As the day drew to a close, the sky took on a dull orange hue. A figure, cloaked and hooded, wandered down a sloping mountain path. Suddenly, the figure stopped and their violet eyes glowed from beneath the hood as they scanned the surroundings. Their gaze fell upon an open plain with two stone thrones at its center. Another hooded figure hid in the shadow of the further throne, but their presence was given away by the glow of their violet eyes. The first figure clicked their tongue disapprovingly and narrowed their eyes at the sight of the other individual.
As they strolled down the path, the breeze rustled their cloak. A sudden gust almost blew off their hood, but upon a click of their tongue, the wind froze. However, the world around them also froze. The hooded silhouette, that stood by the stone throne, eyes grew large as they noticed the surroundings change before they locked sight with the other individual. The eyes of the silhouette hiding in the shadow turned into crescents as they began to sit on the throne.
"Brother, come and sit with me," said the person on the stone throne, their eyes still forming a crescent shape.
With another click of their tongue, the figure on the mountain path continued to walk, their eyes never leaving the other figure sitting on the throne.
“Brother, I am so glad you could join me, we never talk anymore. Well not since…” They left their words floating in the air, their eyes curved even more showing their happiness and excitement.
The other figure stood in front of the empty stone throne glaring at the ‘brother’ in front of them, “Brother, speak less.”
The other’s eyes grew wide, obviously shocked by the words before a laugh escaped from the shadow of the hood.
“Now why have you called me here little brother, there are many tasks that need my attention, this is not one of those tasks, brother, and you should know I do not like my time to be wasted.” said the still-standing figure.
“Brother, brother, before that please sit I want to talk…”
“Why am I here Bahattar?” the figure said in a deep roar, annoyance clear in their voice.
“C-Calm down brother, I just want to talk so please sit and talk with me,” Bahattar said in an almost whimpering voice
“Good,” The tone of the figure still standing changed and the smugness of his voice could be felt in the air, “Us brothers never have the opportunity to have a nice discussion, just the two of us.” the figure said his eyes now in crescents, his voice now oozing sarcasm.
Bahattar looked wide-eyed at his brother, he had fallen into his trap again. He narrowed his eyes, trying to decide his next words carefully.
“Brother Aon… I would like your youngest son,” Bahattar said, his voice becoming more determined with each word.
“You what?” Aon said his hand moved upward as he rested his head on his finger, appearing bored by the conversation already.
“Your youngest give him to me,” Bahattar paused looking at his brother, “I can take him down the right path, his destine path,” he said with worship in his voice and eyes
Aon looked at his brother, his eyes narrowed with annoyance and ridicule.
“Do not look at me like that, brother. Your youngest is destined for greatness, the likes that which we can not even fathom.” Bahattar said, noticing the gaze he was receiving.
“You are nothing but a zealot,” Aon spoke in a calm voice, but it soon turned to a wrathful scream as he continued, “You still follow in their footsteps! You follow a deserter, a liar, a false idol.”
Aon stood up from his stone throne, “They threw us away…”
Bahattar cowered in his stone throne trying his best to get away from his brother and his mad almost feral gaze, “Brother…”
Aon paid no mind to his brother and just continued his mad rant, “After all that we did for them, the praise, the worship, the fealty…”
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
Without warning, Aon yanked Bahattar by the collar of his cloak and forcefully removed him from the stone throne. Bahattar could feel the warm spit cooling on his face from his brother's screams of indignation, but he was taken aback by his brother's uncharacteristic behavior. Aon was typically calm and calculated, even when he pretended to be angry it was only for a strategic advantage. This sudden display of genuine anger left Bahattar feeling helpless and frightened as if he were a child lost in a dark, suffocating void.
“And you want my child, my son, to follow that same path. Do you spit in my face, our siblings' face, no, our whole race's face,”
Aon threw Bahattar at the stone throne, causing Bahattar to grunt from the pain of the impact.
“Why refuse that child's destiny brother, he must walk this path, it is the only one for him,” Bahattar screamed his determination outweighing his fear.
“You speak of paths, fate, destiny to me! Blind fool, zealot, coward, how dare you mock me!” Aon spoke in rage, the once beautiful blue-tinted grass surrounding them started to shrivel and wilt turning the ground into a wasteland.
“Brother calm down!” Bahattar said in a panicked scream.
“Calm! No, you have no right to tell me to be calm. You called me here to this site to mock me and attempt to coerce me into giving my child, my son’s, life to you. For what? For what purpose?” Aon screamed as he reached under Bahattar’s hood trying to grab his head, only to notice something wrong, he flung his hand back revealing what lie underneath the shadow of the hood, a pitch-black orb with two violet floating eyes.
“Brother…”
“What have you done,” Aon spoke weakly, his voice fluctuating, “Wh-Why… why do you mock me? You, the one who called me here to this sacred site of deliberation and equality, cower behind a puppet. Do you fear me this much, is it the answer that I would have given, or is there another reason…”
The eyes floating in the black orb stared solemnly at Aon, not answering.
“Coward! Answer me!”
A voice drifted from the orb, "It is not his will." The orb's violet eyes were fixed on Aon, devoid of any life or emotion.
“His will!” Aon screamed, causing the surrounding space to shake.
Aon was seething with anger and needed to find a way to release it before he lost control. Despite his efforts to remain composed, Bahattar was determined to not let an opportunity like this slip away.
“Yes, his will says that your son will follow in his footsteps,” Bahattar said with reverence.
Aon glared at the floating eyes and gave a snide ridiculing laugh.
Bahattar paid it no mind continuing his rant, “The boy his path is set, his destiny is to follow their footsteps he will walk this path whether you allow it or not. He cannot hide from this, no one can.”
“No,” Aon said in a calm voice, but Bahattar knew that it was only the calm before the storm.
“Why? The child is useless and a shame to you, is that not why you have him hidden away, locked in a place where no one will find him?”
“You speak as if you know my thoughts, Bahattar, but you know nothing, you are nothing but a game piece that does not even realize they are already on a board being toyed with.”
“You're wrong I am the one moving the pieces as his hand, I am no game piece.”
Bahattar noticed that Aon was calming down as he was ridiculing him, he needed to think of a way to anger him again enough to destroy this puppet.
“You are nothing but a fool who sees the game pieces around them thinking that they are your own to use, while unaware of the hand that hovers over your head moving you.”
“I challenge you to supremacy,” Bahattar screamed
Aon looked shocked and confused, “You what?”
“I challenge you to supremacy, I shall take your position and your child. I shall usher in an age of utopia for our race, one with your son at the forefront and I there to aid him.”
“Have you lost what little mind you had left?” Aon blinked in confusion.
"No," Bahattar replied, as he took out a golden scroll from inside his cloak. "This has been signed by more than half of our siblings who have grown weary of you and tyranny."
"I can't believe it, " Aon screamed before laughing in ridicule, "They think it's time for a change."
"What? After everything I've done for them," Aon's voice broke from his screams sounding pitiful as the sadness from the betrayal took root, "They want to throw me away? How dare they!"
Bahattar thought just a small push left, “Yes, and look at the last signature is that not someone you know and hold so dear, brother,”
Aon glanced over the names that made the list before pausing on the last name, his face one of shock and horror, he gasped for breath. He read and reread that name written in blood holding the largest spot hoping that it would disappear if he read it once more, “SILROSE!”
“Brother it has been so much fun... until we meet again on the battlefield,” those were the last words to come from the puppet as Aon's hand crushed the black orb sending a shockwave outward crushing the stone thrones to nothing but dust.
Aon stood silently in the wasteland he had created, the sacred stone thrones gone. He stared silently at his hands that held the broken pieces of his brother's puppet, Aon threw his head back glaring at the darkening sky, “I’ve been played for a fool.”