To Whatever End...

Chapter 1 - Lyria

The sound of  two bo staffs clashing together was music to my ears. And as I waltzed the deadly dance of sparring with Orlon, the clanging sounds acted as a metronome. Tapping to the beat of punches thrown and kicks blocked. We continued our alternating defensive/offensive attacks, until the sounds of the bo staffs rhythmic beat was drowned by the sound of my blood rushing through my veins. The steady pulse of flooding magic and a fragile heart.

On and on the fight continued. Punch, block. Kick, dodge. Until the pounding in my ears grew too strong to ignore. Until my eyes burned with uncontrollable flames.

Fragments of flame shot from my skin, easily bouncing off the shield of wind surrounding my opponent. Ice daggers grazed past my face, but I was already rolling. I stood and lashed out my magic to form a blade of golden fire. Time for my new trick.
I pushed off the ground doing a front tuck and kicking my foot out. It collided with Orlon's jaw and he fell to the ground in an ungraceful heap. Landing to the side of my opponent, I held my flaming sword to his throat. "Yield!" I commanded and pushed my foot onto his chest for emphasis on his loss. "Never!" Orlon shouted back, and the dance began anew.
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Two hours later, Orlon and I are standing by the water cooler. The bruises, cuts, and broken ribs - which I will never let Orlon forget about - are all healed, or in the process of mending. A silence had overtaken the training rings ever since Orlon and I had battled it out, magic to magic in the second hour of sparring. Orlon had inherited our fathers icy, unforgiving winds. Whereas I had inherited our mother's uncontrollable, unending flame.

People say that Orlon is my twin. The same golden hair and Ashryver eyes. But Brannon always shut those rumors straight into the cold, hard ground.

Brannon had inherited my fathers features. His silver hair, broad tan shoulders, and hardened facial expressions, but he had the Ashryver eyes. That's why people took it as a shock, when it was revealed that Brannon and I are twins. I'm the fire to his ice.
The hearth in his winter.

Opposite yet the same.

Brannon is the other half of my soul, the other half of my heart. I could never love something completely, for my heart did not wholly belong to me. Nothing belonged fully to me. Brannon and I share everything, voluntarily.

Kaltain and Asterin called me nuts for not wanting my own chambers. For not wanting to live a separate life from my brother. Yet, how could I? It's all we've ever known. At the end of the day, we tell each other every detail of what the other went through. Though it's unnecessary to actually talk.

That's the benefit of twin telepathy.

Most believe that it's a myth, but it is real to fae. When twin fae are born, which only happens every thousand years, they are given the ability to communicate through thoughts. Brannon and I are no different.

Every hard choice I make, Brannon helps. Every fight that I fight, Brannon helps. And vice versa.
Most people think our lifestyle would make them grow crazy, or make the twins hate i each other. But, that's all we've ever known. We know about privacy, but before we had mental barriers, we didn't know there could be privacy from each other. Our parents told us that we didn't have to do everything together, but we did anyway.

Even when I enter the killing calm, doing my nightly occupation in the city, Brannon is always on the other side, waiting to pull me out of the dark.

"I have to go." I tell Orlon, who nods his head in understanding. He finishes his glass of water in one gulp, and sighs. "Okay, I have a meeting to go to anyway. But I expect round two next week." He says and stalks off.

I start walking towards my chambers, to grab a quick bath before meeting with the queen for lunch. But before I can reach my destination, I run into Cal Lochan.

"Hey, Lyria -- Wow! You're a mess." He rambles, but then realizes what he says. "Sorry. I didn't mean that to offend you. Did you just finish sparring with Orlon?" He asks, and I chuckle at his rambling. Cal always says what he thinks, no matter who or what is around. "Hey Cal, to answer your question, yes, I did just get done sparring with Orlon. And from what I hear, I also look the part." I say and smirk, shaking my head.

Cal, however, doesn't seem to understand the joke. He just scans around the room, his eyes quickly moving from one object to another until they land on me again. Cal sighs and turns to leave, when I grab his forearm. " Cal, What's wrong?" I ask and let concern show in my voice.

"I can't find Asterin. I've looked all day, with no result. Do you happen to know where she is?" Cal asks, and I understand why he was in such a hurry. Asterin is Cal's mate, and if I had a mate but they were missing... I would search the entirety of Erilea to find them.

However, I also know that Asterin is shopping with her younger brother, Roland, searching for an engagement ring. She wouldn't want anyone to ruin the quality time she has with her brother. Especially since he is looking for a ring to give to his mate.

The Blackbeak-Havilliards are the only siblings that both have mates. Marion Moonbeam and Roland have known about the bond since they were children, first starting training at Orynth. However, Cal and Asterin had only just discovered the bond. After years between those two and their childhood crushes- turned to unrequited love, and finally confessing their true feelings, I knew not to get between them. So I put on an expressionless face and told Cal that I didn't know where his mate was.
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After the meetings that drained years of my life, I finally plopped onto my bed, knowing that if I close my eyes, I wouldn't wake until morning. Lord Ren's territory had begun to lose crops, due to a drought in the area. He had come to Orynth to speak with my mother about the situation personally, and she had forced Brannon and I to join them. The meeting at first involved the problem at hand, but after the second hour, it was just mom and Lord Ren catching up on each other's lives.

Brannon and I were so bored we played truth-or-dare through our twin bond. We mostly did dares, since there were no truths about each other that one of us didn't know.

Brannon is in his room now, preparing for sleep, yet I knew he would have a restless night. He never slept well after an important meeting, his brain worrying over the problem at hand. But for now, he was on his own. He would find me in the middle of the night, if he needed my opinion. It has happened plenty before.

I grab my sheets, and go to slip under them, but I notice a black mark on my bed. It has two parrellel lines with a squiggly line across the bottom. In the middle is a mountain, with three stars. I wipe my finger across the mark, but it's burned into the sheets.

I shrug, leaving it for tomorrow, when I had energy. I fall into the warm blankets, and quickly fall into deep slumber.
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The next morning I wake to the sunlight pouring through my windows. I open my eyes and look around my bedroom, only to notice, I'm not in my bedroom.