Kinsmen that we once loved now pursue us on these plains, and subversion is all that one relationship knows, at such costs. We are Shionus and Refinna, and all this is because of our defiance to that one relationship. Regret cannot stay here.

It is life that is so fragile in its tranquility. All can be shattered in a single moment. Calmly, Shionus kneeled slowly to the dry earth that surrounded him. He drew the sword of his ancestors from its elaborate sheath, and plunged the blade straight into the ground. The splintering of glass that passes through those ephemeral torrents reckon with my life. There is no reason, no lesson, and no time like the present.

“It is more than a blood oath that binds us together, Shionus. The cataclysm of all we knew was wrought in the schemes of the loved, and to face them for a fitting end is what we agreed on.” Refinna stepped forward, slim fingers resting on his shoulder.

Shionus sighed, “If it were only that easy. My emotions feast on my disguised fear, and every thought that rushes to my head feels as sharp as a knife. It is all so painful. One ironic emotional push could plunge my sanity into darkness prematurely.”

“The only silence heard is when all of this ends. We’ll be full circle, back to the open arms that yearn for our presence, but only grasp the dust that we leave behind in our wake. Constant self-pity is only an adamant seal on the soul.” Refinna’s words jolted Shionus out of his despondent stupor, and he stood, facing the west, to the sunset; the harbinger of the next, the blister that had been burst. The ichor that flowed from the abrasion would never be staunched until he was ended.

Shionus gradually stood up straight, and turned his head to look at the nearing dark figures to the east. The hazy cloud of dust pounded up by the numerous steeds’ hooves diffused in an eerie vermillion hue, and he knew that this was the razor that would erase him. Refinna drew out her own ceremonial sword, Deluge, blade honed to an infinitely indiscernible fineness. The alloy the weapon was made of meant its emaciated form could deliver death before the wound became visible.

Shionus donned his armor; a light hide and metal arrangement that were designed to offer protection to the vital organs, yet allow free movement. Refinna donned a similar armor, only she put on a pair of arm guards with serrated blades attached. The riders had drawn close, and slowed down to a trot. They numbered two score and one. That one was Shionus’ own brother, Gylos.