Death, Devotion, Dissonance

"Mom, are you alright?" Evin asked, finished with Ssatsko.

"Y-yes," Lora replied, stuttering.

"Are you sure?"

"I-I am… I'm just shocked, is all."

"Should I not have talked about this with you here? I just thought you should know what's happening… even if you don't get it fully," Evin started. "I know things were out of control for you lately, so…"

"I'm… well, not used to it… but I'm familiar with it. I just need some time, I think."

"Alright," Evin, although still concerned, then went to talk with Melayn and Rith.

Ssatsko found himself wondering how many secrets the boy held. He wasn't even sure if he knew everything about the secrets that Evin already revealed.

"He didn't even flinch," Lora murmured from beside him.

"What did you say?" Ssatsko asked.

"He didn't even flinch when killing that man."

Lora looked deeply confused. A slight frown glued to her face, and her gaze stuck on the ground. 

'Shit…' Ssatsko sighed. 'Of course.' 

He looked at where the dead body was, covered in a thin illusion made by someone so Sasha didn't see anything.

He put his hands around his daughter and whispered. "You can't blame him, child. Mages aren't the most emotional bunch, but that doesn't mean they don't feel things. The boy still loves you. He just sees the world in black and white for now. Uncaring for his enemies, but deeply devoted to his loves ones."

"It's my fault, isn't it?" Lora whispered. "I should've held on to him. At least I should've tried reaching out to him. But I was too scared of Edmund to even think of going back to Evin… And now look where it got him. A child forced to kill his father… Of course he wouldn't think twice before taking another's life."

"No, no… You can't do this to yourself again," Ssatsko gritted his teeth, remembering the year after he dragged Lora out of that hell. "If you need someone to blame, blame Edmund. Blame the kingdom for raising mages like that, hell, blame me for not quitting soldiering when you first asked me to. If I'd just been there with you, why would you even go to Ankelite city?"

"So Evin wouldn't be born in the first place?" Lora looked at Ssatsko, misery filling her eyes.

Sometimes, Ssatsko wondered where his willful, passionate child went to, the one that was forever angry at the world for being so full of violence and pain. Forever angry at others for tolerating it all, demanding them to do better. 

He knew she was dead. Beaten out by Edmund, who showed her that there was no meaningful reason needed for people to be violent. Some people were simply inhumane. But Edmund did not manage to fully kill the fair and brave Lora. That girl was still thinking she could bring change to her husband, some way or another. Willing to believe that even a person like Edmund could change. 

The one who killed her was Evin. The boy taught Lora why people tolerated such cruelties. He showed her that sometimes, she needed to weak and subservient, so the monster's ire won't fall on her child. That bravery and righteousness did not win. It was tyrants and bullies that held the power.

"Hey, you two, come over," Evin shouted from afar. 

The boy seemed to have finished his talk with Melayn. He was standing with Theor and Sasha, waiting. Melayn and Rith were talking, the woman's figure distorted beyond recognition and their talk unintelligible due to the waterfall. 

Ssatsko grabbed Lora by the shoulder and walked. His daughter did not protest. Her shaken expression was also gone.

"Let's get going, then…" he said. 

He could only wish he had something better to say to her.

"Mm…" she nodded.

Melayn was working on a ball of fire when Ssatsko appeared next to them. His red horn shook slightly, resonating with the strength of the orb's. She released the spell into the sky, towards the Third Cataract's peak. As it spun upwards, it thoroughly evaporated the great fog that accompanied the waterfall, revealing its grand splendor. 

Ssatsko saw the Cataract's full figure many times, but every time his jaws would slacken. He supposed that a three-thousand-meter waterfall had that effect. Soon enough, the fog cleared fully, revealing the Cataract's lake, and the Great Wall of the North in its full splendor. 

The Great Wall was a cliff that defined the border between the Northern Tribes and the Western Kingdom. Its tallest point was on its westmost end, near the ocean, the height difference between the countries five kilometers tall; while it was the shortest on its eastmost end, which was near Tower City.

There were five great Cataracts along its path, the First being the tallest and the water falling into the ocean that surrounded Alvox. Some myths say that the water falling from there is the biggest source of water for that endless expanse of water. Foolish myths, but something the less-educated man would very likely believe in.

The other Cataracts also had lakes forming underneath them, most of them quite huge, simply because of how far the water from above could land from where it first fell. This allowed for nature to thrive around these lakes, but no settlements could be made here. 

The water problem could be solved or tolerated by the citizens, but they couldn't do much about the noise the Cataract created. Ssatsko heard of a city that stood here, but had to be relocated because of it.

Honestly, it was the smaller problem the waterfall was responsible for. He could only imagine King Vervi's surprise, finding that the country he neighbored stood thousands of meters high in the air.

'Truly, it's a miracle the Twelve Calamities didn't destroy the World,' Ssatsko mused.

"Wooooaaaaah!!" Sasha started screaming.

Ssatsko eyed the others and found them gaping at the scene too. Smiling, Ssatsko went over to put the little girl on his shoulder. The girl giggled contently and grabbed at Ssatsko's horns, playing with them. 

"It would be a shame for you to not see the Great Wall after coming so far," Melayn said. "Everyone knows them, but most never get to see them… When you get up there, take another look at the bottom. At the kingdom. Who knows, you might even feel yourself tearing up at the sight." 

Saying so, the woman nodded to Rith and the two flew towards the South. Evin explained that they could make the trip in one jump if they flew some of the distance. 

The remaining group eyed the two for a few seconds, before they started walking towards the stairs built onto the Cataract. They could've flown up, but that was a terrible idea due to altitude sickness. Ssatsko even knew of two mages who died of suffocation after ascending the Cataract too fast. 

The common way to ascend was to climb a kilometer a day, taking long breaks every 300 or so meters. There were flat resting areas built by mages at certain points of the climb. But even then, some people still got sick, so it was best to delay the trip as much as possible. It was a long ordeal.

Ssatsko felt that was a good thing. Perhaps he'll be able to help Lora during these next three days. 

*****