The sun had long since fell, and the moon was in power this night. The little silver stars accompanied the lonely moon in the dark sky. Together they would fill Lomedor in a pale silver light, throwing shadows this way and that.

Under this light stirred a young gypsy, Anika. She ran along the warn trail, just of in the grass so she would not run into anyone else. Something was different about her appearance. All of the jewelry she once wore was taken off. The rhythmic jingle of her movements was gone. Now she walked in perfect silence as her soft and precise feet met the plush grass.

In the distance, a large manor was coming close. This was Anika's destination. She did not know why, but for quite some time now her thoughts have always been coming back to this manor. She was constantly thinking of breaking into the building. She felt as if she needed to retrieve some valuable items.

Anika did not create those thoughts herself, no matter how real they may have seemed. In all actuality, they belonged to the evil spirit that claimed her body as its own. The spirit had a few mixed feelings about taking control of this body. First of all it was a girl, and a young one at that. She was so weak that it made the spirit sick. For when he had a body of his own, He was a strong and powerful man. He could not be to picky though, for other than her gender and age, she was the perfect host. Anika had an abundance of mana inside her. This meant that she would have enough energy to support two spirits. Her body would not burn out like all the others. Secondly she had a lot of knowledge of herbal magic and knew a few spells herself. If the spirit combined her knowledge of magic with his own power, he may be able to finish the task he had started. And lastly, he would be able to take control so quickly. Now he was but a seed inside her, able to place a few thoughts inside her head. Once he was grown though, he would have more control over her body than she would. He would grow in power in no time at all. For there was so much sorrow, pain, loneliness, self loathing, and repressed anger inside of her. All he would need to do is release these feelings and let the darkness take control of her.

Anika now found herself confronted by iron bars. The manor had been gated off from the rest of the world. She threw up her hood quickly, hiding her face from all that may want to see. She then took out a piece of chalk and outlined a door in the bars. She then scribbled a few small symbols on the metal. When she was done she pressed against her work and the bars fell open for her, making no noise as they hit the soft green grass.

Anika was now on the grounds of the manor. She moved low and silently towards the side of the house. She pressed against the cold brick, making herself as unnoticeable as possible. All she would need to do now is get inside, watch out for any guards or people that may see her, and find what she was looking for. If only she knew what she was looking for.

Lyon hated guard work.

The mercenary sat alone in the dark mansion, positioned in a corner of the great entrance hall, hidden in shadows. His eyes were closed, and it appeared as though he was dozing, but one that knew how mercenaries functioned would realize otherwise. It was so dark that his eyesight would be useless anyway. Instead, he relied on his sense of hearing, which was rather keen after all the long years of hard work as a sellsword. His blade was loose in it's sheath, but he doubted he would need it. Really, what were the chances that there would be a break-in?

How, one may ask, had he come to be here, in this dark, eerie mansion? It was a short story. He had needed work. A man, the owner of the place, had hired him as a guard. Simple as that. The man's reason for wanting armed protection, it seemed, was that the mansion housed a great many valuable objects. Rare books, weapons, jewels...all manner of things. In Lyon's eyes, they were all useless. Swords weren't meant to be decoration, they were supposed to be used. How would a ring save you unless there was an enchantment? Books had their uses, but surely weren't worth stealing. So, he was pretty confident that this would be a quiet night.

So, instead of paying attention to his surroundings, the mercenary used an old trick his mentor had taught him to use when the need to pass the time arose. He completely cleared his mind of thought. He went into a state that surpassed time, an utter emptiness in which even he himself did not exist...

That was what it was supposed to be like, anyway. The mercenary had never quite got the hang of it.

The sellsword groaned and leaned his head back against a wall. Was he really going to have to stay awake all night? Gods, this was gonna be hell. How the heck was he going to manage to stay awake? Just as he thought this, his eyelids began to droop. But the mercenary forced them open again and attempted to maintain some level of vigilance, no matter how strongly his body told him that he needed rest. He would not be caught sleeping on the job, even if it meant holding his eyes open!

The first step to Anika's plan had been completely with ease. Now she would need to get inside the manor. This would not be hard, for all she had to do was use the same trick as the last time. She made a door out of chalk and pushed through the stone wall.

Once inside she closed the makeshift door and it disappeared. It was much warmer inside and smelled of fragrant herbs and money. She looked around enviously at the elegant hallway. Nobody was in sight.

She quickly pulled out a map of the manor she had lifted from the local library. She knew the treasure she was looking for was in the library. She did not know how she knew, but the feeling was overwhelming.

As she walked down the hallway she froze, a scene playing in her mind's eye. A sleepy eyed woman walked down the very hallway she was currently in. This vision took the spirit inside her by surprise. He had possessed the body of a seeress. This was great! Now if only he could get her to eat and stop hurting herself, he would be stronger than ever before.

Anika quickly threw herself into the shadows cast along the walls. Every fiber in her body told her to keep still and let the darkness keep her hidden. She was certain that she would be caught, but she kept still anyway. It was her only option.

In seconds her vision became reality. A maid yawned, shuffling her way down the hall. She moved right passed the area in which Anika hid, but she dare not stir. After the was certain that the servant girl was gone she let out a deep sigh of relief and moved on down the hall. The library would have to be coming up soon.