The spark that repels us.

, the healer saw her while his heart weighed questions and doubt. She seemed delicate, but there was an obvious quiet strength about her that defied he

d gently as she knelt next t

head to examine him c

am your father now," the words odd yet strong in

onfused her, but she nodded. "Father...," she said,

used to their declining heritage. This girl was unique; she was a child born of light whose roots h

aming her Yue for the moonlight-like radiance she bore. While the younger, Liang, had a sharp wit and an unquestion

her with elder brother protective instincts. They entertained her curious questions about the world, taught her basic duties, and

e hands neatly copying his methods for bandaging wounds or grinding herbs. She could spot plants he had taken y

me, Jian saw Yue standing over the lad, her tiny fists clenched and her eyes ablaze with rage. The lad had left, his face pallid with terror,

e hearth, Jian said, "You must

earching, she gazed

r affects everyone it comes into direct contact with, Yue." It can travel and harm people you might never even

med to grasp his remarks on one level but felt an irresistib

n's house started to spread, and he knew questions would soon follow. Hoping it would win her over with the community, he taught her the art of healing and gu

d conversation swiftly went ugly, and when Jian got there, he discovered Yue standing in the middle of the group w

grily, her voice firm in the middle of

nrepentant Yue while he worked, her golden hair shining in the afternoon sun. Though

th flickering like embers just waiting to burst out. "You cannot solve every problem with force," he insisted, his voice level but slightly

g forces battled inside her, a healer's soft touch and a warrior's feroci

t behind in the clearing while gazing at the nighttime heavens. What had happened to him? Did his essence really vanish, or did

day's events were far from over in the peaceful times when the world seemed still. Though he knew all too well that light, no

as the winds of fate started to change-that t