“Does anyone know how to operate the flood gate under the bridge?” I asked.

A scruffy-looking boy of around sixteen years stood up and raised his hand, but looked as though he could not yet bring himself to speak.

Name : Dolan Han

Race : Human

Class : Fighter

Level : 7

It was Dolan, the son of Bore, who was responsible for the maintenance of everything non-magical in Nara. I nodded at him and he sat back down.

“We will need to wrap the bodies with garments and then soak them with something flammable,” I started laying out the plan. “We will also need some wood or other surfaces that are strong enough to hold a body but light enough to float with one on them. Once all of the bodies are ready, we will open the floodgate and let the river have them. Krysha will take twenty volunteers to search for garments that will be used to dress the bodies, and then come back here to prepare them. Kard will take forty volunteers to find and prepare the surfaces that will be used for the bodies.”

Almost everyone was now on their feet and creating clusters around Kard, who was waving his metal stick above his head, and Krysha who was pacing back and forth, probably formulating a plan in her head.

“The rest will come with me. We will bring some flammable oil canisters from the temple and then start preparing the bodies. Do we all agree on that?”

A few voices agreed out loud, but most of them simply nodded. Krysha and Kard started calling for volunteers when a voice from the crowd made everyone freeze in place again.

“What about the angels?” the young man asked.

I turned my head to face them and tried to hide the waves of emotions that were building inside of me.

“Let the wolves have them,” I replied coldly.

***

The sun had almost set, and the crickets were just starting their nightly chirping by the time all of the preparations were finished. Fortunately, there were enough oil canisters left in the temple by my parents so we carried them down to the riverside.

After that, we worked through all of the bodies and cleaned them, or at least their faces, to the best of our abilities. It was not an easy task. Some of the volunteers cried as they found someone they recognized, a friend or family member among the dead, and a few retched while trying to piece together dismembered bodies.

We wrapped all of them in soft linen and put them on the wooden panels that Kard’s team had found in one of the woodworkers' shops. The panels were mostly used by artists but were thick enough to keep the bodies afloat.

Using these panels, we carried all of the bodies down to the river, where their loved ones could say one final goodbye, before we poured the flammable liquid on them and pushed each of them down the stream to the almost closed dam.

The waters ran smoothly on the surface so the panels didn’t accelerate too much before reaching the bridge where the dam held them. I thought that I would break into tears when it was my parents’ turn to be placed on the water, but I didn’t.

How could I when so many people were counting on me to guide them? To comfort them.

By the time all of the bodies were lined up in the water in front of the dam, most people had taken their place along the riverbanks while some of us stood on the bridge itself. I thought that I should say something before we waved our loved ones away and I opened my mouth to do so but could not find the words.

I realized that everyone’s eyes were turned toward the bodies on the river and nobody expected or even wanted to hear a speech. Instead, I took out one of the magical firestones that I had in my pocket, ground it on the side of the bridge and as it became hot and bright with fire, I let it drop on the bodies directly below me.

It was Ched and Nessa that were first lit with fire. The gentle breeze pushed the flames from one panel to the next and soon there was a carpet of flames on top of the river that was reflecting the last rays of the sun which was now at its lowest.

I turned my head toward Dolan who was waiting by the dam lever and nodded silently.

I saw the floodgate rise and the bodies began to flow out and down the river. A wave of muffled cries spread among the people on both sides of the river as the flaming bodies of their beloved floated away.

***

Time passed and eventually the last traces of lights from fires were out of sight. No one had left. With pain, I realized that they had nowhere to go.

“I suggest,—” I began, but it came off more like a cough. I cleared my throat and started anew. “I suggest, since we have so many visitors, that we all sleep at the inn tonight.”

Nobody voiced their agreement or dissent but as I started walking toward the inn, everyone turned to follow. It was such an eerie feeling. So many people walking in absolute silence, the chirps of crickets and the wind whispering through the leaves were the only sounds save for our footsteps.

There was still food at the entrance of the inn where even more tables had been set for a feast but despite the fact everyone should have been hungry, none touched them.

The establishment was big and able to hold all of us, though it was not large enough for each of us to get a room to ourselves. I thought that this would be better, especially for the younger ones.

No one wanted to be alone tonight. I shared a room with Kard and we didn’t exchange a single word after we closed the door. I tried to bring some order to the chaos that raged inside my head but every time I tried to formulate a proper plan for what would come next, I caught myself struggling to keep my eyes open.

The physical and emotional exhaustion had taken its toll on all of us. I got into my bed and almost immediately fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.