The night was dark, and overcast. Even now, so many years later, nights without stars were seen as a bad sign, the kind that kept people indoors. Everyone’s memory still held the lingering terror from the past and successive generations were more cautious. The cycle had not yet reached the point of pride again. Earlier that day, there had been a long procession through the streets. One of the survivors of the darkness was buried. Although she had been reclusive in later years, Cesorpha’s name was still one that struck a cord in most people. Although she had been more of a victim than a proactive fighter, she was considered one of the heroes that had brought to pass Vynera’s downfall and the freedom from the World of Shadows that had been created. Romantic poets wrote that her love for one man had turned the tide against the dark forces. However, Cesorpha herself didn’t speak of such things.

The dirt on her grave was still fresh, the pale headstone looming above it in the dark that was pierced only by a single candle. Personally, Klarn thought the headstone was a bit too ornate, though he could admire the craft that was put into it. The rose vines etched along the side in particular were quite beautiful. And, he always thought his sister was a beautiful person. Most important to Klarn, though, was the word ‘Beloved’ etched in delicate, yet legible, print. Cesorpha had never learned to like a lot of attention or ostentation. Many people had embraced a more artistic side after Vynera fell. The luxuries long denied to the people of Solumina were suddenly in demand, though a lot of the older people had trouble adapting to the newer ways. For those who had fought against the dark forces, such eagerness for trivial things felt hollow or awkward. Klarn and Cesorpha didn’t judge others for wanting these luxuries, but they had no interest in them; both were too damaged from their losses to find comfort in objects.

By now Klarn was old and frail, but he felt he was the only one who was appropriate to stand for the vigil. His children, and grandchildren, had protested this, but he was resolute. Cesorpha had always been a bright young woman, both in personality and in intellect, but the hard traumas of her earlier years had left their mark. There was so much she denied herself, and Klarn had stood by her side through all of it. A lot of people never fully understood her reluctance to marry, or even rejoin society properly, but Klarn knew, and respected her choice. This was the last thing he could do to respect her, though his old bones suffered from the chill.

Klarn thought he was alone, but when he next looked up there was someone standing across the grave from him. Time might have clouded his vision a little, but there was no doubt as to the identity of the man standing there. It was well known that vampires didn’t age, but seeing Ryance in the flesh, unchanged, gave him a chill. But, with his age, even if he doubted his friend, there would be little left to fear. Ryance stood there, almost still as a statue, while the two men looked at each other. Both seemed hesitant to speak, but finally Ryance broke the silence.

“So, she’s finally gone.” Ryance’s face was calm, but there was deep sorrow in his voice.

“Yes. She went peacefully, if it’s any consolation.”

“That does help some,” Ryance said. It couldn’t give him the past he wanted, but at least he knew she hadn’t suffered too much, at the end. “Though, it is more important for you, I should think. You were here, after all.” Ryance turned slightly and looked off into the distance. “We never had the chance to grow old together.” It was here that his voice finally broke, his expression crumpling in grief, not for the ending of her life, but for the entire life they had been denied together.

“I know,” Klarn said, his own voice crackling, not just from age. “But, she never forgot you. She wouldn’t speak of you to others, but, I could tell.” He bowed his head. “You’ve been gone this whole time, haven’t you?”

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“More or less. I saw her one night, at the window, but it was less than a year after… everything came to an end. I wanted to say good bye, but, I couldn’t find the words, so I turned around and left.”

“Perhaps it’s just as well. I think you both knew how the other felt, and being close again, there wouldn’t have been anything you could have done, or said, or change things.” Klarn sighed deeply. “But, even if you were both kept apart, your last show of love, it saved a lot of people in the end. Not many people could say the same.” Klarn had loved his own wife dearly, but their love wasn’t the type that tales would be told of across the land. It inspired no one, except perhaps their own children.

“That’s what I believe too; lingering would have just made us both miserable. Even so, I regret not being able to say good bye properly.” There was a long silence between the two men.

“It was my decision to leave you alone, after we found your body,” Klarn said, speaking up with hesitation. “Should I have done otherwise?”

“It’s hard to say. Cesorpha was there, and I doubt it would have helped her sleep at night to see you destroy my body. And, I have been working to clean up the mess I made. We can sense each other, to some degree. I know I’ve seen other hunters take out vampires, and I leave them to their task. But the craftier vampires, well, they are harder to deal with. Perhaps things would have been better for me if you had destroyed me then, but, more lives might have been lost in the long run.” Ryance paused for a beat. “I’ve been very careful with my own… needs.”

“So, none of these other ones are from your making?”

“Well, in a sense, most of them are. But I personally have not made any further vampires since Vynera’s death,” Ryance replied, his tone giving away nothing. “If I do lose control…” He shook his head. “I make sure the bodies won’t rise.”

“So, you’re not holding a grudge against me for leaving you in peace?”

“I have no reason to. You were in your rights to make any decision you wished; it was out of my hands, and I didn’t deserve any consideration.”

“Ryance, you shouldn’t be so hard on yo…”

“I’m not,” Ryance interrupted, holding a hand up. “Who I am isn’t the same as what I am. No matter what I decide to do, I’m still another remnant of Vynera’s magic. That is what you would have been right to destroy. If I had to die along with it, then that was the price to pay to destroy a vicious curse. However, sparing your friend isn’t a bad thing either,” he clarified. “Thinking of the vampire and the man as two separate beings was the only thing I could do find some measure of peace.”

“At least you found something to believe in…”

“I did.”

Silence fell again between them. Klarn started to doze off, leaning to the side of the padded chair his sons had set up for him. When Ryance saw that he was completely out, he pulled the blankets tighter around his old friend’s shoulders. As he had mentioned before, he took care of his needs with a great deal of caution, so he wasn’t even the slightest bit tempted to attack his friend. Once he was sure his friend would be safe, he disappeared into the night. But not before dropping a bunch of white roses on the grave, a final tribute to the woman he had loved all along, and the one who gave him strength to keep going.

A few years later, Ryance returned to do the same for Klarn’s grave. The loss of the last person left alive who meant anything to him was a hard blow. But, Ryance found, it was envy more than grief that hit him. Klarn’s body had been frail and weak when they met last, but it showed that he was still part of the natural cycle of life. As much as he wanted to rest, Ryance felt that it was something he could not do as long as any other vampires were left roaming in the world. If ever he could be certain they were all gone, he could walk into the sun and let nature take its course. Until that day, however, he would keep fighting to make up for all the times he had given up hope. Because it had been that loss of hope that had turned him into a pawn of such evil forces.

Quietly Ryance turned from the grave. He was certain he would never return to Solumina. The people there were far more competent, and he was needed in Ivelcour the most. Many of the vampires left had gone to that side of the mountains, finding the hyper vigilant and ever alert people of Solumina were too risky to prey upon. As much as Ryance still disliked the people there, he hated his curse even more, and it was his sole purpose for existing now to wipe the rest of the vampires off the face of the planet. It was his atonement, and he would chase it relentlessly for as long as it took.