It all began on a cold autumn night. During that night twin coyotes were born to the pheonix, Red Rose. Now a Mating between a Pheonix and a Coyote furre is special enough, but even to the most dullwitted could tell that these twins were special. The oldest was black as a raven's wing with snow white markings that clashed against his darkness. And his eyes were pure golden. This was odd for a Coyote...But even stranger was the glyph of the child's back, it was the mark of a Mana User. A Child of the Tails family had not been born with a Mana User's mark for generations! And so the child's destiny was sealed before he was even born. Being the oldest he was given the Family name of Ten Tails.
The younger brother was the Yin to his Brother's yang. He was a brilliant white and had the jet-black markings. And his eyes were as silver as the moon. Although he lacked a sigil, it was obvious that this child too was a blessed soul. His resiliance and willingness to fight showed him to be a strong one, so it was clear he'd do great things with his life. He was given the name Sliver Tails. And so they entered this world.

Sadly, Red Rose died in child birth, but this not surprising considering that many Pheonix are still accustomed to giving birth to eggs, not living young, especially twins. However this meant that the boy's father had to work twice as hard to support them. So much of the boys time was spent together wandering the village and the surrounding wilderness. They got into all kinds of mischief, and soon the Townsfolk gave the boys new names. They called Ten Tails, "Sly one" or just "Sly" because of his uncanny wit and cunning to get the pair out of trouble. Silver was given the name "Brave Silver" because of his faultless courage to stand and face whatever came. The boy's father when he had the time often joined in there play and the three became a close knit family!

Then came the day Argos Mulain, Right hand man of the pervious Card Master, invaded the village and destroyed the local mage's cabal. The boy's Father joined in a rebellion against the invading Card Mages. The boy often stayed up late and listen to the rebels plot their offensive in the kitchen of the boy's home. Being the tender, naive age of twelve, They were so proud that their father was going to be a hero!
When the night of the planned offensive came. The boy's father put them to bed early for the first time in their lives, then grabbed his old crossbow and headed for the meeting place. But the mischievious boys soon left there beds to follow their father.
Outside wasn't what the boys had been expecting...There were no heroes on this battlefield, just torn corpses and horrific monsters. Bolts, Rays, and orbs of magical powers tore through the air. This scene tested even Brave Silver's courage. But still the boys pressed on, ducking behind rubble to hide from Monsters and dodge magic.
When they found their father the boys rushed towards him. Then there was a sudden burst of light and the last thing Sly Ten Tails saw was his brother being thrown through the air and a chocolate colored equine with malevolent red sigils laughing at him...

Sly awoke facedown in a pile of rubble, hearing only quiet. The battle had been decided and the fighting had come to a close. Sly tried to rise but a shooting pain in his chest pinned him in the dirt. Sly felt his ribs and found six of them broken.
He delicately slid himself onto his side to look around. Sly gasped at seeing his father laying sprawled about 10 yards from where he'd originally been. Sly's father had been nearly obliterated by the blast. There wasn't much more than a torso and shoulders. Sly could immediately tell that he was dead and felt tears cloud his vision. But Sly shoved them aside for later...He had to find Silver!
And find him he did, coughing blood in a nearby alleyway. Silver's flesh had been torn and ripped so deeply and cruelly that it was amazing that he was still alive, but he was fading fast. However, Sly didn't cry. Somehow he knew that his brother's body didn't have slightest chance of survival...But his soul was another story! Sly drew out a blank card from the pouch he always wore, and still wears to this day, and began to channel mana.
He'd never channeled this much mana before and, in truth, he didn't have the slightest idea what he was going, but without thought or preparation, Sly syphoned Silver's fleeing soul into his card and watched the card fill with life and energy. Then from the exhaustion of his deed, Sly lost consciousness...

The next day, Sly was greeted by a horrible stench. He wandered out into the street to find the townsfolk crowded around the street to watch some type of parade. Many were sobbing, Some were shouting angry taunts and threats. Sly shoved his way through the crowd to get a better look. The Card Mages had gathered the dead, placed them on poles and where waving them about like flags! Sly was horrified then came the worst of all...
In the center of the Mage's little "celebration" was the dark Equine and he was carrying Sliver's corpse on strings and was making it dance like a puppet, Sly lost control! Tears streaming from his eyes, he pulled a sorcery from his deck and summoned the mana to use it. The red mana built and a warm heat spread other him. Then Sly realeased the penned mana into the card and called forth the spell. A small bolt of electricity shot towards the Equine and struck home. The crowd and the mages both gasped in unison.
But the equine just stuttered once then began walking over to Sly. The crowd of townspeople backed away at his approach and some of the mages snickered "Argos is giving it to that kid!" Sly fixed that name in his mind "Argos, the man who ruined my life!"
As Argos reached him he sneered down at him "Pretty good magic for a fledgling...Almost makes my sorry I have to punish you." Argos's voice dripped with mock sincerity. "so you want a duel with Argos do ya? HA! You'd never beat me..."
Sly shouts from under his tears "I'm gonna kick your ass for what you did to my Dad and Brother, that I will!"
"Ah...A sharpened tongue! I like that!" Argos's sneer grew another couple of inches "Well then...Let us begin!"

The duel between the two lasted for hours and was a one-sided battle. Sly didn't have a single creature that could match Argos's. In the end, Sly ended up face down in the street with Argos standing atop him. Sly's vision was tunneling as darkness threatened to swallow him, the pain from his ribs wasn't helping much either.
"See, kid, You can't even channel enough mana for 3 creatures at single time, how could you beat me? Now for your punishment..." Argos thinks for a moment "I think I'll make sure you can never hold a deck again!" Argos pulled out a Blank Card and channels his mana through it focusing on Sly's right arm, his dominant arm!
Sly screamed as his arm was torn apart ounce by ounce, sinew by sinew and absorbed into the card. The pain was so intense it dispelled the darkness threatening to close around Sly, preventing the relief of unconsciousness. The pain turned the 4 minutes it took for the arm to be absorbed into 4 hours, then sobbing, Sly was granted the safety and comfort of sleep.

Sly awoke in his home, but it didn't feel like home anymore, it was empty, heartless, and lonely. Something had changed about Sly while he had slept. The tears that should've been flowing where strangely absent. All Sly felt was hatred and loathing of the man who'd taken so much from him!
"DAMN YOU, ARGOS!" Shouted Sly, using one of his father's favorite curses, "I will crush you, No matter what! And then I'll take back all you stole from me, that I will!"
Sly then felt a warmth spreading across his chest and as he looked down he saw a new sigil spreading across his chest. This sigil was one Sly recognised from the books in the attic of his home. It was the Sigil of Revenge, given only to those that swear to defeat a rival that had wronged them! As it formed on his chest, Sly felt strengthened and decided what his next move would be...

The next day, Sly sold all that was of worth in his house, keeping only that which held special meaning to him, and left that village. He never looked back as he wandered down the dirt road from the village. He would spend the next 18 years wandering a dangerous island nation called Kamigawa, looking for more powerful creatures and magical arts to collect and strengthening himself. And thus, Sly became the person we know of today!