"You did help more people," Ashlynn said as the vision of Milo standing before him faded away and the two were left alone in the desolate village. "If you keep going, if you don't give up when Old Nan dies, then maybe you'll see how much more you did. After all, things might be a bit worse here, but they're much, much better in the other villages," she pointed out.
"But I still failed," Ollie said, shaking his head as he knelt in the dust. "I still failed my people."
"That happens sometimes," Ashlynn pointed out gently. "We do our best, we do everything we know how to do, and it still isn't enough. We make mistakes, we jump to conclusions… we fight battles we shouldn't have, and people die because of it," she said, speaking from painful experience as she placed a gentle hand on his shoulders.
