"Brother, take me with you!" the girl demanded of her elder brother. She was half elfin and showed it. She had blue eyes and long, dark blue hair. She was wearing a plain white shift and around her neck hung a golden pendent that was shaped like a winged orb.

Her brother, however, had long red hair and bright green eyes. He wore a yellow tunic and tan pants. Around his neck hung an identical pendent.

"It would be too dangerous for you to come, Kayura," he simply said.

"Dangerous!" she spat the word like a curse, "I can defend myself as well as you can, Anubis. I know how to fight. Besides I'd rather go with you than stay here."

"You know that you must stay with the clan until your seventeenth summer, Kayura, and it's only your twelfth," Anubis explained patiently.

"But it's going to be so dull without you," Kayura complained.

"The Ancient One himself is directly related to us, Kayura. You are a Lady of the Clan. If you, of all people, break the code, who knows what will happen. Stay here and learn the secrets that you will need someday. If you wait patiently for my return and your own journey, than I will bring you back something special," he promised.

"Alright," agreed Kayura. With that he gave her a hug and left.

The young man snorted in disgust at the antics of the drunken patron that sat beside him. He couldn't help wondering if the man would drink so much if he could see how oddly he behaved when intoxicated.

"Are you sure you don't want anything to drink with your meal?" asked the bartender quizzically.

"No thank you," he replied, as if he wanted to ever end up like that drunken loon. He was wearing a white shirt under a tanned leather jacket and loose pants. His hair had turned white when he was fourteen and made him appear somewhat older than his twenty-one summers. His left eye was gone, the hollow covered with a black eye patch, his remaining eye was a light blue.

As he resumed eating a young boy entered the inn. He sat beside him and ordered a meager meal and a room for the night. His accent marked him as a stranger, and the barkeep gladly took the opportunity to overcharge him.

"Fifteen copper for the meal and a silver for the room," he said gleefully. The boy blanched at the price for he obviously could not pay.

"It's seven copper for the lot, Ander, and you know it," corrected the young man.

“Quiet, Cyclopes, or I'll teach you a lesson 'bout how to keep quiet!" exclaimed Ander.

"You would do well to remember what happened to the last person who challenged me. It's seven copper and I'll pay," he said as he dropped seven dull copper coins on the table.

"Sorry about that, Ander likes his coin, but he does know when to let the matter drop. I'm Dais."

"Thank you, Dais, I'm Kay," replied the youth. It was only then that Dais realized that the young boy was actually a girl and closer to fifteen than the twelve summers he had originally thought.

"So, what brings you to Faeyern, where men become the pitiful wretches you see all around you?" asked Dais as he pointed to the drunk beside him with his thumb.

"Revenge," was her reply.

"Is it worth it? Many people seek it when it's not, and many die as a result."

"Yes. My village was slaughtered by demons."

Her answer took Dais by surprise. His face darkened as he looked down at his hands, which were now clenched together. He sat this way for several moments as if remembering something better left forgotten.

"I'll go with you. Against demons you'll need all the help you can get."

"Well, if you still want to go at daybreak tomorrow, then you can come."

The young thieves slipped into the darkened ally and pulled off their hoods. The first was a boy about fourteen summers with long black hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a ragged brown cloak, a shirt that was once white, and a pair of tan trousers. His companion was a girl about sixteen summers. She had long blonde hair, braided to one side, and green eyes. Her outfit was similar only with a blue blouse under her cloak.

"I hate this!" exclaimed the boy looking and the stolen coins in disgust.

"Sorry you feel that way cousin, but its the way of the world," said the girl as she pocketed her own loot.

"You know, I distinctly remember you hating this as much as I do, Jana."

"Things change, Ryo. We have to live, don't we?" she paused until her cousin slowly nodded affirmation, "You'll get used to it soon enough."

"That's just it, I don't want to get used to it!" These were the last words spoken between the cousins this day. Ryo didn't realize it, but it would also be the last time he would see Jana.

That night Jana left the old shack were the two had lived while her cousin slept unaware. She crept back to the ally where they had hidden before.

"You were right, my Lord, he is unsuitable to be your servant," she said to a shadowed figure.

"Then so be it. I must admit that he does possess hidden strengths that might have been valuable to us. Have you lost your sentiment for the boy?" asked the figure.

"He will die by my hand if need be," replied Jana.

"Then you have passed the final test. Well met, Jana."