Durin's Diary

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After hanging up the phone, the elderly man with white hair lay down in his rocking chair.

There was still some sunshine on the balcony of Carefree Palace, so he was covered with a blanket until a grey-bearded peer pushed open the balcony door.

"The switchboard said you just took a high-level call from the Eastern Elven Territory," the grey-bearded man asked with his head lowered, "and the head steward said you had someone look for Lady Salin."

"What do you need me to do, Your Majesty?"

"The old man Yishu just called me, saying his grandson wants to come to Copenhagen to study at the Arts Academy next year," the man in the rocking chair said with a smile.

The grey-bearded man snorted with laughter, "Your Majesty, I didn't mishear, did I? The grandson of Duke Yishu wants to come here to study at our Academy. Do his family's military and Engineering Association agree to this?"

"It's your subordinates who're to blame. Someone from the Circle of Truth was sent here, got a taste of the new Northern Doctrine, and reported back. Then my foolish eldest son took advantage of your absence and arrested him. And he died on a hunger strike in prison. Of course, Yishu was in charge of the liaison. What do you think Yishu would think?"

The old man glared at the grey-bearded man, then turned his head to look at the setting sun, "What he's telling me now is to take care of that kid Durin for him, while I— I need you, Fischer, to keep a close eye on those young men under your command. The last time you were away, my eldest son led your men into trouble. Our Foreign Ministry and the folks at the Circle of Truth can carp more or less, and it wouldn't hurt me to lose some face and pay some money. But if you lay a finger on Durin, I'm old enough as it is—I'm not sure about those little bastards of yours and their whole families."

"I will certainly warn them not to cause trouble for Durin. Is there anything else you wish to order?" asked Fischer, the grey-bearded man, in a subdued voice.

"That's more like it. Also, tell Sean that the Northern Kingdom's Arts Academy should start teaching how to make films. Tell them straight, Yishu's grandson wants to come learn how to make films."

"Your Majesty, the grandson of Yishu, he's really coming?"

The owner of Carefree Palace and the head of the secret police finished their exchange in a moment of silence.

Eventually, the elder with white hair sighed on his rocking chair, "He's really coming. Logically speaking, such a promising young man should take the proper path and go to the Cardinal Court under the Circle of Truth. It seems the Eastern Elven Territory is not very stable either."

"It appears the loss of that child really angered the Circle of Truth, so much so that the duke himself is placing a big bet on this," Fischer speculated.

"I've inquired about it. Faris Dada Aye, a child who graduated from the Oak Hall at the Central Province's College of Loyal Succession, both parents sacrificed in the rotating combat on the Eastern Front, a devout worshipper of the Prime Creator. He starved himself to death in order not to betray his comrades, in keeping with the sacrifice of the seven virtues of the Prime Creator..." After a short pause, the white-haired elder looked at Fischer, "Fischer, find an opportunity to return the body to them. Such a young righteous man should not be kept in your basement."

"Understood, Your Majesty."

"Go and take care of it."

With that, the conversation ended, and Fischer left to carry out his orders, while the white-haired elder lay there, watching the far-off sea and sky, the sun still slowly setting towards the horizon as it always had.

Then, someone opened the balcony door again, and the old man turned his head, discovering that this time, it was a white-haired woman who walked in.

Lady Salin Fedra, Duke Yishu's old flame, was also the elder man's cousin—she followed her mother's surname, otherwise, she would have had the same last name as the old man, Walter.

"I've already received a call from Yishu. Your secret police sure are impressive to back him into a corner like this," she said, staring intently at the old man before her. "Robert, is there anything you need from me?"

"Durin is coming to learn filmmaking, and Yishu must have tasked you to take care of him, right?" The elder man said nonchalantly, accustomed to his cousin's demeanor since childhood.

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"Yes, do you have any plans?" Lady Salin took a seat on an empty chair beside her.

"Making a movie, I've never heard such an absurd excuse. Durin's grandson didn't look like he was in need of laying low. How could he be ready for his coming-of-age pilgrimage next year? I always thought the child would enter the Intelligence Bureau under the Circle of Truth."

"Yishu mentioned to me that someone proposed to the Circle of Truth that Durin should be put in charge of intelligence gathering in the Northern Kingdom," Lady Salin said as she picked up the fruit knife and an apple on the table.

"Good grief, they're trying to drive Durin out of the Eastern Elven Territory. What could this boy have done to offend someone so grievously that even Yishu can't protect him?" The old man said this and then he looked at his cousin, "Yishu must have told you, go on, say it."

"The child Durin and a girl named Anta have been together ever since they were little, two innocent children," Salin said, pausing halfway as she began to peel the apple meticulously.

"Two innocent children, I understand now. This girl named Anta, her talent is too remarkable, many people feel Durin isn't worthy of her, so they concocted this detestable idea. And old Yishu, he's a wise one—since Lublin is no longer an option, might as well let his grandson venture out. If that girl truly loves Durin, she will traverse all hardships to reach him. By then, any opposition will be in vain."

Murmuring to himself, the old man laughed heartily, looking at the increasingly desolate setting sun: "Durin, the boy, must also be confident. It's wonderful. Time flies; our generation has aged and the children have grown up. But there will always be naive children leaving their hometown, their innocent lives beginning to explore this cruel yet beautiful world."

At that moment, Lady Salin had finished peeling the apple and handed it to him.

"Thank you." The old man took the apple and bit into it.

"Durin, the child, is said to be very opinionated, not at all like a child," Lady Salin continued as she looked out beyond the balcony. "The reports say he abhors evil. If he's exposed to Northern Doctrine, he could be more dangerous and harder to deal with than Faris for your sovereignty. Aren't you worried?"

"What do I have to be worried about? I've spent the better part of my life reaching this point; I've completed my mission. Salin, the future belongs to the young. My sons have their own ideas, and those of their generation have their own choices," saying this, the old man gazed at the sunset. "The day Faris was apprehended, Fischer was in the South dealing with other matters, and my eldest son was in charge. Old Yishu held back because of me, but what if one day I'm gone, what then? "

"You've said before that the younger son is more generous than the eldest; it may not be a bad thing."

"But he also values the crown on his head more, and people change."

The cousins' conversation ended there, and the old man noticed the loneliness on his cousin's face.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

"You've really aged. Wrinkles have appeared at the corners of your eyes, spots on your face, and you've even become stooped..." she replied.

"Silly girl, that's life. There are social classes; some are born princes, others beggars. Some achieve legendary status before midlife, while others can't escape their mortal coil until death. Only death is the truly fair arbiter in this world," he said. The ruler beneath their feet, the Northern Kingdom's Robert Walter, sighed inwardly.

In my youth, so many of my peers died before my eyes.

Having come this far... it's my turn now.

Love is the one thing that mustn't be betrayed, with death the only certainty that can't be avoided.