Prologue229Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNzLZumiEfN
Two twin boys sat in a dimly lit grand library. An infinite number of books lined the stone walls around them. Tapestries of great stories and heroes were strung about. A woman wrapped in elegant clothing sits at the head of the two children. The crackle of the fireplace behind her punctuated her words as she told the story of a great legend. Her soft voice reverberated off the walls throughout the large library.
“Once upon a time, there was one great army, but this army had a problem. They were confused as to why they had to stay stationed around the kingdom and defend, even though this secluded country had no enemies. Many of the soldiers were longing to see their families and homes again, though some would happily defend the kingdom and stay for as long as the king requested. This caused many disputes between the soldiers. Names like cowards and traitor were thrown about,”
One of the boys interrupted, “But mom, why would they need to stay if there wasn't anything to fight? I would want to come home to see you, Mom.”
The other boy then voiced his own opinion. “No Zeno,” he argued, “If they are soldiers, then shouldn’t they stay and protect the king? Isn’t that what they are supposed to do?”
A slight look of amusement spread across the woman’s face. “See, Ceres and Zeno, this is exactly how the soldiers felt.”
She continued reading, “‘Unfortunately, as time went on, the soldiers only grew more and more upset with each other. It even got to the point where two distinct groups formed. The two groups eventually became so upset with each other that they began to completely shut out the opposing side. The group that wanted to go to their families soon made a plan to do just that. They waited for the dark of night to leave when hopefully all the other soldiers would be asleep. They crept out of their tents and slowly made their way out of sight of the encampment. Though unfortunately for the deserting soldiers, the other group had expected them to leave at some point or another, so they had sent a scout to spy on them. The two armies then met in a field,” She paused and looked up at the children, “just south of where we are right now.” She pointed out the window to her left. She continued reading, “The two armies ran at each other, preparing to kill their comrades and friends. The king at the time saw all of this happening with great disdain. He ran through the middle of the two armies and with one mighty shout he drove his sword deep into the ground. All of a sudden a mighty crack began to run its way through the land, splitting it entirely in two. He told the armies to help control the now-divided land. A single island sat in the middle of the two lands, the capital.”
She once again looked up from her book. “Right where we sit.”
Zeno gained a look of awe on his face “Really?! That’s so awesome!”
Ceres also showed his admiration for this legend, but in a much more subtle way. He simply just looked around the room, imagining what it might have been if the great divide never existed.
A small sound began to emanate from the hall leading out of the library. The woman grew a look of concern on her face.
“Mom, what’s wrong?”
The mother of the boys didn’t say anything, but her steel gaze was fixed, unmoving, on the door.
She knew the king well and the politics that follow him, after all, they were married. Because of this, she knew something was very wrong. She had always kept up to date with her husband’s affairs.
The queen thought about how the kingdom was in turmoil as trade across the divide was grinding to a halt. Many of the bridges used to cross the divide had been swept away from the Deimos river’s strong currents. Without the West island's food supply, the East was beginning to starve. The West, without the East’s iron, was much weaker in military strength. There was fear that the divided continent would break out in war over the little supplies remaining.
The people, who had nobody to blame, placed their trust in anarchists, who spoke against the king saying that all of this was his fault. As these anarchists gained more and more support, the people of Euphoric trusted the king less and less. Riots had begun to break out across the island and the bridges surrounding Tulgia had all been stormed by these rioters. Only a couple hundred guards stand between them, and us.
A crash is heard from outside the library. The boys jump, startled at the sudden sound. Their mother still focused on the door, snaps to her feet pulling the boys behind her. “Stay quiet and stay behind me,” She says urgently. Keeping quiet, she steps back and moves towards a towering bookshelf. She makes a quick move towards her left arm and pulls back her dress sleeve. This reveals an embroidered leather sheath with an ornate dagger with a ruby gem embedded in the handle. The woman began to glow with warm magic.
The boys could feel the familiar comforting warmth radiating from her. She had used it to soothe and heal them many times before. Whenever the boys were hurting or sick their mother would start to emanate this warmth. They didn’t understand what the magic was as they were too young to use it. They didn’t need to know exactly what it was, all they knew was that it helped them feel better.
“Mom why are you doing that, neither of us is hurt, and - and why do you have a dagger, Mom wha-what’s happening. I’m scared!” It was Zeno who spoke out.
Ceres stood still looking towards the door like his mother. He had the same scared look on his face as Zeno. He had all the same questions as well but he knew that his mother would want him to stay quiet. “Servants, come here.” The queen demanded. Multiple maiden-like figures appeared from behind the rows of books and scampered towards the queen.
“ Y-Yes, my queen?” She stuttered slightly, they all knew that something horrid must be going on, and they knew that all of their lives could be in grave danger. Especially since the servants have never once seen the queen unsheath her weapon in front of the children.
“Take my children, get them away from here, take them out the side hall and get them to the outside door. ” She ordered.
“Yes, ma’am,” The maids, all five of them, ran off with the children towards a side hallway leading out of the castle.
“You two, stay here with me.” The two in the back turned and stayed with the queen. She could see that they were scared. That they had been chosen to stay. They knew that this would most likely be their final order to follow. The thought of leaving their queen, however, never crossed their mind. She was always the kindest master they had ever worked for, in fact, she even paid them more than a real job would. They would fight and give their last breath happily for her. As the warriors burst into the doors they knew that no amount of magic or luck could save them. 229Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLQlqAy5cI4
The three servants frantically ushered the boys out of the great library into a cramped, dimly lit hall. They ran through the halls, seeming to turn at random intervals. The children watched as the walls turned from the perfectly cut marble stones they’ve known all of their lives, into uneven cracked walls scattered with moss and other various plants. Slowly the marble disappeared entirely and all that covered the walls were a mess of plants and mud. As the group neared the last visible torch, one of the servants reached out and plucked it from its stand.
They continued on, now the only light source was the dim torch bounding along with the group. The further they got into the tunnel, the air became denser and denser with the smell of earth. Nobody spoke a word as they were all breathing much too heavy to speak.
When they neared the end of the tunnel, a new sight began to be seen. At a small opening stood a man with an orb of light above his head. It cast a dim white gloom around the room.
The servants thrust the boys behind them. The strange man removed something from his dagger and uttered strange words. “Drask munaan shiorn mucast viest!” The orb above his head began to release a dense mist, which covered the man completely, and shortly after covered the maids as well. The two brothers backed away slowly, keeping their bodies out of the mist the best they could. The mist seemed to form a wall just in front of them, whose backs were firmly pressed against the dirt wall.
The mist seemed to not only obstruct their vision but also sounds as well. The boys gave each other a frightened look when the muffled screaming pierced through the mist. A dark figure ran out, clutching her now bloody side. She grasped onto young Ceres' tiny shoulder as she fell to the ground. Ceres looked her in the eyes and saw the last of light fade away from within them. The look was one that would haunt him in many times to come. Her bloody hand fell away from his body, leaving a trail of crimson blood in its path. Two more shadows ran through the fog. The boys were both too shocked to protest when they grabbed them and yanked them in opposite directions.
All they could think to do was shout each other’s names. The fog however made it so all they could hear was a faint cry.
A cry that would never find each other for years in advance.
A cry that would spell the end to their brotherhood, forever.
229Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZnKbdpxbAP
