The Life of a Nightwalker: He Finally Saw the Sun

Adrele looked at me regretfully. “If I leave you, I will never see you again. You will die. There is nothing I can do for you, and you will be alone. You will disappear in time, and there will be no one there.” She says this matter-of-factly. She lets me know what this means. But I know it already.

“Go Adrele, and deliver it. Be safe.” I unbuckle the silver strap that holds my dagger and hold it out to her. “Take this and fly.”

She looks at me, and for a moment, I see her eyes grow round with sorrow and the devastation shows in her rigid posture. We are friends, she and I, in a world where allies are few and enemies are plentiful, and now we will be lost to each other…lost in pursuit of the better. But then she lets herself remember the greatness of the task and she takes the dagger, mechanically strapping it around her own waist, and she places her fists on my shoulders in a final salute.

“You are the best Nightwalker I have ever known, Kal, and that I will ever know. Your efforts will not be in vain. I will not let your memory fade. Farewell, and may you find the light.” I look at her and nod solemnly. My own fists goes to her shoulders and I whisper my own farewell.

“May speed quicken your strides and my weariness not find you in this hour of peril. May the shadows hide no creatures and the stars guide you and this mission to completion. Farewell, my dear friend. And may you find the light.”

And then she is gone. And I am alone. And the night still persists.

And now, here I sit. My hands are finally starting to seize and lose feeling altogether. My chest is constricting and my heart thumps wearily in my chest as the ravages of time grab ahold of it. I must lie down because my head is starting to swirl. I have little time now. My life’s story is ending in this moment, but I feel that it is a worthy end. I know that my mission is done and I will no longer fight the darkness. I will go to a place where there is eternal light. My body is on the ground, devoid of feeling and color, week and fragile, threatening to break apart with the merest breath of wind. I wonder where Adrele is, if she is alive, if the stars guided her true and her mission was brought to completion. Fears grip me. I wonder if I will die in vain. I pray a silent prayer for her safety. But suddenly, at last, oh, at last, the sun starts to peak over the horizon and brilliant reams of incandescent colors begin to streak through the sky in a valley of brilliance that elicits stirrings so deep within my soul that I cannot express it in mere words. So long I have resided in the realm of darkness, fated to ward of the creatures of the night. I have not seen the light of the sky in so long. I feel the soft trail of tears streak across my darkened cheeks as the flickering colors give way to the brilliance of the sun’s rays, as it rises imperially into the sky. The darkness is consuming, the stars and moon are lonely and stare blankly at the earth. But the sun is the true master of the sky. It rises slowly, but it still rises, majestic and powerful. It reveals all that is dark and allows the earth to grow. The darkness is only for a time, however long it may be. But the sun is power, the darkness will always, always, bend to the will of the light. The light will never be conquered. Joy fills my chest and I feel at peace. The last minutes of my life are slipping away, but I will die with a smile on my lips and the sun touching my face. My life as a Nightwalker is over and done, and I am at peace. My last few breaths pass through my lips, my heart beats its last somnolent beat, and my mind starts to tire as it fades away – but not to darkness, no, to light. The last sight I see is the world around me coming alive as the sun sits in its thrown in the center of the sky. I close my eyes because it is too bright. I am decreasing as the light increases. And all the worries and fears that plagued me in the sleepless night diminish altogether as the magnificent truth grabs ahold of me. My life was not spent in vain and my mission is complete. The sun will rise. The light will come.