BROTHER

Set in a fantastic world, the Empire Ludahk struggles to find the life source of rival empire Surka. King Herodeüs will risk all, even the life of his most prized possession, Micah, to gain a power that could lead to catastrophic results.

~Liufs

I am running. From what, I do not know, nor do I know the destination to which I run. All that is evident to me is that I am in a forest, a deep forest. The sun does not shine; I cannot tell whether it is night or day; there are no stars or moon. Around me are the ever withering trees rising high into an endless abyss; below me, the twigs and thorns that adorn the earth. Looking ahead I see an opening, a light, and I increase my speed as the friction of my feet and the ground cause the twigs and thorns to cut through my flesh, but I ignore it. Rather, I focus my mind on the light, my only way out. How I ended up in the forest, I do not know. Why I am running to the light, I do not know. What I do know is that that opening seems to be my only way of escape right now, my only source of redemption out of this darkness that I am trapped in. Closer and closer I approach my destination and soon I find myself in the open, though it is not clear where exactly I am. I look around to see if I recognize any of my surroundings, but it is futile. It is not too long before I see something small coming towards me, but no sooner had I noticed this did that something grow larger and faster in speed. I try to move but I cannot. Looking down, I find everything from the waist down completely stiff and immobile. Again, I tried to move but received nothing. Looking up, I was impaled with a brutal force. I doubled over with the unexpected pain, clutching the right side of my torso which had begun to bleed profusely. All too soon I felt another sting of another dark object in my shoulder, my leg, and my chest. Only after the fourth impalement did the lower half of my body let loose and choking out pitch black blood, I fell. I waited for my body to collide with the ground but that never came. Rather, I felt what seemed to be arms wrap around me and a hand supporting my head. Opening my eyes I was surprised to find the dark objects that had attacked me become one ominous shadow that was creeping its way up and around my body, completely paralyzing me. I looked up to see the one who had broken my fall and could see, through blurry vision and confusion, that the arms holding me belonged to non other than myself, except that it was not me. I was starring into the eyes of my exact copy. The figure above me began to mouth something but I could not make out what it was saying. The shadow had made its way to my neck. I tried to focus what little strength I had on the person who was me and was now crying, but I couldn’t. My will was sucked out of me as the shadow took full control and I was engulfed in complete darkness.

In this void that I was trapped in I could faintly hear my name being called. Micah. There was nothing I could do to respond. Micah. It called again. MICAH! Suddenly I felt something cold and wet on my face and mistakenly inhaled. Coughing and sputtering, I sat up briskly and grabbed the collar of the assailant who had dared poured freezing water on me. My angry eyes were met with the fearful ones of the little elf child who was now cringing under my gaze.

“H-His h-h-h-h-highness a-and and the General have been waiting,” stuttered the messenger boy. “They sent me to come look f-f-f-for y-you.” By now I had released my death grip on the boy and my previously established anger slowly turned to annoyance at the mentioning of those who awaited me. Cocking my head to see the pail in his hand, the elfling quickly dropped the thing and bowed low on the ground. “You wouldn’t wake up, Micah, and you were sweating and speaking nonsense, so...so, I-I----“

“It’s quite alright, little cousin, no harm done.” I said, pulling myself off of the ground and ruffling his hair a bit. His fear easily subsided as I extended my hand towards him and he intertwined his little fingers with mine. We began making our way out of the hidden valley and towards the city. The hidden valley, in actuality, wasn’t completely hidden. In fact if someone were looking for it, they could easily find it. But what makes it hidden (to me anyways) is that for whatever reason the General would never come and look for me himself; he would rather send someone else like the messenger boy to come and fetch me. I found that very strange, yet full of humor in itself for there was nothing remotely dangerous about the place. Why, it could quite possibly be the most peaceful, clean place, and the furthest away from the palace. For that reason, it serves as my escape from all the toils and troubles in my life. Nearly out of my sanctuary, Pan, the elf child, tightened his grip on my hand and picked up his pace to a jog while dragging me along. “Come on, Micah, you’ll get in trouble again if we don’t hurry.” He quickened his speed to a sprint, or however fast a seven-year-old’s feet could carry him while hauling a man much bigger than him behind.

“Slow down, little cousin,” I said gently, pulling him back to my pace of a walk. “The General and his highness can wait,” I spat, “and besides, we don’t spend enough time together. Here,” I lifted him up and sat him on my shoulders, “let’s take this slow.”

When we reached the Palace, night had already fallen; Pan had found me in the valley somewhere around dusk. The palace gates opened automatically as if they themselves were expecting us, and it was here that I put Pan down. For the remainder of the walk we stayed side by side.

* * * * *

We were led to the throne room by several heavily suited guards, and the closer we got to the foot of the throne, the closer Pan leaned into me. I couldn’t blame him; the man who sat upon the gold-gilded seat was not one who held a friendly, welcoming face. We stopped a good distance away from the king, who took his time exchanging glances between Pan and myself. “Boy,” he said, pointing to Pan. The elfling gave me a nervous, almost pleading look as he unwound his fingers from mine and took cautious steps towards the king, keeping his head as low as physically possible.

“Highness---"

“You. Silence. I will deal with you later. Now, child,” he said, returning his attention back to Pan, “did I not ask you to find your master and return him to my company immediately, or was my message not urgent enough!” he spat. Pan cringed at the last words and sank to the floor in prostrate. “S-s-s-s-sorry, sir.” It was but a mere whisper. I was sure that by now he was crying.

“I should hope that you are sorry. Troublesome child, you shall be punished for your insolence! Guards!”

“I think not.” Calling fourth and immense amount of energy, I dashed towards Pan and became the barrier between him and the threatening guards. “No one touch him, unless you feel brave today.” I gave each one of them a daring look, as if wanting them to attempt an attack. They were all too familiar with my power, and knew that within a blink of an eye I could deflect and return anything they threw at me tenfold. But then I heard it, a high pitched squeal. Turning swiftly, for I had had by back towards Pan, I was met with the General clutching the elfling by one of his ears, causing the child to writhe in pain and discomfort. “Pan…” I heard the small whisper escape my mouth. My energy ball immediately became a raging medium of fire with my increased anger. “General,” I seethed, “let the boy go.” Not only did it pain me to see Pan mishandled, but to be mishandled by the man I hated the most was almost enough to make me release the orb of fire and burn the Palace to the ground.

“I would consider my actions if I were you, Micah.” The General said, paying no heed to my previous demand.

“And I would consider to whom you speak, General. Let the boy go, or I swear nothing will hold me back from blasting you to the ashes.” True, he was my trainer and supposed mentor, yet I was of noble blood, and he, a mere advisor to the king. I could see the look he was giving me, the mask that was his face and covered hidden intentions that I could not decipher.

“Fine.” And with that he dropped Pan, who quickly scampered away from the General and clutched onto my leg like a life support. With that, I relieved the fire orb and regained my composer.

“Well, Micah,” the king said after remaining deathly quiet throughout the whole ordeal, “if you are so defensive about the boy, then you return him to his dwellings. Then,” he narrowed his eyes, “we shall have a very important talk." Frankly, I was not looking forward to this “talk”, and I was so abnormally weak from the large expulsion of power that I did not think that I would be able to even stand before him again this evening. The most important thing right now was to get Pan back to his home safely, and for his safety I would ignore my fatigue.

* * * * *

“Are you hurt?” I asked him as we neared the servants’ quarters. For the duration of our walk, Pan had stayed so closely by my side that at times it was hard not to stumble into him.

“I’m fine.” He whispered, weariness coating his voice.

“Do you want me to carry you?”

“No.” We kept walking. Ever so often a small yawn would escape his being and his pace would gradually slow down in response. Reaching our destination, Pan stopped and stared long and hard at the door, furrowing his brows as if in deep concentration. “Um, Micah,”

“Yes?”

“Would you have killed the General if he hadn’t done what you said?”

I looked up to the night sky, and for the first time in my life did not know what to say when in fact I knew what I would’ve done. For as long as I can remember I have known nothing but brutality; it was the way I was raised. Any form of mercy was nearly foreign to me and I repulsed it as if it were an infectious disease. The only person that made me second-guess this notion of kindness was probably Pan. Why? I myself do not understand, but perhaps it is the fact that he is so dependent on me and always has been ever since I rescued him from a band of street ruffians three years ago, when he was only four summers. Or perhaps it is his curiosity and positive outlook in life, something that has been deprived of so many children that I have encountered in Ludahk. Whatever it may be, he is one of two people that I really allow to get close to me. The other person is Penelope, whom I don’t even trust completely considering that she is the king’s daughter. It was with this thought that I answered his question: Yes, I would not have hesitated to disintegrate the General right where he stood were things to have gone my way. “Because mother said,” he chimed in, shifting uncomfortably in the silence, “mother said that it’s a sin to kill, no matter how badly someone has wronged you.” The last part was barely a whisper. I looked down and smiled, “Well then I probably wouldn’t have done so.” He returned a tired smile and yawned in agreement. I opened the door and was at once greeted by the servants sharing that quarter. After making sure that we had not been followed, and offering the mother, who kissed my hand in gratitude, a reassuring smile, I bid my leave.

I groaned as I made my way back to the Palace, knowing that it would be long before my night was over. I was met halfway by foot soldiers that formed a wall around me, disproving my theory that we had not been followed. “That was quite the display of power you showed back there.” The General greeted us at the doors of the throne room.

“Hn,” I grunted, running my fingers through my hair. My fatigue had for a while now been a thumping headache. The foot soldiers dispersed, returning to their stations, while the General and I walked through the double doors. I wasn’t surprised when I was met with the scornful eyes of the king. “Highness--” I bowed.

“You’ve got a lot of explaining to do, Micah.” He growled.

“Right, yes, well, can we do this later? It’s been a long night, and I’m extremely tired.” I said, loosening the collar of my robes a little. The room had become unbearably hot.

“Oh, has it now? Perhaps you should be more careful on how you use your powers.” What? What was he talking about? “Did you forget what today was?” At the moment, I couldn’t think; it hurt to think. My headache had worked its way up to a migraine

“No, enlighten me.” I grimaced.

“Because of your disappearing act that you pulled today, we had to forfeit the Yuke, and because of your disappearing act today I and the kingdom became a mockery to Silus and the Eastern Kingdom!” He all but spat. It was then that I remembered that today had been scheduled for that terrible ordeal, a battle to the death that tested the sheer powers of the two strongest opponents of rivaling kingdoms, each hoping to prove himself and gain victory for his nation. With this realization came a sharp pain as if someone were hammering a pick into my head, followed by a wave of nausea. I could no longer stand, lest I release the contents of my stomach on the throne room floor. “General,” I heard the king say, “that charm you performed was not half bad, not bad at all.” A charm? My headache began to make sense now. The king got off of his seat and walked towards me. “Tell me, Micah, does it hurt?” He leaned down towards me. I gave him a scowl through my fingers, but quickly had to shield my eyes. The brightness of the room was making things worse. “Stay away,” I managed to say, though it was but a murmur. Whatever alchemy the General had performed must have taken effect with my prior release of energy. This would explain the immediate fatigue afterwards. But I was thinking too much, and with the charm still in this room, it was not helping me. Suddenly I felt someone grab my hair and jerk my head violently forwards.

“For your sake the Yuke has been rescheduled. Do not pull another stunt like this ever again if you value your sanity.” I couldn’t see him; everything had become blurred, meshed shapes. I really couldn’t care less right now; I wanted to pass out and forget this pain that I was dealing with. And to my luck, my wish was granted.

Surka

I have been awake for a while, just starring at my mosaic ceiling. It is the middle of the nigh and my body is still unable to rest. I guess my restlessness is justifiable. As a young king one must learn to grow with the people and know the lives of his subjects so that one can rule abundantly. This week everything seemed to have collided all at once, so much so that I had to step out of an important meeting because of the amount of stress that I was in. Seemingly, that stress has followed me to bed. Surely, there was some way to calm my spirits and I decide to do something about my agitation. Grabbing the silk robe that hung idly on my foot post, I made my way out of chambers and into the corridors of my Palace. I was greeted with bows from the guards, and after assuring them that there was no cause for alarm I made my way downstairs. I was in no hurry of getting anywhere so I took my time. The Palace, though very quiet, was not completely void of life. The evening lights were still on and servants who were on their night shifts were keeping wake. I much preferred the Palace at night; the sheer tranquility of the place provided me with a peace of mind that was faltering in its effects on my sleep tonight. I saw a thin line of light coming from the kitchen area, and, as if in direct response to the sight, I heard my stomach growl. Perhaps food would make me drowsy enough to sleep.

Having startled the servants a bit, and reassuring them that an extravagant meal in the dining hall was not necessary, I sat down at the large kitchen table. Almost immediately I was presented with bowls of fresh fruit, cheese, and bread. “Here, Maja, your drink,” the servant girl said, bowing and handing me the cup of wine. I graciously thanked her as she bowed and left me to my midnight snack. Halfway through my small plate of grapes and pears, Sir Hopewell walked in, much to my astonishment. Judging from the look on his face, the feeling was mutual. “You’re not a morning person, Hopewell, and hardly a middle-of-the-night one at that.” I said, beckoning for him to sit.

“The same could be said for you too, Maja. After all, is it not I who has the daunting task of waking you up in the morning every now and then?” I could see the slight smirk that made its way on his lips.

“I would watch what I say, Lord Healer, you are speaking to the king, after all.”

“Indeed.” We sat in silence, he concentrating on the book he was reading, me deep in thought of the events that had been occurring and plaguing my mind. For the past three weeks bandits have been terrorizing the land, stealing provisions, and setting fields on fire. Just recently there were reports of a kidnapping in the far eastern village, Helena. Fruitlessly, there have been no leads as to where the child might have been taken. Try as they may, my armies were not been able to track down this notorious group, or decipher to which land they belong. There have been speculations that this is the deed of Ludahk, an empire far from mine own of Surka, and far more notorious than any I have seen in my 23 years of life. Hopewell must have heard my wave of distressing thoughts or I must have uttered something, for I was so caught up in my own thinking that I did not notice when a hand touched my shoulder and two silver-blue eyes starred deep into mine.

“Highness, you must stop this,” the eyes said, “All of this brooding and stress you bring upon yourself must end.”

“Hopewell, these are my people and—“

“As are they my people, and Abel’s people, Hugo, Kalos, and Darren’s people, yet you do not see us troubling ourselves on this matter, to this extent.” Mentioning the other holy warriors seemed to put emphasis on his point.

“But I am king,” I tried to reason.

“And you will make yourself sick. Then where would we be?” he said this as he let go of his grip and closed his book, which he had left opened on the table. I decided that it was no good arguing the case, for he, my Master Healer, was a very wise and sensible man, and would see to it that my mental activities were blocked for several hours just so I could have a restful night of sleep. “You’re right. Well, I’ll be heading back to bed—“

“Sire, come quickly, there’s been a bush fire.”

“—or not.” My plans of a rest were immediately shattered with the foot soldier's message. Hopewell gave me a forlorn look as we made our way out of the dining area towards our readied horses.

* * * *

Riding up I could see the smoke rising into the night’s sky, but it was not until we were within yards of the flames did I see the monstrosity of it all. What I had thought a forest fire was in fact a harvest fire which had consumed a sizeable amount of the farmer’s land. Waterloggers and their trainers were desperately trying to dispel the flames but the more water they added, the angrier the flames became. Surely, trickery was involved. “Do you still think Ludahk is not responsible for this?” I heard a voice say behind me. Kalos, the Master Swordsman, had joined our company, along with the other three warriors of Surka. “This just reeks of their barbarism.” He spat.

“Do you think you can handle this?” I said before the conversation lasted any longer. Kalos, who had been and still is the most adamant about a possible Ludahk infiltration, rode up to the flames and pulled out his sword from its sheath. In a matter of second the flames receded from the harvest and began to take shape as the sword glowed. At the moment when it seemed that the sword could not become any brighter, Kalos charged through the ashen field and collided with the fire fiend in a display of magnificent light and energy. Once the power dissipated he emerged with sword in hand. “Whoever we’re dealing with conjured up one heck of a fire demon,” he said, sheathing his sword which still glowed red with heat, “and I don’t think this is the last of it. I was not able to concentrate all of its energy; I’m afraid there’s still a good amount of it leaking in this area.”

“Alright, Abel see if you can put a seal on this land. I don’t want any more flare-ups tonight.”

“Yes, Maja.” While my Master Ambassador worked out a protective seal, I sought out the family affected, making sure that they at least were unharmed. Hopewell and the others worked with the fire crew to clear some of the damaged harvest. Whoever did this sure had a great deal of power and for the kingdom’s sake, had to be captured and prevented from doing anymore damage. This was going to be a long night.

Please comment, so that I may be quick in my update.