Author: Amadaeus
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Prologue:
Death
Screaming…
You get used to it after working for the Circle of the Thorns for so long, especially when you’re me and my brother. We were quite the duo, back in those days. Having been taught magic since our childhood from our Father, by the time we joined the Circle we quickly moved up the ranks. We were feared by those who stood before us and, after a time, by the Thorns themselves. They could see the potential we had and didn’t like it one bit.
But today was different. The screaming wasn’t some victim of mine or my brother’s. It was my own. The Circle’s fear of us and our awakening lead to this event…our exile. My brother, Gilthanis, was able to get out of Oranbega largely unscathed due to the combined talents of his summoning and my swordplay and limited life magic. I, unfortunately, was not so lucky. This was partly due to me using my body to protect him from a curse that would surely have killed him, and partly because we were outnumbered, overpowered, and very confused.
After what felt like a lifetime of running, we finally escaped their onslaught and took shelter from the downpour under a willow tree in Perez Park. Clutching a gash across my torso and ignoring the blood running into my eyes and the holes driven into my weakening skin by the rain, I looked through my blurry vision to see my brother’s silhouette shivering in the cold as he worked on something.
“Gil, don’t… We both know I don’t have a chance. I’m too drained to see clearly, never mind heal myself, and you’re not in the best shape either,” I said through forced breaths.
My strength failing me, I leaned back against the tree for support and did my best to keep my good eye on him. I couldn’t make out his features very well, but I knew he wasn’t listening. He never does when he’s working like this. Even despite the blood pouring from his right arm he kept working with his single-minded concentration on whatever it was that was stealing his interest at the moment.
While others may have scorned him for this kind of behavior, I have always respected it. Despite being the younger brother, Gilthanis was the first of us who captured the Baron’s attention with his impressive intelligence and unwavering concentration. It was only through him that they came to notice me as well. My nimble swordsmanship and his intelligence, as well as the potential they sensed in us, were considered a dangerous combination to them and thus, despite our father’s loyalty as well as our own, they never kept us unwatched. This was never a bother before, but once again, today was different. Today we were awakened.
“You should really get to a hospital. Your wounds may not be fatal but you’re still in no condition to wander around on your own. I can’t make out your face and even I can see that you can barely stand. Just get yourself to a safe place and stop wasting your time on me.” I can’t help but care for him. Despite being in the Circle for so long the love my brother and I had for each other was one of few things that weren’t numbed by the initiation rituals, and so it was to my surprise when he stopped working for a moment to turn his head to face me and uttered something more painful to me then the numerous curses and wounds that ravaged my body. “Just shut up and die already.”
Even with this shocking statement I can’t feel angry with him. After all, I feel the same way. Feeling emotions other then anger or sadistic pleasure is overwhelming after being with the Circle of the Thorns all your life. Now that we’ve somehow been freed of their influence, for the first time in our lives we don’t know what to do with ourselves. Ever since our father started teaching us magic, our dream was to follow in his footsteps as a loyal and respected member of the Circle. We loyally gave ourselves to their cause and became willing soldiers in their army, blind to everything but the goals of the arcane cult. We were blind to all the pain and suffering we caused the people, until now.
We have been awakened from the influence of the Thorns, though neither of us knows how. All we know is that earlier today we both suddenly understood the consequences of our actions. As if a veil was lifted from our eyes, for the first time we were both able to see beyond the Circle’s goals. Gilthanis keeps his emotions to himself most of the time, but I can tell he feels the same guilt and anger that I do.
So as shocking as his statement was my brother is, as I am, trying to get used to this life-shattering change. In mere moments our morals were found, our dreams shattered, and not long afterward our bodies broken. For that to happen all at once was devastating to us both, perhaps moreso to my brother who devoted himself so completely to the Circle. Even if he doesn’t say it out loud, his reluctance to give up speaking like the Thorns speaks volumes to me. While I have decided to relinquish their old-world way of speaking, my brother continues to carry it with him as a memento of our past life.
“Die huh? Well I’d say that option is still wide open. Though just for curiosity’s sake, Gil, would you divulge the secret as to what your little project over there is?”
“You’ll see soon enough, my brother. I’m almost finished” he said, again not looking up from his work.
Another intense shock of pain ran through my body as a flesh-eating curse continued to run rampant on my body. I screamed out loud again, and my brother shot a stern look at me. I subdued my cries as best as I could so as to not give away our position. My back lurched forward involuntarily as I began to cough violently, blood spattering on the remnants of my robes. I took a deep breath and leaned back against the tree.
“With all due respect Gil, I don’t think I will. In case you haven’t noticed I’m literally falling apart from their spells. My insides are the consistency of the mud you’re playing in and what blood I have left in my body is barely enough to keep me conscious.”
After a brief silence interrupted by more of my coughing, he finally looked up from his now-finished project and stood up beside it. By this time my vision was lost completely, but I was still able to hear branches break under his feet. Then the sound was getting closer and closer. The force of his grasp was too much for my decomposing body to handle and I let out another quick cry of pain.
“Brother, what are you doing?” Without a reply he removed my glove and pressed my hand against my bleeding abdomen.
“Keep your hand firmly open. Do not close it,” was all he said. He then quickly placed my hand on what felt like cold, wet stone and he laid me down softly onto the ground. He lowered my hood and my breathing came a little easier, then I felt a sharp pain in my chest. It was as if I was being stabbed.
“Goodbye, brother” was the last thing I heard before his knife plunged into my heart. Suddenly, just for a moment, my world became clear and there was no pain. All anxieties were gone, all guilt was forgotten, all pain was no more. The rain that fell all around soothed me and, just for a moment, the world was clear as crystal. Then there was a silence so complete it was deafening, and my whole world once again was devoid of light.
I think I felt a tear run down my cheek.
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