He would tell me stories of how they met, the things he loved about her, and so on.

I admired her, which probably tore him apart inside to hear, but he would smile and tell me only good things about her.

Magic makes you age faster, they say.

Unconsciously, it's likely I used magic in some ways growing up, because I grew up quickly.

My father knew the reason, but wouldn't tell.

When an Ura turns 13, they start training in a trade skill. It's part of the whole 'moving into being an adult' thing.

It's no surprise that I chose the same skill my mother had learned: armorsmithing.

My father for my 13th birthday gave me something very precious to him: her heatproof gloves.

He gave them to me so I could learn the same skills she had, with the same tools. He had kept her workshop nearly untouched, and it was now mine.

I wanted to be like my mother. I wanted to know what she had thought, what she had felt. So I dedicated my time to learning her craft.

My half-brother, Demitri, was jealous of this, I think.

He had known my mother at least for a short time, and I believe was jealous my father hadn't given given him my mother's gloves.

Demitri was groomed to inherit my father's business, but I think he carried some bitterness about me.

I say this because it was around this time that in education, he finally reached Biology class.

This is usually when one learns about half-bloods, and the biological results of a half-blood child, such as the increased risk of death during childbirth.

The gears in his head clicked, and he made the connection. He now knew I was different, why I was different, and why the mother he had loved was taken from him.

To him, I became everything wrong, and he had to fix it, by any means possible.