Zyrell hadn't cried since he was 7. His mother had just passed and he hadn't completely understood why they were taking her away, why her face was covered or why he was supposed to go live with his Uncle. That had been seven years ago. Eight years since he had shed his last tear. But when the Azure Mark singed itself onto his right hand he cried like a little baby-back-bitch.

He had been in the market. Thomas one of his cousin's friends had found a stray cat. Thomas was older than Zyrell and all of his cousin but still like to hang around the little kids more than the older ones. He could boss the little ones around while the older ones weren't putting up with any of his shit.

Thomas picked up the cat and loaded it into a pillowcase.

"What are you doing?" Zy asked.

"I'm gonna' toss the fucker off the bridge."

"Why?" Zy said with a frown.

"What do you mean why?" Thomas said incredulously. "Because its fun! That's why! ye stupid fuck!"

Zy sighed. "Listen, Tom gimme the cat."

"Don't call me Tom. Its Thomas. Only my dad calls me Tom. Ye aren't my dad. Are ye?"

Zyrell cracked a smirk. He couldn't resist. "I mean. The way your mom gets around there's no telling who your dad is."

Thomas angrily took a step towards the edge of the bridge. It was the Month of Chrysanthemums and it was dead cold. The water wasn't frozen but it wouldn't be a fun swim..

"Wait!" Zy took a step toward Thomas. "Just give me the cat and I'll give you a gold coin."

"A gold coin? Where did you find a gold coin?"

Zyrell held out a coin in his hand. When Thomas reached for it Zyrell made it look like the coin had disappeared when really it was Zyrell tucked the between two of his fingers on the backside of his hand.

"Cat first," Zy demanded.

"If I give you the cat you'll just pocket the coin"

"If I pocket the coin you can just beat me up and take it. But you'll never be able to beat me up with a bagged cat in you hands."

Zyrell lied. The moment Thomas handed over that cat he was going to run. Thomas thought carefully. He looked Zyrell up and down the he seem to come to a decision.

"You want the cat?" Thomas held out the bag. "HERE!" Thomas tossed the bag over the edge of the bridge. Zyrell watched as the pillowcase hit the water with a splash! his younger cousin screamed.

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A moment later Zy felt an oversized fist slam into his face. He hit the ground with a thud a felt his another kick as Thomas delivered a blow to Zyrell's guts. Thomas took the coin and left laughing.

***

The cat washed up further downstream. The sound him on the river bank. It was a calico. It's fur was matted and wet. The cat was young maybe barely even a year old. Still a kitten. Zy wanted to feel anger. He wanted to feel RAGE. He wanted to beat the shit out of Thomas. All he felt was sadness. Sadness that this little creature hadn't known much of life. It died a cold death.

Still, no tears came. Not at first.

Zy grabbed his hand and squeezed. It felt as if someone were pressing a branding iron again the back of his hand. However there was nothing there. No attacker to fight back against. No hot metal to get away from. Zyrell just had to sit there and deal with it. As he dealt with most things in life.

"Oh shit! Zy. what wrong?" One of his cousins asked.

"No I'm not okay." Zyrell yelled. "Do I look okay,"

Here is where the tears came! The pain was too much and whatever dam Zyrell had built inside his mind to hold back the waterworks broke. Shattered! Tears streamed down his face and in moments his dark brown face was wetter than the kitten's.

Finally after a moment the fire faded from his hand and Zyrell looked. His hand glowed. A brilliant blue light shown from the back of his hand brighter than any torch. The light dance with a blue hue. On the back of his the emblem of a sword had been branded into his dark skin.

"What's wrong with him now?" A lady the size of a large cow push her way through the crowd of children. During the fight with Thomans one of his cousin's had went to go get his mother, Zyrell's aunt by marriage.

"Zyrell. You little shit! What the hell did you do to yerself?"

"Nothing," Zyrell said.

"What!?"

"I didn't do nothing."

"I DiDn'T dO NuThAn." Auntie Barbara mocked. "It sure doesn't look like you did nuthan. Let me see."

However much his hand hurt whatever Auntie Barbara who do you heal it would be ten times worse. She was heavy handed and always smelled like bad meat even though she was a blacksmith's wife and had nothing do to do with meat of any kind. She didn't even cook. Zy wasn't even sure she ate. She just grew fat feeding off pain and misery of others for sustenance.

Zyrell held his hand tightly. She wasn't having it. She saw the light coming from Zyrell's hands and reach out to grab him. She grabbed his hand and held it out. Then jumped when she saw it.

"Holy shit!" She stumbled backwards. "Ace," she said to one of her kids. "Get the Sheriff."

"The Sheriff?"

"Did I stutter?"

Ace ran off at full speed as fast as his little legs could take him.

"Why are you getting the Sheriff? I didn't do nothing." Zyrell repeated for the second time.

"Oh, you've done something alright." Barbara said licking her fat lips. "You've made us rich!"

"Let the boy go Barbara," Zyrell's uncle said. He was just as big as his wife but without the personality of a dying bear. In fact Uncle Logi was very kindhearted. How he ended up with a beast of a wife Zy would never know.

Sometimes he'd feel bad for Barbara. Even when she was at her worst. The people of the town often made fun of her weight--Zyrell being one of them. There were moments he regretted thinking of her as a fat-cow. But then she'd do something simply awful to someone or one of her kids and his compassion for her would dissipate. Dissipate. But it would never leave him however and he'd go right back to feeling bad for his aunt. It was a constant battle between empathy and wanting to drop kick her in the gut.

"Logi, the boy has the mark. He has the mark of the Four Braves."

"Are ye sure?"

"Of course I'm sure. Do I look stupid to you?" Logi gave her a look that said "do you really want me to answer that" but he didn't say it out-loud.

Instead he strode over to Zyrell and and took a long glance at him.

"Well look at that. Looks like we got a hero in the family!"