Footsteps crunched on virgin snow. Two sets of feet, one smaller than the other, stopped before an ancient leafless oak tree, dusted in white. Between the tree’s open body, between its roots, the most famous tomb effigy in all of Elstell, right here, in the middle of nowhere, just a forest in the North East. 

A tiny boy with flames for hair, stared at the effigy tucked in the alcove of the tree. 

‘Mama, why are we here?’

‘Well, Sho,’ Natsu smiled down at her son, ‘I came to show you who you were named after.’

The boy turned back to the effigy. It was more like a horizontal statue, two figures carved it stone. And it wasn’t a very impressive statue, at that. It wasn’t even as impressive as some of the buildings in the South.

‘You see,’ Natsu crouched down in front of her son, ‘you were named after your uncle Shoyo. And this figure here in a hood, that’s him.’

The boy named Sho looked to the curves of stone again that lay on the ground beneath the tree.

‘Is that - is that his dog, mama?’

Natsu stood up, smiling. ‘Sho, can you see the writing on this plaque?’

Sho peered at the stone slab nearest to them.

He nodded. ‘It has strange words on it.’ 

His mother chuckled. ‘That’s right because it’s in Latin. It says, “Inis vitae sed non amoris”.’ 

The young boy peered at the weird words and the stone sculpture that was apparently his uncle.

‘Why is this here, mama?’

‘Well, Sho. I will tell you.’