Present day, thirteen years after the reunion of Callum and Rayla, thirty years after the Blood Night.
They had planned this get together at the Breach for ten years, to make time for their preparations to finally bring peace to this land. Long overdue, it cost them everything, and then demanded more. At this point though, they were all in with the only they had left, their own lives. Once their people discovered what they were going to do, this war would finally end. The dialogue would be forced open again, thirty years after the door to peace was slammed shut.
With their personally groomed successors in the wings the world stood on the brink of being able to heal a violent history, and their compromises. These thoughts were the only ones they had for the last decade, as they compromised themselves further. Perhaps, just perhaps, the world could be turned into something that didn't require compromising your morals at every turn.
All this plan had taken, was a heartbreaking realization, and a painful decision. After spending two days together, a decade ago, they came up with this plan. It would cost so much more of them, but at least it would give the world a chance, and them what they sought more than anything else. It was high that the two of them stopped holding the world on their shoulders, it was time to do or die.
As they were approaching the natural land bridge over the lava that Callum made a decade ago and Rayla had hidden behind an illusion, they both thought of the friends they had lost. The deaths, that had paved their rules and lives. She saw Ellis, having a heart attack in front of her in eyes; she remembered Runaan's disappearance, nearly twenty years ago. She saw the elves fall beside on countless battle fields, she saw the humans and elves that fell to her blades. She could still see their faces, feel the splash of their blood.
The advice that Villads once gave her came to her mind, "You don't know where the river of life will bend and turn. You don't know where it will go at all. Don't try to control where the river goes. There's one thing you can know and control, yourself." She pondered how it made sense then and now. But she spent nearly 30 years not controlling herself, and that is what led them here. She pondered, briefly, what things could have been had she known or controlled herself. Some of the possibilities were, many were okay, and only few led down the paths of misery that brought her here today. But she was ready to let go of it all.
In his mind's eye, Callum remembered the last time he Soren. His friend had looked peaceful, and calm for the first time since the Blood Night. In hindsight, that should have been a warning, but Callum has busied himself so much that he didn't notice. At least Soren's chosen end was quick, relatively painless, he thought, as the memory of seeing the fat man swinging from a rafter appeared. Banishing it away, he saw all the people that he killed. Impaling on earthen spike, fire balls, fulminous, cliffs. He didn't see many faces, but he could remember every scream of horror, how a body cooked by fire or electricity smelled different. How elf and man smelled differently, even when cooked by the same spell.
He couldn't but think of the letter Harrow had wrote him before his demise. Asking him try and create a narrative of love. Well, he tried. After the Blood Night though, when he thought that Moonshadow elves were responsible, he couldn't. He twisted the narrative of love he was trying to build into a narrative of anger and sadness. He couldn't help but wonder, "What if I hadn't pushed her away?". His mind rapidly created as many scenarios as it could as he approached the middle of the bridge. They could have had a good life, he realized, or at least a decent one. Probably not the one that they had now, full of misery. He could only one worse fate, if the two of them ever had to fight to the death. But that doesn't matter now, he reminded himself. They were here, together, now.
So, it came to be the King of the entire Pentarchy, and the Supreme Commander of Xadia, came to meet at the Breach. With only one selfish objective: the desire to be with the other one again, no matter the cost. The most two powerful people in the world, with all the influence and support of their subjects, were ready to throw it all away for the sake of love.
The elf and the human stood facing each other at the Breach. Each producing a small vial of a bluish-grey concoction from their pockets. Despite being only fifty-eight, both looked older than they should have. The human male was almost as pale as the female Moonshadow Elf. He hadn't put on extra weight, but his hair was thinning. His eyes had lost their previous light, and crow's feet had taken root on his face.
Callum took a moment to process what he saw before him. The last thirteen years had been kind to her, far kinder than the prior thirty years had been to either of them. He took a moment to close his eyes and remember how things used to be. A rare smile graced his face as he let a breath, he wasn't aware that he was holding, and observing how Rayla's features were graced by a slight smile as well. He broke the awkward silence, "You came. I wasn't sure that you would."
"Of course, I came, dummy." Rayla answered, then let out a short laugh. "The morning after." They simultaneously replied. It sparked a sweet memory of one particularly passion filled night (and morning) of their youth. It was dim, but they reignited the old sparks that powered their souls.
"So, is this the solution you were hoping for, Callum?" She inquired.
"It is, Rayla. We did our best to break the cycle, but this might just finish it." He answered
"Would you… Would you like to sit and reminisce for a bit? Before we begin the… thing?" Callum nervously asked after a few seconds of nervous and awkward staring at each other.
"I would love that, Callum." Rayla agreed before taking his hands and looking into his as she began to remember the good times. The pair were soon lost in old memories, as sharing their perspectives took each of them back into the past. They felt like teenagers again; and they were truly happy again. For the first time in decades as they lost themselves in nostalgia and the eyes of their love.