Song of the Piper

::38:: Stand Straight and Stand Tall

Music is A New Life by Must Save Jane. Just play it. Okay? Okay.

Media: Okay, it's too tiny for a Fountain, but at least it's glowing!

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From ashes you come,
Unto ashes you return.
Whence forth shall you go after?
Mortal men do not know,
But fate shall guide you
Down the path where you wander.

Goodbye, my friend!
So long, fare thee well!
Pray we shall meet again.
No longer of the earth,
But in the skies we forever remain.

From dust you come,
Unto dust you go.
Whence forth shall I go after?
Perhaps to the ends of the earth,
Where I shall wait to be with you,
And then back again, or so I wander.

Goodbye, dear soul!
So long, fare thee well!
Pray we shall meet again,
No longer of the earth,
But in the skies we forever remain.

As I led the people to sing, Lady Anya lit up the stacks of wood with the torch in her hand. With a wave of her hand, the flames quickly devoured the corpses, all covered in white cloth and lined neatly in between the wooden planks. I watched as the white turned black, as the bodies turned into the ashes they had come from, and as the last body on the top was finally touched by fire.

I closed my eyes, feeling cool tears trickle down my cheeks. That last body was my mother's. My beautiful, brave mother, who had sacrificed so much for us--for me.

The real hero who had saved us all.

"I hope you find Father," I said softly, just as everything crumbled into ashes. From ashes you come, unto ashes you return.

A local priest started chanting the last prayer, a rite to ensure that all the lost souls would be escorted to Heaven safely. He was a shrinking, shrivelled man, all swallowed up by his white robes of mourning, to the point where there was more clothes than man. Once upon a time, he had power in Hamelin. That was until our Fountain had its magic drained away, and the people saw no more reason to believe in the saints anymore. He had been one of the few people who'd never disregarded me; sometimes, he allowed me sanctuary in hallowed grounds.

Then the prayer was done.

Wind whipped my hair around, biting into my cheeks, freezing my tears. The funeral was over. Now it was time to leave, to give the fallen ones some peace, to let their souls find their way towards Heaven. And yet as I stood directly in front of the monstrous structure, I couldn't go away. I already felt the town square growing less occupied, emptier. No doubt that some of the more pious would wait for me, their representative, to leave before leaving themselves.

Soft footfalls approached me. Lady Anya. She'd recovered nicely three days after the battle in this very town square, although there were still signs of stress pinching her expression. At least she had her leg tended to, and she was no longer walking with a limp. Meanwhile, I had the gash by my side stitched up the traditional way by Doctor Vannlich. It wasn't a very pleasant experience.

"Can you tell the people to go?" I said. "I - I just need to be alone for a while."

She nodded sympathetically at me. Then she turned towards the remaining crowd, jerking her chin towards the side. The effect was instantaneous. Without the heat of bodies pressing against each other, the place was chillier. The cold of the ground sank through the soles of my boots and into my bones. I wrapped my arms around myself, continuing to watch the dying embers flicker upon wood.

"It's your first time, isn't it?" Lady Anya suddenly asked after a few moments of complete silence.

I gave her a side-glance. She was staring at the structure, stoic as always. But there was a trace of softness beneath her steely eyes. "Excuse me?"