Epilogue: A son's farewell

Sarpa and Sinar walked together for a long time, chatting on the most disparate topics. Both of them had many things to tell each other and a lot of time to recover.

Sinar knew what had happened to his father, for when the dragons spoke of it he had always been present… at least when they spoke in the cave. However, he listened carefully as Sarpa described everything that had happened in the last few months. In contrast, his father asked him many questions: how the dragons had treated him, what they had fed him, if they had ever mistreated him, what he had seen. Sinar was happy to reassure him that Haku and his siblings hadn't been mean to him, other than depriving him of his freedom to move.

The atmosphere around them was calm and familiar. It was as if the last few months had never passed, as if they had never been apart and there had never been any war. As if that was just a normal walk between father and son. But the farther they went, the more Sinar's face grew grim and his step slower. Eventually, he completely stopped walking.

Sarpa realized that his son was no longer beside him only after he had taken at least another ten steps. He turned and saw them standing in the middle of the path, staring at the forest floor with broken eyes. "Boy, are you all right?" he asked with a worried voice.

Sinar inhaled deeply, then he looked him straight in the eyes: "Father, believe me, I don't want to cause you any further pain. But I won't go home with you"

Sarpa almost jumped in surprise. "What are you saying? We're finally together again! We can..."

"Father, how are you going to explain my presence to the rest of the army?" Sinar asked.

Sarpa realized that he hadn't thought of that possibility. He had been so thrilled to have his son back that he completely forgot about it. Officially, Sinar and all the other ogres that were killed by Haku and his siblings had been captured by the fairies, so they should have died in the dragon's attack. The reappearance of Sinar would have generated many doubts. "We'll figure something out" he said. "You just have to say that you took advantage of the dragon's attack to escape. Then you hid in the forest and I found you..."

"And how was I going to escape? Why did I only escape? How come no one else made it? Why didn't the dragon chase me? How did I avoid her attacks?" Sinar asked one question after another. "These are just some of the questions other members of our people will ask. We will have to make excuse after excuse, and sooner or later someone will notice some discrepancies in our stories. No, if I'll go back with you I will only cause problems and the authority and position you have obtained will suddenly hang in the balance. So, I won't go back with you"

Sarpa knew what his son was saying was right. He had learned in those months how difficult it was to make a lie believable by everyone. Both he and Haku had always carefully studied what he had to say to avoid being discovered. Sinar's reappearance would have generated much suspicion, suspicions that Sarpa wouldn't have been able to silence forever. If the ogres had known something was wrong, they might have guessed that Sarpa was not the extraordinary hero that they had made king that they believed.

If Sinar had never returned, however, there would have been no problem. Officially Sinar had already died from the dragon's attack on the fairy capital, or from the fault of the fairies themselves. He could have left at any moment and no one would have noticed.

Sarpa understood his son's reasons, but despite this he wasn't willing to accept letting him go. He'd spent months fearing for his fate, and now that he had finally found him, he couldn't leave him again. "It doesn't matter" he said. "We'll find a way. We just have to think it over. You shouldn't take hasty decisions..."

"Father, mine isn't a hasty decision" Sinar stopped him. "I've been waiting for the right time to tell you, but... there's no right time. I made this choice weeks ago. I have to do it, for you and our people"

Sarpa was somewhat surprised by those words. "What do you mean that you have to do it for our people?"

Sinar seemed undecided for a moment about which words to use, then he began to explain: "The dragons never had much trouble talking about their plans while I was tied up next to them. They didn't care about me, but I did. And I listened to them. Every day, every single conversation. And that's how I discovered what you already know, which is that within a few years we may be facing an enemy far more dangerous than the fairies"

Sarpa's eyes widened. He hadn't imagined that Sinar knew of the possible future attack by humans. "Yes, but what does this have to do with..."

"Let me finish" Sinar stopped him, and then he continued to explain: "Initially I was worried, scared, terrified... but after a short phase, I started thinking about how to handle this difficult situation once I would be free. I heard from the dragons that you would become a king, and from what I see they fully fulfilled their promise, and I also heard that they would give you the means to stand up to the humans… they did so?"

Sarpa nodded. "Yes, they did. Now I have dragon's blood, indestructible scales that we can transform into armor and shields, many fairy magic items that we will study, and I also have a written list of all our weaknesses. We can turn this forest into a impassable fortress..."

"And that's good. But for that to happen, I have to leave". Sinar looked down. "For this forest to become a stronghold for our people, you must remain king. Not only that, but everyone must trust you. Our people don't need a king who is surrounded by suspicions because of his son, they need a heroic and charismatic king whom everyone respects. My return will cause nothing but unrest, and even if you manage to hold your ground, we will weaken from within more and more. Ultimately, when humans arrive, this forest won't be the our insurmountable fortress, but only a wooden wall that will collapse after the first blows". Sinar sighed deeply and looked up; Sarpa read pain in his eyes, but also a strong determination. "That is why I don't intend to return. I will leave quietly, without anyone seeing me, and so your position will remain strong and secure and you can prepare our people for what is to come. As I said before, I must do this for you, but above all I have to do it for our people. This isn't a choice we can make by remaining selfish; otherwise, we don't deserve to lead our people to safety"

Sarpa opened his mouth, but he immediately closed it again. He hadn't imagined it was possible to feel incredibly pained and absolutely proud at the same time, yet that was exactly what he was feeling in that moment. "You've matured a lot" he said. "Think of our people before yourself and your wishes... that's exactly what a royal should do"

"Well, I'm technically a prince now" Sinar said with a slight smile. "It's only natural that I care about our people. It's my duty"

"Yeah… my son is a prince, and I am a king. If someone would have told me that a few months ago I would never have believed it" Sarpa laughed as his eyes began to sparkle. "Where will you go?"

Sinar looked at his father in surprise. He knew him well, and he knew that if he had stopped protesting and instead was asking him what he intended to do, it was because he was supporting his idea. Which surprised him, because his father had never approved of a decision so quickly. "South" he answered. "The dragon that attacked the fairy capital was the mysterious monster blocking the passage… but I guess you already know that. Now that she is dead, the passage is free. Therefore I will make myself useful to my people, even if unofficially: I will go south and look for allies"

"Allies?" Sarpa asked.

"According to stories and legends, our ancestors came from the south. Therefore, it is likely that there are other ogres there" Sinar explained. "I'll go there and raise an army. While you take care of turning the Karbraland Great Forest into a fortress, I'll make sure to bring new soldiers to our army. The more, the better, right?"

Sarpa nodded. His son had indeed become an adult by now. "If you raise an army, sooner or later you will have to return. How then will you justify your being alive?"

"It would only be strange if I came back now. But come in a few years, any excuse will be good" Sinar replied. "I already have a heartbreaking story in mind about how the fairies sold me as a slave to some human or beastman merchants, how I escaped, and how I learned of the humans' plan and then went south to raise an army. People will love it. After all, everyone loves a good story, and for sure the return of the missing prince accompanied by a large army is a good story"

"Ha ha! You're right, it's really a good story" Sarpa laughed. "You know, when you told me you didn't want to come back, for a moment I was afraid you wanted to go after that dragon"

Sinar shook his head. "I won't deny that I'd like to make them pay, but right now it would be foolish of me to seek vengeance. I know where those dragons are headed, but I don't know which route they will take. Whether they pass into the kingdom of humans or into beastmen territory, it will be impossible for me to track them down. They are damned good at hiding their tracks. And reaching where they are headed would be an extremely long and tiring journey, which I could not complete alone. At the moment I have no allies and certainly will not find any in the countries therefore, it is better to forget about Haku and make our decisions for the living, not the dead. After all, he does not intend to return here, humans do. Even if I could find him, I will only waste several years pursuing a futile revenge, and once I kill him I will gain nothing. On the contrary, by going south I will be able to help protect our people". Sinar clenched his fists. "No, I don't intend to waste time with revenge. Haku taught me something, and it's how easily our people can be manipulated and even destroyed. Therefore, I want to do something so that what happened to me doesn't happen to anyone else"

Sarpa took a deep breath, then he put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm glad to hear that" he said, and tears were starting to fall from his eyes. "You can go. You have my blessing"

Sinar looked at him. He too looked like he was about to cry. "Really, father?"

"Yes, son. There is nothing I want more than to go home with you... but I can see the determination in your eyes. I know that whatever I say or do, you will leave. Therefore, I want to part from you in love, not in anger" Sarpa said. "Just… promise me you'll be careful, okay?"

Sinar nodded. "Don't worry, father. I will always sleep with one eye half open"

"That's enough for me. You're no longer a boy, you're a man. And I trust you. Therefore I don't need to have you near me every day: now that you've made me this promise, I know you'll be safe" Sarpa said, and then he extracted a vial full of a red liquid from his saddlebag. "Take this. I wanted to give it to you once we get back to camp, but since you're about to leave, I'll leave it to you now"

Sinar took the vial and looked at it curiously. "Is it dragon's blood?"

"That's right. I picked it up from the rubble of the fairy capital" Sarpa replied. "When you have found a safe place, hide there and drink it. I warn you, it will be painful, so make sure you are in a place where no one can hear your screams. When the process is over, your strength will have grown exponentially"

Sinar put the vial in his pocket. "Thank you, father. I will use this gift in the best way" he said. After that he could no longer hold back and hug Sarpa. The new ogre king did the same and wrapped his arms around his son.

They remained entangled in that way for a time that seemed infinite, both enjoying this familiar contact, knowing that soon they would no longer be able to do it. Then, very reluctantly, they separated. They looked into each other's eyes for a moment, then both turned and started walking in separate directions. Neither of them said a word or turned to look at the other once, for they both knew that if they did they would never be able to leave.

Sarpa walked until he saw the lights of the camp in front of him, and all the while tears streamed down his face. Only when he was able to see the soft glow of the torches did he wipe his face and walk again with his head held high, appearing to his soldiers as confident and calm. Sinar walked instead until the sun began to rise the following morning; by now he had reached the foot of the mountains, and he took a short break before starting to look for the passage that would have allowed him to go south. He watched the smoke in the distance signaling the presence of campfires, and already felt nostalgia creeping into his heart. Then, without looking back again, he set off again for the south.

Their story was by no means over; both Sarpa and Sinar would still have many roles to fill in the future. Both of them would have marked their name into the history of their people and beyond. But Haku wouldn't have known about this for a long time: currently, the only thing that mattered to him was the goal in front of him. The real journey had just begun.

HI! I'm the author. This is the end of volume 2, but don't worry, the story will continue to go on. The publication of volume 3 will begin tomorrow. I take advantage of this epilogue only to thank you for your support and to ask you to continue to share this story. And please comment whenever you can letting me know your thoughts. Even the smallest gesture of appreciation is a source of joy for an author and an incentive to continue his work. Thanks in advance for all your future support!