A/N: Hello readers! This is the updated and revised version of the first chapter! It is nearly twice as long and includes some clarifying information about stages and the world this story takes place in. Please enjoy, and if you are a veteran reader of The Kiirynil Diaries I would very much appreciate some feedback as to if this chapter makes more sense now. Thank you so much!

~Willow

Kiirynil Diaries: Episode One

Kiirynil

The sun hung low in the sky, sunset in full swing and painting the sky a myriad of colors befit the splendor. There were still a few clouds drifting along the horizon, touched faintly with the gold and dusty rose of dusk, though with the wind blowing as it was there was a fair chance that they would be long gone by the time night spread through the sky. By the time the sun was fully at rest, there would be nothing to obscure the pinpricks of light that were the stars painting patterns of intrigue across its canvas.

The prospect was one of delight to the small child perched atop the high wall that surrounded Sky Manor. There was almost nothing she loved more than a clear night sky, a notion that wasn't so strange when considering the feathers strewn throughout her hair that denoted her Avian heritage. Avians were very particular about the sky, and this child was no different.

Well, not concerning the sky anyway. In a lot of other ways, though, she was very different. For one thing, she wasn't entirely Avian. This particular child was a Halfbreed, a product of both Avian and Wolf heritage. This was a stigma that for the most part she was completely oblivious to.

Her name was Kiirynil. No surname, just Kiirynil. After all, to have a family name one must have a family to align herself to and little Kiir was without a mother or a father or a family line to tie herself to. For as long as she could remember there was only Sky Manor and the lord of it, her master and guardian. To her young mind, he was her father, so she never really yearned for the affection of any biological family she might have somewhere. He took care of her, cared for her, and never treated her as less just because she had both feathers and fangs.

Currently, she was awaiting his return from visiting with another nearby lord. It wasn't often that he made her stay behind, though when he did she always awaited his return on the top of the wall so that she could see him coming down the road and be there to greet him. Well, to greet him and berate him about why it was she was left behind this time around. Kiirynil might have been in her fifth stage, but she was a bright child and he often took her with him whenever he needed to do some sort of business with the nearby lords. They were inseparable ever since he'd first taken her in so long ago. Yes, Kiir might have been in her fifth stage, but she had been 'stuck' as such for almost fifty years. It wasn't unheard of for someone, especially a Halfbreed, to get stuck in one of their younger stages, but the length of time was unusual. Still, Kiir had a bright mind and absorbed information and details easily. Usually Lord Zaer, her guardian, appreciated and encouraged this.

Yet sometimes he made her stay behind like he had today. Naturally, Kiir was always most eager to find out why that was. Zaer wasn't always the most giving with answers, but he would usually oblige her.

The sudden familiar clip-clop of an approaching stallion broke the little Halfbreed out of her musings and she snapped her attention eagerly back to the road. Having heard the gate of this particular stallion too many times to count, Kiir knew without a doubt in her mind that it was Zaer returning home. Newly reenergized, she vaulted herself to her feet and began to scan the horizon for a visual of what she was hearing. Only when she stood on her toes with her hands cupped around her eyes was she able to make out the dim silhouette of a slim man in a top-hat sitting astride a tall, proud stallion and coming down the road at a slow, easy canter.

A brilliant smile danced across her lips, honey-brown eyes glimmering with excitement. With a squeal of enthusiasm befitting her tender age, Kiir jumped up and down a few times, waving at him. When she could make out his features more clearly, she leapt from the top of the wall, landing with ease in a crouch at the base. The drop was perhaps forty feet, but the little Halfbreed had no trouble with the distance. There were benefits to having both Avian and Wolf blood.

The stallion trotted forward now at a light, friendly pace, tossing his head and nickering softly as horse and rider approached the girl. Kiir gave a cheery laugh and pulled some sugar cubes out of the pocket of her apron. "Here you go, Necromancer!" she coddled as she offered them to the huge ebony mount. Then, without preamble, she turned her attention to the man sliding deftly down from the saddle. "So what was the visit 'bout, Zay?"

Lord Zaer allowed himself an amused chuckle as he handed off the reigns to the approaching servant. Ah, Kiir was definitely one to jump straight to the point. He patted the little girl on the head and gave her a patient smile. "I'll explain inside, little bird. Run ahead and make the tea."

The little girl's nose wrinkled in agitation as she attempted to glower up at him. "But Zay—"

"Go on now, Kiir," Zaer said pleasantly, "the sooner you get the tea ready, the sooner you get the information you so desire. Compromise is everything."

She eyed him suspiciously for a moment before letting out an irate sigh and whirling around to dash through the gate and up to the manor. As much as she loved Zaer, she really didn't understand him sometimes!

Once Kiir was out of sight, Zaer turned to the human servant. The man had been in his service since he was old enough to work, following in his parents' footsteps. Due to their short lifespan and predictable rate of maturing, humans were both very low ranking and populous. Unlike the shape-shifting demons that also populated the realms, humans aged one stage every single year, even once they reached their maturity. They wore out quickly, sustained only by the energy they put into their bodies since they lacked the power of the other primary species. They were also usually very dim, though there were a few that were tolerable. Zaer had always been careful to select only these to employ.

"Thank you, Stefan," he said to the man as he removed his riding gloves. "Take Necromancer to his stall, and you are free to go." He sighed softly to himself and handed the gloves to Stefan. "Your final payment should be in the loft."

For a moment, Stefan just stared at his lord, then he gave an astonished slow blink, nearly dropping Necromancer's reigns when the stallion tossed his head. "Final payment? B-but milord! I've been your loyal servant for twenty years now!" He was more than just a little bit bemused. Lord Zaer, also known as Lord Hatter, was a little strange, like all demons, but he was good and fair lord. He was sure that he'd done nothing to deserve being dismissed!

"Exactly, my dear boy, which is why you are not only walking away with your life, but a final pay as well. A handsome fee, if I do say so myself," Zaer said nonchalantly as he slipped his hands into the clean white gloves he wore daily.

The human's mind was racing. His life? A shudder ran down his spine. It was easy to forget sometimes, because the demons wore faces just like humans nearly one hundred percent of the time, but there was a great deal more that separated their species than differences in longevity and magic. There was a reason the term 'demon' held a stigma of evil and fear among the humans and why most tried to keep their distance from the different races of the other species that both ruled and populated the realms. They were creatures that could kill a human without effort or remorse. Their kind were much more difficult to kill, but violence between them was almost as common as conversation.

Still, the human curiosity was something that often surpassed his sense of self-preservation, and because of this particular situation Stefan's curiosity was much more than idle and bordering on anxious.

"But...but sir! My lord, I am you last servant!" Stefan protested after a few moments of shocked silence. Over the past several years, more and more of the staff had gone missing and since the lord never replaced any of them it had gotten to the point where the only two who remained were himself and the child Halfbreed, Kiir. Stefan was more than a little suspicious at the disappearances, but he didn't think that Lord Hatter had anything to do with it in particular. He had just figured that everyone left of their own accord. It wasn't exactly the best of times to be human in this realm.

Zaer was aware of Stefan's misconception and had no problem with letting him cling to it, though the man was very close to becoming annoying at the moment. "Kiir will take care of it," he said with a shrug in response to the other's protest.

Poor Stefan balked. "But my lord.....even though she is in years older than myself, she is still a child!" In all the time he had known her she had never matured past what would be a human five-year-old. It was true that she was very intelligent, far more advanced than any human child in what the demons called the 'fifth stage', but she was still a child in her mental processes and the way she looked at the world. She was still a child and needed someone to look out for and take care of her!

Zaer sighed heavily this time. "Stefan, your feeble arguments are beginning to annoy me. If you do not go, I will recede my generosity of letting you go with life and pay in hand." The look in those emerald eyes was dark and serious, a reminder that as good a lord Zaer had always been, he was still a demon and would do what he wanted, and no human had any right whatsoever to question that.

Stefan swallowed, then nodded. Kiir was perhaps a child, but he had no desire to die arguing with a powerful demon because of it. He gave a deep bow to Lord Zaer, who then dismissed him with a wave of his hand.

As Stefan hurried toward the stables with Necromancer, Zaer turned and strode into the manor. Silly humans. No matter how much they thought they knew, they were still always so disappointingly dim.

A smile slipped over his lips as he made his way toward the southern parlor where he and Kiir always had their tea. He could already smell the fragrant mixture of aromas caused by the two different kinds of tea little Kiir had brewed. She always brewed their respective favorites whenever she wanted to know something and was willing to stare him down until he told her. When he crossed the threshold into the room he saw that she was hovering by the table anxiously, their personal tea cups already set at their usual places.

Her eyes brightened when he entered the room. "It took you long enough!"she exclaimed with a sigh, dancing from foot to foot as he crossed over and took his seat.

"I needed to handle something with Stefan," he explained with a shrug, then gestured for her to pour the tea.

"What's that?" she asked, only semi-curious as she poured the tea then scrambled into her chair.

Zaer flashed her an amused smile, speaking as he added sugar to his tea. "Well, Stefan is leaving to live with family in a different realm. I gave him his final pay and wished him well in his journey." It was less of a lie and more of a slight alteration of the truth. He knew that Stefan had family in a nearby realm and had no doubt that the man would go there first now that he had been dismissed from his service.

Kiir shrugged indifferently, not really bothered by it. Stefan was nice and they got along fairly well, but since she spent most of her time with Zaer it didn't change much. "That's nice," she said, then took a quick sip of her tea. "Now, what was your meeting about?!" She had to set her cup back down because she was beginning to bounce up and down in her seat again, anxious and excited to know.

Zaer just watched her for a moment, then sighed and nodded, his expression nonchalant. "The situation is quite simple, Kiirynil. I am going to be teaching my dear friend Xhet Moon's youngest daughter. Training her, if you will."

The small Halfbreed's eyes widened. Xhet Moon was the other lord that governed this part of their small realm. He was an extraordinarily powerful Wolf and a notorious general when it came to war. He was also quite mad, but then, so were most extraordinarily powerful demons. It kind of came with the territory.

"The Planner's daughter!?" she hissed in excitement, using the other name used when referring to Xhet Moon. She wasn't sure exactly how he'd earned the name though, those books were out of her reach in Zaer's library.

For a moment Zaer looked partly annoyed before sighing and giving a shake of his head. "Kiir, didn't I tell you to stay out of my library when I wasn't there?"

The child blushed and murmured a soft apology, sipping her tea as she looked up at Zaer expectantly.

He eyed her over his tea for a second before he went on. "But yes," he said, "the Planner's daughter. She's only a few stages further than yourself, and a little bit older, too."

Excitement and hope flooded Kiir's expression at the prospect of a friend, then just as quickly fell as she remembered that the Moons were the royal family of the Black Wolves. Not only did they not associate with commoners and orphans (like herself), but they were also known to loath all Halfbreeds (also like herself). Forget about friends, she thought, the reality is more along the lines of where should I hide!

Zaer seemed to read her thoughts through her shifting expression and gave a little chuckle. "I would be teaching her in her own home, so you needn't worry about any unsavory attention she might shift in your direction. Moon Manor is on the other side of the village, and a place you should never go, Kiir, is that understood? It is much too dangerous."

Kiir gave a little nod, too consumed with the relief that she didn't have to worry about becoming lunch to even wonder why he would think she would ever dare to actually approach Moon Manor of all places. She knew very well that she probably wouldn't survive to knock on the door.

"However," Zaer said, drawing her attention back to him, "the contract I agreed to with Lord Moon did have a specific condition you need to be aware of."

A feeling of anxious nerves filled Kiir as she watched him sip his tea before continuing.

"In order to teach her effectively, I have agreed to make my primary residence Moon Manor."

Silence.

When Zaer had told her that Stefan was leaving to live with his family it hadn't particularly bothered her because she knew that she would have Zaer. She would always have Zaer. He was her family.

But now she was filled with the dread that she was about to be left completely alone, and that was a notion that terrified her more than anything.