I lived a long and eventful life of four hundred years, and yet throughout all of it, I never forgot about finding this love. I only pushed it to the back of my mind for a while. Two hundred years, to be precise.

In the meantime, while I thought this love couldn't be as important as it seemed, I ventured out on many conquests, the first of which I undertook with my brothers. As he was the oldest, Gyro had the responsibility of deciding the nature of our journey - the route we would take, what we would fight and why.

Being the oldest weighed heavily on Gyro without his realising it. Because he was superior in age, he expected himself to be superior in all other forms as well, and he took the time to ensure that he was. As a result of this, he tended to look down on his siblings, and in planning our venture, he would refuse any of our feedback or requests, going out of his way to find problems with them.

This was alright for me, as I understood his mind, and I could see why he acted the way he did. Therefore, I was able to manage him. My siblings did not respond so well. Gyro had been hard to bear before, but now he was even harder to tolerate. I imagine they felt as if he looked down on them out of vanity and spite, and a greed for the glory which he could take as his and his alone, if he were able to prove their lack of input at this stage.

Of course, he had to plan the adventure for all five of us - my sister Julika barred from taking part because of her sex - which eased my brothers' anger slightly. As did the prize he chose to seek.

We come from a small family, and no one really knows who we are. To most people, that doesn't matter much, but here, it does. Our parents pretended not to mind, but it was clear to anyone who looked that they did. A lot. Gyro saw this, and he thought what better way to win fame, than to be a family of heroes. To be more specific - magical heroes.

The Krazinsk Crystals were a legend - proof of them existed, but it was dated so far back as to be completely unreliable, and even if it wasn't, who's to say what had happened to them since? No clues about their whereabouts had been left, there was no trail to follow, no castle to storm, and the last person said to have wielded them died over a thousand years ago. They seemed impossible to find, yet Gyro was determined that these should be our goal, the object of our journey.

The Crystals possessed (or so it was rumoured) different magical abilities. They were three in the number, and each had the ability to manipulate a different Concept - Life, Matter and Other. The one who wished to take possession of a Crystal must weld it permanently into their body, allowing its power to flow through them. The Crystal of Life can manipulate all living creatures - plant or animal, man or magician. It can warp their views, puppet their actions, change the way they think, what they want - it is the most coveted Crystal, and the one set aside for Gyro.

The Crystal of Matter controls all inanimate objects, allowing the user to manipulate matter as easily as if it were a part of them. Rocks, metal and wood yielded as easily to them as their own limbs might, making them deadly in combat, for who would have the courage to fight an opponent who had the ability to rip the floor out from under you?

However, the Other Crystal is different, named due to a lack of knowledge regarding what, exactly, it controls. Some say it controls light and shadow, others claim it holds dominion over air, others that it manipulates sound and vibrations. No one quite knows.

At the time of our departure on this great quest, we were unsure who would retain possession of the stones. It was ruled that Gyro, the eldest, the leader, would be allowed possession of the Crystal of Life, but from there on it was unclear. Would Gyro take the other Crystals for himself? How would we, the other siblings, divide up the other two? And more importantly, if he wanted the other Crystals, would Gyro use his new powers against us?

The last question, though it remained unspoken, was the most worrisome for us, me especially. Just by watching the way my siblings talked about the Crystals, I knew it was assumed that I would not receive one. The black sheep is easily ruled out in situations like these. Therefore, if three of my brothers took possession of the Crystals without turning on each other, which I had little hope for, the world, and I, would be at their mercy. Entirely.

Although, it seemed more likely that the world would simply be at the mercy of Gyro and his puppets.

However, we decided to settle the issue when and if we found the Crystals for, as my brothers agreed, "What is the point in fighting over an uncertain event?". I knew they were afraid that were it settled in their favour, the rest of the company would refuse to come after all, leaving them alone. I knew they were right.

And so we set off, ambition and determination riding high, taking only what we could carry on our back - food, clothes, water, and what money our parents could spare. My brothers' wives all cried, but they smiled too, waving goodbye to their brave, heroic husbands. It didn't seem to cross their minds that the party might not return. Or that it might be successful.

The path my brother had set out for us began stable and easy, and progressed gradually to more ambitious heights which is, of course, the opposite of how it should be done. He planned to get the country trail done quickly, then move on to the mountain path and the cave circuits in an attempt to discover more information about the Crystals. However, this is not quite how it worked out.

We were camping in the forest just off from the path, all sitting around the fire together. Henry and Ignius took turns telling stories, amusing anecdotes from our youth that still served to make us laugh. Gyro drank a dark liquor and studied the map, the firelight enhancing the features of his face, occasionally chuckling at a particular event. I sat between Ignius and Priald, with Ignius on my left.

My brothers leaned forward, laughing together, drinks sloshing in their hands while I leaned back, a faint smile on my face, the firelight highlighting the hollows of my cheeks. I was present, but set apart. There, but in the shadows. I was one of them, but I didn't count. I was one of them, but I was not like them. Me - with my oily black hair, and my narrow chest frame and my flat, ab-less stomach.

Maybe I'm making too big a deal of it. It's not as if I minded. I was perfectly happy in the shadows. Less trouble in the shadows. The shadows were trustworthy. That is - until you begin to hide in them.

I, personally, couldn't understand why what happened next happened then. It seemed a perfectly happy situation to me, with laughter and food and drink and stories. But nevertheless, it was then that Priald got cold feet.