In Loving Memory

Saga arrived at the Academy plaza just as the sun began to set, and she was surprised to see it packed with people milling about, facing the grand entryway into the building proper. In front of the massive doors, a stage and podium had been erected. It remained empty for the time being, but Saga knew her father and grandfather would appear soon. She scanned the crowd for the rest of her family. Fortunately for her, both Mama and Epic were as tall or taller than she was, and spotting them took only seconds.
She politely but firmly pushed her way through the gathered people to stand by her mother and brother, shooting them a smile. “I’m glad you made it.”
Mama put an arm around her and squeezed. “Of course, but why are you here?”
Saga blinked. “I don’t know how to answer that.”
“Pa told us you were expected inside the Academy,” Epic said. “He’s waiting for you there with Grandpa and a few others.”
“What? Why?” When her brother just stared at her blankly, she looked to her mother expectantly.
“Saga,” she began. “You were close to him for eight years. I’ve said before that he was basically family, especially where my father is concerned. You knew him better than most.”
I’m not so sure, Saga thought dryly, but she waited for Mama to continue.
“Since you were so close to him, you’re part of his funeral. Papa will be there, along with Dorrin’s daughter and your father, due to his station. Now go, it’s supposed to start soon!”
Mama shoved Saga gently away, and before long she found herself drawing nearer to the Academy entrance. A pair of guards stood scanning the crowd, dressed in crisp green uniforms. As Saga struggled to make her way forward, she realized she recognized one of them. It was Jonas, her sparring partner. She waved to him as his gaze reached her, but he didn’t seem to recognize her.
Dragon’s damnation, I miss my hat, she thought, continuing to wave frantically.
Thankfully, she didn’t have to wave long. On the second pass, his vision seemed to fix on her, and she was just barely close enough to see recognition on his face. He opened his mouth to speak, but the noise of the crowd drowned him out. He turned to his partner and said something, receiving a nod in return, then started towards her. To Saga’s relief, the crowd parted before him like waves before a stone, and he took her hand in his and led her forward.
“Thanks,” she said as they broke free from the crowd.
He smiled, then made a face and dropped her hand, clearing his throat. “Don’t mention it. We were watching for you, but I was expecting your hat, not…” he gestured at her, “…this.”
She smiled sadly. “Even I know when to dress appropriately for the occasion, Jon. Are they inside?”
He nodded silently, and she gave him a brief hug before making her way into the Academy proper. As she stepped over the threshold and her eyes adjusted to the somewhat dimmer lighting, she found a much smaller party than she’d expected. Her father, dressed in the fine clothes he wore when acting as Craftking, grandfather, and Gem, wearing a simple black dress, were all there, gathered around a closed casket. It was resting on a wheeled cart, with a veiled red lantern sitting atop it.
Other than the three, only two uniformed guards stood in the hall. Saga approached the group, and her grandfather was the first to notice her approach. “Saga,” he greeted her, offering a small smile. “I’m glad to see you got the message. Both Gemma and I appreciate you joining us.”
Gem, her face stoic but eyes shining with unshed tears, nodded in agreement before stepping forward to wrap Saga in a tight hug. “Thank you,” she whispered, and Saga could feel her body trembling.
“Of course,” she whispered back, returning the hug before separating. She smiled to her father and grandfather before turning her attention to the guards. “I didn’t think we’d need an escort.”
“Ha!” One of the guards bellowed a laugh. He was an older man, with grey hair, dark eyes, and a scar across his cheek. With a start, Saga realized she recognized him, or rather, she recognized his redsteel prosthetic leg. The retired Captain Fettler seemed to notice the look of recognition on her face, because he grinned and offered her a wink. “Good to see you, kid, though I wish it was under better conditions.”
She smiled wide and offered him a small bow. If she’d had her sword, she would have given him a duelist’s salute. Captain Fettler, while technically retired after losing his leg in battle, worked at the Keeper’s Academy in an advisory role overseeing the guards’ training. He’d helped with Saga’s training, specifically teaching her some sword skills that didn’t fall under the traditional dancer’s skill set, though she’d long since moved on from needing his help. “It’s good to see you, too, Captain,” she said.
He limped forward and clapped a heavy hand on her shoulder, gently but firmly raising her from her bow. “Dorrin was a good friend o’ mine. Not much for speeches, but I wanted to pay my respects.”
Saga nodded, then turned her attention to the other guard. This was a younger woman, though still older than Saga, with her dark hair wrapped in a tight bun and her face stern. “Did you know Master Dorrin, too?”
The woman seemed to consider the question before responding. “I was acquainted with him, but I’m here as Captain Fettler’s escort. I’m Sergeant Taylor.” She stepped forward and offered a hand to shake, which Saga accepted. The grip was firm, but not excessively so.
Saga nodded respectfully to the Sergeant. “A pleasure to meet you, Sergeant.” She dropped her voice and shot a sidelong glance to the Captain, who’d made his way back over to the casket to join the conversation there. “Is he still as ornery as—“
“Lady Vance,” Taylor’s voice was sharp and low, her eyes sharpened. “He is a great man who deserves the utmost respect.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—“
“As such,” Taylor continued, cutting her off, “I would never go so far as to complain about his poor manners, crude humor, and stubborn nature.” Her eyes seemed to sparkle, though her expression didn’t otherwise change, and Saga realized the Sergeant was messing with her.
Saga blinked, then nodded in understanding. “I see,” she said calmly, hiding her own smile. “Then I shall endeavor not to place you in that awkward position again.”
The Sergeant nodded back, then turned on her heel and walked away to stand next to her charge. Saga followed her to the group, coming to a stop between Papa and Gem. “Are we waiting on anyone else?”
“Just the sun to dip below the horizon,” Papa said, and no sooner had the words left his lips than the sound of the gathered crowd’s murmurs outside increased in volume, and the last remnants of daylight seemed to disappear.
“It’s time,” Gem muttered, and the six wheeled the casket out together. On the left side were Papa, Gem, and Saga, while Grandpapa, Captain Fettler, and Sergeant Taylor took the right side.
The crowd fell silent as the group appeared at the top of the stairs, which served as a makeshift stage for the ceremony. Saga stared out at the gathering, which had somehow increased in size during the few minutes she’d met with the funeral party. She hadn’t realized Master Dorrin had been so well-known. In front of her, Gem seemed to shiver, and Saga instinctively slipped her free hand into the copper’s. Gem didn’t respond other than with a squeeze of the offered hand.
As the cart came to a stop a safe distance from the Academy doors, Papa stepped forward and cleared his throat, preparing to speak. “People of Beacon’s Ridge, friends and family both, I thank you for joining us tonight in saying farewell to a good man.” His voice was unnaturally loud, and Saga realized he’d be wearing an enchanted item to help him be heard by everyone present. “Master Bard Dorrin Chase served the Academy and, in turn, the city itself for many years,” he continued. “Among his many feats and good deeds, he helped eradicate the monsters plaguing Lyra’s Lode, he helped drive the bandit clan known as the Irregulars from our borders, and he has instructed and mentored several of the next generation of Bards.”
The crowd remained respectfully silent, though Saga felt Gem’s grip tighten at the mention of Lyra’s Lode.
“I stand before you,” her father continued, “not as Craftking, but as Master Blacksmith Carver Vance, someone who counted Dorrin as a personal friend.” He turned and gestured to the others standing with him. “Joining me here tonight are those who were closest to him, all members of the Keeper’s Academy: His adopted daughter, Journeyman Bard Gemma Chase, his good friends Headmaster Tale Lantos and Guard Captain Nathan Fettler, accompanied by Sergeant Madison Taylor, and his latest apprentice, Journeyman Bard Saga Rose.”
Saga blinked, but dared not react otherwise. Journeyman? Rose? She hadn’t been officially promoted yet, and she wasn’t an established enough as an adventurer to get away with using her alias in an official ceremony like this. As Papa took a moment to meet the gaze of everyone he’d named, his eyes lingered on hers. He smiled softly, just for a moment, and she thought she understood his intention. She returned the smile, and he turned to face forward once again. Just like that, she well and truly had his blessing, no matter which choice she made.
“Headmaster Tale will now speak,” Papa said before taking a long step back, clasping his hands behind him.
Grandpapa, giving him a slight nod, stepped forward and seemed to scan the crowd for a long moment. When he finally opened his mouth, his voice was heavy with grief. “It’s a well-known fact that Dorrin and I were close friends since our younger days, but I’ve never told the story of how we met. I feel the time has come to do so.”
Saga caught herself leaning forward in suspense, eyes wide. Despite training with him for the better part of a decade, Saga knew next to nothing about Master Dorrin’s past.
“When I was still a journeyman bard,” he continued, “I found myself in a village in southern Balorn, whose people persuaded me to look into their young people disappearing. Boys and girls alike had been vanishing after being seen talking to hooded figures. Balorn’s patrols were…” he paused, as if choosing his words, “irregular, at the time, and the villagers had lost hope of anyone coming to help them until I arrived. I accepted the request, of course, and—“
Papa discreetly but firmly elbowed him in the side to encourage him not to draw out the story. To Grandpapa’s credit, he changed direction without missing a beat in his speech.
“I met with The Highwaymen and their leader, The Captain. After explaining to her what had happened, she lent me one of her best fighters, our very own Dorrin Chase. The two of us were able to rescue the kidnapped youths, though I was captured while we covered their escape. Dorrin, though, wouldn’t let that be, and he came back to rescue me at his own risk. He fought valiantly, single-handedly taking down most of the clan to get to me, where we had originally sought only to free the kidnapped villagers and escaped.
“I learned later that, in doing so, he disobeyed The Captain’s order not to endanger himself just for my sake. He was banished from his clan for his ‘softness’, and so I welcomed him to join me at the Academy in Beacon’s Ridge. He went on to become one of the most decorated bards in the history of Keepers’ Academy, training some of our best and brightest and doing his best to protect the innocent wherever he found himself.
“Despite his background as a bandit, Dorrin was one of the most compassionate, empathic men I’d ever had the honor of calling a friend. I…trusted him with my life, with my granddaughter’s life…” his voice cracked, and Saga realized suddenly that he was crying, “…and he never once let me down.” He turned and placed a weathered hand on the casket, his head bowed, then removed the cover from the lantern, causing Saga to avert her gaze from the now-exposed redlight. “Gemma, would you please?”
Gem took a step towards the casket and knelt, one hand on it and the other held out next to the lantern. She whispered to the redlight, and Saga could just barely make out the words. “Please, show us the face of this man as you consume him, that we may say our farewells.”
Saga heard something whisper back, and her mind quickly drowned it out with rambling thoughts with practiced ease. She thought of her first day of training with her Master, of the long days sparring with him in the training yard, practicing her instruments in the music hall under his watchful eye, and studying her history, math, and writing in his study.
As she recalled his face, the redlight flared, then rapidly grew until it had enveloped the entirety of the casket. It was impossible for her to discreetly avoid looking at it now, but she couldn’t look away. She couldn’t miss what was coming. She gritted her teeth, set her feet and stared at the crystalline flames. The smoke from the burning casket and body billowed up in an especially dark plume before beginning to shift and change color. Before their very eyes, Master Dorrin’s face appeared in the smoke, appearing as he did the day he died.
Saga felt the tears coming to her eyes as she looked up at the face her master. The giant disembodied head wasn’t truly aware, she knew, but it still turned to smile at her grandfather, father, and the two guards. Then, it rotated to view the gathered crowd, turning slowly as if to meet the gaze of everyone gathered. When it finally turned to face her and Gem, she could’ve sworn its vision lingered, its eyes growing softer.
And then, the moment passed, and the head turned back to face the crowd, still smiling. Saga could hear several people weeping in the audience, and even those who remained silent still had eyes that glittered from unshed tears in the evening light. She hadn’t truly realized how well-liked her Master was until that night.
“Dorrin,” Captain Fettler said, having stepped forward into Grandpapa’s place, “was as stubborn a man as he was reliable. When I lost my leg, when everyone looked at me with pity, he treated me as he always had. He was always good for a drink and a story, and I’ll miss the quiet nights we spent remembering those we lost.” He stepped back then, and Sergeant Taylor placed a hand on the man’s shoulder as he bowed his head, his shoulders shaking ever so slightly.
Gem turned to look at Saga, an unspoken question in her eyes, and Saga gave her a small nod. Together, they stepped forward to the front of the casket and faced the crowd, and Gem spoke first.
“Dorrin rescued me from Lyra’s Lode when I was a little girl, and since then he’d been the only father I’d ever known. He looked out for me, sometimes from a distance, and…” She took a deep, tremulous breath, and Saga reached up to pat her shoulder reassuringly. Gem smiled at her in silent thanks before continuing.
He was an inspiration to me. He was a model bard, and a good man. He was a pillar of strength for those who needed him, and to me, that’s what being a bard is about, supporting others in different ways. I don’t think I ever saw him cry in the entire time I knew him, you know?” She looked up at the illusion of her father floating overhead. “Even now, I know he’s still watching out for me. For all of us.”
The night went silent, and Saga felt the eyes of everyone present on her. She’d been thinking about what to say all day, and she hurried to recall the words.
“I didn’t know Dorrin Chase.”
What? That’s not what I was going to say. Her words visibly shocked everyone present, including herself. Gem gave her a look that held a mixture of confusion and pain, and even Grandpapa frowned as he looked at her. She realized the damaged was done, and decided to let the words come as they may, hoping it would turn out alright.
“I’ve been his student for eight years,” she continued. “He was a stern master, sometimes harsh, and he didn’t accept failure from me. Sometimes it felt like he was singling me out for some reason, like he was being especially tough on me. I’d get a strong reprimand where another student would receive a gentle correction for the same error. Part of me resented him for it, maybe even hated him.”
The crowd began to murmur, but she couldn’t allow herself to stop. “The last week I spent with him, though, has been eye-opening to me,” she said, wiping away the tears that had begun to form in her eyes. “The man I traveled with was kind, soft-spoken, and encouraging. When I was in danger, he was quick to protect me. He gave me advice, let me make mistakes and helped me learn from them. I’m realizing now, as I stand here…I never knew him, not until the very end. I understand now that all those years of rough treatment were an act. He became the kind of teacher he thought I needed. At the end, when he had nothing left to teach me, I think that was when I finally met the real Dorrin Chase.
“The real Master Dorrin,” she concluded, “was a gentle man, a patient teacher, and a good friend. I wish I could have gotten to know him more.” Finally, feeling spent, Saga fell to her knees, and a moment later she felt Gem’s arm around her shoulder. The two held each other close there, crying bitter tears for the shared family they both found and lost. As the crowd looked on silent and the pyre burnt behind the pair, a thought forced its way to the forefront of Saga’s mind, triggered by Gem’s words.
Somehow, she knew, she wouldn’t allow herself to cry like this ever again, neither as a bard, nor a Keeper.