It was dry in Ammity, but the clifftop air was crisp and cool, and Brynne found herself enjoying her time there, despite the urgency of their business.

It had been a pleasant surprise to see the Exarch come up the Lift, and it was even more of a pleasant surprise to travel to Tomra with him. And when they fought together – oh, what a joy! Brynne found she could wield her greataxe with abandon, gathering every one of the sin eaters to her as she trusted the Exarch with both healing her and harming the enemies in turn. To feel the synergy between them was a rush like nothing else.

They worked well together, there was no denying it. And that fact alone left her with a warm feeling in her chest, a budding excitement that quickened whenever she caught a glimpse of his smile.

The only thing that dampened her spirits was how weary he seemed after everything. Which was why she resolved to check on him as soon as possible.

She found him near the cliff’s edge, resting his back against a large rock, fast asleep. Brynne bent to wake him, reaching out – and then he stirred, and murmured something that halted her in place.

“The future is where my destiny awaits…”

Those words…

They were some of the last words G’raha had spoken!

Brynne’s heart was pounding hard in her chest, the revelation surging through her like adrenaline, when the Exarch suddenly gasped and shook his head to clear the fog of sleep. He lifted his head again to look at her. “Forgive me, I was… lost in a dream.”

A dream… A memory, more like. It was an impossibility, but all of her instincts had been screaming G’raha’s name since she’d first met the Exarch. It didn’t make any sense, but here he was, uttering those exact same words – words he had no reason to say.

He was still speaking, unaware of her internal struggle. “I needed some fresh air, and thought to rest for a moment. It would seem I am more fatigued than I realized.”

That pulled her attention. The Exarch had been weary enough to stagger when last she’d seen him, which was worrying. Brynne set aside her revelation for the present, focusing instead on his condition. “Are you ill?”

He shook his head. “Too much time away from the tower, I fear. It drains me – leaves my body frail and weak.” A pause. “Though, in truth, it is debatable whether I can still call this my body…”

That brought her up short. Brynne stared at him, aghast. “What…?”

He raised his crystal arm, turning it as if to examine himself. “When first I turned my mind towards the salvation of the world, I came to the conclusion that it would take many long years. Many more than remained to me. And so I made myself one with the Crystal Tower, that I might live indefinitely.”

Brynne shut her eyes, mind whirling with the new information. One of the impossibilities with which she had dismissed the possibility of the Exarch being G’raha was now made possible. He could indeed be a mystel if that was the reason for his longevity. But even so…

“I am but an extension of it now,” the Exarch remarked, as calm and even as if he were talking about the weather. “Hence my weakness the farther I travel, and the longer I am away.” He lowered his arm again, and offered her a rueful smile. “And hence my confusion when you confessed your attraction to this…” He gestured at himself. “Half-broken form.”

“Don’t say that!” Brynne blurted out, reaching out impulsively to lay a hand on his crystal wrist. “You are still you, not an extension of anything!” She frowned at his startled expression. “Even if one day the tower consumes you, you will have lived a life that’s yours and died as anyone would, eventually. Though,” she added, with some consternation, “I would hope that you wouldn’t allow the tower to consume you.”

He huffed a brief laugh, smiling fondly at her. “I have no plans to do so. Though we can hardly see what the future holds.” He paused, then added, “It has been quite a journey.”

Brynne returned his smile. “So it has.”

“But thanks to you, the end is in sight. My wish will finally be fulfilled.” He seemed to abandon that train of thought, asking instead, “How goes the construction effort?”

“Near completion,” she replied. “Chai-Nuzz was re-checking his calculations when last I saw him.” She spread her hands. “I was told to rest.”

“Then this may be the last moment we have to ourselves for a while.” He nodded to his side. “Come, sit with me.”

She was only too happy to take the invitation, folding herself down to the ground near him. The Exarch watched as she did, oddly expressionless. “Tell me,” he said, once she’d gotten herself arranged comfortably, “when all of this is over, what will you do?”

Aside from you? She did not speak the words aloud. It didn’t feel like the sort of moment to be broken up by teasing. Brynne thought about it for a moment. “Mayhap I’ll rest a while. For once,” she added wryly.

“That would be well deserved.” He smiled again. “You might consider roaming Norvrandt not as her savior but as a simple site-seer. Viewed through such eyes, I am certain she would seem quite different.” Then he turned his gaze upward, to the hazy Light-filled sky. “But whatever it is you decide to do, I have every confidence that you will do well. For you have the strength to forge your own path. You will leave countless lives better than you found them, and the souls you touch will never forget your kindness.”

It was such a poetic thing to say, Brynne was caught breathless for a moment.

The Exarch had not finished, however. “Then, in trying times, when you question your worth and your choices, they will raise their voices to remind you of the difference you have made. And thus will your deeds come to affirm your path.” He lowered his face to look at her again. “Remember this.”

He was really too much. Brynne huffed a sigh and smiled fondly at him. “And what of you, then?”

“Of me?” He looked startled. “You mean what I intend to do afterwards?”

“Not exactly,” she said, shaking her head, “but it will suffice.”

He lowered his head, the cowl blocking even more of his face from view. “I once told you that there are things we can ill afford to lose. ‘Things,’ I said, though in truth I spoke of a person. One who is unaware of the full extent of my plans.” He paused. “Though she deserves to know, I have good reason to keep my counsel.”

A person… Given some of the things he had said to and about her, Brynne had her suspicions as to who this ‘person’ might be. It was only speculation, but once again it felt as though her instincts were screaming at her.

“I have come to terms with this in my mind,” he continued, “yet my heart yearns to lay everything bare. For she is my inspiration, and I would give much and more for the chance to speak with her as friends, with no thought of concealment.”

I want that too. In her chest, her heart was beating frantically; Brynne felt warmth spreading out from that point on her body to the rest of it, enveloping her in the emotion accompanying the Exarch’s words.

“Should she indulge me with her tales, I would regale her with my own – about my efforts in Norvrandt, perhaps. Though…” He chuckled, voice taking on a humorous note. “Ultimately, that tale is more yours than it is mine.”

It is not. She didn’t want to break the mood by speaking, but in her mind, Brynne argued vigorously against the point. The Exarch had toiled for near on a century, and she had been there not even a year. There was no comparison.

“Then… I would ask her about her next adventure. And if she should wish me to be a part of it, oh…” He sighed, smiling to himself. “How happy it would make me.”

The longing in his voice nearly undid her. It would make me happy, too. Brynne swallowed, waiting.

“Together,” he continued, with increasing passion, “we would travel the lands and cross the seas and take to the skies upon the eternal wind… My heart swells simply to imagine it.”

“As does mine,” she murmured, so quietly that she was unsure if he caught it. Such a picture he painted with his words! It made her yearn for it, this unspecified adventure. She smiled fondly at him again.

The Exarch pushed himself to his feet. “But all of this is contingent upon our victory in the coming battle.” He reached a hand down to help her up. “The people of this world have entrusted their hopes to us. We cannot fail them.”

As she rose, she caught him saying, in an undertone, “… Nor those who roused me from my slumber.”

‘Roused me’… Once again, she could not help but think of G’raha Tia, asleep in the Tower – or, perhaps not. In fact, most definitely not, though she could not quite wrap her head around how he had done it. But if the Crystal Tower could be here on the First and yet still there on the Source, then…

There was something there, just outside of her grasp, and try as she might, she could not seem to reach it.

“Thank you for your company, my – Brynne.” He corrected himself with a smile, and then turned to start off towards the town. “ Let us return to Amity.”

Once again on impulse, she reached out to grab his spoken wrist. “Wait.”

He looked back at her, tipping his head questioningly.

Brynne closed her eyes, gathering her courage, and then opened them again to stare at him hopefully. “‘Tis customary, my Lord, to favor your champion with a kiss before they go forth into battle.”

His mouth fell open.

“I know I’ve no right to ask it of you,” she hurried on, almost tripping over her own words. “I’ve already been gifted with such a kiss that my memory is seared with it. But please…” She swallowed, nerves getting the better of her. “I go to battle the final Lightwarden. Anything could happen.” I could be lost to the Light. “One more for luck?”

The Exarch’s face settled into a rueful smile. “I could never refuse such a heartfelt plea.” He raised his spoken hand, even with her fingers still about his wrist, and brushed her cheek tenderly. “Very well. One more for luck.”

She let her eyes slide shut, heart pounding, and squeezed his wrist encouragingly. When he leaned in, this time there was no hesitation.

His lips fell on hers softly, but confidently. This kiss was not one of fiery passion as had been the last, but slow and gentle. He kissed her as though she were something precious, treasured. As their mouths melded together, his fingers stroked her cheek for a moment before cupping the side of her face in his palm. There was a longing behind it all that made Brynne want to weep.

When he pulled back at last, slow and reluctant, she kept her eyes closed for a short while, letting the emotion from the kiss seep into her soul. It felt… nourishing. Intense.

Enough to keep her forging ahead despite her fears.

His fingers slid free of her cheek, and she opened her eyes to find him regarding her with another of those gentle but pained smiles. “Go forth then, my champion,” he murmured, and then leaned in unexpectedly to kiss her forehead. His lips lingered, and his next words brushed on her skin. “My favor – and my hopes for the future – are yours.”

With that, he pulled back, and abruptly turned away. “Construction must be nearing its end,” he said. “We must away, and soon.”

Brynne took in a breath, and once more felt it scratch against her throat like sandpaper. “Yes,” she agreed, and moved to follow him. “Indeed we must.”

One final Lightwarden, and this would all be over – one way or another.

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