Misfortune, ruin and death

Three days later, Farna's body was cremated on the western wall of Shari-Chorten at sunset, along with four other dead that had occurred that night. The smoke of the fire floated in gray veils around the whitewashed towers of the fortress, on whose roofs the bright red pennants of mourning had been blowing in the wind without interruption since summer, and mingled with the haze of the falling night. The mourners stood still, among them Roman, Alea and Andra at the cremation site and looked into the flames, which at least provided comforting warmth. In addition to the smell of burnt meat and pine wood, there was something else in the warm evening air. And no one could resist it. It conjured up a delicate, hopeful shine in the tired eyes of the exhausted people. Spring was heralding!

'Unfortunately for some, however, it's painfully too late,' thought Roman sadly. He sat at the ritual cremation site until late at night and stared at the burned logs, the embers of which bathed hi