For Mankind

That night, his laugh sounded far from normal, there was a peculiar sense of dread in his words. He appeared calm as ever, and his soothing voice carried that same wise aura when he finally revealed the secret Nesrin was never supposed to know.

"As a master of the valley I have saved many lives," he said in a distant voice, "and many lives were lost because I could do nothing. There is that agony, Your Highness, when you hear the broken sobs of people who lost their loved ones...It messes up your mind.

"And they are everywhere. Everywhere we see, it's just death and misery. Our lives are nothing but pathetic, something that can not be taken for granted. Don't you think the same?"

Nesrin said nothing and it was not her response that he was looking for, he continued to speak.