• “Avon,” Carlisle called, “come on. We’re going to be late.”
Avon rolled her eyes as she put her boots on. “We’re not going to be late,” she called out of her room. “I’m almost ready.”
    “Well, hurry up,” the boy said.
    “Patience is a virtue.” Avon could feel her brother glaring through the closed door. She shook her head, laughing quietly. Carlisle was always impatient. She tied the string on her boot and got up. She walked across her small room and opened the door. “I’m ready.”
    Carlisle glared at her. “About time.”
    “We’re an hour early. Why are you in such a rush?”
    “Dad wanted us up early.”
    Avon sighed. Their father only got them up early if it was something important. “All right,” she said. “If he wanted us up early, then let’s go.”
    They went out to the large field not far from their small cottage. The sun hadn’t risen yet, though the light from it could be seen. Carlisle carried a lantern as they walked.
    Their father, Bernard, was waiting. He grunted when he saw them. “Took you long enough.”
    “Sorry, Dad,” Carlisle said. He jerked his hand towards Avon. “This one here was taking a long time getting ready.”
    Bernard nodded. “Your mother was the same way, before she died of the plague.” He turned to Avon. “You look so much like her.”
    Avon didn’t know her mother, since she had died about a week after Avon was born.
    “All right, kids, we’ve got work to do,” Bernard said.
    “This early?” Avon asked. “It’s not even light enough to see.”
    “The work we have to do requires us to do it immediately.”
    “Oh.” Avon sighed. It was pointless arguing with her father. Either one of two things required immediate attention: either one of the female animals was giving birth, or there was something dangerous lurking at the edge of the forest. Only Bernard and his children were called upon in these situations, since Avon’s firecrafting, Carlisle’s watercrafting, and Bernard’s earthcrafting were strong enough to deal with such things. Their powers were greater than most of the villager’s since Bernard’s wife gave them her powers before she died, and she had been quite powerful herself.
    Carlisle gave Avon the lantern. “You’re going to need it more than I am if it’s something that could be a threat to the village,” he said.
    Avon nodded and took the lantern. Although it wasn’t very big, the iron frame of the lantern was quite heavy.
    They walked along to the edge of the forest. Avon thought she saw a flash of movement beyond the thick trees of the forest. She edged closer to her older brother. He looked at her, then put a finger over his lips, warning her to be quiet. Bernard stopped right at the edge of the forest and scanned through the trees, as if looking for something. Then, a large, pale man with dark hair and eyes, wearing nothing but a loincloth around his waist, stepped out of the forest.
    It was Gakuto, the clan chief of Blass Volk.