Illumination

He rests Sarr'ina's bow next to her bed, raising a brow at the carvings covering it that'd started to faintly glow. He rubs his eyes, and once he opens them the glow had vanished... Obviously, he wasn't stupid enough to think it was 'just a hallucination' as he'd seen far too much mystical shit already... To be honest, he wouldn't be surprised if dragons and unicorns existed at this point.

He rests on his knees next to Sarr'ina, gently rubbing her forearm to awaken her. If she wasn't well enough to wake up from some light stimuli, then she wouldn't be well enough to attend the funeral. Fortunately for the both of them, she begins to stir after a minute or so, her eyes slowly blinking open as she stares up at the ceiling of the hut.

"Ina?" he quietly calls out.

Her ears twitch at his voice as she turns her head towards him, her face looks blank. No expression to be seen as if her mind wasn't present.

"Ina." he calls out again, louder this time as he grips her arm a little tighter.

The glazed look in her eyes slowly fades as her eyes moisten, she locks eyes with him for a moment before tears start slowly sliding down her face. He quickly takes her into a hug as she reciprocates, doing her best to stifle the sobbing mess threatening to come out.

"Ina, you're safe. We're home, we're safe." he reassures.

He continues to reassure her for a couple more minutes until she quietens. Only now noticing the white fur of Sarr'bal sitting over his knees. "I-Is that...?"

Luca nods, "Sarr'bal." he simply states, knowing any more explanation is unwarranted. He passed the damp fur to her and she hugs it to her chest, pressing her face into it while reminiscing over the familiar yet tragic smell of their lost companion.

"Ina, the pyres are almost ready to go, do you think you're well enough to attend?"

...

She looks up from the fur and nods resolutely. "Yes."

Luca helps Sarr'ina up to her feet while wrapping his own bear skin around her for warmth. Afterwards, he helps her out of the hurt and t towards the pyres that already had many people gathered around.

Sarr'ina receives many greetings from people, which she receives with a small smile, but that's all... She wasn't in the mood to make small talk, and it seems that neither were most of the tribesmen. Due to it being a tight-knit community, almost everyone had lost family, or someone close. Almost the entire tribe was gathered for the pyres, Sarr'vuln could be seen walking over and climbing atop a raised wooden stand so he could address everyone.

Luca just phases the man's words out though, instead, focusing on the pyres that'd been lit and were slowly being enveloped in flames. Ina rests her head against his arm as she watches it all turn to ashes.

She'd lost as much or more than Luca had, all he could do was hold her. Anything else, any smart words, gestures, or actions he thought to take wouldn't be suitable.

Elsewhere :

*Clack!*

*Clack!*

*Clack!*

A familiar yet ugly face grins as he looks down upon his workers. The fat man brushes his fat hand through his long, dirty, crimson hair, the scalp that he'd torn from that young boy continuing to serves as a reminder of the humiliation he'd suffered. The scalp itself had long begun to rot, creating an incredibly disgusting smell when mixed with the man's natural body odour.

Obviously, this man's name was Murin, outcast of the now 'existinct' Karaskir tribe, and current leader of the Tomnal. He was currently standing on a raised wooden structure overlooking a mine that had many, dirty and skinny people working in it.

Among the group of people were many familiar faces, some belonging to the Karaskir, and some belonging to the Gutizia tribe. Though, these people were only a few of the slaves the Tomnal tribe had accumulated.

The Tomnal tribe had been accruing slaves for many decades, wiping out small tribes with sheer numbers before forcing the survivors to work. It'd been incredibly lucrative, and allowed the Tomnal tribesman to live in luxury.

The slaves did everything, from working the farms and orchards that'd been set up, to mining the stone and clay needed for pots, to actually making and selling the pots. This had been so lucrative that almost all of the Tomnal tribesmen had become fat and lazy, only the guardsman in charge of keeping the slaves working actually having to move about.

The Tomnal tribe's laziness is actually one of the contributing factors that allowed Murin to slowly gain power. When he'd had to flee the Karaskir tribe, he'd inadvertently ended up running into one of the scout parties looking to check on the status of the Karaskir, to see if they were ready for 'integration'.

He'd been bound, captured, and interrogated by the leader of the guards, Tucken. The man had quickly taken an interest in Murin, his wisdom, attitude, and stories. And after much talking, tentatively persuasive arguments, and big promises, Tucken had helped Murin seize control over the Tomnal tribe.

It was actually hilariously easy if both men were honest. The fat and lazy Tomnal tribesman couldn't even put up a fight, instead quickly surrendering to preserve their current lavish lifestyles, and quickly putting Murin in charge.

Of course. Due to all of this, Murin had been put heavily in Tucken's debt... Which is why he revealed a secret only he seemed to know... The secret of Luca, the immortal. Murin had only had theories of Luca's abilities, the fact he'd regrown his scalp and somehow managed to escape the Karaskir's kennels without debilitating injuries while also slaughtering most of the wolves inside was pretty convincing on its own...

But his suspicions were confirmed when he'd spotted the boy sprinting through the forest while being chased by the Gutizia tribesman... Murin had watched as Luca killed himself, and returned back to life not long after, afterwards getting up and charging in a rage towards the Gutizia tribe.

Murin had not been so giddily happy in a very, very long time. But this sight made him incredibly excited. That boy was immortal, but, what happened if you consumed immortal flesh and blood? Murin suspected the same properties would be granted, even if he was wrong on that front, he was sure it would grant other supernatural abilities...

After witnessing the immortal boy charge towards the Gutizia tribe, he'd immediately returned to the Tomnal to gather his forces to raid the Gutizia. The immortal boy would no doubt slaughter his way through their forces, making it incredibly easy for them to enslave the survivors... And, if Luca was killed during the fight, Murin would easily be able to collect his corpse.