Ember Wind: Starlight City

One Last Thing

March, 2043
There's something I've been neglecting. I walked into the elven territory with anger and rage. I sought to blow smoke at whoever was closest and I took it out on them but also on Creoft. I feel bad but at the same time, he did kind of deserve it. I've done enough damage for one segment of my journey so I'm going to put this one to rest. From here on out, no rage-fueled attacking, unless it's a boss fight. I'm making that rule so I can't fail this New Year's resolution.
   
That aside, I've been meaning to finally put her out of mind. I'm going to get whatever details I can from Creoft, provided he's willing to give any and if I can even find him. Then I'm going to bury her like I should've one month ago. I still have the cloak and everything of hers so that'll make things easier. Now the question is, where do I bury her?
   
Ashua was the last place he wanted to be. The blistering cold and whipping winds cracked and chipped his face. The wintry blizzard that washed down from the mountains was brutal and the wet snow burned his hands as he dug through it with a shovel. The permafrost ground eventually gave way but despite his best efforts, he could barely get it deep enough to bury her loot bag.
   
He shivered in the wind and pulled the bag off his back. "Hopefully no one finds this." He knelt down and set it into the hole. He pulled all the rocky dirt and heavy snow back over the top of it. Her staff was the last thing he held onto. He took one last look at it and jammed it into the ground to serve as a grave marker. "This is farewell, Night."
   
The spot he chose was just north of the cave where the Judas fight had taken place. The mountains provided a means to keep people away. The wind that came blasting down its slopes were more than deadly for ill equipped people. The only thing that even remotely served a purpose was the abandoned altar to Syna. The three familiar items still sat there waiting to be used for a ritual that had long been cancelled. The blood and heart were blackened from the freezer burns they've been exposed to whilst the pelt clung to flecks of snow.

He pulled something out of his inventory. His hands clenched tightly around the little leather bound book with a single strap wrapped around it to keep it closed. He placed it on the altar with it gently leaning against the spectral mammoth pelt with the heart to its right and coagulated blood to its left. Carefully situated in front of the altar was the grave that Tangurple had finally finished.
   
He took a few steps back to get a good look at the completed project. Even though the air was deadened with sorrow, the makeshift grave still brought a trembling smile to his face. "The ritual is complete, you're no longer a vampire. Go home, I'll meet you there one day." He couldn't cry, it was much too cold for his body to be willing. Inside though, his heart pounded heavy and sluggish partially from the blistering cold and partially because of his lowered mood.
   
I can't say that it was the easiest thing to do and I don't mean physically. Yes, breaking permafrost soil with a cheap ass shovel was a pain but the part that hurt was saying goodbye, properly. It's not something I should be familiar with, especially at my age. Things happen and there's just no avoiding it. God brought her into my life so that I may learn from my experiences with her and become a better person. I'd like to call bullshit in all honesty. I had everything I could've ever wanted with her but in the end, she was taken away. Perhaps there was some reasoning behind it. Maybe it was simply to test my mettle or to prove my strengths and weaknesses. Maybe it was simply because the big man simply made a mistake. Won't know till I ask him.
   
Either way, I'm going to leave this part behind with her. This book can be found in the game's logs yes but the physical version of this will be with her. Maybe I'll come back for this one day, maybe not. Depends on how the rest of my journey goes. Tonight, I'm going to sleep well and I'll meet up with my group of friends come morning. I wonder what's next in store for me?
   
Until we meet again, your's truly,
Tangurple Merclain

One grave was not enough either. He still had one more friend to put to rest, one whom he'd known for far longer. On the other side of the mountain range was an unpleasant place where he and the others had been ambushed some months ago. The marble pantheon twinkled in the daylight. The wind here was entirely gone which left the air dreadfully stagnant. A handful of loot bags still lingered in the area waiting to be pillaged. The pantheon stood with a darkened interior making it appear haunted.

Tangurple approached the building, took a deep frosty breath and stepped inside. Once inside, his eyes adjusted and peeled away the haunted look. It was an empty room, abandoned by the ages. There was one loot bag off to a far flung corner of the pavilion.

It came back to him in quick flashes. The memory of the skirmish outside left a dull ringing in his ears. It wasn't that which hurt him but rather the struggle for a victory against Wincubus that cost him his best friend. He saw them fighting again. Their ghostly and slowed moves. The effort they both put in to survive was surprising. He stood for a moment and rewatched the moment play again before his eyes until the death scene came. He slammed his eyelids shut and he shook the image from his mind.

The sight of an empty building was much more pleasant than the memory of days long ago. He pulled the big heavy maul from his inventory and cradled it. "So glad he left this behind in the guildhall, he'd never understand why I'd need it here."

The center of the pantheon's roof had a carved circular hole in it. It poured a large ring of light into the center of the building. He walked up to its edge and set the maul into the circle. "May the warm light of heaven protect you. Your sacrifice is not in vain and nor shall your memory be forgotten. The Guardians shall live on and liberate us all. Rest well Dailin, you've earned it."

Tangurple stood up and made his way towards the exit. As he left, he waved back to the maul. Some minutes later, a silhouette stood above it, staring at it. Its head twitched and flicked in unnatural ways. Its body was human shaped but it was sickly thin and deformed. The maul glitched, vanished and reformed in its hands. The only defining feature on the creature was the wicked and crooked grin that formed on its face. A truly devilish grin...