It was not a decision undertaken lightly, to accept the madness and be pulled down, even into death. It was finality, but for Solar the decision had been made long ago.

His family tried in vain to persuade him to take another as his mate, to preserve his life, but he considered himself already dead. The day she had been torn from him, that was the day he died.

So when the Fires came upon him, Solar set out for the desert, to walk until it claimed his life.

At first, in the blistering heat, his thoughts were pulled to T'Sel, she who had been his wife, her essence lost forever. His body longed for her and his mind clawed at the threads of their broken bond. But as the fever pulled him in, his thoughts fragmented, ripped apart even as they formed. He was alone, he would die alone, his very mind having been torn away.

Across the sands, a figure appeared, and hope sprang up in his racing heart. T'Sel, come to save him. He stumbled towards her, drawing in ragged breaths. She danced across his vision, splitting into two, resolving again into one. The world shifted, pulling the ground suddenly to his side. T'Sel reached forward a hand.

But the hand that took his was not T'Sel's. It was not her mind. Blinding rage enveloped him, and he felt a sharp prick at the corner of his elbow. He tried to lash out, to get away.

A warmth spread up his arm, heat to the fever, and ... pain, agony! One gasping breath, and searing pain, in his side, everywhere. He tried to cry out, only a halting gasp escaping, as the erratic beating of his heart came to a sudden stop.

A/N: This is the first section, about 300 words, of a story I'm working on. Just throwing it out for fun, and for feedback.
Solar (pronounced soh-lahr, not sol-er like the "solar system") I've been wanting to use this name for a Vulcan for ages, but couldn't since it's a real word with a different pronunciation!