"We cannot win this, Or'do." I looked up, troubled by what the Keeper had said the previous night. Hope had fled, and in its wake lay a horrible, cold, clawing emptiness; a gloom neither Sun nor Cinder could banish.

"Why not?" He asked, cocking his head.

"Because you are the vessel of Darkness that must be destroyed, the heart of shadow that will let again the pulse of Dark take the lands. I must kill you, but-" my voice broke. "I cannot," Tears burned at the edges of my eyes. "No matter the cost, no matter how deeply I know what I must do, I simply cannot bring myself to-" I closed my eyes tightly, gritting my teeth and turning away.

"Aleorn, I-" He stopped short as I raised a hand.

"This is my fault no matter how many times you say it is not. I sentenced you to death with my own recklessness, my own fraility!"

"Aleorn." The resonant word blazed through the night, spoken softly yet ringing as though shouted with all his might. "I swore to you that day, so long ago; have you forgotten?"

Whatever paths we take, whatever foes we face, I shall never abandon you. I stole your body, I tore out your soul with thought for none but myself. Let me shoulder the hardest of your decisions, let me bear the heaviest of your burdens. Let me atone for the crime you will never recognize. No matter what we face, Aleorn, I shall never let you do it alone.

Tears burned again, their sting deepening into a flame that touched my soul with its hands of ice and fire.

"If the Gods strike you blind, I shall be your eyes." He continued. "If your arms are cleaved, I shall be your sword."

New strength blazed through me, his words igniting the ember of hope I had thought forever dead. "If you are to be a servant of Darkness, then I shall be your Light."

Or'do smiled. "No battles will you have to fight alone, whether they be with blade or soul."

At last I returned the smile, felt my heart shine with new light. "Thank you, my friend."