Ashes of the Fallen

My entire village was burning down to the ground as I stood and watched the mage turn tail. He wanted to run, to escape, to retreat from my vengeance.

He was going to get away.

And then a golden light engulfed me and brought me back to a comfortable thirty-two percent health, halting the bleed-out and restoring me to partial functionality.

Katherine, most likely.

Yeah, he wasn't going to get away.

Starting to run after the escaping mage, a quick glance to my side had shown that the battle was won. A pious victory by all accounts, it wasn't a victory worth celebrating. The corpses that littered the field were numerous and the wanton destruction was vast, my village was destroyed and at least twenty of the thirty-one warriors had fallen.

Eight warriors had joined the chase with me, as we ran after the handful of mages attempting to escape. All of the melee players were accounted for, in body bags. Now, it was the backline's turn to meet the same fate.

We cut them down, one by one.

Their nonathletic bodies betrayed them as they tried in vain to outrun us.

It only took a few minutes, to finish the slaughter.

Stopping in the middle of the forest, with my village a few hundred yards away, I stared at the rising smoke as I contemplated my surroundings.

My situation had changed.

I failed.

Chapter 65: For Far Too Many

(Monday, September 23rd Game Day / Tuesday, March 30th Real Day)

Twenty-four hours had passed by the time the funeral procession was ready.

The longship returned with goods and good tidings, only to find the village in ruins and their friends slain. That was the reality, of the actions a guild decided to take.

It wasn't long before the news hit the web, as a few guild members decided to stream the entire encounter live. They broadcasted their own demise, for thousands to see, and for hundreds of thousands to watch at a later date.

I was now a celebrity, and an infamous villain.

My brutal actions were seen as disgusting by white knights, fools to the so-called cause, rising up and clamoring for my destruction. It bothered them… that I would eke out justice indiscriminant of race or gender. How could I, brutally choke a girl?

How could I, slice one's face off?

Worse, how could I slit a throat?

Disgusting, that's what I was.

Of course, some others saw it differently.

I was the unwitting victim of an attack, a surprise attack by a cowardly guild. Onlookers and outsiders didn't even know that Milly was a spy, but they knew the rules of engagement in the game.

You declared your intent, honorably, or you didn't, dishonorably.

They chose the latter.

The fact that they lost, to what most players later realized was a troop of NPCs and one singular player, made me famous. The fact that I was utilizing lightning magic, a rarity in this game, made me special. Toss in the parts with my close-combat fighting, and utilizing a halberd in various ways along with an axe and knives, and I was the coolest kid on the block.

But what did it matter to me.

Selene was dead.

Barkley was dead.

Twenty-three warriors were dead.

My village didn't have a single building left.

All I had left were these hands of mine, the gear on my back, and my fellow NPCs, livestock, a farm, and a longship. I guess that was a long list of positives, but I would have traded them all to bring Selene back.

She… wasn't supposed to mean much.

Yet, here I was, anguishing.

I was more attached than I realized.

I was angrier than I thought I would be.

Katherine and Selene were basically my world within this world.

That wasn't right, but that's how it worked out.

Staring at the funeral pyres that had been set up, the twenty-five pyres were all in a single line along the mountain's walls. A small clearing, flat and with plenty of space, was going to be their resting place.

This was a funeral, for far too many.

The fire was lit by one of the warriors, as I stood quietly by and watched Selene's pyre start to burn. She was dressed with all of her gear, weapons, and what items survived the original cabin fire. The only thing I kept was her necklace and a ring. The necklace was for Katherine, the ring… for me.

Keepsakes, for sentimental reasons, I guess.

It wasn't long before her body was completely engulfed in the flames, as the pyre funneled oxygen in such a way to burn incredibly hot. There would be nothing left when it was all said and done, only the ashes of the fallen.

The fires would burn all night, and would be tended to in the morning.

After an hour, most of the NPCs had returned to the one building that was still serviceable. The lodge had only partially burnt down, missing a roof and parts of the second floor, but the underground section remained intact.

The NPCs stayed there for now, as the elements weren't that bad this time of the year. Some of the NPCs stayed out in the open, preferring to camp out on the grass. Others, stayed with me and Katherine, as we sat along the mountain side and watched our friends burn.