A family Affair

[Amber Eyes]

As Kyla walked in the heavy front door of the Zander School for Gifted Youngsters, an odd smell enveloped her. The school always had a bit of an odor to it, too many people too little space, but this one was just disgusting. Kyla smiled at Cammy, the receptionist and fiancé of one of the leaders of the school, and scrunched her nose.

“Tell me about it” Cammy laughed, “Tiamar is teaching the students how to make a fart journal.” At the sign of Kyla’s face, Cammy continued. “Yes, a fart journal, they are all eating different foods and journaling the effect it has on their bodies, although I think mostly it’s just effecting my nose. I love that man, but anymore body science classes and I think I might just have to move out.”

Kyla laughed, Cammy had met Tiamar after Kyla had needed a distraction to set Zander up. Zander, Tiamar, and a group of bandits had been terrorizing local towns, and Kyla needed to divide and conquer. With the help of Sei Orlouge and his daughter Anita, Kyla had used Cammy to distract Tiamar so that Zander could be captured. Upon meeting Zander, Sei convinced the local authorities to let him go, and financed his opening the Zander School for Gifted Youngsters. The truth was, a herd of elephants couldn’t separate Cammy and Tiamar, they were crazy in love, and grossed everyone around them out, although not as much as Tiamar’s fart journals.

“Is Xavior in there?” Kyla glanced nervously toward the glass doors that led into the great room.

”Lucky for you, no, he’s upstairs waiting for you” Cammy giggled.

“Thank Goodness!” Kyla climbed the creaky staircase that led to the boy’s dormitories, and walked throught the dim hallway, the sound of her feet echoing off the concrete walls. There were paintings hung every so often along the hall, but it did little to offset the gloominess of the place. Kyla entered the third door on the left, and took In Xavior's dorm. Xavior was one of few students who did not share his room, and it was a testament to all of his passions. Paintings filled the room, from ceiling to floor covering most of the walls. The room was neat, but the art supplies everywhere made Kyla feel closterphobic. Xavior was sitting across the room, painting on his easel. “Hey you!” Kyla smiled.

“Hi Kyla, are you ready to go?” Kyla had promised Xavior an adventure.

“Well, actually I wanted to ask you something. How would you like to go with me to Chateau Drantrak to see my father? We will then go to see my grandparents in Orlouge.”

“Do you think Zander would let me go?” Xavior asked hesitently.

“He already said it was okay, as long as I keep you safe.”

“You always keep me safe Kyla”

”Then I don’t see what the problem would be!”

As Xavior packed his things, Kyla thought about how much he had come out of his shell over the last few weeks. Xavior was deprived of oxygen before birth, after his mother died of a heart attack. They were able to save him, but he would never be smarter than your average 12 year old. His big brother, and the school’s leader, Zander had raised both him and Kyla. Sei had granted Zander the chance to create this school because of the need for a home he saw in Xavior , and the need for purpose he saw in Zander.

Kyla and Xavior said their farewells to the students and teachers, and Kyla was threatened a few times by Zander to ensure Xavior's safe return. The duo then began the long walk to Sei’s tomb where they would meet up with Anita.

[Silence Sei]

Kyla wanted to know about her grandparents. ‘Silence’ Sei Orlouge had not visited his town or Orlouge Drantrak for years. His mother and father were still in good health, despite having children that ranged from fifty to twenty. That was a great benefit to being a mystic, your age was prolonged by your race. Even though Sei was about thirty-one, he still had the appearance of someone in his mid-twenties. Likewise, his parents were in their seventies at this point, but still looked as young as their forties.

Sei didn’t really talk to his parents much. The couple had a kind of falling out with their baby boy once he had passed the Light Trials. After learning the art of light magic, Sei decided to adventure with Kylin Rouge through Althanas. The subject of not only their baby leaving the nest, but of traveling with Rouge, upset Sei’s parents greatly. The Orlouge and the Rouges had a great fight over the death of Terry Rouge at the hands of Steppenwolf Orlouge. Though it was an accident, the Rouges never forgave the Orlouge, and resigned themselves to live in Drantrak Orlouge for the rest of their days.

Sei hadn’t really spoken to his parents since, other than maybe asking one of his brothers how they were doing. Sei knew that in their secluded mansion of a house, his mom and dad were perfectly fine. They never needed protecting, never needed a hero.

Radasanth needed protecting. Radasanth needed a hero.

The mute had been too consumed in his life as a crime fighter and protector to even give his parents a second thought. It seemed that the telepath had found his calling in the world by defending those who could not defend themselves. Sei never really gave his mother and father anymore thought until one day when Skyler and Anita had both confronted him.

“Papa,” Anita said, “I think we want to see Grandmamma and Grandpapa. I think it will be healthy for us, because we never met them. I also think that you should come along and see how your hometown is doing. A lot may have changed since you’ve been gone.”

Sei knew this was utter nonsense. He had better things to do than go see his parents. The mute, however, could never bring himself to tell the two girls no, and they finally won the day. Kyla then took the battle a bit further by explaining she wanted Xavior to come along with them. Sei sighed and agreed, resigning himself to the role of babysitter for at least one adventure. Gleefully, Anita went to pack the girls’ things while Kyla went to get Xavior.

Sei was rubbing the gold ring on his right hand when Kyla came back. Xavior had his typical innocent boyish grin on his face, and Anita could not have been more thrilled to see the two. Sei found himself quite reluctant to wanting to go on this trip, but knew his girls were not capable of defending themselves and Xavior. The task of protecting the three would have to fall on Sei. He would not see this as babysitting, but as a bodyguard mission. That sounded manlier and more heroic.

Sei took a step forward, looking to Anita and Kyla. “Orlouge Drantrak is further away than Chateau,” he said, “it will take at least a night spent in Concordia, if not more to make it. Let’s go.” Sei began to make his way towards the deep forest of Concordia, expecting the trio to follow.

[Amber Eyes]

Kyla held Xavior's hand as they walked out of the tomb. Xavior always seemed afraid of Sei's words entering his mind instead of being said out loud. Kyla had been practicing blocking out Sei's speech, but had been unsuccessful. Pushing the thought from her mind, Kyla noticed they had reached the forest. Kyla had always loved the forest, it never changed.

The sun shone through the trees, creating a pocket of warmth every few steps. The damp earth made sloshing sounds under each step, and animals could be heard scurrying around behind the trees. The leaves glistened with fresh dew, and sunlight bounced off everything. The light became different colors as it bounced, and made a beautiful haze. The day was cool, but not cold enough to make her uncomfortable. Kyla could have walked through the forest for hours, listening to the familiar sounds. She became lost in her thoughts, until a familiar voice brought her back to reality.

"Kyla, Stop? Did you not hear Sei?" Anita stood in front of her, glaring.

"No, what's up?" Kyla was a bit startled.

"He says..." Anita began, looking at Kyla questioningly. She did not finish her sentence however; she had been cut of by...

Kyla looked to Sei, who was staring right at her. His eyes were intent, but she did not hear anything. There was a look of horror on Xavior's face, and Kyla knew Sei must be speaking.

So all I had to do was get wrapped up in something else huh? Kyla smiled to herself. I've been trying to do that for weeks, and all I had to do was stroll through the woods? Now tell me to clean my room! Kyla laughed to herself.

As she looked up, she noticed Sei smiling back at her. Now I just have to figure out a way to keep you from hearing my thoughts huh?

[Silence Sei]

Sei Orlouge was a telepath, and a damn good one at that. The mute had, since the age of five, been able to communicate with others through the sheer power of his mind. It was something that proved extremely helpful considering that Sei Orlouge had been mute since birth. The mute had found only one weakness in an otherwise perfect ability to 'talk'.

Like any other form of speaking, if the recipient was not paying attention, they would not 'hear' the hero's thoughts. It seemed as though Kyla had not heard a 'word' Sei had said, as she was too busy being enveloped in her lush scenery. Sei was quite upset that one of the people he lived with now knew how to get past his all-powerful thought-speak.

Sei stepped past Kyla, starting to walk through the forest. First, the trio was to introduce Xavior to Sei's eldest brother, Niche, in Chateau Drantrak. Though most mystics of light affiliation were weakened by simply existing in the shadow town of Chateau Drantrak, Sei had been spared from such a fate thanks to two of his brothers. Steppenwolf Orlouge, the youngest after Sei, had invented the ring that Sei now wore on his right hand. Niche had been the one to give Sei the ring, which fed upon his natural light mystic aura and made a protective barrier, as it were, around him. Since Steppenwolf lived in Alerar, Sei had to pay his gratitude to at least one of his brothers for the gift they had given him.

Several branches brushed against Sei's arms as he trekked through the forest. The telepath tried to push the thoughts of his parents from his mind. The sooner he could clear the worry for his mother and father from his head, the better. "Papa," Anita's whispered to her father, "I think it would be best if you stopped talking to Xavior. If you can't tell it by now, you scare him when you talk."

Sei looked back to the two teens behind him, Xavior still stuck with the horrified look planted on his features. He looked to his daughter and nodded his agreement for her suggestion. He would no longer project his thoughts onto Xavior. He would have Anita and Kyla do all the translating to Xavior for Sei. After all, Sei was the 'Hero of Radasanth', and heroes shouldn't scare those with the most to fear.

Sei's resolve began to grow as strong as the warm sunlight hitting his skin. Each step made the mute more confident that he would gain Xavior’s trust by the end of this trip, or the telepath wasn't worth his grain of salt as a hero.

[Amber Eyes]

Kyla held Xavior's hand in an attempt to calm him down, and watched Anita and Sei talk. It might be nice to rest for a bit, maybe get Xavior's nerves calmed down.

"Papa said we should rest for a bit." Anita had turned around now, and faced Kyla.

Kyla pulled Xavior into a shaded area, and sat down on a tree root. "Are you hungry Xavior?"

"No, Sei yells too much."

Kyla had never heard Sei angry, the thought made her laugh. "Sei doesn't yell Xavior, what are you talking about baby?"

"He is loud."

He must hear Sei a bit differently; his mind processes things strangely sometimes. I will have to ask Sei to try not to talk to Xavior unless it's absolutely necessary.

Kyla watched Xavior as he fell asleep. His dirty blonde hair fell on his round face, accentuating his rosy cheeks. He was a gangly thing, all arms and legs. His clothes were much too big, and needed replacing. He looked like a child playing dress-up. Zander's hand-me-downs would have to be given to someone else. Xavior would never have the muscles that Zander did.

"I think he needs a bit of a nap." Kyla walked towards Sei and Anita. "He's not used to this much walking."

"Are you hungry?" Anita offered Kyla a sandwich.

"Thanks. Sei, do you think perhaps Xavior is hearing you differently than the rest of us? He seems to think you are yelling." Kyla glanced at her uncle, who seemed to be contemplating.

[Silence Sei]

Sei had been too busy to hear Kyla speaking to him. They had arrived at a spot that should have been familiar to the travel party as a whole. Sei looked at the two pine trees that stood about ten feet apart from one another, perfectly parallel in their standing up. Walking over to the tall pines, Sei places a hand upon the bark. A smile crept across his face as he slowly peeled his fingers off.

Tape residue . It was indeed the same spot that Sei had trapped Zander in so many weeks ago. When Kyla had first introduced herself to Sei, the mute had been busy making plans to capture Zander. It took a few days worth of planning, not the mention the planting of a mole named Kyla into Zander's group of brigands, to bring Zander to justice. Sei’s plans went along without a hitch and Zander wound up getting himself stuck in a giant spider web made of duct tape.

Now, the duct tape had been removed, probably by animals or nature. Still, the thought of the typically serious Zander caught in such a strange concoction brought great amusement to Sei. Kyla, Sei, and Anita had all come a long way since that fateful day Kyla introduced herself to the Orlouges and set a chain of events into action that would reveal her origins. Thinking back on it, Sei almost did not hear the hungry growl of some wild beast in the distance.

Sei’s vampyric hearing –did- catch the sound though, and the vampire reached behind his back. Withdrawing a small curved sword and a slightly longer and wider straight sword, Sei motioned for the ‘kids’ to get behind him. It was broad daylight, and there was only one animal brave enough to attack someone on Concordia in broad daylight.

As Sei stood in the forest, a giant wolf leaped out from the underbrush. His fur was mangy and decayed, the smell of blood and death radiated off of its being. Its intended target had been Xavior, the weakest of the pack. However, before the large jaws of the man-sized animal could snap into the neck of the boy, the wolf was knocked backwards. Sei quickly maneuvered himself behind the beast, his right arm swinging around its neck and lifting it up in the air.

The sound of shattering glass had been heard throughout the forest. Xavior looked on in horror as their setting seemed to be cracking apart, and finally dispersing into floating glass shards. Anita made haste to grab both Xavior and Kyla as the glass began to shoot out in a large dome formation. Normally in such conditions, Sei would have been hit by his own trademark spell, Mystic Protection, but he had been using the wolf’s body as a shield, and thus managed to deflect most of the glass shards from piercing his own flesh.

The wolf let out a howl of pain as it struggled in Sei’s arms. The mute finally dropped the beast, which flinched a few times before keeling over and finally dying. Sei was breathing heavily as he looked to his responsibilities. Wrestling a wolf still while Mystic Protection took the animal’s life drained Sei, and the fact that there were a couple of glass shards sticking out from his shins did not help either. After going over Xavior once with his eyes, Sei turned around and continued the journey to Chateau. This was just another obstacle presented in the way of Sei getting his visits over with.

Anita eyed the wolf up and down. She noted that the animal had already looked dead before it was actually killed. Not only that, but the girl’s sixth sense for detecting undead had been going off the charts during the encounter. Somebody had resurrected the beast, and that worried Anita a lot more than it was worrying Sei.

[Amber Eyes]

Kyla tried to keep up with the group, but could not get past the vauge look in the wolf's eyes as it began to attack Xavior. Kyla had been around many animals, but none had ever looked as thoughtless as this wolf. Something was wrong with the animal, and it didn't settle well in Kyla's stomach. She glanced at Xavior, and noticed that he looked just as sick as Kyla felt. She reached over and took his hand, gave it a gentle sqeeze. "It's okay Xavior, it's over."

"Kyla, the wolf talked to me."

"That's just sillyness Xavior, wolves can't talk."

"I know, but it did."

"What did it say Baby?" Kyla could not help but giggle.

"Kill the other blue bloods, but bring the girl to me."

Kyla froze. Those words are--- What could this mean? Realization hit Kyla like a ton of bricks. Something was very wrong. Xavior could not have come up with something like that on his own. Kyla felt herself weaken.

"Anita!" Kyla screamed, as her knees gave out.

Anita ran to her "sister's" side, and checked her forhead for fever.

"The wolf, it was Talarni."

"Kyla" Anita calmly spoke, "That's just not possible."

"It spoke to Xavior! It wanted me. It asked him to kill you and bring me to it."

"Kyla, the wolf was about to kill Xavior, it wasn't giving commands. But maybe there is more to it, I will talk to papa."

Anita called Sei over from about ten steps away, he always gave the girls room to have thier own lives. He was protective, but also thought they needed to be able to handle certain situations themselves. He probably wouldn't even be on this trip if helpless Xavior were not with them. Thank goodness for Xavior.

[Silence Sei]

As Sei was walking on, he heard Anita beckon him. The mystic had been wrapped up in his own injuries to have heard his daughter at the first clal. The second time she shouted for him, Sei turned to her. The girl quickly motioned for her father to return to her side, which he gladly obeyed. Judging from the expression on both Kyla and Anita's faces, something was troubling them.

When the mute got within arms reach he was pulled over by his daughter, who whispered her conversation with Kyla to the mute. Sei's eyes shifted to Xaior for a moment before he looking back to Anita. "It is possible that he heard the wolf's thoughts. I've heard certain children with Xavior's particular needs tend to excel in other areas."

Anita nodded, confirming that she thought everything her father had. The mute turned around and began to continue on. He was not going to let Xavior see that their only true line of defense was hurt, despite the fact that he could feel the warm blue blood trickling into his shoes.

"Papa," Anita said as she began to follow, not realizing whether or not Kyla and Xavior were following, "there's something else. You couldn't have casted Mystic Protection on Xavior that quickly. That wolf caught us all off guard, including yourself. Don't get me wrong, I have absolute faith that you have great reaction time, but you must have casted the spell before we even left, and specifically on Xavior. Am I right?"

Sei nodded to Anita as he moved some branches out of the way. "That means you expected an attack. Not only that, you expected an attack on Xavior. Also, you don't seem too phased by the fact that I just told you that wolf was probably being controlled by you-know-who." Sei remained quiet during Anita's monologue, stepping out of the forest and into the sunlight. Sei closed his eyes and let the warm feeling of rays on his face soothe his whole body as Anita continued.

"You were expecting Talarni's attack. You didn't know what it was going to be, or how he was going to do it. You did know, however, that he was going to do it."

Sei nodded as he looked behind him to see if Kyla and Xavior were catching up. "Yes, I did know that Talarni would attack us. He wants Kyla. I have a feeling he will stop at nothing to get her. I also knew that since I have to watch out for not only you girls, but Xavior as well, Talarni would choose now to attack. He knows I'm used to defending only myself and occasionally you. The recent times have been...taxing on me physically."

Anita nodded. She knew her father had not been ready for a second 'child'. He spent nine years getting used to the first one. The fact that Kyla was staying with them made Sei all sorts of happy, but it also made him work twice as hard in everything. Not only did he have to be a hero, he had to be a better father and person. Anita began to suspect that this trip was not only going to be hard on the three younger people, but on the slightly older Sei as well...

[Amber Eyes]

Kyla felt Xavior's hand trembling in hers. She could feel his pulse racing, and there was a frightened look on his face. Kyla's heart ached at the thought of him being so scared, and wished she had never invited him on this trip. If we can just make it home without any other problems I will never try to do anything like this again.

Kyla's thoughts were suddenly interupted by Xavior's calming child-like voice. "Sei is terribly hurt Kyla."

"Xavior he is fine. He does this all the time. That wolf was nothing compared to the criminals Sei fights each night. You mustn't worry so much."

Kyla continued to walk through the forest. Kyla knew even as she tried to comfort Xavior, he was right; Sei was hurt.

Kyla could see Sei and Anita enter the clearing ahead, and rushed to catch up. As she entered the open field, filled with some of the most beautiful flowers Kyla had ever seen, she could see a town in the distance. Kyla looked glanced around at the purple and yellow flowers that covered the clearing like carpeting, and felt the rays of sun shine upon her back.

Kyla approached Sei shyly, and spoke with her mind so Xavior and Anita would not hear. You are hurt aren't you?" Kyla waited for a reply. You cannot possibly enter Chateau Drantrak if you are already hurt. I am trying not to be selfish here, but I need to train with my dad. After we finish in Orlouge would you be able to get Xavior home safely? Can I spend some time in Drantrak and come home later?

As she glanced up she noticed that the town she had seen so clearly only moments before was gone.

"Sei, was that a trick of the light, Or did we just find Chateau Orlouge?"

[Silence Sei]

Sei did not answer the girl as his eyes focused towards the sun. Given the setting position of the orb, there was not much time for the quartet to travel into Orlouge Drantrak. The fact that Kyla had even recognized Chateau Orlouge from its sheer beauty told the mystic just how detailed Anita's descriptions of the palace were. The mute looked back towards Xavior, who was holding on to Anita's hand at the point.

"We're here," Sei said to the girls, but not Xavior, "Chateau Orlouge is the home in which I used to reside. Aside from the Light Trials, it is the greatest monument to mystic testimony within Orlouge Drantrak. My ancestors built it with the sweat of their brow, and you will see it is just as beautiful from the inside as it is the outside soon."

Sei grabbed Kyla's hand as he sped off into the town. Orlouge Drantrak had a spell cast on it that would only allow people within its walls while the sun was out. If a cloud covered the light, or if night time fell, one would have to wait twelve hours to be able to go into town again. It was for this reason that the residents of Orlouge Drantrak resided by a strict curfew. This curfew was one of the reasons Sei had left in the first place.

As they entered the town, Sei could hear Anita and Xavior's exasperated breathing. They had followed him into the city almost as fast as he had forced Kyla. Luckily the last beams of sunlight managed to disappear beyond the horizon just as the group had entered the town. Sei quickly took the ring off of his finger and slipped it on to his daughters. Without it, Kyla would soon start suffering searing pain from within her body.

As night washed over them, a loud whirling noise was heard throughout the town. The sky seemed to blur for a moment and without another wasted second the group was experiencing the first rays of dawn. Sei looked to his daughters and the confused boy with them as he began to explain.

"Orlouge Drantrak's spell requires it to always be in direct sunlight. Whenever the sun sets in one part of the world, the city is instantly transported to the other side. There is no true night time in this town and the constant sun is said to have driven some people mad. These people were the ones who formed the city of Chateau Drantrak."

Looking behind him, the mystic began to look at the two giant structures beyond. One was a giant transparent obelisk tower. The suns rays caused the tower to illuminate a rainbow over the town like a giant prism. This was the Light Trial of Orlouge Drantrak. Beside it stood a magnificent palace spanning at least two miles wide, and ten stories high.

The palace in particular looked as though the rainbow of the town had stained it with its multiple colors. There was what seemed to be splattered paint from white to pink to orange and blue all over the home. Sei smiled recalling an old tradition allowing Orlouge children to splatter whatever colors they wanted over certain portions of the outside of the house. It was his parent’s way of making their children feel more at home.

The suns beams seemed to give Sei a new kick in his step. The pain from shins still shot straight up to his core, but it was quickly fading. For those who had passed the Light Trial, the sun's rays gave one a youthful vigor and renewed vitality. Sei could feel the glass starting to dissolve from his legs as he began to walk towards the palace known as Chateau Orlouge.

A smile stayed on the man's lips as he began to think about letting his own 'children' paint the outside walls of the house...

[Amber Eyes]

Kyla stood in awe of the magestic view before her. Lights of every color shone in every space her eyes could see. There were rainbows everywhere, a world of prisms and blinding beauty. Kyla wished never to leave this place, and it's wonder, she could sit here forever and just marvel at the colors she had not known existed until this moment. Only Xavior's hand sliding into hers brought Kyla out of her daydream.

"They are leaving, Kyla!"

"Don't worry baby, we will catch up." Kyla assured him, as she walked quickly to catch up to Sei.

"Isn't it great?" Anita cheered. "I told you, didn't I tell you?"

Kyla could not help but wonder what kind of pain she would be experiancing if she were not wearing Sei's ring. To think that she would never be able to come to this magical place, the thought made her regret that she ever completed the shadow trials. Chateau Drantrak may be home, but this place was heaven.

As they walked Kyla realized they were headed to a beautiful mansion. The building was painted in various colors and patterns. Kyla wondered if this were some type of art school. She imagined students spending thier entire lives trying to make something more beautiful than the world around them. It was not until the moment she noticed on particular spot, with a bit of bright orange, and butterfly wings that Kyla realized this must be the home of her grandparents.

Kyla had never had a grandparent, this was going to be awkward. If some old lady pinches my cheeks, I'll die, I swear I will!

Kyla smiled as she heard a deep laugh entering her mind.

[Silence Sei]

The laugh in Kyla's head did indeed come from a telepath. Sei, however, was not the telepath that sent the message to the girl. As the group neared the massive palace, Sei's eyes settled on the image of a large warrior. Smiling at the sight of this fellow, Sei obviously showed the group that the man before them was his father.

The man had long flowing strands of gray falling just short of his mid-back. His face was covered in various scars and there was one particular cut straight across his upper lip. His tanned physique showed off the fact that he spent many days in the sun, and the large muscle build of the man showed that he could have been the father of giants. Standing about seven inches over six feet, the man threw out his large tree trunk arms as his son approached.

Closing them in when Sei got in range, the warrior let out a hardy deep laugh with such a hoarse sound to it, one would think the man smoked all of his life. "If It isn't Silence, my boy," the man said as he released his suffocating child from his grasp. Pounding on the shiny, dented chest plate he wore, he scanned his eyes towards Anita with a huge grin.

"It's good to see you again, 'Tia my sweet!"

Anita could not hide her own happiness at the sound of the man's voice, and curtsied to him with a girlish giggle. Focusing his brown orbs towards Kyla and Xavior, the man raised his arms as if threatening them with the same hug he offered his mute son.

"No face pinching around here," said the old warrior within Kyla's mind, "but I do give the most bone crushing hugs to my grand children!" The man let himself laugh out loud. Kneeling down, the man instantly took notice of the timid Xavior. Sei was sure the smell of fresh baked bread that his father always seemed to radiate would help the boy quickly warm up to him.

"I'm guessin you’re that boy, Xavior," he said with a wink to the teen, "I'm Tinerad Orlouge, head of the Orlouge family. Sei's my son, and so is Kyla's father. From what I hear, you're like her little brother, which makes you one of my grand kids too!" Tinerad bellowed another loud laugh across the land as he stood back up.

"I know you're not pestering our guests already," a sweet, melodic voice came from the kitchen. Through the front entrance and to Tinerad's side stood a petite figured lady. Her hair was a light blue, shortened to just below her ears. Her voice sounded as if she was singing the sentence it had been so angelic.

Looking towards Anita, Kyla, and then Xavior, the woman smiled, her kind blue eyes reflecting what was always in Sei's own orbs. "I'm glad you all could come. Dinner's almost ready. Kyla, I haven't seen you since you were a little baby. I'm your Grandmother Orlouge, but the townsfolk call me Armonia. It's so great that you've brought a friend with you. After all you have been through.

That was when Sei's mother laid eyes upon the mute's shins. "My baby!" she screamed as she wrapped her dainty arms around Sei and pulled her close. The mute sighed as he looked to his mom. While he hated the fact that any little scratch sent her to fits, he couldn't help but love the scent of strawberries and cherries that came off of her body. Releasing her son, Armonia kneeled down and examined the shards of glass in her son's legs.

"That's Mystic Protection glass," she confirmed as she looked to her husband.

"Armonia, I'm sure he wasn't attacked by a mystic on the way here," spoke Tinerad, "nobody is stupid enough to mess with the Hero of Radasanth!" Accepting her husband’s theory, Armonia slightly nodded and stepped back behind her love, dusting off the long, silk, pink dress that she wore. Adjusting her green ear rings, the woman turned her back and muffled a concerned cry before disappearing again into the house.

"What's up with mother?" Sei asked concerned.

"Your brothers are here," Tinerad said, "all of them."

Sei's eyes widened as he looked to Kyla and Anita. His look told the two to be cautious when entering this building. Normally Sei would not be concerned with -most- of his family having dinner at his parents.

But Tinerad said all of them. That meant beyond those doors lay what could become the most violent scene either teenage girl had ever seen...

[Amber Eyes]

Kyla took as much interest as she could in the family introductions, from the moment she had seen the rainbows she had an entirely different purpose in mind. The girl was wearing a ring that would allow her to do something no other mystic had ever done. She would finish the light trials before she left this place.

As she plotted her next action, the group began to move inside. Upon hearing that all the Orlouge brothers were gathered, Kyla knew her presence would be hard to miss. She watched as Anita fell behind the group to wait for her, and grabbed the girls arm.

"Come with me! Quietly" Kyla dragged Anita from the house and into the massive garden which surrounded it.

"Ouch, What are you doing!?!" Anita shouted.

"Shut up! I'm trying to make a quick exit stage left, but apparently bringing miss blabber-mouth with me was a terrible idea. Go back to the family reunion, but the next time you see me you will be sorry you missed out!"

"What on althanas are you talking about?"

"I'm going to the light trials, come with me!"

"Neither of us can go into the light trials, I'm human and you have completed the shadow trials."

"Look." Kyla held her hand to show Anita the ring she still wore.

Anita's eyes lit up; then fell. "Well, that helps you out..."

Kyla reached in her pocket and grabbed her blade. "Let's fix it for you too then." Kyla used the blade to puncture the skin on her forefinger, and then offered it to Anita.

"What are we doing? Blood brothers or something? No way"

"Mystic blood is all you need to go with me; then take it! Just a drop is enough; I've heard that from the men when they talked about mystics. One drop of our blood will cause yours to slowly change. It's like a disease or something! Just try it"

Anita used the blood to cut her finger, and pressed it to Kyla's. The red and blue blood mixed to create a purple drop which fell to the ground.

"So...?" Kyla asked.

"I don't feel anything. Nothing is different."

"Well, let’s see if it worked"

With that Kyla grabbed Anita's arm once more and began dragging her to the building that held the light trials.

[Silence Sei]

Sei's footsteps echoed through the large, hallowed halls that were Orlouge Manor. As he began to pass several doors of different colors, the mute began to hear the familiar sounds of his family. Laughter, explosions, fire starting, snide quips, and a loud belch. His father was right in the sense that all of his brothers were home, and they sounded like they were already digging into whatever feast Armonia Orlouge had prepared.

Sei stepped into his parent’s magnificent kitchen. Splashed colors of every sort illuminated the walls, ceiling and floor. The walls had different colored suits of armor exactly five feet apart from one another leading down all thirty feet of the kitchen's length. The fifteen foot table that sat directly in the middle held roughly fifteen chairs each. His parents enjoyed being prepared if their boys brought friends home, and they almost always did. Sei stood in the first entryway looking at each of his older siblings.

"Well, well, the self-proclaimed 'Hero of Radasanth' returns to his backwater roots." The civilized but condescending voice came from Ciato Orlouge, third youngest of the Orlouge children. Sei took his brother's slicked back white hair, his perfectly pale and smooth face, the purple vest that seemed to be the only top he felt was necessary, and those Gods awful leather black tights he called pants. His bastard sword laid at the table, his fingers tapping into its dehlar blade in rhythm. "I'm afraid Asterodeia and the litter couldn't join us tonight. Surely you understand."

Sei knew his brother meant something cold with his comment, but he nodded as if it were nothing. Ciato sat presumptuously at the head chair. Chair wasn't quite the word for it though, it was more like a throne. It was encased in cold with soft purple pillows embedded into both the seat and spine of the furniture. Sei's eyes shifted to the similar throne that sat clad in black not a few chairs down. Ciato was always one to believe he should inherit the family estate, and it looked as though that hadn't changed.

"Ciato, shut up and leave Sei alone. He brought our nieces with him, and I'm ready to play with the little tykes!" Sei's eyes shifted over to the large pink afro that belonged to the youngest Orlouge after him. The giant of a man stood with his feet pushing against the seemingly nailed down table. Steppenwolf Orlouge was a 7'4'' monster of a man, mostly due to the fact that he was the only non full-blood Orlouge. Steppenwolf's birth involved an unfortunate incident with a mad orc scientist. Regardless he was an Orlouge boy, and he was Sei's favorite.

Steppenwolf attempted to keep himself on the back to legs of his pink and blue throne while fiddling with a small hand buzzer looking device. The normally pink skinned mystic's complexion had been covered in soot. No doubt the explosion that Sei had heard earlier. As his inventor brother tinkered with his latest toy, his arms started to make a flying motion, and he hit the ground with a ground shaking thud. Sei smiled deeply as he looked at his brothers tonfa, shield, and nunchaku all scattered on the floor around him.

"And he's down...again." Sei's eyes went to the harsh, low growl of a voice that came from Succed Orlouge. The green haired mystic allowed his strange curls to almost fall into the middle of his neck. He was holding his trademark orange lighter as he placed his spare hand over it. Moving the hand, a large flame erupted from the device. Succed was an elemental mage. He had mastered the light trial and was a genius in the magic department. His spells helped revolutionize the world, and it was rumored he had even been incorporated into the healing powers of Ai'Bron monks. The second oldest Orlouge looked over to his brother as he smiled.

Before Succed could say another word in a nicer voice, another belch filled the room. Razak Orlouge allowed his overweight frame and rather indecent manners get the best of him yet again. The third eldest Orlouge scratched at his purple beard, Sei questioning whether something was living in the fu man choo or not. Razak was still living with Armonia and Tinerad. He had never 'decided what to do with his life' as Sei's mother kindly put it. In all reality, Razak was perhaps the cleverest Orlouge. He scammed people into getting him what he wanted without doing any work himself. The mystic lifted his horned Viking hat and began to scratch the purple balding hair with his spare hand, before going back to the chicken thigh at his plate. "Ey Brah!" was the only acknowledgement Sei got from this brother.

"Heh, just like old times, eh bro?" Niche Orlouge spoke to his youngest sibling. Niche and Sei had spent the most time together recently, as Niche was Kyla's blood father. His red hair still held the silver tinges Sei had grown so accustomed to trying to pick out as a toddler. The scar from one end of his jaw bone straight to the other across his chin reminded Sei of the day he had gotten the cut. A fierce look to Ciato for a moment caused Niche to snap his fingers and bring the mute's attention back to him. Of all the boys at the table, Niche was no doubt the strongest one, able to take on every one of his brothers at one time. He pointed to the chair beside him to offer Sei a spot back at his chair.

Sei nodded and walked over beside his oldest brother, sitting down in the orange and blue chair, the one that had the orange and blue butterfly wings sprouting from it. Sei's parents always tried to condition the boy into believing that his unexplainable appendages were normal. As such almost anything involving their baby had butterfly wings with it. They had good intentions, but Sei in all of his years had to learn that the world didn't.

"Now, speaking of our little girls, where are they?" Niche asked his brother as Sei turned his head back to the entry way. He had believed that the girls were following right behind him. Sei looked to Niche, who nodded sternly to his brother. They were probably playing somewhere in the house. IT did seem like a big house to explore. They might have just wanted to see if they could find any secrets to Chateau Orlouge.

Sei smiled as he began to think of how entertained Xavior must be at all the pretty colors. Comforted by the fact that he must have been with the girls, Sei motioned for his brothers to pass him a chicken breast from the buffet that lined their table.

[Amber Eyes]

"What...about... Xavior?" Anita asked breathlessly as she ran behind Kyla towards the large building covered in prisms.

"He'll be fine...Sei's there...and like 20 family members...no big deal." Kyla replied, also having a hard time catching her breath. She finally stopped by a big oak tree standing about 5 feet from the edge of the building that contained her goal. As she tried to catch her breath, she couldn't hold her excitement in.

"Tell me all you know about the light trials, quickly." Kyla urged.

"Um...well...from what Papa has said...I think...yes. There are lots of puzzles. Most of them have something or other to do with light, which of course makes sense. It's not easy Kyla, and I'm not sure both of us can do it together."

"I've already thought of that. There's a reason I cut my own finger instead of stealing some of the blood from your dad's shins. You and I will share the same blood once yours is taken over by mine. We for all DNA type purposes are the same person."

"Your crazy you know that?"

"I've been told it a few times." Kyla smiled at her 'sister'. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For being my sister, and my friend. If not for you Sei would never have trusted me, you've done more for me than anyone I've known. Without you I'm afraid I'd still be wondering around unsure of who I was."

"Oh stop it."

"No really...you are a good person Anita Orlouge"

"I know right!?!" Anita laughed, and walked towards the large white front doors of the intimidating tower, giving Kyla no choice but to follow.


As they entered the lobby area, they heard voices down on of the long hallways. Kyla made a quick silent signal by putting her finger over her lips and pulled Anita into another large doorway. They watched as two men, both obviously mages, walked out the large front door. The lock clicked into place behind them.

"Great, now we're stuck here!" Anita accused. "How do I always let you get me into these things?"

"Oh please, you'll be singing my praises when you can kick Sei's butt in a few years!"

Anita turned as she spoke. "Yeah, that's like.....HOLY...." She touched Kyla on the shoulder, and pointed behind her.

Kyla looked in the direction Anita was pointing and saw it too. They were in a room with 18 or so mirrors. A beautiful Gem stood in the middle of the room, and a single beam of light shone frome the crystal at the top of the building. "This is it isn't it?"

Anita nodded. "This is the first trial."

[Silence Sei]

The table was littered with all sorts of meals. Sei's eyes gazed from one to the next to see which food was placed where in relation to his siblings. Armonia had a flare for placing the favorites of the boys near them. Steppenwolf had his Mystic Mashed Potatoes with pepperoni and spinach pizza for his entree. Razak's was filled with turkey slices, roasted duck, and fried Radasanth chicken. Razak was always fond of fowl. Niche had a healthy serving of white rice and gravy, with some steamed vegetables and a slab of sugar cured ham, as someone of his power level needed to keep up his strength. Succed had meals that were all charred 'to perfection' as he phrased it. Sei couldn't determine exactly -what- the dark foods were, just that they were Succed's favorite if they were overly burned.

Sei had only his chicken breast on his plate thus far. He had not time to pick out anything else out among the glorious food. Ciato did not seem to have anything yet, neither at the seat he was supposed to be sitting at, or the one he was sitting at. Sei turned his head to the sound of footsteps to find his parents carrying Ciato's meal. Tinerad was holding a large plate with raw hamburger meat, a rare steak, and raw chicken strips. Armonia had her arms completely full with spices and dressings.

"I've got ranch, cinnamon, sugar, salt, pepper, parmesan cheese, blue cheese crumbles..." The dainty woman went on as she set the ingredients upon the table. The brothers hurriedly grabbed their favorite toppings and began to sprinkle their feasts with them. Tinerad had set Ciato's plate at the seat he was supposed to be at, and was standing over her son with arms crossed. Ciato sheathed the long sword of his and looked to his father.

"Lose something....'pops'?" Ciato asked the older mystic. Tinerad simply shot a gaze over to his wife, who nodded and closed her eyes. Ciato's body began to lift from the chair, and was cautiously put into the black and red decorated seat that was his. Ciato stared at Steppenwolf, who was sitting next to the white haired mystic. Steppenwolf simply munched on a pizza slice while looking at his brother's plate.

"Leave it to you to make a steak dinner look disgusting," Steppenwolf said, "I guess when you're married to a dem--"

The words brought a sword to the large mystic's neck. Asterodeia Orlouge was a very sensitive subject to Ciato. The man had married a demon that held just as much sadistic bloodlust as Ciato himself. Due to her being a demon that was feline in nature, rather than being pregnant with just one child, Asterodeia had a 'litter' of children. Sei had yet to see the kids himself, as Ciato was very shrewd about anybody setting eyes on his beautiful spawn.

Steppenwolf took one of his massive hands and lowered the blade as if it were nothing. The force of the motion cause Ciato to jump into the air a bit in a see-saw like fashion. Everybody began to laugh as Ciato grumbled about killing them all one day. Ciato always had plans for making the 'perfect world', meaning his family was the only ones that would be alive. After so many failed assassination attempts and world-domination plans, the family just found the strangely dressed Orlouge's antics endearing.

What are you doing here?!

The voice caused Sei to stand up from his seat. The voice had been Xaviors, and he sounded in trouble. The mute hadn't even noticed that his mother and father shared the same expression. "What's up brah?" Razak asked with empathy. Sei's eyes went to his father and then his mother, who both nodded in agreement with their youngest child. Despite the fact that both parents were telepaths, Sei was the only one to share their ability. Without saying another thing to his brother, Sei and his parents hurriedly left the room.

"Wow, they seem to be in a rush to go somewhere," Razak said while munching on a slice of his turkey, "pass me the gravy, Steppenwolf."

[Amber Eyes]

"Move it to the left....No, My left!" Anita called to Kyla as she attempted to move the large mirror into position.

"We're facing the same way! Your left is my left!"

"Then your other left...happy?"

"That would be right! Come on! You have all the powers of the world in a backpack but you don't know your directions?" Kyla finally pushed the mirror into the way of the beam of light.

Both girls stood close to the mirror to see where the light’s beam would travel next.

Kyla looked at Anita, and saw hurt in the girl's eyes.

"Look I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, I was just kiddin' around!"

"It's fine! Let's just get this done." Anita said in a voice lower than her usual tone.

Ther girls went their separate ways an began to move the mirrors into place. They worked for what seemed like eternity to the easily bored duo, but was probably only about half an hour. After they had moved each mirror they met up near the center of the large arena and gazed at the gem that stood in the center. The beam of light missed its mark by mere inches.

"Well now what do we do?" Kyla asked grumpily.

"Well maybe if you'd positioned yours correctly in the first place we wouldn't be dealing with it now!" Anita responded with a glimmer of amusement that was completely lost on the other girl.

"How do you know it's one of my mirrors? It could just as well be that one of yours it out of whack!" Kyla's voiced drifted as she watched the beam of light travel from the ceiling, hitting the first mirror in the left hand corner of the room. The light then made a criss-cross pattern across the space, hitting 12 mirrors as it went. The 13th mirror sent it back into the left hand corner, which reflected it onto three more mirrors that sent it around the edges or the room. the final two mirrors that actually worked sent the light barreling across the room towards the giant gem. As Kyla reached this point in her observation, she noticed that Anita was holding a small hand held mirror, which caused the light to shine into the gem.

"Because I carry the powers of the world in my backpack!" Anita laughed gleefully. "Or at least the powers of staying cute!"

Kyla ran to her 'sister', "You’re brilliant you know that? Brilliant!"

The wall at the north end of the room began to move, as it slowly lowered it formed a stairwell.

"I guess that's our cue!" Kyla grabbed Anita by the hand and drug her toward the staircase.

[Silence Sei]

It was truly difficult trying to find Xavior in the expansive mansion that was Chateau Orlouge. Sei probably couldn't have done it himself. Luckily, the mute's mother was far more powerful in mental abilities than her youngest child, and she could pinpoint a rough area judging from the residual 'thought waves' that came from the boy. Sei and Tinerad both let Armonia lead the way as she twisted and turn down doors and hallways alike.

Eventually, they came to a room that was colored in a mixture of orange and blue. A brown crib sat on the edge of the room against the northeast corner. A stroller on the opposite wall looked like it had been well maintained for years, and toddler toys were scattered all throughout the floor. Sei's eyes followed the heaviest trail of toys to find Xavior trembling, his face somewhat painted with terror.

"Get back child!" Tinerad said as Xavior stumbled backwards, tripping over some of the toys he had been playing with. The teenage boy regained his footing rather quickly and stood behind the three mystics that came to his aid. Sei could understand exactly why Xavior had been so afraid. The mute probably would have been trembling in fear too if not for the fact that he had a job to do in defending the 'special' youth.

Talarni was clothed in black robes, stretching down to his feet. The decor seemed odd on the five foot ten man. A red sash was wrapped around his hips in an attempt to keep the robe from coming off. His brown hair had been put into a neat ponytail which allowed for the features of his face to be seen. His brown eyes reeked of deception, and his scruffy chin did nothing but compliment the x shaped scar on his right cheek. From their previous battle, Sei knew that the clothing and scar were new.

"Ah, the family arrives to save 'poor little Xavior'. You will not stop me from getting what I want this time, Sei Orlouge. That boys powers of telepathy will be mine!" Sei raised his eyebrows at Talarni's comment, slowly moving his hands to his back to withdraw his Gemini Blades. Xavior was a telepath? Sei had heard that people with the boy's 'condition' could excel in other areas. Perhaps that was why Sei's speaking to him always frightened Xavior so? It was because to an inexperienced telepath, someone like Sei talking was like having some with a megaphone speaks in your ear.

"Mister, you got about five minutes to take your cheesy villain dialogue, and get out of here," Tinerad spoke with a low growl in his voice. Talarni simply gave a sinister, yet maniacal laugh. "Did you not just hear me, fool? I'm not leaving without the boy. With him in my possession, I can take his brain apart and see how to unlock those powers of his. It will further my dreams of creating a perfect mystic spawn!"

Tinerad slowly reached to his side, pulling out what seemed like a regular baton. Armonia began to close her eyes while Sei slowly unsheathed his swords. Talarni looked at all the aggression he was receiving from the Orlouges, and smiled. With a wave of his hand, his shadow began to rise up from the ground. Quickly, the shadow took form as a Talarni doppelganger. The two shadows casted by the two Talarni's now repeated the process. The two became four, and the four became eight.

"I've had a strong teacher in the ways of Shadow magic, Sei Orlouge. When I have such powers of duplication, there's no way you can defeat me!" Talarni had been so busy with his typical evil genius monologue that Tinerad had taken opportunity. Half way through the evil man's sentence, the large mystic had dashed between two of the clones. With a quick motion to the left and the right, the baton found the temples of each of the Talarni copies, which crumpled to the ground.

"Wha?!" Talarni said while turning to Tinerad. He hadn't noticed that behind him, Armonia Orlouge had already crushed two of the doppelgangers into little balls of what were once 'human' in nature. Talarni looked back to Armonia and Sei with a growl. "Fair enough, but now I'm on the lookout!"

Just as Talarni finished his sentence, Sei had created his own doppelganger through the use of his Gemini Blades. The battle was now set for a four on four. Sei had been so focused on keep Xavior safe, however, that he had not thought about where his little 'angels' were.

[Amber Eyes]

"Oh look! It’s a dance hall!" Anita squealed as the two girls reached the landing. The room was massive, and completely empty. The tiles of the floor were different colors, every color the girls could imagine. Across the large room there was another doorway, and if front of that door, a sole black tile.

“A dance hall?” Kyla surveyed the area around her.

“Yeah, like the ones in the pictures from Papa’s prom! That big dance movement in Radasanth like 20 years ago. They wore all the bright colors and danced around to horrible music. Grandma says it was the demoralization of our society. Papa says it was a blast!”

“Well, what are we supposed to do with it?” Kyla wondered out loud as she began to walk to the center of the room.

“Look at the floor Kyla!” Anita pointed at the tiles, which lit up as they were stepped on.

“Hmm…do you think we need to make some kind of pattern? Why don’t you do half and I’ll do half, and we’ll meet in the center.”

“Sound good.” Anita called, already starting her side of the room. Each tile lit up as it was touched, creating a rainbow effect across the floor. It took the girls about ten minutes to step on each tile, once they met in the center of the room, they looked around.

“Did we miss one?” Anita reflected.

“No, they’re all hit. Except that black one in the corner, try it.”

Anita crossed the room and stepped upon the black tile. She held her breath in anticipation….”Nothing.” About ten seconds went by, and then all the tiles returned to their original state.

“Okay, back to step one. We’re in a room, with lighted tiles. What are we missing?” Kyla asked allowed, looking at Anita. As Anita turned, a rainbow fell across her face. Kyla looked at the source of the bright light. The light entered the room in one bright white beam, before being split into a rainbow of colors and sent out into the town. “The rainbow, of course.”

“I get it,” Anita called, “we don’t need all the tiles, just one color of each in the rainbow. We have to make a path of the rainbow colors to the door.”

“Here’s the problem. I’m in the center now, and the red tiles over by the door.” Kyla looked around her. “The black tile must be some kind of giant enter button. I’m going to walk back across, and then you can hit the black tile again. Once you hit it, stay in the doorway and I’ll come across.”

Kyla walked back towards the beginning of the trial; each tile lighting up behind her. Once she was safely clear of the tiles, she called to Anita. “Okay, try it now.”

Anita stepped on the black button, ten seconds went by, and then all the tiles went dark.

“Okay, it’s red…” Kyla stepped one the red tile, which immediately lit.

“Then orange.” Anita called. Kyla looked around her, the closest orange tile was about a foot to the left.

“Are you sure? It’s way over there! I’m not sure I can make it without touching something else.”

“I’m sure Kyla; I’m reading it straight out of ‘Professor Benson’s Guide to the Rainbow.’”

Kyla looked at Anita, who was indeed holding a small book. “Your backpack freaks me out, you know that?”

“Just get to the orange tile, Papa will be looking for us soon!”

Kyla looked at the target again. She had to jump, that was the only way to get there. The tile she stood in was only about four feet square, not much room to run. She stood at the very edge of the tile, took two quick steps, then jumped. She landed well within the orange tile, but almost lost her balance and fell onto a blue one. “That was close, what’s next?”

“Yellow.”

The yellow tile was just caddy-cornered from where Kyla stood. She stepped into it.

“Then Green.”

Kyla looked around her, she could see no green tile within her reach. “There’s not a green by me. That can’t be right.”

“Kyla, I’m the brains here, I’m telling you green is next.’

“Well how am I supposed to get across the room? Tell me that miss brains!” Kyla stated sarcastically. “I didn’t bring you along so you could be pain. Is there a green tile near you?”

“No, this is set up so one person can do it, there has to be one near you.”

Kyla again looked around. That was when she noticed the green tile. It was about five feet to the left, and a little bit behind her. There was no way she could make that jump. “What’s after green?”

“You can’t skip a color Kyla that defeats the whole purpose.”

“I’m trying to figure this out, what’s after green?” Kyla repeated a bit agitated.

“Blue Indigo and Violet.”

Kyla looked around again. The following three tiles were in a line, each one separated by only one tile. They made a perfect path to the door. Kyla looked the room over, how could she activate that tile? Even if she made the jump, she would be even farther from her next tile. That was the moment inspiration struck. Her shadow magic! She could create a sword, and use it to touch the green tile. She pictured a long-sword, and within seconds it formed in her hand. She carefully reached the sword across the gap and touched the tile. It immediately lit, and Kyla nearly sprinted the rest of the way to the door. “We did it!” She screamed gleefully as the door began to open.

[Silence Sei]

Sei's father wasted no time in starting the fight. The battle hardened warrior quickly threw his large baton towards one of Talarni's doppelgangers. Sei could hear the sickening crunch that shattered what used to be the clone's kneecap. Armonia quickly became preoccupied dodging a shadow blade casted by another one of the evil man's copies.

Sei's eyes shifted straight forward, where both Talarni and the last dupe were making for a straight charge at Sei and his own duplicate. The Talarni's began to form their shadow swords, tendrils of black slowly surrounding their right hands and shooting out a spike of black energy. Sei's eyes shifted to the clone, who had simply nodded, and the two dashed forward at their aggressors.

Sei used all the power and speed available to him to tuck himself between the two charging Talarnis. Sei's ears filled with the sound of flesh and cloth tearing as he stood up. Sei was joined with his clone by his side once more. The two stood back upright, and turned around, looking at their handwork. Two clear cuts were on the hips of the two Talarnis. One simply was webbed up in black shadows and disappeared into nothingness. The other had stopped, his black blade sinking back into his fist.

Talarni began to move again, but this time not at Sei. He had sluggishly made his way to Xavior, whom the family had left open. When Sei noticed this, he began to rush to the child's aid, before a massive hand grabbed his shoulder. Looking back, Sei saw his father was holding him in place. The youth wrestled with his elder to be released, but once Tinerad Orlouge held someone, they were not getting out unless he allowed them to.

"What are you doing?! He's going to take hi---" Sei's anger was interrupted by the sound of another blade sinking into flesh. Turning back towards Talarni and Xavior, Sei watched as the form of the robed man fell to his knees, and then onto his back. The average form of Talarni was replaced by that of Ciato Orlouge, who quickly pulled a handkerchief out of his vest and wiped the small dirk that found Talarni's heart clean.

"Wh-Why....." was all Talarni could muster out before the noble mystic's boot slammed into his cheek. The force of the kick had been powerful enough to snap the spell caster's neck, a sound that made the nearby Xavior shudder in fear of. Ciato's eyes went over to his youngest brother and his parents.

"I thought whatever you were doing would be much more fun than listening to another stupid Steppenwolf invention," he said as he placed another undeserved kick into Talarni's head, "Lo and behold, I was correct!" One extra kick quickly became two, and then three. It wasn't until the attempt at a fourth strike did Ciato become frozen in place due to his mother's telekinesis.

"Respect the dead, dear," Armonia said with a growl, her foe having disappeared after the white haired mystic slain the original. Sei's eyes shifted to Talarni's form, blood and teeth surrounding the man's features while the crimson pool began to spread towards Xavior. Tinerad released his son as Sei walked over to Xavior, grabbing him with both arms and holding him tight. The boy had just seen something he should not have. Ciato never held put other people's feelings into consideration when he did what he did. Sei on the other hand was probably the most compassionate of the Orlouge children, so he knew what Xavior most likely needed.

"It's okay Xavior. He won't hurt you or Kyla ever again. It's okay, it's okay," Sei repeated his calming tone to the child. The mute was not sure if he was trying to convince Xavior that the monster was dead, or that the monster was currently being held in place by his mother...

[Amber Eyes]

As Kyla and Anita entered the new room they saw a spiral staircase leading to an attic room. They climbed the stairs, and saw a wall which cut the room in half. There were strange inscriptions on the top half of the wall and the bottom half had six pictures.

"What does it say?" Kyla turned to her sister.

"Give me a minute; I've never seen these symbols before; though they're similar to the writings in Papa's books."

Moments passed slowly and Kyla could not help but worry that they'd come all this way for nothing. Did they really sneak away and go through the trials just to fail at understanding some stupid symbols?

"I think I've got it, it's not perfect, but I think its close.' Anita spoke mostly to herself. "Which picture shows the true worshiper's of the light?"

"What does that even mean?" Kyla said a little harsher than she meant to.

"I dunno, I did my part why don't you figure the rest out?" Anita replied obviously frustrated herself.

Kyla walked the wall looking at each picture in turn. There was a field of grass in the first picture, possible Kyla thought to herself. The second picture was only a frame, nothing inside. Nothing? Kyla continued, the third picture was a small animal. Kyla immediately discounted this one. The fourth was a flower, a daisy if she saw it right, another possibility. The fifth picture was a human; again Kyla immediately discounted this option. The sixth picture was waterfall, another improbable option.

"Okay, I've narrowed it down. It's either the second or fourth picture. A flower pulls all of it's energy from the light, if that's not true worship, then I don't know what is. The second one is blank, what if something is missing?"

"Nothing's missing, you’re just missing it!" Anita squealed.

"You know, I'd love it if you made sense a bit more," Kyla stated plainly.

"Look at the light!"

Kyla looked at the light coming in from the ceiling, and immediately understood what Anita was saying. Anita pulled her mirror out of her bag and held it up to the light. Once the tile was covered in light, the picture of Chateau Orlouge appeared. Kyla hit the tile with all of her might, and the wall began to descend. The tile of Chateau Orlouge however ascended on its own. It reached the point where the wall had been blocking the light from a giant prism, and the beam surrounded both girls. A sudden warm sensation filled the girls bodies, and goose bumps popped up on Kyla's arms.

"We really did it Anita, we completed the trials!"

[Silence Sei]

Sei didn't know how to explain it to Xavior. How does one go about telling someone that they can read peoples minds? The mute had a hard time dealing with boys, as he had always been around Anita more than anyone else. The mute required the help of his mother and father to explain to the boy what was going on, why Talarni wanted him, and why he shouldn't be scared anymore.

Ciato had disappeared back to the dining room at this point. Sei imagined he was eating his hamburger meat like nothing had ever happened. Death was such a callous thing to Ciato Orlouge, how could someone be that cold? Taking someone’s life was never supposed to be as simple as performing ones chores for the day. That was the whole reason Sei despised the citadel most of the time. It's leniency on something as serious as death made the mystic sick to his stomach.

When the trio had finished explaining everything to Xavior, they began to make their way back into the dining room. As they approached they heard fits of laughter and merriment coming from the room. The four entered the room to find Anita Orlouge and Kyla Orlouge sitting across from one another at the end of the table. They were carefully juggling what appeared to be small balls made from light magic.

Sei looked to his brothers, who were all finding the double juggle very entertaining. It was kind of them to produce such light balls so the teens could be entertained. Sei shifted his gaze to Xavior and smiled when the boy's eyes lit up with excitement. He quickly ran over to Kyla and began asking her questions. As the girl turned to her 'brother', a few of the light balls disappeared.

"Kyla, focus!" Anita shouted, causing the girl to turn back around. To Sei's surprise, he witnessed Kyla form two more balls of pure light magic and toss them to her 'sister'. When had the girls had the time to go through the light magic trials? Sei approached Kyla with a stern look on his face. Truthfully, he was excited that Kyla and Anita both had new abilities to protect themselves with, but was upset that they had not taken someone as an escort to the trials.

The mute held his hand out to Kyla. "I will be taking that ring back, if you don't mind, Kyla. It seems as though you possess both types of mystic magics now, so you no longer need it." The defiant teenager nodded in a way that told Sei that what he had said went in one ear and out the other. Kyla tossed both of her new light balls to Anita as she began to reach for the ring.

Only to be stopped by Steppenwolf's massive hand. "Sei, what are you, an idiot?!" Steppenwolf chastised his little brother, "I would have thought you of all people would have realized what would happen if she took the ring off!" As Steppenwolf criticized him, it finally registered in the telepath's mind. Light and Shadow magic could totally destroy one another on a battlefield, and now they were fighting for supremacy in Kyla's body. If she would have taken the ring off, she would have probably imploded from a magic overload.

"Sei," Steppenwolf said with a less stern tone, "you and the girls come back to my workshop in Salvar tomorrow. I had presents for the kids, but I'm going to have to make a couple of adjustments on them now. In order to do that, I need my tools." Sei nodded to his brother when he finished the suggestion. Xavior, Armonia, and Tinerad were already sitting back at the table eating the various left over food from the night. Sei looked to both of his 'daughters' one good time before going to take his seat at the massive table.

Later that night, Sei lied in bed with a million questions running through his head. How did nobody realize Xavior was a telepath? What were the girls thinking by taking the light trials? And most importantly, why did Talarni look so shocked when he saw Ciato Orlouge here? All of these thoughts bothered Sei, and he had no idea that he would soon get the answers he wanted....

...but that was a story for another time.

[MetalDrago]

STORY

Continuity (6/10) ~

Setting (7/10) ~

Pacing (4/10) ~

CHARACTER ~.

Dialogue (6/10) ~

Action (6/10) ~

Persona (6/10) ~

WRITING STYLE ~

Mechanics (6/10) ~

Technique (5/10) ~

Clarity (8/10) ~

Wild Card (6/10) ~

Total - 60

Sei gains 2650 EXP and 200 GP
Amber Eyes gains 650 EXP and 200 GP

[Taskmienster]

Exp and GP added.