Kaidan lay wheezing in his bed. His sightless eyes stared up toward the ceiling but saw only darkness. A warm, work-worn hand took his, and he smiled, squeezing it. "Alefor, my son. You came."

"Of course I did, Father." Alefor's low voice rumbled through Kaidan's frail bones.

His breath rattled through his chest, and he coughed, his muscles spasming with the motion. Alefor shuffled closer and eased him into a sitting position, stuffing pillows down behind his back. The coughing fit passed, and Kaidan slumped back into the mound of pillows. "I'm tired, son. And I'm ready to join your mother on the other side."

Alefor patted his hand, a protest strangling in his throat. "I know."

"It won't be long now until I go to the other side of eternity." Kaidan cleared his dry throat, swallowing to dampen it. "And someone must lead the others who have come here to follow the truth."

"Someone should, yes."

"I want you to do so when I'm gone, Alefor."

Alefor's grip on his hand tightened a fraction of an inch. "Father, I can't! Give the task to Eorith. He's better suited to the task."

"Eorith is too young." Kaidan shook his head with a sad smile. "Someday, Alefor, you'll have to start believing in yourself."

"But not today. You're still here to lead."

"Not for long." Kaidan burst into another coughing fit.

Alefor released his hand, and a moment later, the cool rim of his water glass pressed to his cracked lips. Kaidan took a greedy swallow of it, lifting a shaking hand to wipe his mouth when Alefor pulled it away. The rasp of dried, brittle skin and bone against his lips only reminded him that his time was now far more limited than it had been just a few years ago. His experiences had aged him more than expected, he thought. But he didn't regret any of them.

"You'll get better. We'll find a cure for your malady, Father."

Kaidan guffawed, the laughter rattling and dying in his chest. "There isn't a cure for what ails me."

"Can you be so sure?" Alefor sat on the edge of Kaidan's bed.

Kaidan smiled, remembering the days when Alefor would sit on the edge of the bed and swing his feet while Zerua told him a bedtime story. "Yes. There's no cure for old age. I've lived my time, son. Living to be nearly two-hundred is quite a feat for most."

"I know, I know. The expected lifetime is only around a hundred and fifty. You've only reminded me of that a thousand times the last few years."

"And it's no less true now." Kaidan patted Alefor's hand with a chuckle.

Alefor didn't say anything for a long moment. Then he cleared his throat and shifted on the bed. "Do you really think I'm ready for this?"

"I do." Kaidan squeezed his son's shoulder. "You will be the next leader, and it will be your son's job to guard it after you. Keep her diary and the Chronicles of Banach safe, son. Someday, the savior will come, and he'll need them."

"I know." Alefor stood and paced, his footsteps thudding on the carpeted wood floor boards. They creaked beneath his weight.

"Something else troubles you?" Kaidan rested his head back against the headboard, wishing the headache that had been ravaging him all day wouldn't pound so much.

"I don't want you to leave us."

"Everyone has their time. You know that."

He stopped pacing, and when he spoke, his voice was quiet. "I know."

Kaidan sucked in another rattling breath. "Best say your goodbyes now then. Your brothers and sisters and their little ones already did this morning. I likely won't make it the night."

Alefor rushed to his side, taking Kaidan's worn hand in his. "Don't say that, father! It's so morbid."

"Alefor, you're already fifty, an adult by our standards. You know I'm on death's door." Kaidan gripped his son's hand weakly. "I can feel my strength fading. Please, say your goodbye so that I can rest in peace. If the gods see fit to give me another morning, then so be it. But don't leave me without a farewell from my firstborn."

Alefor's head rested heavy against Kaidan's shoulder, and he sighed. "Goodbye then. You'll be missed—" He choked off in a sob. "I—I'm sorry. I should be more controlled—"

Kaidan patted his son's head, burying his fingers in Alefor's thick mop of shaggy black hair. He closed his eyes, remembering the days when he still had his sight and could watch as his baby boy grew into a fine young man with his lopsided grin and Zerua's unruly curls. "No use holding it in, boy." His voice roughened, and his throat closed with sadness as Alefor let go and wept into his shoulder. "There, there. Someday, we'll see each other again in the Realm Above."

Alefor nodded and drew away with a sharp breath. "I should let you rest. If the gods do not see fit to give you another sunrise." He drew in a shaky breath. "If they do not, then rest in peace, father. And know that I will do everything you instructed."

Kaidan smiled. "Good boy. Now, go enjoy the evening with your lovely wife and baby girl."

Alefor hummed in response. Kaidan listened to his footsteps retreating. Then the door slammed, and he was alone. He blinked back tears, letting the weakness in his body wash over him. Sinking into the pillows, he shifted until he was lying down on his back again. His chest squeezed painfully, and he wheezed. As he labored for each breath he took and felt the last vestiges of strength fading from his body, Kaidan let go and let his eyes close one final time.

When he opened them again, it was to the sight of Zerua in a pale blue robe and a field of green grass strewn with wildflowers. And he knew that finally, after all he'd endured, he'd found his rest. The truth had been told, and it would continue to be told to the generations to follow until the day it would reach the ears of the prophesied Son of Shadows. And then. Then all of Kaidan's work would come to fruition, and the savior would set it all to right.