ALISSA AND BRYNYARD

Being half orcs one could assume the worst of their childhood, but that would be far from the truth. Their father was a strange orc, kind and calm he never fit in with his own kind. Their mother was the daughter of a bookstore owner and mapmaker in a small town. Their parents met when she was in the woods getting attacked by a bear and their father saved her. That meeting bloomed into a great relationship. In their youth they stayed at home with their father, they lived in a small house tucked away at the edge of the woods. Their mother worked in town and their father kept the the house up and worked to get them food. The local people knew about the orc but they also knew that for years he had been a respectable person and had caused no trouble. It didn't hurt that he stayed close to home and non of them had to be reminded of his heritage very often. Alissa and Brynyard started going into town with their mother when they were five. The local temple held a school program to keep the local children busy and out of trouble during the day. They were not treated badly due to their orc blood, in fact the thing about them that gained the most attention was that they were twins. They learned quickly what the cleric would teach then they would go see their grandparents at the bookstore and learn about the wide world and how to read. Their father was not smart by any standards and had always worried they would turn out like him, he couldn't have been more wrong. By their early teen years they had read every book in town they could get their hands on and were known as some of the smartest people in the region. Although they were smart they still got in trouble from time to time. Brynyard was always taking risks and trying to push himself, be that climbing a thin tree to get a look at a bird nest or sneaking into the Inns kitchen to see how they made their famous meat pies. By his side his sister would grudgingly go along while cautioning him and showing him his foolishness. One day a traveling merchant was coming through town and he had a stack of books with him. Of course the twins bought the books without a second glance at them. New books were always hard to get. In this stack was a old journal of sorts, in a language that the trader couldn't read. The twins couldn't read it at first either, it seemed to be a language related to Elven but with many differences. Never being one to let a mystery go on solved Brynyard was determined to figure out the script. It took them a year of research and a new priest coming to the local temple for them to understand. The language was Sylvan and the book was a spell book. Soon both could read it as easily as they read a number of other languages. That was when they discovered their amazing aptitude for magic. After they mastered the few spells stored in the book they decided to leave there small town. They headed to the big cities in search of a wizards guild. They were met with prejudice that they had only experienced from a few grouchy old people in their home village. Undeterred they continued to search. Finally they found a guild that would take them in. They were extremely young to become members but their abilities soon gained them acceptance. In their early twenties now the twins had settled down in the guild. Alissa became an apprentice loremaster, devouring any and all information she could. While Brynyard traveled the region as an emissary for the guild, his magical talents suited this job very well. Both became some of the most promising young wizards of the generation. But nothing broke their bond together. When together Alissa still told Brynyard how foolish he was and he still ignored his sister with a knowing smile.