprised they called you Rockheart!”
Tzunedaine stared at the traveller, baffled. Grim wondered.
“ But people changed so much after the Searing…” Nicholas muttered.
“ I’m not Uzuria,” Tzunedaine asserted. “ But I am looking for her. Do you know where she is?”
Nicholas looked at her for a moment, thinking, then his features seemed to melt with melancholy.
“ If you’re not Uzuria….” Nicholas said. “ Then I think your hunt for her may be in vain.”
Grim looked at Tzunedaine, then at Nicholas.
He wanted to change the subject, especially since he knew how much the Searing still pained the old man. He had lost his beloved, his home and his family, and it seemed like nothing could ever heal his sorrows completely.
Grim was just about to open his mouth, when Nicholas shook his heavy backpack off his shoulders with a tired “oomph” and opened it. He brought forth a small object wrapped in a few bolts of silk, and said; “ This might help you.”.
Tzunedaine took the object. Grim remarked a stern reluctance in the old man’s clasp; his knobbly old fingers remained rigidly enclosed around the silk even as Tzunedaine had extended her hand to receive the packet. Though brief, Grim observed such an intensity in Nicholas, it was as if they took from him his very heart.
“ I’ve been holding on to it for too long.” Nicholas explained.
He looked as if he was ready to leave without saying goodbye, when he explained, hastily; “ Light a fire with it, at nightfall.”
Perplexed by Nicholas’ behaviour, Grim didn’t say anything as the old traveller walked on.
Tzunedaine seemed occupied with the object, which was a small purple stone. To Grim, it resembled a petrified glob of ectoplasm, though much smaller, and visibly scratched numerous times by a harder material.
Grim called for Roan, but decided not to show him the stone. The gem had a very eerie feeling to it and, as they walked home, Grim was grateful his ranger ally was holding onto it and not him.
For the first time in his life, Grim was reluctant about a potential adventure. This one felt different, as if it was certain to bring about an end to something.
Grim made sure Roan went to bed early that evening.

* * *

They were still clad in their armour as night fell.
Once they had made a small gathering of wood and leaves, Tzunedaine sat down to start a fire.
“ What do you think we’ll see?” She asked, knocking the gem against a knife.
“ What makes you think we’ll see anything?” Grim asked.
“ This reminds me a little of a ritual which Aidan once taught me.” She explained. “ In a fire created a certain way, you may see your future.”
“ I thought you didn’t believe in destiny?” Grim said, jokingly.
“ Yeah, well, I believe in him.” Tzunedaine said, smiling.
“ So what did you see, in that fire of his?” Grim asked.
Tzunedaine finally knocked a flare off the gem, and a fire sprung to life. It was not your usual fire, however. As the flames grew, they turned into black mist, and spread beyond the heap of wood. Embraced by the dark fog, Tzunedaine looked at Grim and said;
“ I saw you.”
She disappeared, and all of the sudden there was naught but darkness.
Grim could no longer feel the ground beneath him, he was floating in the blackest aether.
He had no idea which was up and which was down, and could not move an inch. As if dead, but he was very able to mourn it.
When a small feeling of panic began to grow, there was suddenly light. First just one, then several. Stars twinkled all around him, and the darkness became enriched with a blue smoke.
Stunned by it’s beauty and yet terrified by the helplessness which had trapped him, Grim Mortbane hovered in an endless universe he had never seen anything akin to.
Then, suddenly, commotion.
All around him flashed images of his past, of people who had died, of people who had lived, of people who had meant everything and nothing to him. Images of places he had visited, of places he had dreamed, of battles he had won and lost. He paid not a single thought to the tears which started streaming down his face as his life past him by, as both happiness and sorrow filled his every limb.
The last thing he saw was Tzunedaine.
And as her face disappeared into nothing, like it had done moments before, Grims feet met with a warm flooring and he realised he was naked. Though he could not see what he was standing on, he felt sure that, whichever direction he moved, he would have ground below his feet. He was also certain that he was safe, and little to no mentation filled his head.
Rather, he was filled with a rich sentiment that he wasn’t able to, nor wanted to shake.
The dervish was not surprised when the avatars of the Gods and Goddesses of Tyria materialised before him. Nor was he frightened, or in awe. He felt at level with them.
“ You please us.” Balthazar spoke, and his strong voice echoed in the universe.
“ Is this your realm?” Asked Grim.
“ No, it is not.” Lyssa replied. “ We are in the Mists, but this is only the outskirts.”
“ Humans can travel here with the Jewel Of The Mists,” Grenth whispered. “ But they can only stay for a short while, and they must all return to their own realm eventually.”
“ Except you.” Dwayna said, and graced him with her beautiful smile.
“ You come with a friend.” Melandru said, and Tzundaine appeared beside Grim. He noticed she was teary, but stern. He wondered what had happened, but thought it best not to ask. Tzunedaine had her gaze fixed upon Melandru.
“ She sees only me.” Melandru said, and approached the ranger. “ And her.”
From behind the woodland avatar came a ghost, a white-haired warrior. She had the same look on her face as Tzunedaine did, and as they made physical contact they both disappeared.
“ You have now served me.” Melandru said, as the two women disappeared. “ Me, and Kormir.”
“In all your travels,” Balthazar exclaimed, and approached Grim with a red-hot aura. “ You have served us all. You first gained my blessings, through your courageous and skilful warfare.”
“You gained my favour when rescuing Roan.” Dwayna sang.
“ You’ve granted me a surfeit of strong souls.” Grenth grumbled.
“ You’ve given my artists much inspiration.” Lyssa peached.
“ And now you have shown one of my most faithful servants which path to take.” Melandru explained. Kormir followed up; “ You’ve shown her the truth.”
“ You are now ready to be my right hand in battle, in the deepest core of the Mists, as a legendary champion of Tyria!” Balthazar roared. “ There can be no greater honour!”
Grim, numbed by the presence of the Gods, felt strangely clear-headed.
Only one thought came to mind as Balthazar made his offer; “ What about Roan?”
Whether Grim had thought or vocalized it, Kormir answered; “ Roan will return to his kind.”
“ He can’t.” Grim said. “ He smells of human, he will surely be killed.”
“ And so shall the circle of life continue forever more.” Melandru explained.
“ You saved him from death once,” Grenth said. “ But nothing can be more certain; death will catch up with him eventually.”
“ He will be reunited with his family, in the Mists.” Dwayna comforted Grim.
“ But not me.” Grim said. “ I will never see him again.”
“ You will forever remain at Balthazar’s side.” Kormir clarified.
“ Then I can’t go.” Grim said.
The Gods were silent.
“ I wish only to return to my realm, and live.” Grim said.
“ We cannot keep you.” Kormir said, and walked away, into the blue haze.
The Gods followed her, all but Dwayna.
“ You shall never be offered a like request.” She said. “ This was your only chance at immortality.”
“ I know.” Grim said.
“ But embracing life, so fondly,” Dwayna said, and there was much love in her warm eyes, “ you shall forever have my blessing.”
As Dwayna became naught but a star amongst the many, the universe, which had expanded all around Grim, faded into morning mist.
He felt his feet meet with solid dirt, and the warmth and wind of the weather caressed his bare skin. The air was rich with the smell of grass and wheat, and in it he thought he could taste the oranges from the nearby orchard.
As the blooming rays of the dawning sun embraced him, his cheer, his regrets, his memories and plans filled his head, and the ache of old pains beset his body.
The fire was out, the stone was gone and the ranger woman had vanished as if she’d never been there in the first place.
It was only Grim, Grim Mortbane, and the rising of a new tomorrow.