Steel meets steel, with showering sparks,
and it is here, that the battle starts.
The duel begins, on ravaged land,
and here it will end, the final stand.
The darkened soul, draws first blood, his shimmering axe now red with the essence of his opponent.
But the light shall not be vanquished as of yet. Mustering his courage he fights with the bravery of a wolverine, and the tenacity of a lioness defending her young.
He lunges and his sword is swung powerfully in an arc, with force enough to part head from body.
The dark one will not allow himself to be defeated yet, and with a motion similar to the slithering of a snake he avoids what would be the mortal blow.
And the battle rages on.
For hours it rages on. Days, weeks, months, years, centuries, it raged.
They exchange wounds like friends would exchange stories from days of old.
And in the end, the light sees the weakened, defeated husk of the darkness.
And the good prepares for the final blow, the end of all, the end of the night.
He thrusts his sword and sees the crimson shimmer of blood.
And for the brief, moment, the light knows contentment.
And as he looks down at foe, he realizes that the blood is not that of the enemy,
But his own.
He stares for what seems to be an eternity.
At the dagger protruding from his chest, at his own sanguine fluid slowly streaking down his abdomen.
And he looks at the darkness.
He stares at him face to face.
Eye to eye.
And the darkness smiles.
He has won this day.
The warmth slowly fades from the warrior, as he is surrounded by an all encompassing cold.
And then nothing.
And darkness raises his hands in victory, shaking and flailing his arms wildly, staring at the corpse of his fallen opponent.
His battered and broken body on the verge of collapse, he looks up.
And his eyes open wide as the moon in the sky.

For good and evil have fought this day,
And the darkness has had its victory.
But you can never truly defeat the light,
And there will always be more to continue the fight.

And the sun rises…

*breaks champagne bottle over the new board, christening it*