Although it was painfully obvious, Chase tried to ignore the resentment pooling off his brother as they assisted Devin Trunswick in getting dressed. To be honest, both boys would rather do anything else.

But - as they had been told multiple times - Devin was the eldest son of Eric, the Earl Of Trunswick, and Chase and Conor were the third - twin - sons of Fenray, Herder of sheep. Their father had incurred debts to the Earl, and the twins were helping to work them off as servants to Devin. It was horrendous, but it had begun over a year ago. According to both their parents, it was set to last at least two more.

Chase knew that - while he held the garment in place - Conor had to hook each clasp on the back of the coat correctly, or it would hang strangely - crooked perhaps. Devin would hear about it for weeks, and the twins would be at his wrath. Again. Now, the fine material was way more decorative than needed. Both boys had said that - if the blessing came and Devin was caught in a storm with such a garment on - he would wish for something much heavier and . . . well . . . warm.

"Are you done fussing around back there?" Devin asked with an exasperated sigh.

"Sorry for the delay, milord," Conor replied, with a look at Chase. "There are forty-eight clasps. I'm just now linking the fortieth."

"How many more days will this take? I'm about to die of old age! Are you just inventing numbers?"

Chase resisted a sharp reply. Having grown up counting sheep and chickens, he and Conor probably knew their numbers better than Devin. But Conor always said that arguing with a noble caused more trouble than it was worth. Sometimes Devin seemed to deliberately tempt them. "It's my best guess."

The door flew open and Dawson, Devin's younger brother, burst into the room, followed by his younger twin, Delmira. "Are you still getting dressed, Devin?"

"Don't blame me," Devin said, glancing at Chase. "Conor keeps napping."

The twin servants only gave the Earl's twins a brief look. Conor rolled his eyes, and Chase gave an exasperated sigh. How much longer would this take? He wanted to be ready for his Ceremony, too.

"How could Conor fall asleep?" Dawson asked, chuckling lightly. "Everything you say, brother, is so interesting."

Delmira nudged him. "Devin probably spoke so long that Conor dozed off for a moment." She stepped toward the blonde boy and poked him. "He doesn't look asleep to me."

Chase chuckled and watched as Conor tried not to smile. Dawson hardly ever stopped talking, which was annoying at times, but also funny. Delmira seemed to be the quieter of the bunch, often trailing behind her brother despite being older.

"Aren't you done yet?" Devin complained to Conor, jolting Chase back into the reality. "How many are left?"

Chase rolled his eyes as his younger twin spoke in an irritated tone. "Five."

"Think you'll summon a spirit animal, Devin?" Dawson asked.

"I don't see why not," Devin responded lightly. "Grandfather called a mongoose. Father produced a lynx."

Today was the Trunswick Nectar Ceremony. In less than an hour, the local children who turned eleven this month would each try to call a spirit animal. Chase knew that some families would call spirit animals more than other. Even so, calling a spirit animal was never guaranteed, no matter what your family name. It was a truly a quest for worthiness, as only the worthy could call a spirit animals. There were only four kids scheduled to drink the Nectar this month, and the odds were against any of them succeeding. It was certainly nothing to boast about before it happened. A snotty noble could definitely not be worthy.
"What animal do you think you'll get?" Dawson wondered.

"Your guess is as good as mine," Devin said. "What do you expect?"

"A chipmunk," Dawson predicted.

Delmira bounced a little. "A fish!"

Devin lunged at his little siblings, who scampered away, giggling. Dawson and Delmira were not dressed as formally as their older brother, which allowed them both freer movement. Still, Devin soon caught them and tackled them to the floor, pinning them down.

"A bear would be more likely," Devin said, grinding his elbow into his brother's chest while poking his sister in between the eyes. "Or a wildcat, like Father. First thing I'll do is have it taste you two."

Chase rolled his eyes and leaned back, watching this exchange with boredom. He noticed that Conor was trying his hardest to remain patient, but years of living with him showed Chase the little signs of his brother's irritation - his twitching fingers, the clenched teeth.

"You might get nothing," Dawson suddenly deadpanned.

Delmira nodded. "True! What if you don't call anything?"

"Then all I'll be is Earl of Trunswick," Devin responded. "And your master."

"Not if Father outlives you." Dawson hissed bravely.

Devin growled. "I'd mind my tongue, second set."

"I'm glad I'm not you!" Delmira shouted.

Devin twisted Dawson and Delmira's noses until both yelped in pain. Then the insufferable noble stood up, brushing off his trousers. "At least my nose isn't sore."

"Conor and Chase will drink the Nectar too!" Dawson cried out, startling the twins. "Maybe one of them will calla spirit animal!"

Chase gave a wistful sigh as Conor flinched. He knew that his brother hoped to call something just as much as the boy himself hoped. It couldn't be helped. Nobody - however - had called a spirit animal in the Fenray family since decades. Didn't mean one couldn't hope, though.

"Right." Devin snorted. "And I suppose the smith's daughter will summon one as well."

"You never know." Dawson countered, sitting up and rubbing his nose. "Conor, what would you like to have?"
Chase watched Conor stare at the floor in discomfort before replying in the meek tone both had come to use when speaking. "I've always gotten on well with dogs. I'd like a sheepdog, I guess."

Delmira poked Chase. "And you? Anything of particular interest?"

Chase looked down at the small girl and smiled weakly. "I've taken care of deer for years - so perhaps a doe."

"What a pair of imaginations!" Devin sneered. "The sheepherder and the deerkeeper dream of calling a sheepdog and a doe."

"A dog would be fun." Dawson defended Conor.

Delmira tightened her grip on Chase. "And a deer would be lovely."

"And common," Devin countered. "How many dogs do you have, Conor? Chase? How many deer?"

"Our family?" Conor thought for a moment. "Ten last I counted,"

Chase replied immediately after. "Ten does and twelve bucks."

"How long since you've seen your family?" Delmira asked.

Chase heard his brother's tight tone. "More than half a year."

"They'll be there today?" Dawson tilted his head to the side.

"We expect they'll try," Conor said with a sad glance at Chase. "It depends on whether they can get away."

"How novel for you." Devin sniffed scornfully. "How many clasps remain?"

"Three." Chase offered for Conor.

Devin turned to Chase, his back toward Conor to allow the younger twin to finish. "Let's not dawdle. We're running late."

A huge crowd had gathered in the square by the time the three children had made it there. Chase knew that it wasn't every day that the son of a practical-King sipped for his spirit animal, and he saw from his green eyes that commoners and nobles alike had come for the event - old, young, middle aged. He heard music playing, watched soldiers walked about the square, and smelled the delicious scent of candied nuts. A grandstand has been set up for the highest noble family - the Earls - and Chase felt like it was a party rather than a sacred ritual.

Chase and Conor had attended only a few Nectar ceremonies. Neither had ever witnessed the calling of a spirit animal, but several had been summoned in this very square during the course of their life. However, there had been little display at the ceremonies both twins had attended. None had been so well visited. And none had held this many animals.

It was a known belief that bringing together a selection of animals raised the chances of calling a spirit animal. If this was truly the case, Devin might have some luck after all. There were many domesticated animals attending this afternoon, and also many exotic ones. Chase observed the crates filled with birds that wore the brightest plumage he had ever seen, corrals with many animals with hooves, several wildcats that hissed and clawed at their cages, a trio of badgers that paced angrily in their pen, and a black bear pulling at its chain. Chase even glimpsed a camel - a beast he had only heard about in stories.

As he and Conor walked toward the middle of the square, the hundreds of people made him stand taller. As the exact opposite of his brother, Chase liked to be watched. While Conor was small and scrawny - not yet hitting puberty - Chase had acquired a nice tan to his once-pale skin. His green eyes always sparkled according to even Devin, and muscles had built up from his last year of working. He believed he was actually taller than his oldest brother now. Wrapping his arm around his self-conscious little twin to comfort him, he remembered that most eyes were fixed on Devin.

An elbow connected with his side, and Chase turned to his twin. Conor pointed to a set of hands waving in the crowd. Their mother. Beside her stood their elder brothers with their father. Soldier, Conor's favorite dog, and Pearl, Chase's favorite doe, were also there, and the boys both smiled happily.

All had made it. At the sight of his family, Chase's fear diminished and awoke instead a longing for home - meadows to run through, brooks to skip stones within, forests to wander. Work had been spent outdoors - fixing fences, nursing foals, feeding deer. The home hadn't been very big, but it had been home. He and Conor waved at their family.

Devin lead them to a bench in the center of the square, where the smith's daughter, Abby, waited for them. She sat still, looking rather overwhelmed, dressed in a nice dress that was covered in white flowers. Chase offered her a small smile.

Two Greencloaks stood before the bench Abby was sitting on, and Chase recognized the female as Trunswick's personal greencloak, Isilla. On her shoulder was her spirit animal, a goldfinch named Frida. Chase knew that Isilla was the main member of the Marked to administer Nectar in this town, as she had given it to both of his older brothers some years back.

However, the other Greencloak was a mystery, very tall, lean, with wide shoulders and weathered facial features to match his worn cloak. His dark skin represented a different nationality - possibly that of Nilo or Zhong. Chase couldn't see his spirit animal, but a smidgen of the tattoo his arm caught the young boy's eye. Seeing this cause Chase's heart to lighten, as that meant the stranger's spirit animal was passive - a tattoo.

As they approached, Abby stood and curtsied to Devin. The noble sat down and motioned for Chase and Conor to do the same.

Once seated, Chase watched Isilla raise her hands up to silence the crowd. The strange Greencloak backed away, leaving her in the center. He stood silently off to the side, watching intently, and Chase wonder why he was here if he was just going to watch.

"Hear ye, hear ye, good people of Trunswick!" Isilla cried, her voice carrying across the town. "Before the eyes of man and beast, we are gathered here today to participate in the most sacred rite in all of Erdas. When human and animal unite, their greatness is multiplied. We have come to witness whether the Nectar will reveal such greatness in any of these three candidates - Lord Devin Trunswick; Abby, daughter of Grall; Chase, son of Fenray; and Conor, son of Fenray."

Chase barely heard his name as the crowd roared for Devin. He winced, and then felt envious that his brother managed to remain silent and still, staring straight ahead. The boy guessed he was thinking about the event - how Devin had the best chance of all of them.

"Devin Trunswick, come forward." Isilla announced as she uncapped the flask.

The crowd roared as the noble approached, only silencing once Isilla firmly put a finger to her lips. Chase watched, transfixed, as Devin knelt before her. Euran nobles only knelt to nobles greater than them. Greencloaks knelt to no one.

"Receive the Nectar of Ninani."

Chase leaned forward, an uncontrollable amount of excitement coursing through his body as Devin sipped delicately. He had never seen a spirit animal called from the unknown, and with all of the animals around them, Devin surely wouldn't fail.

Would he?

The swallow told Chase that the moment of truth had arrived. A silence fell over the entire square as Devin closed his eyes and tilted his face to the sky.

A moment passed.

Somebody coughed from the crowd as nothing happened. Devin opened one eyes and glanced around, shocked.

Chase knew that a spirit animal either came right after the ceremonial sip, or it didn't come at all. He watched Devin stand from his kneeling position and turn in a full circle, eyes smoldering. There was no animal near him.

Isilla paused, raising her eyes to the grandstand. Chase looked up as well, seeing the earl's grim expression and his sleeping lynx nearby.

Then the Greencloak glanced at the mystery man, who nodded slightly.

"Thank you, Devin." Isilla finally spoke. "Abby, daughter of Grall, come forward."

Chase watched Devin return to his seat with a blank stare and a hunched posture, showing his humiliation.

Abby drank the Nectar, and nothing appeared. This was to be expected by everyone, and she returned to the bench without a hint of disappointment.

"Chase, son of Fenray come forward."

It was in that moment - when he heard his name - that Chase felt anxiety well up in his gut. He stood, eyes cast downward, and walked up to Isilla, who offered a smile at the shy boy. Chase kneeled in a similar way Devin and Abby had done before, feeling uneasiness worm into his skin. He doubted he had a chance to call his very own spirit animal, but his hopes had grown now that Devin hadn't called anything.

"Receive the Nectar of Ninani."

Chase took a deep breath and leaned forward, taking a sip of the sweet liquid offered to him. The taste was semi-sweet, almost like caramel apples, and it ran down his throat smoothly.

Isilla took the flask away and waited. Chase rose to his feet, ready to return to his brother's side, when he felt a strange sensation spread through his body.

Animals started to scream in a unison, causing Chase to whirl around. The feeling in his limbs had become almost like a burning within the few seconds.

The ground shook beneath his feet, and Chase stepped back in alarm as he feared an earthquake. However, the shaking stopped, and a brilliant golden flash speared the air closer than any light had ever come to him.

The light faded, and Chase blinked to regain his sight. Multiple people from the crowd gasped in awe while Conor gaped at him in astonishment.

Chase turned toward the space where the light had emitted, and saw what the fuss was about. It certainly wasn't the fact that Devin hadn't called a spirit animal.

It was the animal that stood placidly a few paces away.

There was a stunned silence.

Now Chase has seen many deer as spirit animals in his lifetime, some white, some regular. But none as stunning as the animal standing before him.

None had ever been black.

He had never seen a wild reindeer before - as they weren't native to Eura - but this one was within reaching distance. And it was huge! Chase's throat closed up. Where had it come from?

The reindeer lifted its head and walked elegantly forward, its large hooves revealing deadly tips with each step. Bright golden eyes glimmered in the sunlight.

A black reindeer? With golden eyes?

In the history of their world, only one reindeer looked as such.

Chase let his eyes drift toward the Euran flag, hanging up at the Earl's grandstand, where Milja the Reindeer and Briggan the Wolf - patron beasts of Eura - were imprinted in a dark blue fabric.

The reindeer stalked forward leisurely, coming to a halt once it was a few inches away. It blinked calmly, eyes locked with Chase's. The head of the beast came up to his shoulders, with antlers towering above his head, and the young boy tried not to show fear. An encounter with any predator in the wild would have caused him to fight, but he knew nothing of reindeer, and this one had come out of nowhere!

The reindeer watched him curiously, as though inspecting prey. Chase saw it take in his muscular form and tanned skin before it once again stepped closer and let its antlers touch his chest.

Upon contact, Chase experienced a jolt unlike any before. It was a bit like a static shock, but more intense. It most certainly wasn't pleasant, but it ceased the burning he was currently feeling in his chest.

For a brief second, Chase's hearing increased. He felt smart, cunning, like he could do absolutely anything he wanted without a care in the world. Every breath in the crowd was heard by him, and he could hear the breathing of the earl and his family up on the grandstand. Considering the reindeer before him, he saw that it was a female, and she thought of him as her equal.

And then it was over.

Chase was stunned. Never in his life had he been so shocked. He had called a spirit animal.

But this was no ordinary spirit animal. This was a black reindeer, and nobody could summon black reindeer because Milja was a black reindeer and a Great Beast. Spirit animals simply weren't the same species as Great Beasts.

Yet here she was, a female black reindeer with striking golden eyes, rubbing against him like a puppy begging for attention. As he returned to his seat, Chase felt a sense of pride overcome him.

"Conor, son of Fenray, come forward." The words were shaky.

Chase jerked his head up at the words. He had been so focused on his reindeer that he forgot that Conor was going to sip the Nectar too.

"Receive the Nectar of Ninani."

Conor took a tentative sip of the liquid, and Chase gasped.

Animals began to cry out. The birds shrilled. The wildcats yowled. The bear roared. The moose trumpeted. The camel snorted and stomped. Everything was as loud as it had been when the tiger appeared.

The ground began to tremble. The sky darkened, as if a swift cloud had overtaken the sun.

Onlookers gasped and murmured. Chase included. He glanced at his reindeer with awe, and she stared back at him with a sincerity he had never seen before in an animal.

Standing in front of Conor was yet another impossible beast - a wolf. Huge, with its head held high, it stared at Chase's younger twin with respect. It had long legs, and looked plump and healthy with a sleek gray-white coat. Dark blue eyes turned to Chase and his reindeer for a split second, and the boy gasped.

A wolf with cobalt eyes?

Once again, his eyes went to the flag draped over the grandstand, and instead of looking at Milja's imprint, his gaze went to Briggan's. The huge wolf symbol caused him to shudder. Was it a coincidence? A wolf and a reindeer?

He watched Conor hold out his shaking hand toward the animal. He looked to be terrified, and Chase understood why. Wolves were a sheepherder's greatest enemy, and now one was - by some incredible miracle - his spirit animal. The wolf nuzzled Conor's palm as the crowd kept silent.

The mystery Greencloak approached and took one of both twins' hands. "I am Tarik," he said in a low voice. "I came a long way to find you. Stay near me, and I will let no harm befall you. I won't press you to take our vows until you're ready, but you need to hear me out. Much depends on both of you."

Conor and Chase nodded numbly. It was all too much to digest.

The foreign Greencloak raised both hands high and spoke in a powerful voice. "Good people of Trunswick! News of this day will echo across all of Erdas! In our hour of need, Briggan and Milja have returned!"