Epilogue
Words Said, Words Left Unsaid
AN 1219 (AZ 1456) - Early Spring
Castle Notos, Maximilion, Notos
Simona was plunged into darkness. She was dead, or rather, she would be soon. She cursed herself for being careless, to let that wretched uzshu kill her. Who would have thought such a beast could be driven to madness so easily? No, she should have known, should have sensed it. In her contempt for the creature, Simona did not bother to read the signs or to heed them. She had no one to blame but herself.
She did not want to die. Rowland needed her. For the first time in her life, she had someone she wanted to serve, wanted to dedicate herself mind, body and soul. There was much she had done for him, but so much more left to be done. She wanted to see him come into his full greatness and uphold that greatness until his dying day. If he wanted to start a dynasty, she would defend that as well. His legacy would be secure under her watch, but only if she was alive to do it.
She knew what she was taught, what she was trained. Her kind was supposed to be prepared to let go of all mortal attachments when the time came so that El-Naia's Gift would take them. Alari, Inguri, it did not matter. All were taken so that none of their bodies would suffer abuse, no dark arts could twist their mortal shells to sinister purposes. That was how it was supposed to be, but Simona could not, would not let go. Her life hung by nothing more than a thread, but she refused to let go of that thread.
She tried to focus her mind to grasp at any power of hers that might save her. Even with all the skill and power at her disposal, perhaps there was nothing she could do, but what about someone else? No, it was a vain hope. Who with the power she needed would be anywhere near? There was no one.
In the midst of the darkness she could feel a strange but familiar warmth. Properly speaking, she could not feel anything. It was more like a memory. She had no real sense of time. Perhaps the very concept of time had lost its meaning.
Through the void, she could hear a voice, a voice that stirred her fading heart.
"You damn fool... Right when I needed you the most..."
That voice... It was Rowland. Was he talking to her?
Yes, she was a fool. Because of her carelessness, she had abandoned Rowland in his hour of greatest need. If only she could have a second chance... But there are some things you could never come back from. Dying was certainly one of them.
Like a breeze breathing new life into fading embers, she felt Rowland's warmth once more and heard his voice one last time.
"Maybe if I'd done this sooner, I wouldn't have lost you. No point in regrets, though, huh? For whatever it's worth, I avenged you. You've done well. Leave the rest to me."
Those words should have been enough for her to let go and allow El-Naia's Gift to claim her, but instead it only renewed her attachment to the world. No, not the world. To Rowland. Even if it meant that her mangled body would remain and that her spirit would never rejoin her ancestors, she still clung to that one futile thread. So long as even a fragment of her will remained, she refused to let go. Her soul was a small price to pay.