The Sword of the Empire.
That was how everyone viewed him. Lord Marselli Dreysius was unparalleled on the battlefield and considered the strongest knight of the Alven Empire. He was the most loyal of the Emperor's warlords and an excellent commander. He himself didn't acknowledge these claims, but everyone did.
That fated night twelve years ago, Lord Dreysius stumbled into my isolated alchemy garden, drunken and distraught.
Since then, he kept visiting, drunkenly spilling his deepest thoughts and worries. I remembered the time when Lord Dreysius came in the evening, finally sober yet flushed in embarrassment as he gave me a basket of alchemic ingredients that I had offhandedly told him about. He began bringing me gifts whenever he could. He was the strongest knight and the kindest man. I smiled as I reminisced the past, thinking all about Marselli.
We confessed and became lovers four years ago.
I felt a tear fall to the side of my face as I gazed at the moon above me, ignoring the way that flames framed the beautiful night sky. I coughed and tried to frown at the thick blood in my mouth but failed to tense the necessary muscles. I could feel my body relaxing into the steel swords pinning me to the wall, the pain barely there anymore.
As I thought of how much hotter it needed to be to burn an alchemist's body, I saw a panting figure flash into my view. Marselli stood on the door ahead. He rushed to me, yet I could do nothing but fall into his trembling arms.
I managed a smile as I listened to the familiar sobs.
"Lord Dreysius… shouldn't cry so much."
"Ansoli! Please stay awake, I- I can get your pills and-"
"Won't work… They made sure… of it," I took in the view of Marselli's tearful blue eyes and leaned on him, "I'm sorry… for being your only weakness… Mar."
As everything faded away, my heart and soul ached.
"The day he died, the Alven Empire was also wiped from the map."
"Then I left to see my Ansoli."