Short Little Stories

In the land of Narsis there lived two brothers, each a prince.

One brother was fair, with skin like ivory and a gentle nature.

The second brother, born seconds after him, was dark as the night, with obsidian eyes, and was prone to passion and rage.

It came to pass that their father, the old king, passed away when they were both young. A regent was appointed – a wise man, who had traveled the seas of the world and learned the teachings of distant lands before returning to Narsis, his home.

The Regent watched the boys grow, and saw a bitter rivalry between them. “One day,” he told them, “You will have to prove which of you shall be king. Until that day, however, you shall never shed each others blood or bare your teeth in anger. You must live as brothers, for the good of the people.”

And so the brothers grew into young men. The older brother, fair of skin and mind, took up the arts and culture, and taught himself much of the way the world worked. The younger brother had no interest in such things, and caroused among the people without care.

The Regent pondered the matter, and thought of a way for the kingdom to not be hurt when one of the brothers ascended to the throne. So great was his distraction that he noted not the ambitions of nearby Allair, another kingdom that coveted the lands and harvests of Narsis.

An assassin was sent, and though his own life was taken, the Regent was slain by his hand. Narsis suddenly faced danger and war, and no longer had a leader to tell them what to do.

The fair haired brother wept when he buried the Regent, for the man had been as a father to the brothers. Yet despite this, he wiped his tears away, and began studying the ways of diplomacy. He called forth his kingdom’s greatest scholars and sought out what could be offered to make peace with nearby Allair.

Yet his younger brother would have none of it. He wept no tears for the Regent, but swore a blood oath of vengeance. He went out among the people and spoke to them of blood and pain, of violence and war. As the ivory prince traveled to Allair in search of peace, the obsidian prince raised an blood mad army.

Upon his arrival in Allair, the elder prince and all his entourage were ruthlessly killed. Days later, the army of Narsis arrived, and wiped Allair from the land, and the younger prince was crowned as ruler of the kingdom to the rejoicing of his people.