The Memories

Persephone

The rooms Xavier got us were quite nice, at least by my standards. They were small and spartan, but they were clean. The bed was of rather decent quality with pillows and multiple brown sheets at the foot of the bed. We each had our own rooms. All of them were roughly identical, with Solskin's having the only window. I pulled out my pocket watch and pressed it to my chest. Starting with my daily prayer, I pulled out my gold coin purse that I kept solely for the purpose of helping the dead pass over to Hades and started renewing their blessings so that any rites using them would be official.

"You done?" Solskin knocked on my door loudly.

"Almost!" Quickly, I finished what I could and opened the door.

"What were you doing in there?" Solskin asked. I did not reply. Solskin appeared to have gotten the message and was quiet.

"Where do you want to go?" I asked Solskin, finally breaking the silence.

"I went to go to a tavern and see if they have any Dwarven Port. I needed a drink after the fight. They didn't, but I'd like to have company for a drink. Can you go?" Solskin replied. There was a flash of fear in his eyes. There appeared to be be more to this request than meets the eye.

"You okay? I'll join you for that drink."

"It's been a long day. I need to talk to someone." Solskin said longingly.

Solskin

The excitement from entering the capital finally faded. The journey was short, but in that time, I nearly died. It truly scared me with how helpless I was. The fear crashed down on me. I can only remember falling endlessly. Going up the stairs scared me. Looking out the second floor window of my room scared me. Everything began to take a malicious form, ready to harm me. Memories which I long suppressed, memories of It returned. "What's the strongest drink you have?" I asked the bartender after he finished serving some people.

I was given a shot of vodka along with a bottle for refills. Persephone had a mug of half-ale and was staring intently at me. I sighed, "Have you ever nearly died?"

"It is safe to say that we all nearly died there. But, over the course of my life and with my particular job, I have seen many people die. I have developed a strong belief that Thanatos does not want me by his side yet."

"This was not the first time for me. I nearly died ten years ago when It attacked." I took a long and deep swig from the bottle, ignoring the tiny glass.

"How strange, my village also suffered attacks ten years ago."

"Do you remember? The people you lost, I mean. What if it was you? Do you ever wish it was you?"

"Not really, death is inevitable. You just move on from it"

"But how can you live with that fear? I can't, I thought I could. With what has happened, my legs have turned to jelly." My knuckles turned white from clenching the bottle so tightly.

"You just do. You accept the death, move on, and forget about it." Persephone reasserted.

"But I can't! I'm no better than my eight year old self. My mind keeps wandering back to that time. To the attack. I can't accept it. I can't forget it."

Persephone sighed. She stood up and rest her hand on my shoulder, gently squeezing it, "There is not much you can do but accept and forget about death. I learned that quite early." Letting go and finishing her drink, she quickly left.

I stayed there, my mind replaying the fall over and over again. After a while, I stopped hitting the ground. I fell directly into that familiar inky fog. Hours passed and I did not move an inch. Persephone's words did not help, I still just couldn't accept it. It slowly began to grow dark.

Xavier

I wondered the capital for a bit, re-familiarizing myself with all of its sights and splendor. Slowly, I returned to the business at hand. Making my way to the mage guild, I looked around for Epoch. Unfortunately, I could not find his scaly hide anywhere. I was hesitant to enter the mage guild. Epoch had told me long ago that the guild had many magic sensors at the entrance for protection. To my surprise, Mordred had walked out the very same door I was considering walking in.

"Xavier, what a pleasant surprise." His mouth quirked upwards. "What brings you here?"

"I am looking for a friend. A dragonborn sorcerer by the name of Epoch Dragul."

"I have heard the name."

"Do you know where he is?"

"Unfortunately no. Rumor has it that he was involved in an accident and ended up as a turtle, but I highly doubt that was true."

"What about you?"

"Also meeting a friend. He is very curious about your magic. Wanted to meet you in person."

"I don't like meeting new people."

"Don't worry. Old Ash is harmless."

"If you say so, but I still don't want to meet him."