The moon shone over the courtyard that Kaylin sat in. The courtyard was surrounded on all sides by the manor. In fact this little hidden area was where the rooms for the Ladies sat. Kaylin sighed a bit as she glanced around. It was midnight on a warm spring night and she'd had enough of her father's house. She had just come of age recently but so much of the coven she'd learned about the blood and her duties was gone. Janelle had died the previous winter and she had begun to loose touch with the others of the Dark Court. Kaylin was a pretty enough woman and a good if inexperienced queen. She had long raven's wing hair that curled around her face and golden eyes. She would look only Eyrien if not for the slightly pointed ears that revealed Dea Al Mon blood. Tonight she wore a man's shirt that went to her knees. It was one of her father's actually that she'd stolen years ago and hadn't quite given back. It was loose on her but had begun to get tighter and clingier than when she'd been little. Her black wings wrapped around her softly as she looked up at the full moon and shook her head. Her little garden wasn’t calming her as it usually did. She was beginning to feel cooped up like she’d been gone to long from the outside world. She didn’t know as much about the Realms as she used to and although her father had tried to keep her informed about the changes ever since she’d realized that her friends would get old and die, she’d been distant. She was thinking about how she would make the offering soon. In fact her father was hoping she would make it within the next week or so. Her virgin night had come and gone without incident and her father was certain she was strong enough to make the offering as well as form a court of her own. Yet she didn’t have that many friends or people she knew anymore. She’d spent the last several years moving farther and farther back from the friends she’d had. She looked up hearing footsteps somewhere behind her. She wondered who would have come here at this time of night. It had to be family or someone her father trusted quite a bit.

He had begun to express concern about the way she was pulling back despite not being full grown. Just that evening at dinner he’d lectured her about the importance of remaining a part of life and that all things returned to the Darkness when it was their time. She wondered what he was going to try now to get her to do as he wished. Although she knew her father would never force her to do anything, he was a good man. In fact her father would most likely be her Steward if she ever formed a court. She trusted him implicitly and she felt the tug of Queen to Warlord Prince around him. She always had. She had several brothers but didn’t know them very well since they were mostly grown and had moved out of the house by now. She remembered Cassidy, the rose jeweled queen, of Shalador Nehele fondly and smiled a little at the memories. She spoke in a soft voice that held a whisper of darkness to it, “Who’s there?” A simple question yet asked by her this night. She wasn’t sure she recognized the psychic scent but there was something about it that called to her. She couldn't tell for certain whether it was a man or woman who stood in the shadows but she took a deep breath and rose. Around her neck was a silver chain and setting for a Sapphire jewel. She wasn't afraid but she was wary since she had no sisters. It wasn't like there was often anyone else in this part of the house but she missed the way they'd hopped from balcony to balcony when she'd been younger. She turned toward where she'd heard the footsteps, her eyes glittering a little as she drew on her jewel a little bit. A small ball of witchlight appeared and she pushed it toward the shadows to see who had entered what she often considered her private place.

(As Kaylin)

It was late evening, the shops just closing in Halway when an Eyrien boy tumbled from the sky onto the main street of the village. His black hair was long falling almost to his shoulders and was held back loosely with a leather thong. His gold eyes were glazed with pain and one of his wings was broken. It appeared he'd tried to make the run before it was time. The rose jewel around his neck was dull and empty, he'd drained it and forgotten to shield when he attempted the run. He whimpered in pain as he tried to get up. He wasn't sure where he was but it felt different. He'd been born in Askavi Tereille and he knew he wasn't in the Light Realm anymore. The streets of the village were quiet but it was certain the people had realized there was a stranger in their midst. He snarled a little knowing his wing was broken and he wouldn't be moving much anytime soon yet he didn't want to lay here in the open where anyone or thing could attack him. His jewel was drained so he drew the bladed weapon his people called the sticks from his back wincing in pain as he did so. He glanced around as he moved into a crouch wary in case of attack. His temper was up and that wasn't a good sign. His scent was unmistakeably Warlord Prince and it was just as obvious that he hadn't made the Offering to Darkness yet.

(As Tylar)