The trees of the Bloodthane Forest reached as tall as mountains while the branches concealed the night sky. Without the light of the two moons, the plants below refused their glow. The darkness around him was beyond that of even the darkest nights during the new moons. By the time Yatsu had reached the heart of the forest, the darkness of night had overtaken. His own hand was unable to be seen in front of his own eyes, leaving him to rely on sound to guide him. Each break of a stick, russell of a bush, or growl of an animal petrified Yatsu. It quickly prompted him to create a fire before any creature discovered his presence.

"Come on, come on, come on!" Yatsu said while he rubbed two sticks together to create a fire. Panicked, cold, and terrified made the task at hand that much more difficult. Yatsu had caused fires in this fashion before, but that was in a safe, warm, comfortable area. A firepit by a brook next to his brother watching the sunset was a place that held little danger.

He was on the run, and though he doubted the guards would enter the forest in the night, making a fire was a risk. The dangers of the forest were nothing compared to what would happen if he got caught. His life would be over. It would be seen as an attack on his father and stealing property and gold—open and shut case that would force him to be locked up the rest of his days.

Each motion of his body reminded him of the injuries he had received. The majority were bruising, which he considered lucky, but still greatly hindered his mobility. At least for the first night, there would be little he could do to fight back or run from any threats. A bush shook in the distance with a faint growl as Yatsu's attention shot directly to the origin of the sound. Sharp, reflective eyes stared at him in the distance. Yatsu quickly changed his focus back to the sticks to make the fire, rubbing faster than ever before until he could smell smoke.

"Come on, come on, catch fire you pansy sticks! Do this for me, please." Yatsu begged, checking on the eyes coming closer to him. He bit his lip to hold in the scream, working harder as the kindling sparked with a formed ember. "Thank you! You are so beautiful, now grow… You can do it, little guy. This would be so much easier as a Highborn!"

Tossing some dried leaves atop the ember, they quickly lit, fueling the more giant sticks. He bent down close to the ground, blowing air into the fire strong enough to help it grow. He carefully added three bigger sticks, preparing to add a log to help the fire endure through the night. "After all, ravenous beasts that are nocturnal would be nowhere near a plump, slow running, human. No siree…" He assured himself. Adding more kindling and dry moss to the smoke, he blew on it more to get it going. "Sure, a lyrix is taller than me, with claws as long as my forearm, but that would be on the other side of the forest tonight."

Checking around him, the lit eyes in the bushes vanished, leaving Yatsu relatively alone. He gave a sigh of relief as the warmth of the fire better calmed his nerves. He could see another log in the distance, which he rolled to himself to sit on while enjoying his creation. The light of the fire was one of the few comforts he found alone in the forest. He suppressed the thoughts of his day and the loss of his brother the best he could.

Smoke rose above him as the crackle of the fire gave the only disturbance to the forest around him. Not a single breeze passed between the trees, the life of the forest staying more silent than death. The grove of trees he chose to rest in held a small dirt field which made for the perfect camp. The logs and sticks nearby made it easy enough for him to maintain the fire.

Sitting back on his log, Yatsu buried his head between his knees and cried. His life was over, plain and simple. With his brother dead, a town center destroyed by his hand, and father sending those out to his arrest, there was nothing for him. The daggers around his belt, satchel, and Donnus' ring was all that remained in his possession.

Yatsu rubbed the tears from his eyes and wiped his nose while he tried to gather himself properly. He held the ring firmly in his hands, silently studying all the scratches and grime. "I can only imagine the wonder you've witnessed," Yatsu said, tossing it in the air and missing the catch. He picked the ring off the ground, dusting it off. "This is all I have left of you, brother."

He positioned the ring to slide onto his finger, watching it shrink to the proper size. "Woah!" Yatsu exclaimed, "A magic ring? That's insane." With what little he knew of, the inner workings of magic caused him to take a step back. There was a possibility that wielding such a ring would cause adverse effects to Yatsu, permanently harming him possibly. He eyed it a little more closely, "Well, if Donnus had it, how bad could it really be?"

Yatsu slid the ring on with ease, waiting for something to happen. The symbols lit the night around him like a beacon as Yatsu widened his eyes, scared that he would be discovered. "Don't do that! No, quiet down!" He shouted, covering up the light with his free hand, which did little to nothing. He searched his surroundings, noticing a figure behind him. Yatsu forced the ring off his finger in a worried panic, the light vanishing with only the fire to guide him.

"What was that?" He wondered aloud while looking behind him for any signs of life. He took a stick from the fire and threw it where he saw the personage, but no one was seen. "Mhm, well, that's nothing short of spooky." Still, curiosity took over as the ring fit snugly onto his finger once more.

A stream of blue light flowed from the ring like an ominous vapor that trailed behind him. The vapor descended gradually to the ground when a foot began to materialize. Yatsu's eyes widened, but he couldn't stop watching. The legs emerged with the clothes properly forming around the figure. The necklace of a moon within a sun with half its rays appeared. The man was a Highborn in the Magi Syndicate.

Yatsu stood up, the ghostly vaper following his movements as the facial features formed. The sharp jaw with a light beard and the calm eyes of someone he knew. With the well-kempt hair brushed away from his eyes, the human was fully formed. Yatsu reached his hand out to touch the ghostly man in disbelief, "Donnus?"

Yatsu's eyes rolled to the back of his head as his world turned black. Hitting the ground with a large thud, his brother stood there bewildered. "So, uh… Is this a bad time?" He said to his unconscious brother. Donnus rushed over, trying to lift his brother back onto the log when his hands continually passed through Yatsu's body. "Wake up, come on, just snap out of it, Yatsu. You spend a night in the forest just fine, but once you see a ghost, you're out cold."

A faint groan escaped from Yatsu's mouth as his eyes returned from the back of his head to see the ghostly being standing above him, "Nah, you're dead." Yatsu mumbled under his breath, still struggling to fully come to.

Donnus reached out to help his brother up as his hand phased through his brother's body. "Oh, come on!" He yelled out. "Yatsu, I need you to focus. This is serious, and you are being a child." He frustratingly yelled, sitting on the log. He tapped his foot in aggravation, "Oh sure, the log works but helping my brother doesn't."

Yatsu sat up, holding his head, waiting for the world to stop spinning. "You can't be here. You're not supposed to be here. How are you here?" He asked, rolling onto all fours to reach the other stump for somewhere to sit.

"Wish I could tell you. I mean, it's a magic ring, we know that much, but that's about it. Whether you've literally summoned my ghost, or we are communicating some other way is beyond me." Donnus sighed, leaning forward in distress. "I can't really remember much of anything. Otherwise, I'd know... The last thing I remember is from the second month of winter's horizon, I was accepted to compete in the trails to join the guild Ironfury."

"The second month? Donnus, spring is nearly over by this point. You're telling me that you have literally lost nearly five months of memories." Yatsu said, dumbfounded. He was unsure if it had anything to do with being trapped in a ring or something more serious. "According to Doriath, you were apparently killed."

"Well, that can't be true. I'm right here in front of you." Donnus pointed out.

Yatsu tilted his lips, "As a ghost." He picked up a stone and tossed it through his brother's body. "Hence, you're dead."

"Fair point, fair point… Magic has an odd way of making things work, and by the look of this odd mist, I'm connected to the ring. That's rather curious." Donnus said, leaning back and putting his feet up off the ground without falling. "So then I guess tell me everything you know."

"I literally just told you everything I know. You're the one that said you were in the process of joining Ironfury!" Yatsu said, scooting to the edge of his seat. "How was that? Did you meet Rolland and Salacane? What about Amberdon? Is the centaur really as tall as they make him out to be?"

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Donnus gave a smug smile, "So I take it you're a fan of them."

Yatsu leapt up to his feet with his hands near his chest. "Are you kidding me Donnus, they are only the greatest guild to have ever lived in Alluvion. There is nothing that they can't do. Heck, when they went to Ablefire in Solitude to retrieve Batlric's Heart. I mean, sure, it was just a crimson diamond, but the fact that they went there and returned is nothing short of extraordinary."

Donnus thinned his eyes, leaning in to get a better look at Yatsu, "Why do you have so many cuts and bruises?" He paused, standing to get a better look, "Who did this to you?"

Yatsu backed away, immediately breaking his eye contact with Donnus and shrugging. "It's not important, Donnus. What is important is the fact that you're back. You are literally standing in front of me. I… thought I lost you today… I thought I lost you years ago."

Donnus ignored Yatsu's last statement. "So it was father... That's why you're currently in the forest alone, on the run. Our father beat you, leaving you no choice but to run." Donnus shouted, turning away from Yatsu. "He has no right to do that to you. I should have been there. I needed to be there. I couldn't even protect you!" He kicked over the log as it rolled into the bushes.

"I'll admit that I did blame you. I blamed you for years. What, you came back after discovering a way to heal my hearing, and then I don't hear from you for years. What happened then, huh? You only just died two weeks ago at most. You promised to take me away from father!" Yatsu argued, shifting so that his brother had to face him.

Donnus paused a moment, blowing out a nosey breath in defeat. "The obligations of the Magi Syndicate were far too dangerous for you. There was no way that I could allow you to journey with me…" He admitted, still refusing to look Yatsu in the eyes. "I made a single promise to you and couldn't keep it. I knew how dangerous of an environment it was, but I couldn't save you."

"And how do you think I felt? My entire life, I'm told how hated I am, how worthless, how my only dream to be a Highborn is a pointless fantasy. Well, guess what, the older I got, the more each of those truths became a reality. I'm only a human, overweight and useless at best with not a single redeeming quality."

He finally glanced back at Yatsu, his eyes thinning, "That's not true at all. If that is how you see yourself, then there are far greater issues at hand here."

"I couldn't defend myself. You were gone when I was barely a kid. How could I stand up to father? How could I prove anything he said was wrong? There was no way! Donnus, I needed powers to be a Highborn or at least a magician. That was going to be my only way to finally defend myself. I couldn't be the victim because they would fear me."

"You really think that? Yatsu, the magic doesn't give you the power to overcome your problems. If you were waiting for magic so that you could be feared, then it's better that you were never gifted with magic at all." Donnus directly said.

Yatsu felt the prick in his heart, catching him off guard by the statement. Donnus continued on regardless, "Yatsu… I'm sorry, truly I am. I failed you, and that in no way was fair to you. I need to do everything I can to make that right. Now, I can't change the past, but I'm here now. You don't have to do this alone anymore, brother." Donnus promised, reaching out to Yatsu's shoulder but pulling his hand back. "What's the plan for you anyway?"

"Doesn't make any of this easier." Yatsu quietly laughed a moment, "It's funny. I was actually going to head to find Doriath to discover who killed you. Didn't think you would appear right beside me to say." He cracked a smile, sitting back down on his log. He stared into the fire as though it hypnotized him, "I mean, I doubt Doriath was going to tell me anything, but it was a start."

"Well, it appears you have a little better foundation on finding my killer now that I'm here. I mean, I don't know what use I am to you. I can kick a log but not help you up. It doesn't make any sense to me at all." Donnus said.

"Well, I mean, you were joining one of the greatest guilds of all time. That counts for something amazing, to say the least." Yatsu replied, catching himself that he needed to calm down. The last time he jumped up in excitement, the injuries made their presence known a little too well. "Where were you at for the trials anyway?"

"Galemourne, not too far from here by the looks of it. I'd recognize the atmosphere of Bloodthane Forest anywhere. Used to spend many summer nights here before leaving for the Magi Syndicate." Donnus shook his head to focus once more. "But even with knowing where they are, it's far too dangerous for you to find them to narrow down who my killer is."

Yatsu defensively leaned back, throwing his hands out. "What?" He exclaimed, "Why would you tell me that and then say don't go after them?"

"Because going after Ironfury is certain death!"

"Donnus, I'm on the run right now. The Blacksteer guards are after me, and after I defended myself against father, they could easily paint a picture for my execution." Yatsu realized how grim that honestly sounded. "That's when I realized that finding and confronting your killed was what I needed to do. If I could do anything worthwhile, it was bringing your killer to justice."

"But to get information from Ironfury is madness! First off, they only trust their own, and second off, they are, like you said, the most deadly and skilled guild in all of Alluvion. It's a death sentence that I won't let you be a part of." Donnus challenged, folding his arms. "I was assigned to infiltrate their guild when they had an opening, and if I had to guess how I was killed, it would be one of them."

"If that is the case, then I need to follow in your footsteps. You're saying that you were assigned to join Ironfury, and if you were killed, that means there is still a vacancy that needs to be filled, meaning that I stand a chance at getting invited to the trials like you were." Yatsu said. He snapped his fingers, rubbing his chin, "But what can I do to get invited?"

"Yatsu, that's far too much hearsay to have any viable ground.

He ignored his brother's ramblings, with his mind filled with solving the problem of how he gets invited into Ironfury. "I mean, let's be real, only the best of the best are invited, and if you look at me, I'm far from the best." Yatsu rambled to himself.

"I won't allow it. In no way will I allow it. What kind of brother would I be if I let you waltz into your death and share the same fate as me?" Donnus objected, throwing his hands out. "Listen to reason!"

Yatsu snapped his fingers, "I got it! Oh, do I got it. Donnus, you kicked the log, moved it with your foot when you were angry. We could continue testing what you're able to do, figure it out, you know? Once we do, we could easily impersonate me as a magician. That would be far easier and would instantly give me more street cred."

Yatsu paused, pulling out one of the daggers, swinging it around as though he was fighting an imaginary monster. "Then we could dress me up like a rogue assassin or something, creating an entirely new persona which would enable me to at least have a shot at getting invited to the trials of Ironfury."

"I can't allow you to do such things, Yatsu." Donnus declared, putting his foot down. "It's much too dangerous."

"Then you train me. We can fine-tune how you and I can impersonate being a magician, as well as teaching me the ropes to fight and whatnot. When that is over and done with, I can try to get noticed by Ironfury, and if they invite me, great, but if not, then we will find another way." Yatsu said, rather proud of his brilliant idea.

Donnus raised a suspicious eyebrow, "So if you don't get in, you will try to find another way to solve my murder?"

Yatsu put his hand over his heart, "I assure you that this is the case. You said yourself that they only trust themselves, so with that, we need to join them. It's our quickest way at information. Plus, at the same time, none of them would suspect that I'm your brother. I'm fat with curly hair and a stunning personality. I quite literally am the opposite of you."

Clearing his throat, Donnus stared down Yatsu. "Fine, but you will only try to be accepted into the trials if and when I say you are ready. That is, if they are actually happening. The first thing we need to find out is what they are up to."

"Yes, of course. If and when you say I am ready, we will try. Trust me, I want to find the one who murdered you, but I want to be smart about it. I have a death sentence, doesn't mean I'm looking for one."

"Fair point, Yatsu. Just don't get lost in the job… It's rather easy for it to consume you." He said, as though from experience. There was a howl in the distance as both their attentions shifted to the source of the noise. "We will start preparing in the morning, and we can't do that if you are deathly tired. Get some sleep. I'll watch out for you through the night."

"Aren't you going to sleep anytime soon?" Yatsu asked, tossing another few logs onto the fire.

"I'm an apparition, no need for sleep, remember? As long as you wear that ring, I will always be by your side." Donnus reassuringly said.

"Man, being trapped in a ring sounds like the life! Never tired, don't have to blink or breathe, I struggle with all that on the daily." Yatsu said, adding another log onto the fire. "Still, after everything today, I think I'm going to sleep alright."

The day's events were impossible to predict but something that he would never trade for anything. From decimating the town center single-handedly to hearing about his brother's death to standing in front of his brother's ghost was preternatural. Yatsu thought he was never going to see his brother again, let alone be able to speak with him. There was a reassuring comfort in that, and one that he was not going to take for granted.

He checked on Donnus one final time, watching as he sat down on the other side of the fire. His world was upside down, but it was nowhere near what Donnus had been through. Yatsu had to help him; there was no other way to explain it. There was a familiar blaze inside himself, something that he hadn't felt since he was a child, but he was grateful for its presence again.

Yatsu took out one of Donnus' cloaks from the satchel and laid it across himself for a blanket. Using what remained inside the bag, he fluffed up for a makeshift pillow. Though he wasn't the most comfortable, it was enough to allow him to sleep. "Could you tell me a bedtime story?"

"Could you act your age and sleep like an adult?" Donnus countered with a smirk.

"Adults forget what we used to have as children, how we used to think. Anything in the world was possible, you just had to think it, and it was so." Yatsu said, turning onto his side to get a little more comfortable. "But you're right. I'll sleep like an adult and promise to wake up with back pains and groggy until I get my morning drink."

Donnus threw his head back at the sarcastic response, "Good night Yatsu." He sat on the ground, watching the fire burn as ember and smoke floated into the air before disappearing. Still, he watched his younger brother and started to tell a story of one of his adventures as a Highborn until Yatsu began to snore with a smile across his face.