A/N: This story takes place the events of "Dancing Out from Oblivion", however prior reading probably isn't necessary, although there will be spoilers for it if you haven't read it.

This story is based primarily upon the video game "Geneforge" from Spiderweb Software, and the tabletop game "Warhammer 40,000" from Games Workshop. Minor elements may also appear from the tabletop roleplaying game "Dungeons and Dragons" from Wizards of the Coast, and the video game "Freelancer" from Digital Anvil, the "Star Wars" series from Lucasfilm, and possibly others.

Dolen Ista had required a moment of time after the battle was over, the war was over, free of the imperatives born of his background of Iyanden and training as an Eldar Guardian pushing him ever onward and into conflict. Seeing Chaos fall, even their Gods crushed beneath the heel of Khaine himself... what then? There was yet purpose, held in place by the Mark of Blood which bound he and Kalli into that service, but still was there memory and anguish which refused to loosen their grip upon his soul.

He did not know how much time he spent within the passing haze of meditation, nor would it have truly mattered if he did. Memories of long ago were examined and laid gently to rest, all which had gone before slowly and relentlessly pressed beyond the point of searing his every waking moment. The child of foul Slaanesh had shattered the first symptoms of that malaise, but it is the depths of night which complete the task at the last.

Resolute, he shook aside the lingering mists of memory and went in search of Kalli, recognizing the future as surely as the past was now gone. The human woman was to be found out on one of the upper balconies in the Imperial Palace, practicing with her lightsaber diligently.

Approaching quietly, Dolen remained largely shadowed by the towering structure, merely watching for long moments as she went about her practice. Many of her ways were yet strange to him yet in all that mattered, the soul, they were much the same and he respected those differences equally as part of the whole. He stepped from shadow and rapped armored fingertips lightly along the balcony railing to draw attention without immediate disruption.

Kalli switched off the practice drone after moment and glanced over at him, turning to approach. She nodded to him in greeting.

Dolen smiled faintly and bowed in greeting. "Well met, Kalli May. I would not seek to intrude, but would appreciate a moment when convenient."

"You're not intruding," Kalli said. "What's up?"

"I would clear whatever may lay amiss between us," Dolen replied quietly, clasping his hands behind his back. "I know full well that my own actions have been... erratic in recent times, and have not missed their influence on those about me. Tis not a simple task, but due you by the Mark which binds."

Kalli gave a flicker of a grin. "You're forgiven before you asked. I won't hold anything against you."

"You are kind of heart, Kalli May," Dolen replied with gentle gratitude. "And yet I feel compelled to offer explanation if you would have it of me, it is only what is due to you by your own acts of camaraderie."

Kalli nodded to him. "I will listen if you would speak."

Dolen nodded in graceful acceptance. "I would. Though perhaps needfully reminding you of slights held close to your own heart from times past." He paced thoughtfully to the edge of the balcony and rests his hands upon the railing, looking outward. "Do you remember when first we spoke of your Empress Alisa? Seemingly ages ago now, and yet not so long at all by Eldar reckoning."

"Not so long ago, no. I remember. What about her?"

"For hundreds of years had you given loyal service," Dolen said softly, "Obeying with commendable honor and bravery in whatever manner might be demanded, and then was that honor stained suddenly in your own heart by her command."

He paused, the memory now not so fresh and yet holding some power within him.

"Imagine then, a service of more than five millennia, dismissed yet again and seemingly without cause or reason. It was this which Dorivad Nonarran did, whether knowingly or not, a Farseer whom I had seen rise to that position following the days of Iyanden's decimation," he continued quietly, but more in a manner of sharing something in common with another than melancholy. "You of all might understand the wound which was dealt in that."

Kalli nodded grimly. "But ... In spite of all that happened since then, I never forgot what it means to be a Death Dancer," she said quietly. "That is one thing I will not surrender no matter what may come to pass."

"And so it must be," Dolen replied, turning back to face her, the faint echo of haunting memories held through days past showing no sign. "I am Eldar, a servant of Khaine, and neither shall be forgotten nor may their demands be set aside even for a stain upon honor which shall ever remain. The past, though among the greatest of fascinations to my blood may be allowed no hold against that purpose. It was not so simple to achieve that recognition."

He touched the smoothed arc where the soulstone had rested.

"And it arrived piecemeal since first driving into me, but as I relieve you of the promise once made to me so shall I swear that what is past shall remain ever so," Dolen went on. "There is yet much to do, and no distraction or hesitation may be allowed which might endanger you or any other at my hand."

Kalli looked at him for a long moment, and stared off at the stars, where the sky was beginning to turn gray along the horizon. "I will dance the dance of death, as I have always done," she said quietly. "Will you, then, dance with me?"

Dolen tilted his head, smiling in faint puzzlement. "I do not know the ways of your Order, Kalli May, and yet would I willingly do whatever you might ask of me."

Kalli looked off quietly and said, "Oh, there's all sorts of pithy words of advice, but at the core of it all is one thing. No fear of death. When death holds no fear, all else pales in comparison."

"I have seen the face of death upon countless worlds, Kalli May," Dolen replied quietly, his expression returning to quiet serenity. "I have felt its call in the decaying heart of Iyanden, and felt equally its foe at the hand of your Gods. There is nothing within that concept to fear, for in the end there is only the soul which, even whilst the Chaos Gods walked, was ever eternal."

Kalli carefully considered just what she was trying to say. "No fear. Only defiance. A good Death Dancer is willing to risk everything for what they believe in..."

"For long years has it been thus, Kalli May," Dolen responded quietly. "No deceit will I offer in regards to the horrors which might have come of falling before whilst the Defiler yet strode and awaited the souls of my people. And yet standing before Khaine himself with that selfsame defiance leeched even that of its power, so have I willingly acted as shield that the sword might yet strike. There is no honor greater than accepting what may be and continuing regardless."

"So I've seen you," Kalli said. "You fight like a Death Dancer."

"You honor me," Dolen replied with a bow. "For I have seen the courage of your Order, no less that which you yourself display, and I could wish for no greater compliment. Your ways are not necessarily those of the Eldar, yet at the soul have I seen what matters most in them. Discipline, honor, bravery, and indomitable will... all are qualities to be admired."

"The details may vary for each person's interpretation, but at the heart of things, that's really what matters."

"This then is the heart and soul of your Order," Dolen replied quietly. "No less than I have observed and ascertained, and yet must I wonder as to purpose and what has been asked of me. Gladly will I honor your request, Kalli May, by the Blood which binds us, yet must you reveal wholly what you seek."

"You could be a Death Dancer, you know," Kalli said.

"Great respect do I hold for your Order, Kalli May," Dolen replied solemnly. "Yet must I ask the wisdom of this, for though I have severed ties to the past and all which has gone, still am I one from a far and distant land. What then of your brothers and sisters? Would they be equally accepting of what you would offer me, knowing full well that I am, at heart and soul, still of the Eldar?"

"There are El'dari Death Dancers as well, you know," Kalli said gently. "This galaxy is, I think, a good deal more accepting of those who are different than you would have generally seen in your own universe."

"So I have seen," Dolen smiled quietly. "Through the days and in many ways have I been forced to adapt to that very tolerance though it was decried with each part of my soul. Even now there is part of that intolerance which remains, resolute, and I can give no honest promise that it may not reveal itself in unexpected ways. Will they, then, accept that which may not always accept though it be hard learned reflex alone?"

Kalli chuckled softly. "I'm sure they will. But when it all comes down to it, the choice is yours alone, and not theirs."

"You offer a gift beyond price," Dolen said softly, "And I would have been grievously at fault to not at least warn what might come of it, as one-time Guardian and keeper of their trust and honor." He falls silent a moment, studying her thoughtfully, then nodded slowly. "If you may in clear conscience offer still, then would I be beyond fool to refuse that honor."

"Without a shadow of a doubt," Kalli said, looking over to him quietly.

"Then so shall it be accepted," Dolen replied, "With no doubt or qualm, nor pretence or deceit, so must all things of honor and duty be ever approached."

Kalli grinned faintly and bowed her head respectfully to him. "And you are more welcome. It shall be an honor to dance the dance of death by your side."

"Has it not already been so?" Dolen asked with quiet amusement. "We have stood side by side on numerous worlds and amongst the void, past is the acceptance of you as a kindred spirit and worthy warrior to stride into battle beside. The Mark which binds us in that Blood is but one small part of what I have accepted, Kalli May."

"Indeed so," Kalli said, quietly relaxing a bit.

"Is there then more which must be done?" Dolen asked curiously, "In truth I had wondered whether your Order was not selected from their youth and trained thenceforth."

Kalli shook her head. "All one really requires in order to be a Dancer on the Edge of Death is to proclaim themselves so."

"Then so be it," Dolen said, restraining a smile as he drew to graceful attention, gaze shifting straight ahead as he continued, "What then your orders, O great and powerful master of the Dancers on the Edge of Death?"

Kalli smirked faintly and went into a brief discussion on Death Dancer colors, symbols, and the mainly unspoken hierarchy, going into any details that he might have missed in casual observation. Death Dancers may not always call themselves by strict ranks, but they still recognized who was skilled and experienced and gave respect to that.

Dolen eased the deliberately correct stance and smothered the inclination to chuckle entirely at her response, instead turning to listen with a soldier's long practice and patience to those details which had been unknown to him. Others might well consider the information as silly at best, yet he knew better than they that in carrying such things was the truth of honor and duty truly understood.

Kalli was well aware he had probably figured a lot of it out already, but figured he'd probably prefer being spared looking like an idiot later on. When she finished up she said, "Well, if there's anything else you wanna know, fire away."

Dolen considered his reply carefully, as much so as he had when tracing the various Paths of the Eldar, then shook his head briefly. "Though question may arise at some point or detail along the path which we follow, there is naught which rises immediately to demand attention beyond what you have given." He smiled lightly. "I shall endeavor to return the honor which has been settled upon me."

Kalli grinned a bit and nodded to him. "Very well. I think, then, that we should head into space before our new esteemed Empress Talia attempts to make me an admiral or something..."

Dolen chuckled lightly. "Do not doubt the tendency of those whom you have rescued to heap greater horrors than something so mild, Kalli May. We had best away before the poets and musicians perform the truly evil and place the Heroine of Toronto forever within the hearts of all." He gestured toward the door. "Now, before they may finish composing, would be wisest I believe."

Kalli chuckled and headed out toward the landing pad to be gone from this place for now.