4
A Grief So Great
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E
wan watched the flames flicker in the hearth.
The tails and sprites were tinged with orange and splashed with yellows and dashed with reds, flickering sideways, licking the air as if tasting its quality. Ewan lost himself in the flames as they rose and fell, like tranquil ocean waves, though they did little to soothe Ewan’s anxious mind.
Although he sat in front of the hearth and the coals of the fire burned bright and hot, the fire barely drove away the chill in the air, let alone the chill in his heart.
He pulled the blanket tighter around himself and leaned back into his chair and took a long draught from a bottle of mead. It was sweet on his tongue and always comforted him in difficult times. Foolishly, Ewan thought it might do the same now.
He wa
