In the south forest of the great continent of The World of Essence, there rests a small village known as Elkterra. Originally named after the family which first settled it over three hundred years before, it lay mostly unknown to the rest of the world for generations until the last member of the Kyelnova family moved to the village. They were welcomed in to the village with open arms and given a place to stay. Eventually, they became acquainted with the family which settled the village and grew close to the eldest sibling.

As the years went by, the two became closer until they finally decided that they would be married. From this union sprouted a new family, the Terranovas. The new family continued on their lineage in the same village until one day, the isolated and unknown nature of the village was broken. One of the daughters of the Terranova family was visited by a woman from a far-off land and challenged to a duel of blacksmithing, each being tasked with forging a powerful weapon.

The daughter of the Terranova family, Dameria, accepted the challenge, setting forth the condition that, whichever one of them won would be allowed to ask any one thing of the loser. The challenge, Amelia, accepted these terms and the two set forth to outdo the other. The two were given a year to complete their weapon and at the end of that time, the two would be put to the test to see which was stronger.

Throughout the year, the two interacted a great deal, even becoming friends in the process. The challenge had started as an intense rivalry, but eventually became more of a friendly competition. Even still, the two were both still deeply motivated to win the challenge and by the end of the year, they had both completed their weapons which they believed would best the other.

When the weapons were tested, Amelia was the victor. Dameria feared as to what Amelia might request of her, but in the end, all she wanted was to go on a date. Dameria was floored, but eagerly accepted, having wanted to ask Amelia on a date herself, but she had been too afraid, fearing it would complicate things. However, the date that she got to go on with Amelia was one of the best days of her life and within a year, the two were happily married with a child on the way. When the child was born, they named him Ezrael after the first of the Terranovas.

- Seven Years Later –

Rushing through the woods, Ezrael giggled wildly, dodging in and out of trees, trying to avoid his sister. They had been racing for miles now, but Ezrael had managed to maintain his lead up until now. Now, his sister was starting to catch up. Even without being able to see her, he could feel her distinct aura, something he had been able to do almost even before he had even been able to perform magic.

Even with the gap closing though, he was determined to beat her. Their parents had sent the two of them out to go gather some supplies from one of the closest towns for their mother who was currently pregnant and due at any moment. Ezrael smiled at the thought, excited about the prospect of the new sibling he would soon have. For most of the pregnancy, he had acted rather indifferent, thinking that if he showed he cared about his new sibling, his sister might make fun of him of think he was weak. Despite this, Amelia had reassured him many times that it was nothing to be ashamed of.

“Your brother will die…”

Ezrael quickly collapsed to the ground, tripping over a branch and falling face first in to the dirt. His eyes darted around as he tried to identify the source of the strange voice, but he couldn’t see or feel anyone around other than his sister, but she was too far away for him to be able to hear her and even if she wasn’t, the voice had sounded nothing like her. It was deep and hollow and… seemed to have come from inside of his head.

Ezrael quickly conjured up a small reflective disk and held it up to his face, inspecting his left eye. Unlike the normal green eye next to it, his left eye was a deep purple color with a shrunken pupil and two thin concentric rings. Nothing seemed to have changed with it, so Ezrael was momentarily put at ease.

Despite that ease, the words continued ring inside of his head. It didn’t make any sense though. He didn’t have a brother, only a sister. And everyone that had inspected the child that his mother was pregnant with had said that it was a girl, so that couldn’t be it either. None of it made sense and that started to weigh down Ezrael. He wanted to just crawl up and cry right there in the middle of the forest, but everything told him that he needed to pick himself back up and get moving.

A blur of color shot by next to him. “See ya, loser!” the individual shouted. Ezrael quickly identified it as his sister, but he was left mostly unaffected. He still couldn’t force his body to move. Much to his relief, however, after a few moments, his sister came back for him. She had a confused look on her face, but upon seeing Ezrael’s, she rushed over to him, looking directly in to his eyes, confused and now scared for her brother. She gently shook his shoulder and finally, Ezrael moved, looking up to meet his sister’s eyes.

“Misra…?”

Misra nodded and quickly formed a blanket from some grass and leaf fibers which she draped over Ezrael, sitting down next to him. “I’m here, Ezrael.”

Ezrael just sat there shivering. The company had made him feel safer, but it also brought to light just how real whatever it was that he heard was.

“I heard a voice again…”

Misra’s face changed from concern to understanding and she quickly pulled Ezrael in to a comforting embrace, gently patting his back. “Whatever you heard… It wasn’t true, okay? It’s just… your mind playing tricks on you… Just like momma said…”

Ezrael nodded and the two stayed in each other’s embrace for a while until Ezrael had calmed down a bit. However, before they could do anything else, they were interrupted by a man from the village leaping in front of them.

“Misra! Ezrael! Thank Sengario I found you two!”

Ezrael looked up, a bit confused. “Have you been looking for us?”

“Yes! You have to come with me right now. Amelia is going to give birth soon! We have to hurry, please!”

Misra and Ezrael exchanged a few glances before picking themselves up and nodding to the man, following as he led them back to the village.

It was several hours until they had arrived and when they entered their home, it was to the sound of near silence. They made their way in to the common area of the house and were met by the smiling faces of their family, including the two new members of it. Ezrael and Misra approached cautiously, slightly confused at first as to why their mothers were holding two newborns swaddled in blankets.

Amelia smiled at them as they entered the room. “Welcome back guys… I want you to meet your two new siblings, Samantha and Viktor…”

Misra and Ezrael approached the two and smiled as they watched the two babies’ eyes widen at the sight of their siblings.

Ezrael stared at his new brother with a look of worry, but it soon softened and Ezrael offered to hold him. Amelia gently handed him over and Ezrael smiled.

“Hey little guy… I’m your big brother, Ezrael.”