The Clan of Mani’Jarach was an old one and prosperous one. Merging with the Umbriaec bloodline was more a political power move than of love. Together, the two families desired strength beyond normal means - what they considered a surefire way to rise up in ranks, even after death, and serve their God for eternity.

Sidian was the third child of this family-clergy merger, and was born in the Dusk Realm, along with her two older brothers. They were all given three roles to follow; one of the training of the Xitian Race, in which all Xitians learned of themselves and of the elements; one of the training of the Warrior, depicted by their Clan side; and one of the training of the Faith, demanded of them by the Clergy side.

At age four, Sidian and the others had gone through the Dusk Portal to visit the Clan’s Manor deep in the Blackmoor Ridge, mainly for the older boys to get a good personal look at the Middle Realm that they would eventually call their second home. Even though the War of the Veld had been going on for about ten years, a lot of the Xitian families were overconfident in their abilities, and with the winning of a few key battles, and therefore saw no real danger in still using the portal on their whims. Unfortunately, due to bad timing and the terribly unfortunate incident of the destruction of the Dusk Portal, the parents were left on one side, while the children were stranded with only a few loyalists and clan members on the more dangerous Middle-Realm side.

Without a way back, morale was rather low for those stranded, but it wasn’t until two years after the closing of the portal, that danger was closest. Lucins and Mesalians had begun to band together and started indiscriminately killing anyone of Xitian blood.

The clan had to quickly leave their manor, their second home centuries old, and started their almost-constant travel to keep the children safe while they were trained. They avoided the Purges as best as they could by staying out of sight and out of mind, never venturing within three days’ of any city or town, and only letting the most successful hunters away from the group to gather food and supplies. This wore down everyone, especially the children. They were constantly unhappy and tired, and training them to exhaustion only prevented them from complaining or running away.

Even after the Purges were said to have ended, the small clan kept moving, having no one to trust on this side of the Portal. On occasion, they were able to find another small group of Xitians or Xitian-supporters; news, plans, hopes and dreams were always passed between them, but the clan never stayed in one place for long.

For Sidian and her brothers, training was still a constant thing - in the Ways of the Xitian race, in the Way of the Clan Warrior, and in the Way of the Faith. The elders of the clan also came to realize that for them all to survive their exile, they also needed to learn about the Mesalians, their cultures and customs and language, and so the children were well-rounded and prepared by the elders for almost any circumstances that could arise in their adulthood.

Bitter arguments arose when the two older brothers wanted to go out and fight for their way home before they had reached the age of eighteen, only five years after the end of the Purges. A compromise had to be reached for the sake of the clan, and the two brothers joined a different group of Xitian camp, with the promise of keeping in touch. It was there they learned how to use the local bats as flying messengers, and quickly the Clan Mani’Jarach and the Clan Tor’amar shared what knowledge they could while still allowing the freedom of travel.

The two brothers became crucial messengers for a few of the known clangroups that were scattered around, and helped organize what small delayed fights they were able, while staying away from the cities themselves. Sidian continued her training, envious of her brothers and their newfound freedom, pouring her excess energy into learning anything she possibly could, as fast as she could, preferring her Nether and Religious training to any other.

As Sidian turned 19, news of the subtle manipulations the Xitians were having on the Mesalians, in their towns and cities and groups and guilds, finally blossomed into riots and battles worthy of being called a Civil War. She helped in any way she could without being directly involved, usually coming up with creative ways to do mundane things, trying to prove her worth to Clan and Clergy, as well as to others. It wasn’t until later in her 19th year that she learned that her goal of achieving the highest rank possible in the Umbric Knights was cut short - and so she decided to switch her priorities for now, and focus not on power and glory, but on getting back home to the Dusk Realm.

She used her ‘youngest sister’ wiles to convince her two brothers to assist her in gathering all the information they possibly could about both portals and the three realms, to see if they could discover alternate ways home if fixing their Dusk Portal was impossible. Rumors were followed, myths and legends were discovered, books were unearthed, and tales were listened to and deciphered, leading the entire clan often on dangerous journeys across the lands, into tombs and sacred sites, near Lucin-based cities now chaotic from the riots and corruption, and in old, almost forgotten Xitian ruins from when they ruled the areas. The middle brother, given a set of his own bats by the other clan as tokens of appreciation and gratitude, created lines of communication between them when they did separate, and the elder began to keep everything they did written down. It was now Sidian’s turn to explore, travel, and find her niche in the Xitian culture on this side of the Portal.

Five years, and finally the group traveling with Sidian found a few interesting leads, all pointing toward the Forbidden Lands. Having exhausted all other possibilities, she led them across the waters, determined beyond almost all reasoning to continue her quest. Her brothers followed her, though most of the clan stayed behind on the mainland, preferring to not travel across water, and preferring to stay close to the other clans. Unfortunately, the bats were unable to cross the large span of water, and so communication was limited to written letters delivered by loyal and trusted Clan servants. Before she left, she was given the honor of being Knight Reverent, one of the youngest by far at the age of 23, and the highest she could hope to reach until she was able to go home.

Another six years of almost constant travel, with letters sent back and forth, and no new leads left Sidian frustrated. Nothing much changed on the mainland, and her elder brother had fallen in love with a daring young woman of another clan, and they’d decided to settle down and act as another stable point for communication. She continued on with her middle brother and a few others for another year, occasionally coming across other Xitians; rarely coming across any new information, but often leaving behind trails of hope.

It was at the end of that year, that Sidan struck gold, and her perseverance paid off.