When Lady Ney first saw Dawnstar, she was reminded of her younger brother. It was a memory filled with shock and grief.

This was back when she known by another name. Back when she was young and guileless, when the only things that occupied her mind was what she should wear to court. She was Serena Avar, of House Avar, then - a young teenage girl with innocent dreams.

Her brother, Sebastian, was a few younger than her, and he was heir to the dukedom. He had been fawned over by all, even by Serena herself. Despite the fact that she was often overlooked in favor of her brother, she bore no jealously nor envy towards him. Sebastian always had an easy way of making people love him. All he needed to do was to flash that half-cocked grin, which was paradoxically equal parts sheepish and bold, and all his mischief would be forgiven.

That changed after the fever. He became quiet and secretive. His eyes had a different quality to them, it was as if he was constantly searching for something, so constantly darting were they. But most of all were the changes to his memory, for he had none. He did not remember his friends, nor he did not remember his parents. He did not remember her.

The doctor had said that such a phenomenon was rare but not unheard of, and that some had regained their memories after some time.

Time was all he needed, the doctor said.

And so, Lord Avar and Lady Avar held out hope.

But Serena knew better. She had been nursing him in the last months of his illness, and he was always himself, even in the throes of the fever that would take him in the night.

He was always himself till he suddenly wasn't.

And he was getting worse.

Day after day, he grew more withdrawn, and more agitated. He became convinced that this was not where he was supposed to be. Serena had asked him then, where he would want to be.

"Home." That was the reply she got.

Her suspicions, which she had been denying out of a deference to her parents' hope, was confirmed then.

This was not her brother.

Then who was he?

That question shook Serena to her core. A sudden change in personality. Forgotten memories. Different eyes. These were all the signs of a woebearer.

Throughout the five kingdoms, there was one universal decree - Kill the Woebearer. They were rumored to be heralds of the apocalypse, bearing with them forbidden knowledge. They corrupt all whom they come into contact with. It was even said that a woebearer who plunged the world into chaos during the last Great War some centuries ago.

But he couldn't be. Could he?

While what was in front of her may not have been her brother, she did not sense an all corrupting evil emanating from him. He did not have any forbidden knowledge, at least none that was revealed by his answers. Serena didn't think he had any knowledge at all. In fact, the only thing she could sense from him was fear. He was afraid.

And to name him publicly would be his death sentence. He may not have been Sebastian Avar, but he still bore his face. He still bore his likeness, his voice, his scent. Everything that could've been Sebastian was this... thing. This poor scared thing. She couldn't bring herself to do it. She could not visit such a judgement upon him, and definitely not upon her parents.

So what should she do then? A myriad questions plagued her mind.

Is he truly a woebearer? If he not truly Sebastian then where is my brother? Should I tell mother and father? What should I do?

The innocent dreams that Serena once had were now filled with dark, ominous thoughts.

Weeks after 'Sebastian's' miraculous recovery, Duke Avar held a grand party to celebrate. Every last Avar was present, even the cadet branches came. Everyone came, save Serena. She was troubled by the truth of her 'brother', and stayed away from the celebrations.

No expense was spared. The great feasting hall of Avar was brought back to its former glory, iced spirits were brought in from the Eastern Peaks, even the elusive Blue Troupe was hired for entertainment. It was a spectacle in every sense of the word.

Duke Avar wanted to show strength. He wanted for everyone to see that his son was alive and well. He wanted them to know that the line of Avar, his line, was secure. But most of all, he wanted to see a smile on his son's face - it was a sight foreign to him since Sebastian's recovery.

But 'Sebastian' was far from healthy. On the surface he looked fine, but there was a sickness in him, a sickness of the mind. If one stood close enough, one could hear the words he was muttering under his breath.

"This is a dream. I must wake up. I must wake up. I must..."

After the initial toasts, the Blue Troupe began performing their new play - a comedy, much to the delight of the guests. Many jostled for better vantage point in the hall.

No one noticed Sebastian slinking off towards the kegs of iced spirits. The guests were completely enthralled by the show. The spirits were in the opposite direction. Even the servants crowded to the front for a better look. Some were even standing on the tables.

When the duke finally noticed his son's absence, he searched for him amongst masses behind. In the corner of his eye, he spotted a small figure near the spirits.

It was his son.

He was pouring the keg over himself.

The old duke shouted, but his voice was caught in the middle of his throat. He rushed forwards towards Sebastian, against the crowds.

"SOMEONE! HOLD HIM!"

Sebastian reached for a torch.

The crowd, urged by the duke, turned.

A sudden and great fire erupted, and there was a small writhing figure within.

The duke then ran headlong into the flames, trying to pull Sebastian out. But the fire was too fierce and all he could reach for was an arm charred black. It was an arm that broke off when he held it.

The inferno consumed the duke shortly after, and when it was done, it turned on the rest of House Avar.

When Serena finally came to the hall, there was nothing left.

"Now, children. Can you tell me the one law that is universal in all the realms?"

Standing in the room, opposite a seated Dawnstar and Ravenna, was Father Erdos. At first glance he was like any other elder academic - wizened and a little deranged. He even smelt like old books. Were it not for his golden nose, he would've been the very image of older professors one would find at college - The kind of professors that were masters in their field but could not, for the life of them, work the projector.

By the way, "golden nose" is not a euphemism, Father Erdos had a literal golden nose, and and it shone like gold only could. It had been two weeks since Dawnstar and Ravenna begun lessons, but never once did the topic of his nose came up. Whether by design or chance, that nose became the proverbial elephant in the room.

It was incredibly distracting. Especially when the golden nose sometimes looked like a third eye that was constantly glaring at them. Erdos rapped his knuckes on Ravenna's desk. The question he posed earlier was not rhetorical.

"Kill the Woebearer." Ravenna quipped.

"Yes, very good. Do you know how it came to be?"

Dawnstar had heard the term woebearer before, he knew that it referred to people like him, and he definitely knew of the law that demanded his death. It was called the 'universal commandment', and apparently, everyone in this world knew of it.

All the stories he'd heard about woebearers were objectively terrible. Every single one of them was depicted as murderous demons who killed all in their wake. Those that they did not kill, they made mad. They turned loyal servants against their masters, brothers against brothers, and children against their parents. It was as if the monsters of Dracula, Frankenstein and Cthulhu were all merged into this one horrific creature - woebearer. A creature whom which they blamed for all the evils of the world.

"Because woebearers are evil." Dawnstar replied. The answer had left a bitter taste in his mouth, and he wanted to distance himself as far away as possible from the topic at hand.

"That is an answer that is unlike you, surely you can do better?" Erdos pressed the question on Edward, as any good teacher would.

And he was right, Dawnstar had been an exceptional student possessing an insight far beyond his years. Much to the chagrin of Ravenna, they had often engaged in long discussions on far ranging subjects. A forty year-old man debating a a child whose yet to be four! If one had told him that was what exactly he would be doing, and enjoy doing, before he came to the Ney estate, he would have treated them for madness.

Yet here he was, doing exactly that, or in this particular case, hoping for that to happen.

It seemed that in some areas, Dawnstar's knowledge may have rivaled his own.

It almost seemed otherworldly.

That prospect excited him. He could care less about appearances, and much less about age.

"Maybe I'm not as smart as you think I am?" Dawnstar attempted to avoid the premise behind that question. He wanted the lesson to end. Right now.

That answer chilled the normally energetic air of their lessons.

Even Ravenna was surprised at that reply. Much as she hated this interloper into her home, she could not deny Dawnstar's intellect. This was peculiar considering his previous behavior during class. There must be a reason for this reticence on his part. Ravenna, like a predator, sensed an opportunity and pounced.

"Why don't you want to talk about it?" Ravenna interjected. She wanted to see him squirm.

"At least I didn't wet my bed."

Edward had brought out the big guns. Ravenna flushed scarlet before tossing an jar of ink in his direction. It went wide.

"CHILDREN!"

Edros shouted, and that was the end of that. They were children after all.

Unbeknownst to all of them, an intricately carved plaque on the side of the wall served as a hidden window for eavesdropping. Lady Ney had been observing them ever since the beginning.

~~Serena~~

I still remember what Antoine told me when he first courted me.

"You are beautiful, but I'm not marrying you for your looks. I'm marrying you for your inheritance. I do not intend to see it squandered or wasted like any of your other would-be suitors, instead, I will use it. I will use it to build power and influence. I will use it to make sure no one can come against us, but I will only do so with you, with your blessing."

He may not have been the best man, but he was my best bet. The ruin of house Avar was widely known and there was a sickness in men that drove them to gloat over other's troubles. I realized then that Antoine's reputation was not well deserved. His face and his stature was his misfortune. I had mine.

Our union was fruitful. He was honorable and he had kept his word. For a time, both of us plotted together against our enemies.

That changed when Ravenna was born. She was more beautiful that anything I could ever imagine. She had the bright violet eyes of Antoine's house and she had my father's ears. She was my baby, and I wanted more than anything, for her to be happy.

Antoine saw her as a means to advance our interests and we fought over it, constantly. I could not fault him, for I was the one who had changed, and he had not. So I retired from the court to our estate, with my precious Ravenna.

And all was well, till he brought that bastard here.

But I wasn't angry , one would think I would be, but I know the realities. Ravenna, as beautiful and intelligent as she was, was not a son. Yes, he named her his heir, he even managed to get a pragmatic sanction from the king. An act which was without precedent, virtually unheard of throughout the realm.

God knows what he had to do for that.

If he wants to raise him under our roof, so be it. If he wants to legitimize him, so be it. Even if he wants to name him his heir, so be it. I wonder why he still tries to deny that Dawnstar is his.

This world is not kind to women. I know this all too well. Even if she was named heir under her own right, men will seek to control her. They will ply her with honeyed words, and lay traps for her at every turn. I do not want Ravenna to live as I did.

Yet I was not at peace. There is something wrong with that child, Dawnstar. I knew it the moment I laid eyes on him. He is too much... like Sebastian.

There is an incongruity about him. His movements are too deft, and his words too precise for a three year old. Those eyes of his, violet as it may be, has that same shifty quality as that... thing had. My suspicions deepened when I spied upon their joint lessons. The knowledge he had, it did not come from us, it did not come from our library.

It came from somewhere else.

And then he declined to speak about woebearers. One might think me irrational, this by all appearances, was a three year old child. But if one watched him closely, one would know that he was deliberately keeping mum about the subject. I knew then, that he was one.

A Woebearer. Same as Sebastian.

I just needed to confirm it.

I needed proof.

So here I am, outside near the children's hovel, for the umpteenth time.

How many months has it been now? Three? Four? No matter.

He has turned these children into his pawns as a woebearer would, I'm sure of it. Why else would he spend so much time with them? Why else would he teach them? Why else would he sneak out in the dark of night with them?

The things I have heard, I have no doubt it was forbidden knowledge. I just needed something conclusive.

I will not allow what happened to happen again.

Lady Ney stood behind the far end of the hovel, near an abandoned wagon. Night had already descended, and the moon was all the light she had needed. Darkness was her ally.

For weeks now, she had been observing him within the confines of the estate. He was a busy little child. He had been moving to and fro from the manor to this hovel, and recently with his siblings at night, to town. Unfortunately she could not follow them there, as her face was far too recognizable amongst the townfolk, but she had no doubt that she would be able to get the proof she needed here.

Here, out of sight of the manor and indeed anyone else, they had all the privacy they could want.

She only needed to wait, and she was a very patient woman.

When the bunch of rascals finally came back, Lady Ney swiftly walked to to hovel's back wall. They had been later than usual.

She pressed her ear to a crevice in the wall. It was clear that she had done this many times. A huge commotion of cries and shouts was all she could hear. Then one of the girls began a rant.

This was peculiar.

Normally they would've been laughing.

This was it.

Lady Ney strained to hear the details. She closed her eyes to focus.

The children suddenly went silent. It seemed as if both of them anticipated a answer.

Then Dawnstar spoke.

"I am a Woebearer."