"And if this crazy plan works?"

"You can have anything. Your wildest dreams come true."

Hizar licked his blue lips. A good deal. That's what that meant. The pale woman shook his hand and gave a frightening smile to the young girl peering at her from Hizar's side. She knelt and gently took the four-year-old's chin. "You are going to be a legend, little one."

The girl didn't know what that meant yet, but she would.

At first it meant she got to sleep in the wagon. That was nice. It was warmer inside. Hizar who used to yell at her whenever she got in his way now gave her his attention freely. So did the other man who showed up. He didn't have a name. Only a knife.

He told her all about that knife, she learned how to hold it, how it balanced perfectly in even her tiny hand. She learned how to hide it, how to make it appear almost from thin air and of course how its razor edge hurt.

Her fingers became nimble even before her words did. Hizar taught her about money, how it was counted and traded for things. It had been traded for her once.

When she grew older she learned how to judge an object's worth. What was of value and what was not. By age nine she could manage a trade on her own, using her innocent face and black curls to ply as many coins from a person as possible.

At age ten the trade training began. Every town they stopped in, she was apprenticed off. First to a chef, but she wasn't very good. It was the first time Hizar yelled or struck her in a long time. Cursing her uselessness.

The next town it was an artist, but she had no eye for color. When she returned a shameful failure, she thought she might be left there. Hizar's colorful caravan rolling off without her. However, despite the continued ire, Hizar shuffled the thirteen year old off to the next place.

A tailor this time and at last success. A deal was struck and Hizar left her in the care of Master Jordair. He taught her every stitch, every pattern he knew. Her work was praised and when Hizar returned two years later, she was prepared to ask to stay.

She curtsied low, a good artisan must know how to behave around the upper class. "Hizar, I would like to stay."

Hizar laughed, ignored her, and asked her master how she'd done.

"She is talented and has studied diligently. I would not object to an extended apprenticeship," he answered, affording her one of his rare and highly prized smiles.

"But Master, you said yourself you don't have much else to teach her. A prodigy after all is a prodigy." That was Rio the ever jealous, ever shrewd second apprentice.

The master tailor sighed. "It is true."

Hizar nodded and handed Jordair an enormous bag of coins that made even the already rich artisan's eyes widen. "As promised."

Hizar turned and took the fifteen-year-old prodigy in question's arm, pulling her away. She glanced back at Jordair but was whisked away before the man could tear his eyes from the money.

The caravan was much the same, although it felt smaller as she had grown. She stuffed herself in the back and watched the closest thing to a home she'd ever had bounce into the distance.

"Don't mope. After all, we're finally going home. It's time for us to settle in phase two." Hizar winked. The girl sighed, another name then, her tenth in as many years.

However, when Hizar told her the new name she would go by she realized this was more than a temporary label. For once she recognized this name. Voice trembling with excitement she asked, "Hizar, where is home?"

"Why Aziron of course! Right, Kiana?"

The newly named Kiana blinked. Aziron was indeed Hizar's homeland, but Kiana had never been there. It was a place he'd told her stories of. Stories that were her core. Her story. The only thing she had.

Her Legend. The Legend of Kiana. She smiled and hugged her knees. It was finally time to start.

Once upon a time there was a land called Aziron. Many had tried to conquer this land but it was protected by a powerful mage. But that protection came with a price. Strict rules placed by the mage and Aziron's ruler forced the peopl to remain isolated. The rules were wicked and cruel, controlling every aspect of the people's lives. If anyone left Aziron, or married an outsider, they were branded yuji or lesser class.

And so the people suffered, the power of the mage preventing any from ending the tyranny...but that would change.

A girl, more talented than any Azir, arrived. Despite her class, her ability won her favor and she was accepted into the royal palace. When the time was right she was able to defeat the queen secretly and sever the chains that bound Aziron. With such an opening, the people demanded freedom and the mage was forced to use his power for good instead of oppression. When the people learned it was a yuji that gave them the strength they were humbled. They cast aside their differences and welcomed her with open arms praising her name. Kiana the Liberator, Kiana the Hero, Kiana the Legend.

Kiana had finally earned her name.