From The Lies Of Men And Gods

Chapter 17: Grief

Arc: The Bodies We Bury 

Chapter 17: Grief

For the next three days, everyone heads towards the Harco village. Everyone eats what they can, which is not very much. Veilios, who has been walking the entire time and has not spoken a single word, grabs whatever he can.

"Is Veilios okay? He hasn't said a word and has been walking the whole time. Even with his burning hands, he must be somewhat cold, right?" Seven asks worryingly.

"I'm not too sure. I've seen him mad and upset but never like this... " Siora replies. Seven snuggles with Jiren trying to get more warmth than she already has with him. Siora smiles as she sees the two finally getting close.

Behind the cart, Veilios is following. He sees that the cart came to a stop and in curiosity, he runs to the front of the cart. Everyone on the cart gets off to see that the refugee camp of Harco, is now a graveyard filled with unburied bodies, including Cassidy and Thomas. Siora rushes towards the bodies of Cassidy and Thomas to check their pulse. She checks Cassidy's pulse first to find out, she is still alive. Cassidy sits up quickly, scaring Siora. She sees everyone around her and notices Veilios. Cassidy rushes to his arms, crying.

"He's gone... The whole village..." Siora sadly says as she checks Thomas' pulse. There is no pulse. Siora stands and clears her throat, walking away from the body. Cassidy continues to cry into Veilios' chest. He pushes Cassidy aside and walks over to Thomas.

Everyone watches Veilios as he approaches the body. Veilios puts his hand over Thomas and begins to concentrate all his magic. Thomas' body begins to be covered in magic as a dome appears around them. Lighting strikes down at the dome, covering it. From Veilios' hands, a life-like green magic covers them. He brings his hands to Thomas' chest and as soon as it touches his body, a large force of energy burst out. Thomas awakes and sits up fast. Cassidy rushes towards Thomas to kiss him. Veilios, still quiet since the incident, walks away to grab some wood.

Jiren walks over towards the cart. "Hey, Jiren. Come here and sit down with me." Seven whispers. Jiren goes over to sit next to her. "I never truly got to thank you for saving me. I just want to um, say that, uh..." Seven stutters. She goes over to kiss Jiren.

"Yes," Jiren says after their kiss.

Seven laughs. "I'm, uh, glad you're okay." She says.

Veilios starts a big fire for everyone away from the bodies. Everyone sits around the fire, trying to get warm and discuss their plans. Seven sits with Jiren, Siora sits with Orilow, Cassidy and Thomas sit together, and Veilios heads off to create another, smaller campfire. He makes a circle with texts written in Infernal. He kneels outside of the circle and says, "Great Old One, please answer me." A ghostly female appears. The ghostly female is Veilios' ancestor who is known to be one of the most powerful.

"Jesus Christ, get off your knees." She says.

"Whose Jesus Christ?" Veilios questions.

"You'll learn whenever you die. Anyways, get off your knees child. You may have lost one battle but you haven't lost the war. You are a warrior, you must not accept defeat just yet." She tells Veilios.

"I lost it all. I don't know where to go from here." Veilios sighs. Siora leaves the big fire to check on Veilios. She sneaks around the trees once she sees Veilios so that she can listen in.

"There must be another way. You must think of another way. Stand Siles. You must be the strong warrior you are. We are the greatest warriors. The power I gave you is not even one-fourth of your strength. Now, stop being such a loner and go over there." Veilios' Great Old One says. She disappears, turning the fire off. Veilios stands and walks back towards the camp. As he walks, he notices Siora trying to hide. Instead of talking to her, Veilios throws a rock right towards Siora and they both head towards the camp.