#meletis

O hear of shining Meletis, city of the wide sea and the open mind, born from the ruins of tyranny, raised by the hands of philosophers. Here the shadows of Agnomakhos lie broken, his empire scattered to dust, for Kynaios and Tiro, heroes of freedom, cast down the archon’s chains. No longer do legions march at the will of one; instead, the voice of the Twelve guides the polis. It is a city of scrolls and temples, of mages and oracles, where thought is sharper than the sword, and where the people strive, ever restless, to build anew, to cast aside cruelty, to stand as a beacon against oppression, and to guard their own hearts from hypocrisy.

To the esteemed members of the Council of Twelve,

This is the fourth time I have been forced to address these words to you, and I still hope that this time they will be received with the seriousness they demand. What has been happening between us is simply unacceptable. My previous communications have been ignored; I do not wish this one to be the same. I remind you of the purpose that brought us here: to safeguard the well-being of Meletis and promote the progress—and here I use the broadest and deepest sense of the word—of our polis. This mission depends, above all, on our ability to dialogue with frankness and respect. Whispers and intrigue sicken our halls and erode the legitimacy of the decisions we make. I fear that this erosion, if it persists, will be irreversible.

Nyx had spread her star-strewn mantle over Theros. Life had come to a rest, except for the hunters of the night.

Kynaios and Tiro were in bed too, cuddled against each other. There was no light coming into the cabin they shared, not even the slightest sliver of silvery light from the moon.

Tiro was playing with his shorter lover's hair. It was brown and silky; whenever he could comb his fingers through it, that sign of intimacy soothed him. Tonight, however… what weighed on his heart was too heavy for him to completely be calmed by this familiar gesture.

"Kynaios…"

"Hm?"

The shorter man lazily lifted a hand and let his fingers streak across his lover's cheek.

"Aren't you tired of it?"

Something in his voice drove the laziness out of Kynaios. He turned and stared into the barely visible eyes of the taller man.

"What do you mean?"

Tiro made an all-encompassing gesture, more felt than seen in the dark of the cabin.

"Of all of this. Of the miserable life the Archons are subjecting us humans to. Of the two of us having to hide our love when we're outside of these walls."

Kynaios stared at his beloved with wide eyes. For a moment, he barely believed what he just had heard. It was too shocking a prospect to even consider. On the other hand… deep in his heart, Kynaios felt exactly the same. There were times when it felt to him as if it grew more difficult to hide their love with each day. If the Archons would ever learn of it, it would be a death sentence for both of them. Still… the mere idea of what his lover had suggested… the danger of it…

"Do you realize what you just said?", he eventually asked.

"I do." Tiro took one of Kynaios' hands into his and held it firmly. "My love, things have to change. You feel it, just like me. We have to rally the people behind us. Way too long have we endured Agnomakhos' cruelty. Someone has to spark the fire that will burn his reign to the ground. And the two of us are the only ones strong enough in body and mind to do it."

He was right, Kynaios knew. There were only few warriors on par with them. He agreed with his dark-skinned love from the bottom of his heart in that things had to change. However, there was still a problem.

"Star of my life", he said. "I know he strength of us both. But what about the others? Agnomakhos has hundreds of Leonin under his control. And almost all of us humans are inferior to them in physical strength."

"I know, Kynaios, I know." Tiro gently kissed his hand. "That's why we'll have to rally as much of our brethren as possible, so we may surpass them in numbers. If possible, we can train them in secret. Hard. We need to light a fire in them that will give them the courage to fight, despite the unfavorable odds. We have to make up for our physical weakness with wits. Outsmart the Leonin. At any rate, the path to our freedom will demand sacrifices. It's up to the two of us to make sure they were not in vain. Don't worry… you and me, together, we will find a way to shake off Agnomakhos' yoke."

Kynaios stared at the white in his lover's eyes which he could just make out in the dark. Tiro's hands, still holding his, radiated warmth and determination. If Kynaios weren't already so much in love with him, he would just have fallen for him even more right then and there.

His dark-skinned beloved had spoken with such conviction and fire, that Kynaios felt as if at his side he could do everything. Tiro had this inspiring effect on other people, and was only one of his many facettes Kynaios loved about him.

"Tiro…"

He dug his hand into his lover's black hair and kissed him long and passionately. After they broke the kiss, they stared each other into the eyes, faces only inches from each other. Kynaios cupped both of the other man's cheeks with his hands.

"Tiro", he repeated, "sun of my life. If my heart didn't already belong to you, it would have been consumed by the fire you have ignited inside of me just now. No fear – I will be with you. All the way. Wherever it will lead."

"Wherever it will lead", Tiro ageed. "Together always."

"Tomorrow", Kynaios continued, "we shall start drawing the people to the flame of courage. The shackles of man shall be broken."

"Freedom", Tiro added with the gravity of a pact.

Then they made love to each other in the way of two humans who didn't know how many sunrises they had left, of two humans who knew that any of the coming days could be the last. It was frantic, almost desperate lovemaking. And it was the only thing that mattered right now. Discussing the grave things could well wait until the next day.

Yet… as they drifted into the realm of sleep, their love for each other was stronger than ever before and carried the spark of hope that was going to carry them through the arduous days ahead of them.

    Author's note: So, I've got quite a few things to say about this story. So let's get started.

Firstly, I want to dedicate this story to one of my many cousins. He is well known here in Switzerland as a successful practitioner of Swiss wrestling. And he had a coming out as a gay person just last week. A very very courageous move, especially in regards to the sport he practices. Heh… so a little dedication to him, even though he's never going to even know I wrote this. He is not into anything fantasy, leave alone into Magic the Gathering. And I think this is the first piece I ever wrote about a gay couple. If memory serves right, I never even wrote something about manga/anime yaoi. At any rate, I thought I'd use the occasion to finish and post this story. It was just such a great opportunity.

Secondly, a few words in regards to the lore. I think Kynaios and Tiro have such an interesting backstory. If you're not familiar with it, go look it up; I'd love to explain, but it would take too much space and time (or message me, if you want me to explain). Anyhow, it's quite a shame we never learn more about them. And that there are no more cards about them besides the one the have. I would have not minded each of them getting a card of their own. Or damn, wouldn't they be perfect for a partner commander duo? Damn, now it's even more a shame. Anyhow… unfortunately, we don't even know who of them is Kynaios and who is Tiro. My decision was like this: Since one of them is more African-looking, dark-skinned and all, I decided to give him Tiro and his smaller lover the more Greek-sounding of the two names, Kynaios. Just wanted to tell you this for reference.