Chapter 10

"It is finished."

I sat in a blood-soaked field of snow in the sunrise, with a young woman on my right.

I looked up. "Please, kill me. I cannot be trusted. I do not want to hurt you."

Vi looked into my eyes. "By all rights I should hate you for what you have done, and all of the people you have slain." She paused. "But I cannot kill you. Whether I want to or not I still love you, despite the things you have done."

At these words I felt something come over me, and then I was lifted into the air by a force unseen. Darkness rose from me like a cloud of smoke, and seemed to obscure the sky. Dark Shear shimmered and vibrated, and then there was a bright flash, and I fell to the ground, clutching an untainted red and grey blade with the word "Shear" engraved upon it. I looked at my clothes: they were back to the normal color. My hair was black. My skin returned to a normal hue. And the cold aura that Dark Shear once radiated faded into the warmth coming from Shear.

Vi threw herself on me, crying and talking at the same time. I did nothing. I was content to hold her.

"High Rock." I mused. "Do you have any idea where it might be?" I asked Vi.

"Only one: the High Rock of Mel-Nye. It was used by the sorcerers of old to give sacrifices. It's in these very mountains, to the east, close enough to reach by sunset."

I nodded. "Then let's get over there, and find the Dreadlord and stop this once and for all."

At that moment, the sky went a dark grey.

"I don't like this." I said. "The sky seems darker over there where we're headed."

"That only means one thing." Vi said grimly.

"I know."

Vi and I sprinted towards the High Rock, as the clouds above it twisted into a rotating mass of darkness. Tendrils of black, like lightning shot out of the cloud mass, reaching in every direction. As I sprinted I could see the darkness of the sky contrast with the twilight of the landscape below. Black lightning arced far out towards the horizon, to land in a place far beyond my vision.

I reached the final stretch of the path to the High Rock, and ran at full speed. Out of nowhere a man appeared, knocking me over. A man in a black coat, with the hood obscuring his face stood before me, a large sword that was white and black with red effects in his hand. It was similar to Shear, the only difference being that my sword was a grey and red weapon. As I watched, I realized that it was the sword I had carried in my time of betrayal to the side of goodness. Dark Shear.

"Kylar, so good to see you." The man said. His voice gave him away: Aran Darkblade, the sword searcher, the leader of the Silent Prophets, who answered to no one but Talon Dreadlord himself.

"Get out of my way, Aran." I lifted Shear in order to defend against its dark counterpart. "And my name is not Kylar, its Arc!" I paused, and looked at Vi. "Vi, keep going. If he attacks, I'll take care of him."

Aran twirled Dark Shear neatly as he pushed back his hood. "You need go no farther, Kylar. I'm here to tell you that your interference in this matter can no longer be tolerated." He raised a hand that crackled with electricity.

I recognized the move. "Vi, run!" I placed myself between him and her. Vi gave a quick nod, and ran up towards the summit. She trusted me that much…

A bolt of black lightning shot out towards me. I lifted my sword and deflected the bolt.

I struck like a flash of lightning. "You cannot win. Light will always prevail. The darkness cannot withstand the light." I felt strength flow through me as I fought him. Aran started losing. Then he spoke through sibilant teeth.

"I am not just a user of darkness." Aran ground out from between his teeth. "I am your brother."

What?!

"I am your brother. Before I was following the cause I was called Radian Caster. Now that I am following the cause of true darkness, I am Aran Darkblade, the sword searcher. But now that I have found Dark Shear, I am no longer a sword searcher." We locked blades, each straining to push the other back. "Arlene had the power to use lightning; Illidan had the power to use fire, our father Dmitri had the power to use water, and Kael-Surd had the power to use the very stone and metal of cities. But You and I were the only ones to use pure elements. You know," He paused as he parried a blow that I had been trying to get in for a while, "I was supposed to be the Night Angel. I can see your soul, and it's just so… strong. The reason that I am not the Night Angel is because I chose to follow the true path of Darkness. I am the Night Wraith instead." He paused to look me in the eye, and his gold eyes flashed bright green for a moment.

"I had always hoped that it would come to this, Kylar, Arc. I have hoped and I have dreaded this moment. If you beat me, then it is proof that you have a chance to defeat the Dreadlord. If I win, then it is proof that no one ever can defeat the Dreadlord, even without his Silent Prophets. Arlene Blackclaw has left the order, turned rebel like you, and you have slain our father and Illidan Flamewheel. I am the last of the Prophets, the final barrier between you and your goal." He stopped talking and focused entirely on combat for a moment.

"Every light has its shadow, and even the brightest candle can be snuffed out. Darkness has power, Arc Caster. Don't you remember?" He spoke suddenly.

A slither of doubt slid into my mind as I recalled the day I had spoken those same words.

Aran struck. Shear flew through the air and landed behind Aran. I sprinted at an angle to try and reach Shear, but I was forced to stop at the point of Dark Shear. I reached for Shear, knowing that I had less then half a second before Dark Shear slashed through my neck.

"A candle may be blown out, but it's not the darkness that blows it out." I said my final words.

Then everything stopped.

Aran seemed to have frozen.

"No… How can this be possible?" he muttered. I looked up, and saw the most unlikely sight I the world.

Our mother.

Blue.

"My son. Radian." Her eyes filled with tears. "How could you have come to this? You always were a bright boy, so full of energy, of conviction. Remember the day that you swore to destroy all darkness! Remember the man you once were! There is light in you still. Nourish what little light remains, for it is about to die. Come back to the light!" the image slowly faded, and I recognized it as a vision sent from the light. I silently thanked the light for its timely intervention.

Suddenly Aran was on the ground, weeping. "I am so sorry, mother. I am so sorry." He looked around at the blackness of the sky. "You are right that I have always held my doubts about our goal, and you are right that I hate darkness. I was overcome by it in the end, and I am but a tool in the grand scheme of final darkness." He looked up. "Take my sword; do not go against the Dreadlord single bladed. You are my brother, and regardless of circumstance I still feel our bond. I hope you succeed. I have failed."

"No." I said as I held out a hand to him. "You have more then succeeded. You have seen the error of your ways. You have a chance to atone for your past. Come with me, and we will face the darkness together." I paused as a memory came back to me. "Just like old times."

He looked up at me. "I am too immersed in darkness to use the power of light. You will have to do this on your own."

I raised an eyebrow. "I am not the only one who can use darkness against darkness. Remember how I slaughtered the legions of krul in Kadara? I was using darkness. I was still a Night Wraith."

He gave me a slight smile. "The Night Angel and Night Wraith against the Dreadlord?"

"That's how I would have it."

"Your children's children will hear a good story."

"How the Brothers of the Night overcame the Dreadlord of Darkness."

He grabbed my hand and heaved himself up "Very well, brother. But on one condition."

"What's that?" I asked.

"You stop calling me Aran."

"Done. The two brothers, Arc and Radian."

We ran for the High Rock's summit, the two brothers: Arc and Radian. Light and Darkness. Night Angel and Night Wraith.