Ceinwyn sings a song for the dead

[Author's note: This might be a boring chapter. A bit of a cooldown chapter, really. Sorry about that. I promise they'll be lots more action-packed, dramatic, or sex-filled chapters to come...er...I hope.]

You spend the next few hours walking around the village, futilely attempting to bury the corpses of all the druids that lay dead, but it is like trying to trying to dig a hole in a sand pit. But you keep at it, if for no other reason than because you need to keep yourself busy. You keep telling yourself that you're staying here to keep to the druid Derreth's request and protect Ceinwyn. In truth though, you're not so sure what else to do.

All the druids are now dead, your quest is completely stopped in its tracks, and the only one who has even half a clue of what to do next is a girl your own age who just watched all of her friends get cut down. You look over to where she is, and see her trying to dig the grave for her master. She is still in the same dirty clothes you found her in and completely out of breath, even though the grave is not even half-finished. You had offered to bury him for her, but she told you she wanted to do it herself. So you're stuck milling around until she finishes the task.

What's worse, Tri'lanna seems to have completely vanished. You haven't seen her since you first caught a glimpse of the druid hamlet, and now she hasn't turned up at all. You consider looking for her, but immediately change your mind. The elfgirl can probably take care of herself. It's Ceinwyn that needs looking after.

Walking over to the struggling girl, you grab another shovel and help her dig. As you shovel out heaps of dirt, she glares at you, telling you she doesn't want your help, but you ignore the look and keep digging. When it shows that you aren't listening to her, that you are just going to keep making the grave, she gives up and turns back to digging.

Eventually, after a few minutes of hard shovelling, you hear her whisper, "Thank you."

When Derreth is buried, and the graves are set up in a presentable way, the young girl walks to the front of the graves. Following at her side, you wonder what she is going to do. Turning to face the buried Druids, Ceinwyn slowly clasps her hands together and bows her head. You follow in turn and try to remain as respectfully silent as possible. You think she is praying at first, but after a moment of silence Ceinwyn begins to sing.

It is a slow, sad song she is singing, with melodies that call out to lost dreams and fallen loved ones. Her song falters at first, too afraid to be sung loudly, but Ceinwyn draws strength with each verse, until she is singing with the full timbre of her voice.

                     The shore of river Styx we stand,

                           and sail across, hand in hand.

                     Akasha guard us on this day,

                           as we return to our homeland.

                     Within the forest that we lay,

                           with earth and tree and stone and sand.

                     The shore of river Styx we stand,

                           and sail across, hand in hand.

"That was a beautiful song." You say after she is finished singing.

"It's called The Druid's Lament. It's a song we sing to celebrate the passing of our elders." She says, smiling sadly. "It was the best I can do..."

Ceinwyn looks up to the burial markers of all the Druids. Stretching as far out as the eye can see, row upon row, there are small wooden crosses staked in the ground. Seeing the painful stretch of graves, Ceinwyn whispers,

"We have no song for genocide."