Ann glanced away from the sky towards Brandon and she said icily. “I have a million stories about the Brotherhood that I could share with you, but none of them are very joyous...” Ann sighed. “I guess I will take this opportunity to tell you of the Game and how I was trained to play it. And about the day my best friend was killed in front of me.”

In the silence for Ann’s response Brandon, who had taken a big bite out of the smoked elk and now had a mouth full of half chewed gamy meat, could only stare at Ann In shook at her sudden confession. Soon he was pushing the meat aside with his tongue so he could speak Brandon mumbled a quiet solemn. “The Game? Ive head about it...some kind of twisted power game Mana Users play against each other right? Tell me what happened?”

Ann blinked her eyes, then she closed the dark black orbs and she said. “It is not a pleasant memory to recall Brandon...but since I was the one who started this whole conversation to begin with...here goes. Honestly its probably related to why Ive been getting so uncomfortable about this whole Ishtar things as of late...”

Ann’s intelligent gaze feathered open and in their depths burned anger and disgusts...or more like self-shame. The Mana User began her story with a small roll of her head on her shoulder as if fighting a chill. “I think I was nine years old at the time...?”

Ann pulled her knees. “I had a friend, an ugly young blond headed girl with freckles like poppy seeds all over her skin. Her name was Melda...she wasn’t too strong or smart, but she reminded me of a dog I once owned, back when I lived with my family...”

Jezz Ann that’s harsh...a dog? Wait....Family...? Ann has a family? I mean like a real family outside of the Alchemists? Holy...!

Brandon waved a hand to catch her attention and he blurted out in some surprise. “Ann you have a family? I mean you have a family outside of the Brotherhood!? Where are they? Why haven’t you said anything about them?”

Ann looked at him and she shook her head. “Im sorry I just misspoke. I am an orphan Brandon..” she expressed. “I grew up with a family of forgotten children near the warm Mediterranean Continent, around bone dry beaches with white sands and boiled sea weed for breakfast lunch and dinner...maybe a few feted shrimp if we got lucky...”

Brandon let his jovial waving hand drop and he said. “Oh...Im sorry...”

Ann shrugged and looked back to the flames. “I was but one of many who had the same story and to me that made it seem less tragic...” She offered then she moved on. “Anyway the important thing about my orphanage is that we are one of the few that is financially supported through the graces of the Brotherhood. They transmuted meager coin and even food for the Nuns of the Orphanage....and in exchange the Children of the Sun were give free pick of the mangy litters within them.”

Brandon chest squeezed hard and he felt his throat go dry as he recalled the one child he had been given to feed on in the Base.

Was he one of them....?

Brandon wondered in harsh torment.

Was that little boy one of the orphans the Brotherhood sacrificed?

Unaware of his train of thought Ann continued her tale. “Because the Brotherhood needs to bring in fresh blood every half decade or so to keep the growing population of Mana Users from in-breeding and having to many crossed bloodlines the Alchemists go out into the Mortal cities and pluck any child that displays the budding aptitude for manifesting their Will and harnessing Mana....”

Brandon thought about this for a second, pulling his mind away from the horrors of his own past so he could focus on the present and on Ann as he asked. “Ann do...I mean in order to determine if these kids have the aptitude for Mana do they Burn them?”

Internally Brandon felt cold ice coil over his temples as he remembered how his own Mana had been jolted awake inside of him when Eric forced him to manifest his Will by “Burning’ the awareness of the seething sense of Mana into his soul.

According to Ann the aptly named Burn, an act of Burning a Novice, was rarely practiced anymore in the Brotherhood because countless Novices had simply went insane or dried up inside from being forced to open their souls completely to such a corrosive and intensive power like Mana, but Eric Aron hadn’t cared if Brandon had lost his mind and had forced the Druid into the ritual regardless of the risk it held to his soul.

The process was apparently something once used to break in newer Alchemists, who were struggling or refusing to manifest their own powers, but the process was extremely excruciating and in many cases a Novice that was Burned into awakening to Mana went insane and their minds shattered. Brandon was lucky that this fate had not befallen him when Eric had Burned him....but the Druid didn’t want to think about why he didn’t crack and go insane at the wicked touch of Mana like other Mana Users had before him.

“Oh uh-uh....” Ann quickly shook her head in denial once and held up a finger. “Using the Burn on a child was already an outdated and frowned upon practice by the time I was being tested so the Brothers and Sisters who came to the Orphanages wouldn’t have used such rough tactics on us. Besides if they Burned us and we lost our minds that was seen as a waste of a potential novice for no good reason.”

Ann lectured, and then she tapped her pointer finger on the edge of her thumb nail and said. “Instead the test for determining the aptitude of the kids was done through the act of cutting our blood and having our essence mixed inside of a special silver Chalice...”

Intrigued the more she talked Brandon quipped “Special? In what way exactly?”

Ann sniffed and she shifted her hands back to her lap. “I have expressed this to you before yes? There is a special branch in Alchemy known as Transmutation, the act of transforming and reforming the Mana in objects into other forms. Well there are often objects used in Transmutation, these objects can take the form of anything from Blades to clothing and they can all have interesting properties instilled in them by the Will of the Alchemists that created them.”

Brandon listened then he nodded in understanding. Ann had told him of Transmutation, and Brandon had the basic ability to manipulate small pebbles and even a little bit of wind but seeing as this form of Alchemy required much more control and a basic fundamental understanding of how to manipulate, layer and change the Mana of multiple objects all at once the Druid had yet to even being to understand the principles of the discipline of creating an entire weapon or a large ornate piece of carved stone/simple cloth.

Ann resumed by saying. “Well the Chalices of Aptitude are created by Transmutation, powerful Transmutation Alchemy and the properties instilled in them cause the Mana in the Chalices to glimmer brightly when the blood of a Child of the Sun touches the water inside of them.”

“Glimmer only when the blood of a Mana User is in it...that kind of specific and boring if you ask me....” Brandon mused biting his jerky.

Ann just waved him off and replied. “Transmutation Alchemy is true science Brandon. It is intricate and very hard to simply fashion new solid objects out of others lesser and weaker elements, it costs an incredible amount of the Mana Users Will so creating solid silver chalices that glimmer and can read the smallest hint of Mana in the blood of mortals is not as boring as it may seem....”

Ann then swiped at her ear as she shrugged and explained. “Besides there are of course much more dangerous and exceptional destructive creations once can make with Transmutation Alchemy if one desired to do so...for example I know of a Sister highly proficient in Transmutation who figured out how to mix her clothing with the combined Mana of pure toxic silver and the spikes of a Morningstar thus creating a full body liquid metal flowing garment more lethal than a blade to a Shifter. Now imagine if one of the Leopard Shifters turned their bodies to bloody hamburger when they tried to cut her and she released silver spikes deep into their bodies?”

An instant cramp of sickness Brandon at the thought of any of the Guardians coming into contact with the toxic touch of silver, as well as thinking of them breaking their teeth or claws on clothing that would burn them and weaken them at every touch.

Ann must have seen the sickly thoughts cross his face because she quietly said. “Don’t worry...as I have explained already Transmutation Alchemy is taxing and takes a very gifted Mana User to do it. Besides creating a full body suit of silver would not actually be worth it, when most Alchemists would rather focus their Mana into attacking with wind and stones, and creating silver weapons to attack with if they have to...”

“Right...” Brandon said back, still not able to shake his disquiet, but he smiled and waved Ann back to the original topic. “So, you were saying that they cut you and used these Transmuted Chalices on the kids in the Orphanage.”

Ann took a breath and launched back into her tale at him prompting. “Yes...” She quietly breathed. “The cut was applied to all of the children and in the end only me and my friend Melda were able to make the Chalice glimmer, we had the aptitude. I was stronger than Melda, but we were taken that week from the orphanage, dropped into a portal and transported in an instant to what would become my new home....”

Ann stopped and then she whispered the next part. “...and eventually it would be Meldas grave.”