Where Memories Hide

[Amber Eyes]

Kyla rolled over and with sleepy eyes took in her surroundings. A small lamp was on a table near the doorway, and gave off just enough light for Kyla to see into the passageway beyond her room. In the passageway was a tray with orange juice, eggs, and bacon. Kyla climbed out of bed, careful to not trip over the rug; which she had fallen over at least twelve times during her stay. As she approached the tray she noticed that the food was arranged to look like the wings of a butterfly. Kyla smiled, knowing that Sei had prepared this. Anita had let Kyla know as she delivered her food the preceding morning that Sei liked to use butterflies vs. Anita's smiley faces.

Kyla smiled to herself as she walked back into the room, tray in hand, and fell flat on her face.

"Stupid frikkin rug!" Kyla shouted, more embarassed than hurt. She cleaned the egg yolk off her face, then used a towel to clean the orange juice off the floor.

As Kyla dressed, and took her now ruined food with her to the main room, she couldn't help but feel odd that they were still bringing food to her, it made her feel a bit like an outsider or guest, and now that she was going to train under Sei, she only wanted to be a part of the family--or something like that. She knew that they were trying to be accommodating, and were probably worried she would starve trying to find her way to them in the mornings. It was a feat to get anywhere in the massive maze that was Sei's tomb. Kyla had memorized the turns it took to get from her room to the main room. She said it quietly to herself as she walked.
Left, Left, Right, straight, Left, right, right.

Kyla hoped that Sei had read the letter she had given him the night before, which contained all her memories. She did not want to seem impatient, but was eager to learn her identity.

Kyla's letter said the following, she had put it into story form, because it all seemed so unreal to her now.

--I sat in the corner of my room in our little cottage, peeking through a crack in the wall. This little hole was very useful, as it led to the main room, where the rest of my family was now. There was I, at the tender age of six, my brother sixteen, well an adult now, my other brother, already a father himself, my mother, old and gray haired now, and my father, still proud as ever. They always sent me to my room when ever they were fighting about something, and Mother always won. Not today.

"Kyla," My father said quietly, brushing a hand across my cheekbone lovingly. "My dearest. I am sorry, but this is something we men must do. Those demons are destroying our village. First us, then, who knows what? What if they decide to take the world into their clutches? No, we must fight." My brothers nodded along, both already holding their swords.

"Take me with you!" My mother begged, but my father denied. "You must stay here, and take care of our daughter. What would become of my Kyla if you weren't here to defend her?" With this, my father kissed my mother and my older brother kissed his wife. They left through the back door and I never saw the men of my family again.

Later, I sat in my room, thinking about what I would do when my father and brothers got back, when I heard my mother's sobs pause, and I heard a young man's voice. I crawled over to my crack in the wall, and watched the scene.

"What, may I ask, are you doing, still alive?" The man asked my mother. He looked maybe about the age of my younger brother. "Your family is gone, why aren't you?"

"Get out, get out of my house right now!" My mother yelled, looking back at my room, then quickly back at him. "You stay away from me, from my family!" She broke a vase on the table, and charged at him with the shard of glass. He took her arm, and plunged the point into it, so now she was bleeding everywhere. She looked at the man with eyes full of fire, and he grabbed her neck. I looked away, but I will never forget the sickening, cracking sound that I hadn't understood that young. When I looked back, my mother lay still, and the man had left.

The following day, I ran. Celiet, the woman from next door came to my house and asked for my mother. I explained that I was alone, and she sat me down on the bed. “We will all die tomorrow, Kylana. With the men gone, we will have no way to stop them.” She tucked me in and left, to go comfort her own children.

As I lay in bed, I had only one thought, “I do not want to die.”

I went into my father’s room, well before sunrise, and took his heavy coat, his boots (which swallowed my feet) and his belt. I belted the coat around myself, and snuck into the woods. From the edge of the woods, I waited. That morning, I watched as my neighbors and friends were drug into the streets and killed. I knew then that I had to leave.

I wondered the forest for some time, eating anything I found; several times I ate berries only to vomit for hours. Those moments I’d wish I were dead.

I was terrified of the sounds of the animals I heard at night, and would tie myself to tree branches with my father’s belt so that I would not fall as I slept.

One night I woke to the sounds of men speaking. One man called out to me, and told me to come down. I hesitated, until I saw a boy staring up at me smiling. I came down, and the man introduced himself.

“My name is Zander, and these are my friends, and my little brother, Xavior. Are you lost?”

I remained silent, unsure what to say to this strange man.

“Do you have a home?”

I shook my head.

“Well then, I guess you should come with us.” It was decided; I traveled with them from then on.

It didn’t take me long to notice that the men stole from anyone they could, but Zander explained that theft was the only way to feed us all. It made sense to me, after all I had no idea where our food at home came from.

Xavior and I spent most of our time playing games; he was hard to teach, but eager to learn. I once spent two hours teaching him to tie a knot, but he never stopped trying. Two days later I had to completely teach him again, and her approached it with as much enthusiasm as he had the first time around. At night we would look for people in the sky, I would point out a constellation that looked like my mother, and he would smile. One night he asked, “Can you find a mother for me Kyla?”

“Where is she Xavior? Where are your parents?”

“Father was killed in a fight, I never had a mother.”

“But everyone has a mother.”

“I don’t”

Kyla rarely approached Zander, in fear of making him angry as Xavior often did. Zander was always impatient with Xavior, and made him cry quite often.

“Zander, may I ask you a question?” Kyla asked sheepishly

“I think you just did little Kyla.” Zander replied. “If you have another one I think I have time though”

“Where is Xavior’s mother?”

“Oh, did he ask you about her? I guess you two must talk about those things. You see when my mother was pregnant with Xavior, my father was gone a lot. He was a great fighter, and always came home with the most magnificent prizes. My mother worried when my father was away, and with that, the pregnancy and chasing after me, it was too much for her heart to bear. She died and the doctor had to take him from inside her. Her body had to be torn for him to have life. The hour between her death and his first cry her went without oxygen, which is why he is the way he is.”

“If it isn’t his fault that he doesn’t understand, then why are you so hard on him?”

“Because little Kyla, there is no place in the world for people like Xavior.”

“Then we must make a place for him”

“And that is the challenge dear child, that has always been the challenge.”

As they days went on, I remembered less and less of my mother’s face. Soon her smell began to disappear as well, and with it the sound of her voice saying my name. The vivid image of my home and my village became worn with age, and soon I did not know who I was.

During my time with the men, the number varied greatly, at most there where nineteen in all-at the least there were five- but Zander was never questioned as leader. Other than occasionally having a few more to clean behind, my life did not change much, and I was always fiercely protected.

One day in my early teens, one of the men followed me into the forest, and attacked me. Zander pounced on him and had beaten him within inches of his life in moments. “Do you want him dead Kyla” He yelled, looking over his shoulder at me.

The question confused me, I shook my head. “But I never want to see him again.”

“Do you hear that? This young girl is showing you the mercy you were not willing to show her. If she tells me she has seen you, I will kill you! If I see you I will assume you are trying to see her, and I will kill you! You are free to spend the rest of your life avoiding us.”

Zander kept a closer eye on me after that day. He taught me how to defend myself, by my mid-teens I could knock a weak man out with one touch, or blind a stronger man for a moment. I could wield weapons as well as anyone twice my age, and I was the best hunter within our group, save Zander himself. Some days I would catch a small animal and give it to Xander to take back. Zander was so proud of him for bringing in dinner, we all slept better those days.

The older I got, the more I had trouble dealing with the things that Zander’s gang did. Each robbery felt as though it took a part of my heart. There were times Zander would send Xavior and me off to play, and I now know that those times the gang murdered entire towns so that they could have all the wealth accumulated there.

One day one of the men, I believe his name was Rubin, approached me. “Kyla I need a favor. Do you see those beautiful women up the hill?” He pointed. “I would like you to take the flowers to them and ask them to come to dinner at the barn tonight.”

I took the flowers and headed up the hill, eager to talk to someone outside of our group. They were beautiful flowers-green and pink-and they smelled wonderful. As I approached, the eldest of the three spoke to me. “How can I help you?”

“My friends have asked me to invite you to eat with us tonight.”

”And where will we be eating?” She asked with a chuckle

I gave her directions then headed off to find Rubin.

Zander had me take Xavior to the loft early that night to get some sleep.

“Stay with me Kyla” he said. “I’m scared”

“Why Xavior, you are never scared.”

“Something feels bad, please don’t leave me.”

“Xavior, when you open your eyes I will be the first thing you see, same as always. Everything will be okay. I will never leave you. I love you Xavior.”

I climbed down to the main room as soon a Xavior began softly snoring, to find the women just arriving. They were beautiful. We ate, danced, drank and sang for hours. It was the most amazing evening I had ever had. Then something changed. Rubin tried to pull the youngest girl into his lap, but she maneuvered herself into mine instead. I thought it was a funny trick, but Rubin became enraged. He grabbed her by the hair and pulled her into a corner, before punching her. The other men followed suit, and began attacking the girls.

“GO TO BED NOW KYLA!” I heard Zander yell above the roar.

I ran to the ladder and climbed up as fast as I could, and after one glance to make sure Xavior was asleep, I covered my head with straw and cried myself to sleep. The women’s screams echoed in my mind long after they had subsided in the barn.
The following morning I awoke early, and climbed down the ladder. There was blood everywhere. I began cleaning up and that was when I saw her. The youngest girl, the one who had landed in my lap, lying dead in the hay. She was so beautiful, even without life in her body. I kissed her on the cheek, whispered “I’m sorry” and left the barn to vomit several times. Once outside I decided to run away, but the thought of poor innocent Xavior being found with the men and put into jail sickened me. I threw rocks at the barn until I heard Zander rousing the men inside. “What have you done? We must go NOW!”

I ran for a while, but stayed close enough to town to find out that the girl’s name was Sophia. The perfect name for an angel in our world. I vowed to keep her name in my heart forever.

I wondered all the way to Corone, then to the archives in Radasanth. That is why I sought you out. Please help me.--

Kyla entered the main room to find Anita and Sei sitting at the table.

[Silence Sei]

It was always Sei's morning ritual to make sure that one way or another, everybody had a hearty breakfast. With Kyla added to the Orlouge family, making breakfast was still at the top of the morning agenda. Whistling a tune nobody could hear, Sei flipped the eggs in his skillet, tossing them onto a plate to make a perfect scarmbled butterfly in the middle of Anita's plate.

When the mute heard Kyla shout a smile grew across his face. The girl would get used to that rug eventually, if Anita could stop moving it a few inches one way or another to try and avoid the same situation that had happened every morning. The mute's eyes then turned back to the table where the rest of the morning food sat.

In between Sei and Anita's plates was Kyla's story, something thaat had tugged at Sei's very heart strings. The mute had now realized why exactly Kyla felt like family to him; because she was from a mystic home town. Regardless of whether they knew shadow or light magic, the mystics of the Drantrak had a kind of close kinship with one another. The fact that Kyla hailed from Chateau Drantrak, opposite of Sei's own Orlouge Drantrak, was the whole reason for Sei's bond with the girl.

Together, the trio of Sei, Anita, and Kyla had managed to not only capture the bandit known as Zander, but found a way to reform his evil ways. It was apparent that, when put together, there was not a mind that could paralell the strategies of Sei and his apprentices. This thought made the mute smile as he looked to his second 'daughter' as she entered the room.

"Kyla," Sei had said, which caused Anita to turn towards her 'sister', "you should start packing what you need. Today is the day we will start our journey into Chateau Drantrak. If what you claim is true and Chateau has been destroyed for years, I must see it with my own eyes. Now that Zander no longer poses a threat to us while we visit, we will be able to thoroughly investigate your past."

Anita nodded and pointed to her backpack, which always seemed to be able to hold anything and everything if it was required. "I got me and Papa all packed, Kyla," Anita said as she jumped off of a stalagmite that Sei had shaped into a seat, chewing a piece of bacon as she did so, "now we only got to get you ready. That is, unless you -are- ready?"

The duo stood looking at the girl to see if she was ready to take the first step into her own past.

[Amber Eyes]

"Well, it's not like I have much to pack." Kyla had very little to her name. "Just let me go grab my bag." Kyla's voice echoed through the halls as she ran. "OOOMMPPPHHH, DAGGUMMIT! STUPID FRIKKIN RUG!"

As she fell, Kyla noticed a bit of orange juice she had missed this morning, she cleaned it up, grabbed her bag, took a quick look in the mirror and was off.

As they stepped out of the tomb, the bright sun blinded Kyla for a moment. When she regained her vision, she smiled at Anita and Sei. Kyla felt hopeful that with the help of her new family, she would be able to finally solve the mystery.

Kyla had no idea what was waiting for them in Chateau Drantrak, but if her memories were true, she had little hope of finding anyone she knew alive. She pushed these fears out of her mind.

After walking for a while Kyla became bored, she looked at Anita, and took off.

"So Anita, wanna race?" Kyla shouted over her shoulder as she ran. She turned her head to see if Anita was following her, and hit the ground. "What is it with you two and me falling on my face?" Kyla took a mental note not to try to show off anymore, as it only seemed to lead to her embarrassing her self. Kyla had never been one to be humble, and She wasn't usually this clumsy.

Kyla looked down to see what had tripped her, and saw a green coat. Kyla would have known that coat anywhere, it haunted her dreams. The coat belonged to Talarni.

"Sei, Anita! Come see this, this coat, I have seen it before. It belongs to Talarni, the murderer! He must have ditched it after he found out the Radasanth guard was looking for him."

[Silence Sei]

The race between Anita and Kyla ended with Kyla tripping over a coat and alerting the hero. The jacket belonged to Talarni, a name Sei had only heard in passing. Talarni was responsible for the murder of the woman that night in the barn that caused Kyla to run away from Zanders men. Furthermore, Sei had pinned all of Zander and his ilks crimes solely on the head of Talarni, as he seemed to be the most evil of the group.

Sei realized that Talarni was not going to let the authorities apprehend him, nor was he going to let the Hero of Radasanth get away with making him one of Althanas most wanted. Sei knew that a showdown with the theif was inevitable, but he had more important things on his mind. His focus was going to be solely on Kyla for this mission. Talarni and his fued with Sei would have to wait.

"Forget about it for now," Sei said as he walked past the girls, "we've more important matters to attend to." The mute carried on as he followed the path to Chateau Drantrak. Sei had taken the road through Concordia many times before, and had no problem retracing his steps now. As the youth grew closer and closer, he began to have fond memories of himself and Kylin running back and forth between towns, as carefree as boys their age could be.

The trio had to pass several villiages on their way to the town, as it laid beyond Concordia and well within the countryside of Corone. Every so often the mute would stop and speak with townsfolk, learning of their plight, how the harvests were moving along, and making general chit-chat. The mystic motioned for the girls to continue on when they went through the fifth villiage, and then abruptly told them to stop.

The field was open, with grass all around it. It seemed as though the only things that lived here were livestock and other animals. Anita looked around for any traces of the town, looking very confused at her father. "We're here," Sei said, "Chateau and Orlouge Drantrak are protected by a sort of invisibility barrier. Where as Orlouge Drantrak bends the light around it so the common eye is fooled into believing nothing is there, Chateau is the polar opposite."

Sei pointed downwards towards the groups feet. While there was nothing outstanding at first glance, every few seconds, a massive shadow would envelope the ground. Sei motioned back up to allow the girls to notice that there were no clouds in the sky, no trees swaying in the sun's path. "Chateau Drantrak is the home of Shadow Magic. In order for one to truly enter the town, they must step just ahead of where I am standing, as soon as the shadow passes over the ground."

It was a great way to ward off intruders trying to obtain the mystic magics, especially the more offensive Shadow Magic. The mute grabbed both of his children by the arms and stepped through, looking up at the air.

The whole town was nothing but darkness, it seemed, with large fireflies lighting up here and there to illuminate the town. It seemed like a kind of futile gesture, but every time a firefly sparked, it seemed to be enough power to light a city block. Sei's eyes began to adjust to the new light, and what he had found horrified him.

Tombstones. At least a hundred tombstones had lined the very area Sei and the girls were standing on. Sei could smell the death in this town and the sheer aura of it all almost caused Anita to collapse. The mute held his daughter up as he took in the buildings, some perfectly fine, some with broken roofs or walls. It was apparent that there had been a small civilization back in the town, but it was nowhere near the glorious town that it once was.

Sei looked over to Kyla, worried for the girl's emotional well being. "I know this is hard, dear," Sei said, "But do you think you could guide us to where you lived?"

[Amber Eyes]

The sight of the town held no significance for Kyla, and she felt herself deflate. She had believed that the moment she walked into town she would remember everything.

Kyla walked through the row of graves, looking for a name that may have meant something. As she walked past the last grave, she began to weep. Her legs gave out and she fell to her knees. She had been almost sure her last name must be Nassim, the only word other than the name of this town she remembered from her childhood.

What if I have it all wrong, maybe I'm not even from here. What if I'm leading these people on a wild goose chase. How can I expect them to help me when I don't even know what I'm looking for? Kyla's thoughts were racing as she looked up, and saw something familiar.

About twenty feet from where she knelt, were four trees. Each tree bore a different fruit. The tallest bore apples, the next oranges, followed by bannanas, and lastly cherries. The cherry tree is where Kyla began to run, as memories of the sweet juices raced to her tounge. As she approached she saw the carvings right where she knew she'd find them, the picture depicted two girls holding hands, outside the building that housed the biggest contest drantrak offered. "The Shadow Trials." Kyla said aloud.

Kyla remembered climbing these trees with her brothers, picking fruit for mom, throwing them down until her father told her she was being wasteful, they had more than enough for now. She also remembered playing here with friends, and practicing for the shadow trials, a test of shadow magic. But I am not a mystic Kyla reminder herself, again doubting her memories.

Kyla pictured the scenes in her mind, and then began to run again.

As Kyla approached the house, she was taken aback by the vividness her dreams had captured it with. There was a shed off to the left of the house, and the same large tree covered most of the roof. Even the garden was still growing the beautiful flowers her mother had planted here. Kyla was in such a frenzy, she ran up the steps, and opened the door, then the girl froze.

[Silence Sei]

Sei began to follow Kyla as she explored the various points of her memories. Sei followed her right up until she past the Shadow Trials. Sei paused and looked at the building. Every time that Sei had come here, the sheer monstrosity that was the Shadow Trials seemed to overwhelm him. The establishment was large, and made entirely of black crystal. It looked like more of a crystal palace rather than a single building.

Sei grabbed his right arm as he thought about his own memories of Kylin and himself. Kylin had taken these same trials, learned the art of Shadow Magic, and became quite the formidible force with Sei. Sei would cover the duo's defensive capabilities with his Light Magic, and Kylin would provide the offense with Shadow Magic. Back in the day, there was hardly a foe that could stand up to the pairing.

Of course, that was before Sei had found Anita and Kyla, and he would not trade his daughters for the world, even if it were his world with Kylin.

Just as the mute finished thinking to himself, he had began to feel the burning. Light Magic users were typically not strong enough to survive staying for very long in Chateau Drantrak. Light and shadow coexisted, yes, but light and darkness were also bitter enemies. As a result of this, Sei, and well as any Light MAgic user for that matter, began to burn after a few minutes within Chateau Drantrak.

NAturally, Sei had kept this fact a secret from both Anita and Kyla. The two would never allow Sei to come if they knew that his sheer presence here was causing him harm. After witnessing Kyla run into a particular building, Sei followed her, admiring the work of the garden within the house. When Sei saw Kyla hurry up the stairs in a frenzy, he followed, and was just as taken aback once he saw the same thing Kyla had.

There was a man standing there, his white robes covering most of his body. His hair was red and very short, tinges of silver peeking out here and there. The cold blue eyes were hardened, but still seemed to hold that same light Sei had seen in several other people. If the rest of the details were not an indication, the scar straight across his chin from one end of his jaw to the other. Sei quickly looked to his daughters (Anita had just caught up).

"Girls, I need you to leave now," Sei told his daughters as a confused Anita grabbed Kyla's arm and escorted her down the stairs. "It's been a long time, Niche," the mute said as the voice in his head confirmed Sei's persona to the stranger. "As I live and breathe, Sei Orlouge, in the flesh!"

The man, only a little taller than Sei himself, but with a more muscular build, grabbed the man in a headlock. After locking in the hold, the man proceeded to take his spare hand and rub his knuckle over the hair of the mute mystic. "I know you want me to quit, but I'm not going to. Even though I heard the stories and everything, not even Sei Orlouge can escape the wrath of his older brother, Niche Nassim Orlouge!"

[Amber Eyes]

If Kyla was shocked by the man standing in her living room, and she was. She was completely enraged by Sei's request for her to leave. She allowed Anita to pull her from the room and into a much smaller room. The room had two small beds which filled about half of the space. The other half seemed barren, lonely.

Kyla paced back and forth in the small room. "Who does that guy think he is? I don't care if my family hasn't been here in years, you don't just squat in other people's houses! And what was all that with Sei? I mean this is my life, my past, how can he just kick me out like that!"

Anita looked worried, and then on the verge of laughter.

"What exactly is so funny?" Kyla shouted

"I was just thinking that this may be the first time I've seen you take that many steps without falling down. I was also wondering if that half of the room is so bare because as a child you tripped and made that crack in the wall. What are you doing now? I was only kidding."

This was the first time Kyla had actually thought about the possibility of this being her old room. She looked at the crack Anita was pointing at.

"No, the bed was here, and the other one, it was pushed up next to it. because Jaquelynn was afraid of the dark. She used to start on her side of the bed, but by morning she would be up against me and I'd be pushed into the wall so that the first thing I saw was the living room." Kyla took a moment to remember her three-year-old niece, who was always underfoot it seemed. Kyla shed a few tears at the certainty that the little girl must have died.

"Wait a moment!" Kyla sighed, "of course, I can see what is going on through the crack."

Kyla walked over to the crack and peered through, just as the strange man grabbed Sei in some sort of headlock. "He's hurting him, he's hurting S..."

Before Kyla could finish the phrase Anita had pushed her out of the way. She peered through the hole for a moment before looking at Kyla and laughing. "He's playing around with him you nitwit!"

The two girls sat on the ground by the hole and continued to watch the men interact, curious as to how they might know each other.

"not even Sei Orlouge can escape the wrath of his older brother, Niche Nassim Orlouge!" The words seemed to float through the air.

Kyla met Anita's eye. "Do you think perhaps Sei's brother knew my family? Maybe he is taking care of the house because he was a friend of the family or something. I mean..."

"KYLA!" Anita interupted her. "Did you hear his middle name?"

"No, why?"

"NASSIM!" Anita almost shouted.

Kyla took a moment to let this sink in. "I must know him somehow!" She quickly ran back to the crack to listen in again.

[Silence Sei]

Sei was still taken aback that his older brother were in this house. Sure, Sei had known that Niche had lived in Chateau Drantrak, but he had not expected to see him today. Niche released his brother as the mute nodded a sign of respect for his eldest brother. Niche, however, had a stern face at his brother, one Sei knew meant that Niche was not happy with the youngest Orlouge.

"You shouldn't be here, Sei," Niche said in his deep, low voice, "you took the light trial, remember? You must be in agony by this point. I know that the longer you stay in Chateau Drantrak, the worse your 'sunburn' gets." The term 'sunburn was an apt description for the pain Sei was experienceing right now. All over his body, he radiated intense heat, and it felt as though his flesh was going to melt off.

Regardless of this seering pain, Sei continued the conversation with his brother in a calm, collected tone. "I am not here for a family visit, I am afraid," Sei said, "I am here because my other daughter is from here. She ran away years ago, and only now did she remember enough to return. Anita and I are doing the best I can to help her out, but perhaps this may be suited to your department."

"Yes, by all means, bring her in," Niche said with a big smile on his face, "I'd love to see my little niece Anita as well. I had heard great stories about her and how she has saved your butt on more than one occasion." It was very hard to take in the fact that his brother talked in such a laid back way, but with a voice that reminded him of a troll. Without hesitation, Sei began to explore the house looking for Anita and Kyla.

Upon finding the girls, Sei noticed that the eldest Orlouge child was now standing behind him. Since Niche was already there, Sei decided he would make his introductions now. "Niche, you know Anita by now, but this other girl is named..."

"Kyla? My little Kylana?" Niche had asked the girl as he stared at her completely dumbfounded. The question also caused Sei and Anita to spin around in a daze of befuddlement. How exactly did Niche already know Kyla's name, and her nickname at that? Sei watched Kyla's expression to see how the scene before them would play out.

[Amber Eyes]

At the sound of her name Kyla smiled. "I knew you must've known my family! Didn't I say that Anita, didn't I?"

Kyla looked at Anita for confirmation, but instead the girl stared at her with a shocked expression, then moved her focus to Niche, then back again. Confused, Kyla looked at the man's face for the first time. The first thing she noticed where the blue eyes, Kyla's own, staring back at her.

It isn't possible is it? "Who are y..." Kyla started. Before she was able to get the words out of her mouth the man took her into his arms.

Kyla was unused to being touched by people in this manner, and scrambled out of the man's grasp. "I'm very sorry, you were so young, you must not remember me." the man stammered. "Kyla, do you remember anything of our life? I, little Kyla, am your father, or Poppa as you used to call me."

Kyla teared up, she had become quite the crybaby over the last few weeks. "I remember you, or of you. You left...you told her to keep me safe. You were supposed to stop them." Kyla had not anticipated the anger that now flowed through her veins. "Where were you?" She threw herself on the bed and wept, for all that she'd lost, and for all that she'd found. She remembered the sound of her mother weeping after her father left. She remembered.... She remembered!

"Where are the others? Where is Jaquelynn?" Kyla remembered moments after her father left, her mother had helped her brother's family hide, in a crawlspace directly above her parent's bedroom.

Kyla dashed into the other room, and became joyous at the sight of the small cuts in the wood. If it existed, then Jaquelynn may still be alive. "Poppa, where are the others?" Kyla repeated.

"Kylana, I do not know what you are talking about. You are the only person from our family that I know to be alive, and I did not know that until about two minutes ago." Niche stated.

"They were hidden up there" Kyla pointed. "They must have made it, they must have!"

"Kyla, we will get to that in a moment, first, please. Tell me what happend here after I left, all that you can remember."

Kyla collapsed under her own weight, and looked up at her father. She shook her head. She did not have the strength to tell the story, not here, with all of it so real. As if reading her thoughts, Sei handed his brother the letter.

[Silence Sei]

Niche took the letter and went over it in a matter of seconds. "I see, he said, his gaze shifting back to Kyla. The man then looked to Sei and Anita, speechless that so many revelations had happened so quickly. Sei broke the awkward silence by grabbing his chest just a bit. The slight motion was enough for both Niche and Anita to notice that the mute was in utter agony being here.

"Kyla," Niche said, looking to his brother as he waved off Anita starting to step towards hims, "there is something else I want you to know. I think that one of the people responsible for what had happened here in the villiage is returning. Recently, there have been people reported missing, mainly women, sometimes men. None of us thought much of it until we found this."

Niche raised an earring stud up out of his coat. It was covered in the crimson color of blood. "Sei, you know the significance of this, right?" Niche asked his brother nonchalantly.

"Yes. If you found it in Chateau Drantrak than it means you have a human visitor of some sort." Niche nodded to his brother. Anita, Sei, and Niche all knew that rather than bleed a normal crimson red, mystics bled an azure blue when cut open. It was common knowlege for anyone that was a mystic.

Sei paused for a moment as he looked to Kyla. "Did we not find a coat on the way here?" Sei asked his daughter, to which Anita answered for Kyla with a nod.

It would make sense. Talani needed to get away, lesser intelligent humans had no knowlege of Chateau Drantrak, it had been rumored to be destroyed. It would be the perfect nesting ground for an evil bandit to seek sanctuary in. The earring stud was merely the icing on the cake for Sei. He looked to both of his daughters with a knowing nod to each of them, followed by a look to his brother.

"I think we know exactly who that stud belongs to."

[Amber Eyes]

Kyla understood all too well what Sei meant. As she stared at the earring she thought back to the time when she met Zander. She remembered Talarni staring at her, and Xavior telling her Talarni and several others had joined the group only days before. She remembered cutting her finger on a fishing hook, and Zander telling her she must never let any of the men see her blood. She remembered fear and shame at being different. Everytime Kyla had been hurt she had run off, the men thought it was just the weaker sex, hiding from danger, but Zander always told them that Kyla was to bright to "risk dying for thier sorry 'arses."

Kyla thought back to when the man, who she now recalled being one of Talarni's best friends, attacked her in the forest. Zander had paid close attention to make sure that the man had not seen Kyla's blood. She knew that bandits feared the mystics, but could there have been more to it than that? Could Talarni have been responsible for the first attack on Kyla's family?

"May I please have a moment? I need to go somewhere, alone." Kyla asked in a wisper.

The trio nodded, or at least Kyla in her dazed state thought they all had. She left the house and walked to the treeline. She found the old willow she had sat under as she watched her neighbors shot in the streets. As she watched the story unfold in her memories, Kyla noticed for the first time the green coat the man wore as he strangled her mother.

I was that close for so long, I could have done to him what he did to my family. I could have killed him in his sleep. I have failed them.

Kyla was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she did not notice the men creeping up behind her. All she saw was black as they pulled a bag over her face and carried her away screaming.

[Silence Sei]

Of course, when Kyla had asked for some air, her father and uncle were more than willing to give it to her. It was a lot for anybody to take in, after all, and both mystics understood exactly why Kyla needed some space. Anita, however, was a little more impatient than the older men. After a minute or two of waiting, Anita's short attention span got the better of her, and the girl began to walk outside to check on Kyla.

Anita watched as Kyla was nowhere to be found, but noticed a figure in the dark town seemingly draggin another figure into the Shadow Trials. Now, a normal person would analyze the situation before making a sound judgement on what course of action should be taken. Anita Orlouge did not fit into the category of a 'normal person'.

Spinning around and pointing, the girl almost screamed at the top of her lungs. "Someone just took Kyla into the Shadow Trials! Papa, Uncle Niche, you've got to do something!" Anita's excitement provoked the typically rash Niche into running out the door and looking for his long lost daughter.

"I lost you once Kylana, I won't lose you again," Niche stated as he turned around to Sei. The mute mystic would typically not be one to rush into things, but given that his current thoughts kept retreating to the horrible pain he was experiencing, Sei just wanted to rescue Kyla and get the hell out of Chateau Drantrak. The mute ran out of the house and towards the Shadow Trials. "It's going to be hard looking for someone in there, Niche,"

"I know, bro," Niche said as he began to take off, "but what choice do I have? Kyla is my family!" Sei, after hearing this, looked to his daughter. Anita nodded in agreement with her uncle and proceeded behind him, determined to find her fellow apprentice. Sei began to follow the two, and quickly dropped to a knee, holding his chest.

If I'm in here for much longer, I may not be able to walk out. Sei stood up as he resolved it within himself to go save Kyla as well, and trailed behind the two much faster members of the rescue party. Kyla comes first, my well-being will be second priority...

[Amber Eyes]

Kyla's back and legs hurt horribly from where they had been drug across the ground. She also felt an aching in her arms and shoulders, but was otherwise unharmed. The men who had grabbed her lifted off the bag, but it was hardly an improvement, only enough light for her to see about ten inches in front of her face. Out of habit, she checked to see if she was bleeding. She felt no blood on her body.

A lantern suddenly lit, and she heard a voice. "The shadow trials have begun. My first target once I acquire my new skills, will be" The figure turned to her, and pointed a finger, "You my little mystic."

She noticed that she was surrounded by mirrors, but she was unable to see anyway to get through.

As he drew closer, his face came into view and confirmed the fear in Kyla's mind. It was Tilarni.

"So little Kyla, after all these years" he spat, motioning for the other two men to lift Kyla from the ground. "We shall see what color your blood truly is."

He lifted a large sword, and with a grimace on his face, brought it down. Kyla readied herself for the last moments, and then pain seared through her arm. She looked down and saw a small scratch, barely more than a paper cut, and her blue blood dripping to the ground.

"Oh yes, blue, as I expected" He said merely inches away from her face. She could feel his breath on her. "Just like your mother's.

Fury flashed in Kyla's eyes, making the man laugh. "Oh dear, did I upset you? Surely you must have figured it out by now, you were always so smart."

"You’re a pig!" Kyla shouted before one of the men holding her grabbed her mouth.

"Now, now little Kyla, you should know that I have had many opportunities to kill you, from the first time I saw those eyes, staring out through the crack in the wall. I came back to look for you, and what did I find? There was a woman and a child, crying over your mother's body. One look at the girls eyes told me she was not the one I was looking for. So I simply disposed of her. There was something about your eyes that drew me in. You see I hoped to raise a group of half mystics. Surely with that kind of power, any treasure I wanted could have been mine. Sure I could have chosen any girl within the village, but I chose you."

Kyla could not control herself any longer, the thought of helpless little Jaquelynn dying in her stead took all of her sanity. She kicked as hard as she could, and luckly, she aimed well. Tilarni doubled over, holding his crotch.

"Well, You chose wrong!" Kyla screamed, placing another kick on the man's shoulder. The force caused him to touch a mirror, and he was immediatly sucked into it.

Kyla smiled to herself, and then realized she was still being held. The men were confused by the turn in events however, and she was able to bite the one holding her and run away, it was not long before she realized the only way out without running right into Talarni again was to choose the correct mirror. This was something people trained thier whole lives for, but Kyla was going to have to wing it. She felt her turns had taken her to a part of the maze the men would have trouble finding, but she still listened for footsteps behind her.

[Silence Sei]

When Sei had entered the Shadow Trials, he could hardly believe his eyes. All that stood before him were row after row of mirrors. These black mirrors showed off almost identical images of whoever viewed them with one major flaw. Every single reflection was that of the original's shadow. There was no physical body, only that of pure darkness.

Sei raised his hand and watched the images match him perfectly. Finding Kyla would be easy in a place such as this, the mystic thought. However, as Sei began to explore the area, he realized that there was not a doorway to the mirror hall. Everything was blocked off by his shadows, it seemed. Sei began to wonder how Anita and Niche passed through where as he did not.

Then, Sei thought back to his days as a boy. Something Kylin had told him long ago began to ring fresh into his mind. "Sei," Kylin had told him, "if you ever find yourself within the Shadow Trials, and you can't find a way out, remember that you only have one true shadow." Kylin's words rang into Sei's mind repeatedly, the mute trying to decipher what his old friend had meant that day.

Then, as he was glancing around, Sei noticed something. One of the shadows in the mirror was off. Walking over to take a closer look, Sei noticed that the chakrams on this particular shadow image was on his right hip. Sei looked down at his own waist to confirm his suspicions, and found that his own bladed rings were tied to his left hip. Sei smiled as he began to walk down each shadowy image, finding the one detail that was off.

The hilts to the Gemini Blades are reversed there. That one is starting to sprout my wings. That one is favoring his right side Sei would occasionally look at himself to make sure that he was calculating all of his finer points correctly. When he had finally come to the single mirror amongst them all that had not a flaw, he reached out to it. He did not know why he had done so, but something screamed at him to.

As soon as Sei's hand was supposed to touch the image, his fingers were absorbed inside of it. Watching the ripples of the mirror, Sei began to realize that this mirror was actually a portal. It probably lead to the next stage of the Trials, provided there even was a next step. Sei had been so busy trying to deduce everything in this room, he had not notice the waterfalls of sweat dripping from his forehead, or the scent of hard work upon his form.

Sei stepped through the portal and wound up face to face with Anita, who seemed to be preoccupied with two men the mystic had not seen before. Reaching into her apple, Anita pulled out an apple and threw it at one of the assailants. The apple was aimed perfect and nailed the opponent straight in his jaw, bringing him to the ground. "Papa, Uncle Niche went on ahead! I got this battle to myself, you worry about finding him and Kyla." Anita next pulled out a pinwheel, taking her fingers and carefully spinning it. The girl then ran at the downed man and brought the pinsheel across his shin, a splatter of crimson squirting out from his leg.

Sei nodded to his daughter. She was more than capable of handling two grown men by herself. Right now Kyla and Niche were more important. The mute had a very bad feeling about what was to come, and quickly began his chase to find his brother and niece.

[Amber Eyes]

Kyla stood staring at the mirrors, unable to figure out which way to go. She stared at the shadows before her. Each one was her, but there was something odd about them. In one her hair was cropped off right above her chin, in another her clothes were tight fitting.

"Really? The shadow trials are trying to give me makeover ideas?" Kyla stifled her laugh, she was still unsure if the men were following her. If they were, would they see the same thing as she did, or would they in fact see thier own shadows?

As Kyla walked, she noticed each difference quickly. She walked for what seemed like hours, until she saw it, a perfect shadow of herself. She reached out to it, and a sensation of relief consumed her as she almost floated into a second room.

Kyla was staring at a huge wall of fire, she could see no way around it, and no exit. As Kyla approached, the heat overwhelmed her and she had to take a few steps back. As she retreated, she noticed that her shadow did not change in relationship to the distance she was from the fire. She played around with this a bit, and realized that at certain points along the wall, her shadow became smaller, and that she was able to get much closer to the fire at those points without being burned.

Perhaps I must find the spot where I have no shadow at all Kyla thought to herself. She patiently searched up and down the wall. After much time had passed Kyla became frustrated, and sat down. This is crazy, I've been up and down the wall at least ten times! She looked down at her shadow, and it seemed to be taunting her.

"Okay!" Kyla shouted at her shadow, now truly believing this was driving her to insanity. "Let's play then!"

The girl once again walked along the fire's edge, this time much closer to the flames. The flames lapped at her clothes, and burned her skin, but she would not step away. She kept her eyes on the shadow that followed her, and took each painful step; until finally, her shadow was gone. I've done it! Kyla smiled at her own success, but as she turned to the flames, she realized the wall was just as big there as anywhere else. Well, what do I do now? Kyla questioned herself.

There was no other choice, but sit here and wait for Tilarni to catch up and do what she was unable to do herself. If this led to her death, wasn't it better to die of her own will than at the hands of that coward?

Kyla took a step, then again perhaps being a breeder for evil baby half mystics wasn't that bad of a fate.

No, She must continue, another step. What if she just tried to go back through the wall into the mirror room?

No, they would find her there eventually, she must keep moving.

A third step took Kyla into the flames, but it did not burn, she could see the end of the fire about ten feet in front of her. I'm not too bad at this shadow trials stuff! Kyla told herself as she began to run towards the portal.

[Silence Sei]

As Sei continued on his path, he had found himself face to face with a wall of fire. Niche and Kyla were still nowhere to be seen, but the mystic could feel that he was getting close. Sei was unsure if it were the gigantic tower of flames or not, but Sei was burning hot now. It felt as though his very insides were going to combust. Travelling much slower than usual, Sei sought an exit out of this would-be deathtrap.

Sei began to stumble every other step, the burden of his pain finally starting to catch up with him. Regardless of how much misery he was putting himself through, Sei had to find his relatives. All his mind could think about was how hot the world was right now. Sei didn't even notice whether or not his shadow was still below him. He had no clue how to get out of this second maze, and his mind was clouded with thoughts of her propective death.

Finally, Sei could take it no more, and the mute's body stumbled forward towards a wall of the flames unintentionally. Sei collapsed as soon as his body hit the wall, and he instantaneously found himself in what seemed to be a giant coliseum. There were spectators above him that Sei had easily recognized from within Chateau Drantrak. As Sei stood, still burning from the inside out, he heard the shouts of those above him.

"...oor soul.... no shadow.... must be from Orlo...." Sei realized through the half-words of those around him that he was fading in and out of consciousness. The Hero of Radasanth knew if he passed out here, it may very well be the end for him, but his body would no longer listen to his mind. He wanted to get up, his will to get up was strong, but his body was weak.

Sei Orlouge closed his eyes, unaware of the man standing above him, sword drawn. The tip of the blade was pointed straight to the heart of Sei. It seemed as though our hero's journey would soon come to an end...

[Amber Eyes]

As Kyla entered the room, she saw Talarni standing over Sei. Without thinking, Kyla pulled her blade from her side and ran at the man. She could hear each step thundering throughout the coliseum, but Talarni never looked up. Kyla jumped on his back and stabbed him, but the blade hit his shoulder, instead of the center of his back as she had planned. Talarni dissapeared from beneath her, as if a figment of her imagination. Kyla ran to Sei, hoping that he too was not really there, and the man was actually in no danger.

As Kyla reached Sei, she felt his burning forehead. He was breathing, although it seemed labored. She began to cry, and look for help. As she glanced up, she saw her own shadow running at her with its blade held above its head.

Kyla had remembered hearing rumors of this room as a child; she would have to kill her own shadow to move on. This was the final and most difficult part of the challenge. Kyla moved just in time to avoid the blade. She pulled her own knife and charged at the other girl. Kyla's blade hit the girl in the stomach, and light shone through the cut. While the shadow was struggling to its feet, Kyla realized what she had done.

By attacking Talarni, she had encouraged the shadow to attack Talarni's shadow. While Kyla's blow had missed it's target, and therefore only injured Talarni, the shadow must have hit her target perfectly. The disappearance of Talarni meant that Kyla was responsible for the shadow magic he must now possess. Kyla had won the shadow trials, but not for herself, she was the reason the one person she hated in the world got what he wanted. Kyla was too busy fretting over Talarni too notice her shadow sneaking up behind her. The shadow kicked Kyla hard in the back of the head, and her body fell limp mere steps away from Sei. Moments later, another figure entered the room.

[Silence Sei]

As Niche entered the room, he came upon the sight of not only Kyla and Sei passed out, but also the sight of Kyla's own shadow about to murder the girl. Without hesitation, Niche reached behind him and dashed forward, drawing out a scythe that was almost as large as Sei and himself (the handle, the blade was half that size). In one clean swipe, the head of Kyla's shadowy form was taken off, light shining through the neck.

Realizing he had killed the shdow, and thus won his daughter the gift of shadow magic, Niche focused all of the attention on his injured family. Kneeling at Kyla, the eldest Orlouge felt her vitals, and made sure her breathing was steady before he went to focus on Sei. "I warned you, you damn fool..."

Reaching into his pocket, Niche pulled out two rings, and slipped them on each of Sei's ring fingers. Upon sliding on the plain silver rings, Sei's eyes began to open. The mute had felt as though he was recovering from the jaws of death. Looking at Niche, the mute quickly took notice of the feeling of cold metal on his fingers. "Niche, what exactly happened? What did you do? It feels as though I'm not even in Chateau Drantrak anymore."

"It's a gift from Steppenwolf," was all that Niche said, before looking back to Kyla, "Now help me get the girls and get out of here, I will explain everything later." Sei nodded to his brother and walked over to Kyla, picking the girl up and lifting her over her shoulder.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back at Niche and Kyla's home, the older brother began to explain everything. "Steppenwolf invented those rings for me so I could visit mom and dad whenever I wanted to. They have the ability to negate the effects of the opposite Drantrak by feeding off of the natural magics of ones self." Sei nodded his understanding of everything as he lead up against a wall.

Kyla had been out for a few hours now, asleep in her old bed, and none of the Orlouges wished to leave the girl's side. "Furthermore, Sei," Niche continued, "they have another unique ability. I need you to close your eyes and pretend like you need to defend yourself." Sei looked to his brother with a confused look, but trusted him, and did what he said.

Sei could feel his Light Magic transfer into his rings, shaping into a weapon around the silve bands. When the mute opened his eyes, he had an emei piercer in each hand, made completely out of light. "As long as you're at a decent amount of strength," Niche continued, "you will have a weapon thanks to your own energies. The weaker you get though, the weaker those piercers get, so use them with caution."

Anita finally broke out of the conversation of the weapon tutorial and into something more relevant. "So Kyla knows Shadow Magic now?" She asked, which caused a nod out of both Sei and Niche.

"Yes, Anita. However, due to the fact that Niche killed Kyla's shadow, and Kyla did not do the deed herself, her magics will be weaker than that of a normal mystics." Sei begun to spin his piercers around, touching the tip of them and watching a small amount of azure liquid trickle from his fingertips.

Looking over to Kyla, the trio waited patiently for the girl to wake up. After all, they knew that there had to be a third person involved in her kidnapping. The two that fought Anita were so easily taken care of that they surely needed an accomplice. The only one who could provide the identity of their mystery man (though Sei had a feeling he knew who it was) was Kyla. The three eagerly awaited for her to awaken.

[Amber Eyes]

Kyla lay on her side, feeling the pounding at the back of her head. Shut up all of you she thought to herself. She lay there unable to move for a long time, overhearing the trio conversing. She learned that she now had shadow magic, apparently her father had killed her shadow, and while that meant she would have to work a bit harder to strengthen her skills than most mystics; Kyla was happy to just be alive and with her family.

As Kyla rolled over, she stared into Niche's blue eyes. "They're gone. Talarni killed Jaquelynn, and mamma." Kyla tried to pull herself up, but Anita had to lift the girl. "Talarni attacked me, it was all my fault. He wanted me, poppa. He wanted his children to be half-mystic, so that they would be strong enough to get him his every desire. And now he has shadow magic too."

"What do you mean he has shadow magic Kylana?" Niche gently probed.

"I tried to kill him, to save Sei. I stabbed him, but my shadow stabbed his shadow, and then he dissapeared." Kyla wept

"So he is alive, and with shadow magic? But he is injured, you are sure of it Kyla?"

Kyla pulled out her blade, which was still covered in blood, red blood.

"My head really hurts, may I please nap in peace for a little bit longer?" Kyla pleaded.

"Of course Kyla, Sei and I will go to the other room to talk. I assume Anita would not mind staying with you a little longer?"

Anita nodded.

"But she's the one that won't shut up!" Kyla knew Anita would get her for that one later, but at the moment she didn't really care.

"I'm sure she can keep it down." Niche chuckled.

"OH YES, NO PROBLEM AT ALL" Anita almost screamed into Kyla's ear.

[Silence Sei]

After the girls had their little quips at each other, the fathers left the room, Sei looking to Niche. Since he had seen his older brother, the mute had known something was amiss. Niche had his own family, one that had now been confirmed as killed by Talarni. Any Orlouge, not just Sei or Niche, would go on and just pretend like such a tragedy had not happened.

"You're going to hunt him, arn't you?" Sei asked Kyla's father, who solemnly nodded to the mute. "It's going to break Kyla's heart to know that you're tearing yourself away from her again, you know that, right? She may be a young woman, but I don't think the child in her ever left. She needs her father, Niche."

"She has her father, Sei," Niche said, looking at his little brother with the kind eyes Sei was used to. "From what you and Anita have told me, Kyla's been with you for a couple of weeks now, right? Well, I may have raised her at first, but you two are taking care of her. You gave her a reason to come home. You're the ones going after her, instead of falling into dispair and self pity..."

Niche looked away from his sibling for a moment, and let out a heavy sigh. "I started drinking, Sei. I started drinking so heavily I would miss months at a time. The only thing that sobered me up was the will to keep that garden alive. It's all I have left of my wife, and the rest of the kids. Kyla may have been born from my loins, but she's your apprentice, and you're treating her better than I ever could have in these past several years."

Sei went silent (no pun intended). Niche, at least in his little brothers eyes, was doing the most loving and fatherly thing that he could do for Kyla. "One condition," Sei said to his brother, "Kyla will stay my apprentice, yes. However, you can not be completely consumed by your vengence. Kyla needs to hear stories of what her family was like, and that's something I can't tell her. You will stay in Chateau Drantrak, and give that girl what she needs. If you find information on Talarni, by all means act upon it, but I want you to send periodic letters to me or Anita about it. Understood?"

Niche laughed a bit, extending his hand to his brother, who firmly shook it. The two men had made an agreement on what was best for a girl who could determine such things herself. Sei doubted that there would be any argument from Kyla if they explained this arrangement to her though. Kyla was a rational girl, and Sei could provide her with enough situations in Radasanth to help her improve her shadow magic skills.

"It's getting late," Sei said to his brother, "we will stay the night here, and then journey back to Radasanth in the morning. Thank you for all you have done, Niche. Not only for what you have done for me, but what you have done for your little girl too."

Niche nodded his reply to Sei, and began to slump off to bed. Sei would stay up for the better part of that night, looking at the rings on his fingers. Niche mentioned something on the way home about how Steppenwolf would create another pair for Niche himself, and that they were now a gift to Sei from not only one, but two of his brothers. Sei would stare at the rings until exhaustion took him that night, and he would be found asleep at the kitchen table the next day...

[Amber Eyes]

Kyla awoke the next morning and walked into the kitchen, where she found Sei sleeping peacefully. "Thank you for everything" Kyla wispered in the man's ear.

She sleepily walked into her father's room and upon finding him awake sat on the bed. "I hope this hasn't all been too much on you. I know it must have been a suprise to find out that I am alive. I want to thank you for rescuing me. I also would like to visit you sometimes, if that is okay?"

"Kylana, I would love to see you. I will write to you often, and I hope you will do the same, but I hope you will also focus on the lessons that Sei teaches you. I am afraid my younger brother has become a much better warrior than myself."

"Of course I will continue learning under Sei, but I want you to know that there are more important things than being a great warrior. I remember the joy and laughter in your eyes when you would help us pick fruit from the trees, and the way you looked at mamma that always made me blush. You are a good man, and good father, maybe a little out of practice but I can help with that. I know we can't just pick up where we left off, but maybe can with give this father-daughter thing a try?"

"You do love to ramble don't you little one? I would love to give it a try, yes." Niche chuckled. "I never stopped loving you Kylana, and I want you to know, you look just like your mother. The eyes are mine, but you are every bit the beauty she was. Thank you for coming back to me Kyla."

Anita entered the room, and smiled at the duo. "Well Kyla, I think we are ready to go home."

Kyla smiled, "I think I have two homes now, cousin!"

As Kyla and Anita walked, they joked, laughed, and danced along the way. They were becoming much like sisters, arguing, giggling, making faces behind Sei's back. As they finally arived back at Sei's tomb, Kyla scurried off to her room, and as she entered her room, "THHUMMP" She tripped over a rug.

It was good to be home.

[Silence Sei]

The journey home had been uneventful, as Sei imagined it would. The mute had a pretty good time listening to his two girls giggle, prattle on, and he even humored them by pretending not to know about the faces made behind his back. As the trio arrived home, Kyla hurried over to her room, where she proceeded to trip over her rug yet again. The sheer sound brought a smile to both Sei and Anita's lips.

"So, you think she has what it takes to be as awesome as me?" Anita teasingly asked her father. Anita's words fell on deaf ears, however, as Sei was now experimenting with his piercers, twirling them as quickly as possible. These small weapons would be a great assest to Sei's arsenal, and with their ability to negate shadow magic, they would be truly a force to be reckoned with.

And lord knows, the Hero of Radasanth was going to need them...


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


"You let your own lust and greed get the better of you, Talarni," a voice from the shadows spoke out. Talarni was half-bowing to what seemed like an endless set of stairs leading up to a throne. "You should have just found any suitable mystic woman for your seed."

Talarni found himself apologizing to this mysterious figure over and over again. "Forgive me my lord," he said, "I thought---"

"That's the problem, Talarni. You thought. Anything that spews from that trash heap you call a mind shouldn't even go hand in hand with my beautifully developed plan." Talarni nodded, looking away ashamed. "The next time you even slightly diverge from what I have formulated, I'm feeding you to the litter."

At this, several hisses, growls, and snarls were made coming from the darkness. The sheer thought of this scared Talarni right down to his evil bones. "I'm sorry, my lord. It won't happen again. I'll follow your plan to the T. Just don't let those....those things get me."

"Those 'things' are my children, you fool. They are all that I have to remember 'her'. Though, not for much longer. Stay with me, and when Corone has been destroyed, you shall reap all the treasures you could ever imagine. And not even Sei Orlouge or his precious girls will be able to stop us..."

[Taskmienster]

:



Continuity 5

Amber Eyes ::
:: See the last bit of my commentary below in pacing.

Setting 4

:: Remember, setting isn’t just about where you are, but what it looks like. You can tell the reader you’re in a living room, but what makes that place realistic and something that the reader can envision? There is more than just sight to work with; there are the other four senses as well. Even still, there wasn’t a whole lot of visual setting to work off of either.

Pacing 4

Amber Eyes ::
:: Your first post was incredibly long, and the story itself just seemed never ending. It wasn’t a terrible way to open up for your character, because it gave a good bit of background, but it also dragged on. I’d suggest that you would have cut it down a bit, cut out a lot of the dialogue and simplified it into something more of a narrative instead of an exact dialogue. It is, after all, memories of your past that you’re writing out. Most people don’t remember everything word for word.

Dialogue 3

Sei ::

:: A lot of your dialogue seemed rather cliché, as if you were forcing it instead of taking into consideration the persona of the characters speaking as well as what and how they would say things. Unfortunately, that takes away from your own character as well as the NPC characters persona and makes it seem rather anime-esque.

Action 3

:: As I said in the dialogue, a lot of the thread read like a manga instead of an actual story. It seemed rushed, points were thrown out quickly without a lot of background to help them, and the actions taken in the thread mirrored the lack of good dialogue, pacing, continuity, and persona.

Persona 4

Technique 4

Mechanics 4

Amber Eyes ::
[[Kyla rolled over and with sleepy eyes took in her surroundings.]] Post 1 :: you forgot something between “sleepy eyes” and “took”. Like, and. Lol. It would have helped it make more sense.

[[As Kyla dressed, and took her now ruined food with her to the main room, she couldn't help but feel odd that they were still bringing food to her, it made her feel a bit like an outsider or guest, and now that she was going to train under Sei, she only wanted to be a part of the family--or something like that.]] Post 1 :: This is a run-on, because you’re combing two different trains of thought, two different subjects, to make one sentence. You can stop the sentence before the thought about training, and continue making that a new sentence, without detracting from the general idea of the paragraph itself.

Sei ::
[[When the mute heard Kyla shout a smile grew across his face.]] post 2 :: Need a comma after shout, otherwise it reads that Kyle shouted a smile, which doesn’t make sense.

:: You had a lot of spelling errors, as well as capitalization mistakes and comma mishaps.

Clarity 5


Wild Card 5


Score: 41


Rewards:
Amber Eyes :: 387 exp | 135 gold

Sei :: 1515 exp | 135 gold

Spoils :: A ring is rewarded but it is going to be equivalent to iron in strength. I wasn’t sure if you meant that you each get one, each get two, or if Sei gets both. Because of that, I’m only awarding one to Sei, since it’s a light magic trinket I doubt it would work for Amber Eyes though. The Shadow Resistance of the weapon is not approved at this time.

Amber Eyes’ shadow magic ability is allowed, but will be evaluated upon her level up. Overuse of the ability or anything remotely overpowering use of the ability will be docked in threads till then. I would suggest, for now, that the ability allows her to conjure only one item, weapon, or shield at a time with shadow that is equivalent in strength to iron. She cannot use it endlessly, and should take time between uses for it to ‘recharge’, say a couple minutes or two posts from when whatever is made is either broken or released till it can be created again.

[Taskmienster]

Exp and GP added.