A Funeral Of A Dwarf

Shirley

Weeks pass as we train almost the entire day, and then in the evenings I fill in the paperwork of the days maneuvers. It is a tiring schedule but I manage to push through. However weeks later Oruk and Noruk arrive at the training field without their dragons saddled up, looking like they are about to beat rocks into pebbles with their bare hands. I walk over to them. 'What is the matter, Oruk and Noruk?'

Noruk answers. 'We just received a letter. Our father is returning to stone. The council doesn't permit us to go back and attend his funeral.'

I almost blow up right then, but decide to play it smarter. 'Leave this to me, Noruk. We will leave this afternoon, mark my words. You two will attend your fathers funeral even if it is the death of me.'

I then run towards the leader. He is surprised. 'Well, Shirley... I thought you would be having training right now.'

I look at him unamused. 'Oruk and Noruk got a letter today. You know what it is about. Though I'd rather do it with your permission, I will bring the Wing there with or without your permission. If you don't support me I will get the supplies myself.'

The leader is astounded again. 'You want to overrule the councils decision of not letting Oruk and Noruk attend their fathers funeral? Why go through the trouble?'

I look him in the eyes. 'Simple. They are part of my squad. I'm responsible over them. They need this for their well being so I will do this for them. Whatever way I need to do it.'

The leader speaks softly. 'Please keep your tone down a bit. If people hear you are defying the council like this you may get a rough time...'

I square my shoulders. 'Let them try. I'm ready for anything. I can take a beating and if they take it to far, you know what I will do.'

The leader stays silent for a while. When he talks he is way more serious. 'I'm giving you permission to gather provisions and go to the funeral of the Dwarves father. Please do not let word get out beyond your squad that you came to me to defy the council. I'll never hear the end of it then.'

I nod and return to the squad. There I start dividing tasks and giving orders. 'Noruk, you know the distance to cover. Make sure we have enough supplies to get to whichever Dwarven Hold we have to go to. Treknal, make sure everyone is armed as well for any unlucky encounters on our way there. Sha'iva, check everyones saddles and make sure they are ready for a long trip. We are going to a Dwarven Hold.'

I never knew a trip on a dragon back could be agonizing, until I make the trip with the Wing to the Dwarven Hold of the father of Noruk and Oruk. Where the Emerald Realm is but a week flying with headwinds, there is still no sign we are in the right land after a week of flying towards the Dwarven lands even with a tailwind. It takes an additional half a week before we finally arrive at the gates of a massive fortress, hewn from the mountain itself. After waiting at the gate for a few minutes and stretching to get the cramps from my body a Dwarf with a lush beard approaches us. 'Now, whom is it that seeks entrance of the Dwarven Hold of Cher'kan?'

I turn to the Dwarf. 'That would be me. I brought two Dwarves who wish to attend the funeral of their father.'

The Dwarf, a short and stubby male in heavy chainmail and carrying both a Warhammer and a heavy shield, looks at me through slitted eyes. 'A human rider has nothing to do with Dwarves. Why would you call a ruse to get inside the Hold?'

Noruk finally glides down from his dragon and speaks. 'She is speaking the truth, Uncle. Me and my brother have come for fathers funeral.'

The Dwarf looks at Noruk. 'Noruk, my wee lad? You are a Rider now?'

Noruk nods and walks up to the guard. They put their right hands on the others left shoulder and then give a hug. Then Oruk steps down from his own dragon. 'We both managed to become Riders, uncle. We got the best squad leader there is.'

As they copy the greeting the guard looks at me and the Orks. 'Before you are allowed into the Hold you have to meet the King. He will decide wether you can enter the Hold or wether you have to wait outside. Follow me please.'

Deep inside the Dwarven Hold we find a throne room guarded by six Dwarves who instantly lower their weapons towards us. Then the guard from the gate announces us and they raise their weapons and open the doors, though they do follow us in. Apparently Dwarves are very distrustful. When we are inside the first thing I see is a Dwarf in golden armor sitting on a throne, with a groomed beard that falls down three of the steps leading to the throne. When he sees us he leans forward, speaking loud enough for everyone to hear but in a raspy voice. 'Well, what do we have here? A squad of Dragon Riders? I told Celaris I have no wish for diplomacy or their bureaucracy.'

I speak in return, with a loud and clear voice. 'We are neither here for diplomacy nor bureaucracy, your majesty. We have not been send here for that. In fact, we nearly defied a direct order by coming here. Two of my squad are here to attend their fathers burial.'

The king motions to the guards who step back, and then walks towards me. He makes a full circle around me and then walks away again, though not up his throne again. 'Ye are an odd one. From everyone here ye are most likely the leader. Ye don't look like an Elf yet ye wear their armor and weapons, as ye cary their royal seal. Are ye here in their name instead?'

Again I try to keep it short. 'No, your majesty. The Elves and their queen do not know we are here. We are purely here for Oruk and Noruk.'

As he hears their names he turns to me again. 'Ye have many stones in your bead, miss.'

I whisper to myself as I ponder what he said. 'What would he mean with that? I don't have a bead...'

One of the guards speaks out loud. 'It means you are a hard person to read with many conflicting signs, sprite.'

I turn to the Dwarf who spoke. 'I'm not here to exchange foul words with a guard either.' I then turn to the king. 'I'm the leader of this squad, yes. However I saved the queens life and as a thank you she adopted me as her daughter. I carry their armor and weapons because in a way they are my people, though I am not truly an Elf. My first responsibility lays with the Dragon Guard.'

The king studies me and then notices the shield on my back. After that he walks towards me again and studies me closer. 'Yer shield... it is made by a Dwarf. This armor... it is not a design of us but the beating of some of the panels matches that of a Dwarf, not an Elf. Even the spearhead looks Dwarven made... yet it is all finished in Elven style. What do you have to answer about that?'

Noruk steps forward and kneels. 'My brother and I helped forge her armor and weapons, your majesty. We offered to help because our Wing Leader earned our respect and we wanted to do something in return. She is our leader and even though she mostly showcases the Elven work, we wanted to put our own skills into it as well. That shield was forged for her by us together as well.'

The king nods once. 'So a human clad in Elven armor which Dwarves helped forge. Nothing here makes sense yet me eyes do not deceive me. More stones on the beads yet it all adds up. I will admit you into Cher'kan and based on how ye and yer squad are... I will decide if ye are worthy to stay.'

I nod once. 'I appreciate the gesture and will keep an eye on my squad, however Oruk and Noruk I will not bother during our stay here as they... have their own business to attend to.'

The gold clad Dwarf nods once as well. 'The worst part of a Dwarves life is the day they cary their fathers funeral slab to the niche where he will return to stone. No matter how the death happened, it is always the worst day. Ye are all free to go now. Eat. Rest. As long as you don't interfere with business that is not yers to interfere with, ye will remain welcome. The mines, forges and treasuries are off limits to everyone. With that cleared out... ye can leave.'

We walk out of the throne hall followed by the guards. Then Oruk speaks to me. 'Wing Leader Shirley, you should stop taking the punishment for all of us. Now you defied the councils direct orders by bringing us here and you let our king scrutinize you because we were to afraid to step up. We should be the ones taking the punishment.'

I look to Oruk. 'You and your brother are in my squad. That makes me responsible for you two. Unlike other Wing Leaders I don't see the responsibility end with just your lives, but also your well being. I have buried my own father as well, in a grave I had to dig with my bare hands. There is only one chance for closure. One chance to say farewell to him. You do not want to miss that chance.'

Days later I find myself standing on the bridge that spans the access road to the mines, looking out over the busy city. Though I find myself missing the green of the forest, I do see the beauty of the Dwarven Hold. They dug everything out of the mountain and use huge carved pillars to support the mountain peak. Braziers are everywhere to light up the giant cavern and despite the looks from the outside it is a busy metropolis. After a while I hear a voice behind me. 'I don't like it here.'

It is Sha'iva. As I look to her and then back to the city I sigh. 'I get why you say it. A tree here and there would not look bad. But the Dwarves are masters of a different beauty. They are masters of jewelry, gem mining, building, mining and making machinery. We will never fully get what goes on in here and that is fine. We don't need to nor do we have to. What the Dwarves do is their stuff, not ours.'

Sha'iva stands next to me. 'I cannot wait until we can return to Celaris. I just cannot see the beauty you speak of. I just see big and bulky stuff everywhere without an ounce of elegance. Only stuff that is meant to be functional, not look good.'

I point to one of the giant pillars supporting the peak. 'Those pillars aren't build, you know. They were dug out. When this city was dug out the Dwarven masters of old planned every millimeter of the city before even a single chisel was put against the stone. At least, my father told me that legend once. He told me that is the way Dwarves work. Everything is meticulously planned.'

Sha'iva sighs. 'I could not live like that. Not being able to make a single mistake or generations later my kin would be buried beneath a mountain... I'll let Dwarves be Dwarves.'

As she walks away I return to my looking over the city. Eventually I hear another voice, this one deeper but raspier. 'How would it be to know so much and yet so little?'

I don't need to look to know who it is. 'Your majesty. I cannot tell what it is but... I remember stuff my father used to say. Stuff about the Dwarves and Elves. Half of it seems to be wrong but the legends are still amusing now that I see the things he talked about for real.'

The king stands next to me. 'I heard about yer father. How he has returned to stone as well.'

I nod. 'It is so long ago I don't even remember how he went any more. His face is starting to become blurry in my mind. All I remember is his voice and his lessons. Then again, I've had my share of things to do since then.'

The king speaks a bit softer now. 'To lose a father can hurt. Mine died in a battle with me own kin. Some claim on a possible good mining place that ended up being nothing more than pyrite. Though the reasoning behind it was sound, the death wasn't. Alas, me third brother and me gave him a burial fit for a king.'

I softly speak to. 'I just don't know what hurts more. To lose a father or to not have a mother at all. Until the queen adopted me I had no mother. She was just not there.'

The king leans on the handrail. 'Ye don't know what ye have until ye don't have it no more. Losing one is worse.'

I hold a hand on the Royal Seal of the Elves on my chest. I will not let her die to. Then I speak again. 'My squad and I were never even supposed to be here. Oruk and Noruk had requested the council to come here for the funeral but were denied by the council. The denial hit them hard so I went to the Leader and convinced him that this was the right thing to do. None of the others know I did that, only that I returned ordering them to prepare for this journey. I'll probably get a hard time once I return to Celaris but that is my problem.'

The king turns to me again. 'I know why ye do it. But why not send just the two here?'

I look out towards the daylight. 'There is something that is bothering me. When I returned from the Elven realm the Council mage told me there is a war going on. She told me I could take command of the Elven legions and send them into battle myself. She told me about some kind of war that is going on but never specified against who or what.'

The king remains silent. When he finally speaks he doesn't clarify my thoughts but finishes where I was going. 'Ye wanted to keep them safe so ye brought the squad.'

Late at night I sit against Rashter when Oruk and Noruk approach me. As they stand before me they nudge each other until Noruk speaks. 'Thank you for doing this for us, even if we have been less than hospitable to you as a race. We would like to ask you one more thing, Wing Leader.'

I look up from the book I'm reading as Noruk speaks. 'What may the one thing be, then?'

Oruk lowers his head. 'We would like to ask you to help carry the slate of our father to his final resting place.'

I lower my head. 'Though I would be honored... would I not desecrate your fathers memory with it? I'm a complete stranger to him.'

Noruk speaks now. 'Not at all, Wing Leader. You would honor him, and us, with that gesture. You would show that even the Riders are not cold as stone.'

I get up. 'I will do it. I will do it not as your Wing Leader, but as a friend. However, I will need a crash course in what to do as... well, I've talked very little with you so far...'

Noruk gestures me to follow him. He leads me to a system of catacombs beneath the city, with niches carved out on either side of each tunnel. Some of the niches got slabs of different stone types to block them off, others are empty. Then we arrive in a room with a raised dais in the middle. On it is a red granite slab with a dead Dwarf on it. The slab has carvings of several Dwarven runes in it that I cannot read, however what I can see is that this Dwarf got really old. Hid beard is almost as long as the kings and from his thick muscles I think he was either a miner or a smith. Noruk now speaks with a suppressed voice. 'Tomorrow, after dawn, Oruk, our uncle, you and me will lift the slab up and carry it to the niche over there, where he will return to stone. The slab is heavy, however as someone who has gone through a lot you should be able to carry the weight.'

I sigh. 'I'm not a strong person, Noruk. I will make an attempt at it but I'm not sure if I can do it.'

Noruk nods. 'If you do it, however, you will earn the respect of my people. It will open the door between you and them, something I know you wish.'

The next day I'm woken up by Noruk. After making sure my armor is still sitting right and deciding to put on my crown I follow him to the catacombs, surprised at hearing the entire city being quiet. When we arrive Noruk has to force his way past all the Dwarves. The entire Hold must be in the catacombs for the burial. Eventually we are in the room and I see the king stand before the slab. 'As one of our brothers has fallen, so has the time to say farewell to him. It is time to seal him in stone so he may once again return to it. Carriers, step forward.'

Together with Noruk I step to the left side of the slab. With a small movement of his head Noruk motions me forward. Then I put my hands beneath the slab and wait for either the Dwarves to start lifting or another signal. Then the king speaks again. 'From stone once we came, to stone we return. Bring him to the niche.'

I start putting all my strength in the lifting of the slab. I have to suppress the urge to groan as the slab starts to come lose from the dais and I notice just how heavy it is. Taking smaller steps at a time I let the uncle determine the pace and just attempt to not collapse from the sheer weight of the slab with the Dwarf. Either he ate a lot during life or his slab is weighing the same as an entire mountain.... When we finally reach the niche Oruk and his uncle push the edge of the slab on the bottom of the niche and then help us push the slab into the niche. As it slides in with a screech I'm glad I'm relieved from the weight. Then Noruk motions to another granite slab, this one thinner and smaller. Together we lift the slab up and slide it into the niche, sealing it off from the outside world.

The moment feels sad. I never knew him but still it feels like a sad moment to bury this Dwarf. The king speaks again to break the sadness. 'As the stone has cried and the fallen brother is sealed away, so has our kingdom fallen into silence. May we remember our fallen brother tonight with song and story, feast and drink. Tonight we will celebrate his achievements.'

Later in the day I find myself on the bridge again, looking out over the city. Soon I hear the king approach me. 'Ye know, it is surprising me how much the brothers respect ye. They declined me offer to carry the slab and instead asked ye.'

I turn towards the king. 'I think it is mutual respect mostly. I respect them and their culture. I think they did this as a thank you for that.'

The king grabs the handrail. 'No. They hold you in a higher esteem than that. They asked ye to help return their father to stone. To them ye mean a lot. They see ye as more of a leader than me.'

I look at the city shortly before answering. 'In a way they balance their kin and their task as a Dragon Guard better than me. They know that the rules of the Guard prescribe I'm their leader, and I answer only to the council and its leader. Meanwhile I'm also a princess of the Elves which I have to keep separated from my duties of the Dragon Guard. I'm not sure if I can keep this balance.'

The king puts his other hand on the handrail to, two fingers on my hand. 'I have seen with the brothers what I have not seen with any Dwarven Guard in yer ranks before. I'm seeing Dwarves riding dragons, not some half human warriors whom don't follow the traditions of their kin. Yer squad is more varied than a geode and ye don't even seem to mind.'

I look at the Dwarven hand on my right hand. 'That is because I don't believe in what the council believes. I believe that our variety makes us stronger, not weaker. Both Sha'iva and I are princesses of the Elves, though I'm born a human. I beat Treknal in hand to hand combat in Orkish fashion, so he respects me and follows me. I don't know the female Orks name but she followed me from the start. Then with Oruk and Noruk... they were the tricky ones. Ever since I got charged with this squad they've been forging metal outside of training hours. They almost never speak, nor do they take the time to talk with the squad. All they do is work.'

The king looks up to me sideways. 'They follow tradition. In their case the best thing ye can do is let them forge until it interferes with their duties. That has made them respect ye more than any conversation ye could have had with them. A Dwarf needs something to pour his heart and soul into. Some with mining, others into forging, then some into building and others again in combat. Oruk and Noruk seem to be mostly forging and combat. To let them do such unhindered will make them respect ye more than anything.'

I now look the king in the eyes. 'I only wish to have more communication with him, you know. Noruk is my right hand. He is in charge of half my squad. Yet I speak more with Treknal and the female Ork, who is my left hand, than him. Back in Celaris I'm doing his paperwork for him all the time. It kinda does get boring.'

In the evening I find myself walking through the city and hearing loud noises coming from one of the larger buildings. As I walk closer I see Oruk and Noruk dancing on a table and many Dwarves drinking and eating. I walk to the building but don't enter yet. I then see the two Orks heavily drinking and laughing, eating in a brutish fashion and mostly being an embarrassment. I'm balling my fists ready to start punching them for their behavior as I feel a hand on my arm. It belongs to the king. 'Do not worry about them. Tonight is a night of celebration. They can let themselves loose and enjoy what we have to offer.'

I turn to the king. 'If I don't start putting them back in line now you'll have a tavern brawl on your hands. Orks and alcohol don't mix and they definitely don't mix with those two Orks...'

The king smiles, and I notice he is somewhat drunk as well. 'Let them fight. We can take a beating and if it goes to far the guards are never far away. Now come and celebrate.'

I really want to say no to that. I dislike drinking and definitely don't want to end up like the Orks where I'm ready to start smashing stools on peoples backs but in the end, it is an invitation of the king. To decline could be stupid. With that in mind I join the king as well in what seems to be the cities main Tavern and as the king hands me a mug of Dwarven ale I join in with the celebrations.