The story of our family begins many generations ago, before our founders and kindred had even the slightest notion to come together. You see, a family does not begin with a man or woman, nor with a child's birth. It is not brought about through marriage, decree or physical deed.

A family begins with the idea of brotherhood.

Brotherhood is what brought together the first families. Although a man may be able to survive on his own, his life is made easier when those of like minds and similar spirits are around him; his family supports him and helps him support himself. Ancient tribesmen would hunt together for food, band together for protection, and work together to provide for the members of the tribe.

It is brotherhood that brings together people of all types and allows us see each other as kindred. It is brotherhood that overcomes the need for blood relationships within a family, clan or tribe. It is brotherhood that holds our family together through all things. Therefore, our family was founded upon the idea of brotherhood.

Once, when the mountains were young, there was a great entity called Namrhu. He had such great power that he easily grew bored. One day, as he played with the Sun and Moon, Namrhu wondered what would happen if he made a living creature possessing the attributes of the two.

For many days, Namrhu toiled to form the finest of creatures, and as the Sun laid himself to rest on the fourth day, Namrhu saw what was formed and was pleased. As he prepared to breathe life into his creation, it suddenly broke into five smaller pieces. Rather than forsake them all, he decided to give each one a name and a gift.

Setting the smallest creature aside, he placed the four larger ones in a row. After some time, he moved each of his creations to a different quadrant of the night sky. He first turned to the East and gave his creation there the name of Seiryuu. After pondering the decision for a moment, he blessed Seiryuu with the gift of Valor. He then named Genbu, in the North sky, and blessed it with the gift of Love. Looking to the West, he named Byakko and gave it the gift of Cunning. He finally turned to the South to name Suzaku, which he blessed with the gift of Mystery.

Pleased with his work, Namrhu sat back to watch the four creatures in their new homes and with their new gifts. He then took that smallest creature into his hands and held it close to him. As he stroked the surface of his creation, he saw it twinkle in his hand. Smiling, he named it Higure and gave it the gift of Life. He then told Higure to find a place in the night sky. Namrhu returned to his own place in the sky as Higure found a place near the Moon.

For years, Namrhu could do nothing but watch in awe. He could not predict what might happen, but did know that each of the creatures possessed the power to create great wonders. He knew that with the power of creation and imagination, however, they could also destroy what had already been brought into existence.

After years of quiet in the night sky, Higure began to glow brightly. Namrhu watched closely and saw Higure working very hard. Days passed, each one seeing Higure grow larger and brighter. Finally, after a week of endless toil, thousands of burning stones sprang forth from Higure's body. These stones filled the night sky and glowed with life. Thus was the birth of Twilight.

As Twilight began to settle into its place within the sky, it caught a glimpse of life on the Earth. Namrhu told Twilight that the beings of Earth were mortals, who change with time and eventually cease to exist. The idea of fading away saddened Twilight and it began to watch the mortals closely, learning all that it could about their lives. As Twilight looked on silently, the cycle of mortal life continued one day at a time.

After centuries of watching mortal lives, Twilight grew restless. There were times when the mortals almost seemed to see Twilight looking down to them, and there were times when the mortals seemed unable to see Twilight at all. It was during the times of blindness that Twilight felt lonely and longed to be seen by the mortals at all times. With this desire as guidance, Twilight decided that it must find a way of living with the mortals on the Earth.

Two mortals had been particularly interesting to Twilight in the recent years and it was near the time that a smaller mortal would come from one of them. Twilight filled the unborn mortal with its essence and immediately was born into the mortal world. As Twilight was born into mortal form, Higure shined so brightly that a halo of light seemed to surround the child. The couple saw the source of the light and named the child Elenisi, which meant "Little Star".

There is little to note of Elenisi's childhood, except for two things. The first is that she was a very happy child and seemed to love her mortal parents very much. The second is that she did not grow the way other children did; rather than slow and gradual growth over time, she grew in noticeable stages.

The time of Becoming, when a girl is said to pass into womanhood, came upon her quickly. As was expected, she moved from the home of her mortal parents and into a small hut of her own. Being alone was all that was needed to bring back the old feelings of loneliness. She began to spend each evening staring toward Higure's place in the night sky until she fell asleep.

One day, as she was drawing water from the nearby river, she met a young man who was as handsome as she was beautiful. When he saw the Twilight sparkle through her eyes, he immediately fell in love with her. She loved him too, and they knew that they were destined for each other. Soon after that, the Joining ceremony was performed by the village shaman.

Elenisi and her mate, Jomuko (which meant "Spread Light"), lived together happily for several years. As they were going to bed one night, Elenisi told Jomuko that she would be having his child. A few months later, their family grew by leaps and bounds with the birth of four children.

As the first child was born, Seiryuu vowed that the boy would grow strong and protect his family. Elenisi felt the grip of the baby and immediately named him Dimanji, which meant "Powerful Warrior". Within minutes, the second boy was born and Byakko swore that this one would have great speed and a cunning mind. This one was given the name Namorek, which meant "Swift and Agile". The third child was female, and Suzaku made an oath to shroud the child in mystery and grant her knowledge of the arcane arts. Elenisi heard the oath and gave her daughter the name Kersina, which meant "Little Secret". The fourth child, another girl, was smaller and weaker than the others even at birth. It was this child that Genbu swore to bless with the power of love. She was named Valenda, which meant "Healing Love".

As the days passed, the children grew. Dimanji trained with weapons and used his knowledge to protect his family and hunt with the village men for food. Namorek learned to use his mind as a weapon as he grew adept in martial arts. Kersina was apprenticed to the village wizard, ever eager to learn more secrets of the arts. Valenda became a pupil of the village healer.

When the day came for the children to find love and have their own families, Elenisi gave her blessing and promised to always be with them in their hearts. Each of Elenisi's children prospered and continued the family line by passing her essence to their own children. In this way, she knew her family would never fade from the lands.

It was not long, however, before Jomuko felt the pains of his age. He knew his time to fade would come soon, but Elenisi could not bear the thought of losing him for any reason. She knew that she would never die, regardless of how she may change her appearance by will over the years, and refused to think of eternity without Jomuko by her side. One evening, before Jomuko could submit to death, she took him in her arms and they faded from sight. Never seen again on earth, they had retreated to her place in the sky and Jomuko was given a star near where Elenisi rests at the heart of Twilight.

The family continued to grow, moving across the lands and settling farther from its roots where the Star-Child had been born. Knowing that this was natural, Elenisi vowed that the stars would guide her children (descendants) and swore to gather them to herself at the end of their time on earth. With this vow and purpose, Elenisi watches carefully over each mortal that bears her essence within them and gently guides them forward in their lives.