It was strange how love shaped you. Back in the day when Mirskyn hadn't yet encountered Rhynx, he was fine with traveling alone with no company and doing solo missions, aiding the residents of Perfect World as well as he could. He had earned quite a gleaming reputation for his good deeds. He was assigned to some missions with others, but those people didn't matter to him that much. And so it had been, until he met Rhynx. Even to this day, Mirskyn wasn't sure how this Tideborn managed to sneak into his heart, but somehow, he just did. The Nightshade had been a bit confused by this, for how could he develop such feelings towards another man? The Tideborn had stolen his heart, the first kiss, his virginity… Mirskyn had been whole and alive before this faithful meeting, but then his heart started to beat just for Rhynx, he was completely tied to him. He wasn't sure did the Tideborn feel exactly the same, but even if he didn't, nothing would change the way the Nightshade felt.

Now that the paths of the men had diverged, even though just temporarily, Mirskyn had a painful sensation swirling about inside of him. He felt so lonely, so delicate. It was like some cold hand had grabbed his heart, crushing it, making him feel incomplete. And he felt ashamed because of it. Here he was, longing for his beloved one, even though he should be a remarkable warrior. He shouldn't dwell in such emotions. But often those, reasoning of the mind and the sensations of the heart, were in conflict. Mirskyn was a man who could keep his cool and not let his emotions run wild, or so he had used to be. But strong was the feeling of love and passion. It was hard to stay level-headed. But he managed. He had to. For he had a mission at hand.

It was always uncertain where the fate would lead him next, but now, the Nightshade had ended up in Dreaming Stronghold. It was a quiet and pleasant place in the lands of Winged Elves, so it was rather unusual that something was troubling it. Apparently, one day, the elder there had found a peculiar orb of some sort while visiting a priest in The White Ridge. He wasn't quite sure what it was and what its purpose could be, but he could feel strong magical energy radiating from it. Unfortunately, in the middle of a night, some monster had snuck into his home and stole the orb. How it had managed to do this task so silently and without causing any ruckus, nobody knew. However, one thing was for sure: snatching away this object was worrisome, indeed. The elder was anxious, for this little thief could possibly bring the orb to some more powerful monster, drastically increasing its might. So, they needed someone who could track down the creature and take back the item. This is where Mirskyn was coming into picture.

The Nightshade wasn't as good at tracking as his beloved Tideborn, but he had hunted down so many beasts in his lifetime that he would be able to seek the monster even without the help from Rhynx. The elder had a strong suspicion that the creature had fled north of Dreaming Stronghold, toward Scorpion Valley. That was where the Nightshade would be heading to.

Even though few things reminded Mirskyn about the absence of Rhynx, the monster hunt was excellent job in keeping his mind occupied. Looking for the clues which the creature might had left behind was keeping his mind busy, although it couldn't remove the longing in his heart completely. But he was handling it quite well. He moved along the road swiftly, as swiftly as he could, for he was determined to catch the little thief, and there was probably not much time before the powerful orb would fall into wrong hands. Mirskyn was able to move fast, even though he was a stormbringer, a spellcaster. Not as fast as Rhynx, the assassin. There these thoughts were again… The Nightshade tried to push them away into the corners of his mind, as such thoughts weren't needed now. He had to focus on the hunt. The pace of his feet grew faster as he carried on his mission.

He followed the road to north, as he and the elder had suspected that the creature had gone that direction as well. There wasn't much else where to go – unless you had wings. Mirskyn really hoped that this wasn't the case. To hunt down the thief would become much more troublesome if it had the ability to fly. The Nightshade had a hunch that the critter was heading to Scorpion Valley right at this moment. If this thing had a master, a more powerful monster, a perfect place for such entity to wait and lurk was in the valley. This mission had been a race against the time from the start, but especially now, as Mirskyn was getting closer and closer to Scorpion Valley, he had to make haste and hope for the best.

It soon turned out that fate was in favor for him. He had moved across the rather barren land, not really seeing signs of life, until just now. And it was the creature he had been looking for that now was in his sight. For whatever reason, the little monster had stopped and was standing in the middle of the road. The creature was odd, Mirskyn couldn't recall if he had ever seen anything like it. It resembled a black beetle, about a size of a small person. It had six limbs, it was currently standing on four of them and the two other looked like arms and at the moment it was holding a blueish orb, its strange red bug eyes fixated on the object. It was almost like it was trying to unravel the mysterious powers of the item. It seemed like it was so focused on staring at the orb that it hadn't noticed Mirskyn. This was a perfect time to strike.

Holding his scythe, his magical instrument, Mirskyn dashed towards the creature, almost as swiftly as the wind itself that was currently blowing across the land. The Nightshade prepared a spell as he got closer to the critter. There were no obstacles between them, so it was inevitable that the monster would notice him. Very slowly the beetle-like being turned to face him, although with very sluggish movements, as if it had just woken up from a deep dream. It just stood there as the Nightshade was getting closer. When the distance between them was short enough, Mirskyn swung his scythe, and a magical projectile sliced through the air, aimed right at the critter. It moved pathetically, probably trying to get away, but its attempt was miserable. How in the hell had this thing managed to sneak and steal the orb in the first place, the Nightshade didn't know. The spell he had casted hit the creature hard, and that was enough to bring it down. Its body collapsed to the ground, the orb rolling away from it. What a weakling it had been. Mirskyn had only used the most basic one of his skills. He sneered a little, then started to walk to the corpse.

After he managed to get to the body of his fresh kill, Mirskyn picked up the strange object from the sandy ground. It felt cold to touch, like the freshly fallen snow, and it was gleaming in many different blueish colors, dancing in the core. He could definitely sense great power hidden in this thing. It was good that it was on his hands now. He would take it back to the elder in Dreaming Stronghold as soon as possible. With that, the Nightshade smoothly hid the orb in his bag and was preparing to make his leave, going back to the direction where he had come from.

But suddenly, he saw something move from the corner of his eye. Alerted, Mirskyn grasped his scythe and turned to face whatever was coming to his way. However, almost instantly he relaxed. There was no danger looming in the distance. In fact, it was quite the opposite. He let his scythe fall down to the ground with a clank. His heart was getting overwhelmed with joy and love.

The one walking closer to him was Rhynx, his beloved.

The Tideborn was dressed in black, a hood partly covering his face. His dark figure was coming closer with a steady pace. He really looked like a shady character, but that was fitting, he was an assassin after all. Rhynx was coming from north, passed Scorpion Valley and had been walking along the road from Vibrant Cliffs. Possibly, his missions had led him to visit Dragon's End, for this was the only route possible from north. Two stone bridges, molded by nature, could be used to cross the lands of Vibrant Cliffs and Dragon's End – if you dared. These bridges were crossing Wolf Totem Valley that was located between the great cliffs. It would be a long, long fall down if you slipped from the bridges. Safer routes were preferred, but sometimes there were travelers that dared to use these nature's own viaducts.

How did the Tideborn managed to come to this area where Mirskyn had been sent to? The Nightshade didn't know or care. He was just happy to see his lover again. Deep in his heart, however, he felt like that their hearts were connected, the power of their love had brought the assassin here. Mirskyn was sure that their hearts were beating as one. His own was fluttering like a little bird upon the sight of Rhynx. His soul was filled with such happiness which some people in the world would never achieve. Mirskyn began to run towards Rhynx, as if there were red string tied between their hearts, pulling each other closer. Their bodies collided gently, both men wrapping their arms around each other, engaging into an embrace. No words were exchanged for a while, the men just enjoyed the closeness of their significant other. Then Mirskyn retreated a little, only to press his lips against Rhynx's. They kissed passionately, thirsty for love.

When their lips finally parted, they looked each other into the eyes.

“Did you miss me?” Rhynx asked, smiling flirtatiously. 

“More than you would ever know”, Mirskyn replied, giving one more peck to the Tideborn's lips.

There they stayed in an embrace for a little while, the wind howling around them. And for that moment, they were drunk from pure bliss. However, this wrecked world needed them, and soon they were about to start going. The bodies of the men separated into two individuals once more.

“Come, we have duties to do”, Mirskyn said, his hand caressing the cheek of the Tideborn.

Rhynx simply nodded. Their hands found each other as they started to go to the direction of Dreaming Stronghold. Holding their hands, they would go, and even if somebody would see them like this, two men in love, Mirskyn didn't care. If it was wrong to love another man, then he didn't want to be right. Because this man was his everything. And so it would be, until the end of time.