You have seen it before. The circle’s halves are black and white, each with a drop of the opposite color within it. Yin and yang — it is the embodiment of opposite and equal forces. Darkness and light. Female and male. Passive and active.

My name is Tai. I suppose you may also call me Yin. Many years ago, there was a change in the Tao, and my brother and I were sent to the world in physical bodies to guide the humans back to a state of rightness. We felt it when we entered the world — a great imbalance, the onslaught of war. But we were mere babes, subject to the whims of our chosen families, until we were old enough to prove ourselves prodigies.

My body is nineteen. I see my brother on the opposite side of the battlefield. I feel human things. I can feel myself drifting further away from the Tao and its guidance. At one point I could not wait to die so I could return home, but now I fear death. I am confused and hurt.

I must follow the wishes of the universe, but I have become so terribly human.