CHAPTER 1 - QUIN AND SORIN

“Quin, breathe deeper. Allow the spirit that exists all around you to be pulled in with each breath. Circulate it through your body and fortify it. Allow the spirit to seep into your bones, blood, and mind," Lief Stoneheart coached. He stood over the boy looking down on him as he meditated and absorbed spirit from the surroundings.

Quin had sandy blonde hair that desperately needed a haircut. It cascaded over his ears in a wild mess. Lief was not much of a barber so Quin was usually left to cut his own hair with a knife. Quin had stunningly clear blue eyes that anyone and everyone would compliment on their hue. Quin also had a small painting of freckles across his face and nose that made him seem much younger and innocent than he was.

Quin, despite being sixteen and having an innocent face, was muscular and tall. That was clearly the effect of gathering spirit. Spirit made someone stronger and more powerful and had a huge effect on someone’s growth if they began gathering spirit at the youngest age they could. That age tended to be around thirteen or fourteen years old during puberty. Because of the three years of gathering spirit under Lief’s tutelage, Quin was already a hundred and eighty centimeters tall and would most certainly grow taller.

Lief had been taking care of Quin in the mountain village since his arrival. Sadly, Quin’s mother Loma had passed away shortly after childbirth. Lief mounted the blame for Loma’s death squarely on Vesperos the god of Darkness, Secrets, and Fear. Loma was strong enough to carry a single god’s child, but Vesperos had to know that Loma would not be strong enough at the rank of Disciple to carry the children of two gods at the same time.

Lief was pulled out of his musings when light began to coalesce around Quin. The lights danced around Quin for a few moments before diving inside him and disappearing. Lief’s face broke into a large smile.

“Look at that. Our little genius has advanced another Degree," Leif complimented. Quin opened his eyes and smiled at Lief’s proclamation. Lief reached his massive hand over and ruffled Quin’s already messy hair, making no difference in its rattyness.

“Thank you, sir Lief. I am doing my best," Quin replied. Lief insisted Quin called him sir after Quin mistook him as his father when he was young. Lief could not live with himself if he claimed his god’s son as his own. It was the height of blasphemy.

“You have gone up two degrees in the past several months to reach the 9th Degree. That speed is impeccable. Especially now that you are close to mastering your basics in meditation. If you continue at this pace, you will be ready to ascend to Acolyte status before we leave the mountain on your seventeenth birthday. Most people your age will have only reached the 5th Degree at most. Now review your basics again. We cannot have you forgetting your basics," Lief commanded.

“I follow the god Solarius, the god of Light, Might, and Wisdom. He is the most powerful god in the light pantheon and the hope of all to deliver all of the world from darkness. In order to help our lord achieve his goal, we must gather spirit through meditation and prayer, slaying the enemies of Solarius, and completing acts of devotion to the master of light Solarius," Quin went a little glassy eyed as he recited the mantra he was taught everyday since he could speak.

“What is spirit used for?” Lief prompted.

“Followers of gods use spirit to enforce their bodies and souls. When their body and soul reach a saturation limit, they grow stronger by a denomination called a Degree. Once someone reaches the 10th Degree, they can ascend to the next Rank by completing a task given to them by their god. With each Degree and Rank ascended, the follower’s lifespan is extended. Upon completing the task or tasks, their god rewards them by ascending the follower to the next rank and rewarding them with more power. These powers manifest based on the god and the follower,"

“And the ranks?” Lief asked.

“The ranks listed in order are Initiate, Acolyte, Disciple, Zealot, Champion, Exarch, Inquisitor, High Archon, Divine Ascendant, Soulforge Ascendant," Quin replied promptly.

“Good. You being a 9th Degree Initiate means that you will need to rank up once more before you can ascend to Acolyte. The task to ascend to Acolyte is always the same, which is to kill an Acolyte level entity or someone else that is a 10th Degree Initiate. This can be a person or a beast," Lief stated.

“I prefer a beast,” Quin murmured quietly.

“That is what most do for their first ascendance. I will be there and make sure you are suitably prepared for the encounter. We will make it as safe as possible," Lief reassured me.

“Enough of the doom and gloom. You deserve a break. Take the rest of the day off. You deserve a little rest, after all we will be leaving the mountain once you turn seventeen. There will not be a carefree life ahead of you. Being the son of my god is a prestigious position after all," Lief laughed and rose. Lief’s booming laugh and thunderous footsteps were heard even after he left the room in the small cottage.

Quin arose from the floor where he had been seated with his legs in a crossed position. Quin felt some trepidation at the thought of leaving the mountain village. He was not close with any of the villagers, but it was still home. It was where he was born, his mother had died, and where his brother also lived. At that thought of his brother, Quin knew where he needed to go today. He would go into the village. If he was lucky, his brother Sorin would meet him there.

Sorin’s home was at the opposite side of the village. Quin and Sorin were kept separate for the most part. Both their mentors and protectors, Lief Stoneheart and Magnus Warbringer, knew it would be impossible to keep the two apart indefinitely, but wanted to make it difficult for the two to form a connection. After all, they had different destinies to be on different sides of a war. Unless one of them died before ever leaving the mountain.

Lief and Magnus had an agreement not to fight or kill the children before they reached the age of seventeen. Both of them knew deep down that the safest option would be to take the children away from each other before they reached seventeen in order to ensure their survival. However, neither wanted to back down in the face of the other and the holy mission of exterminating their adversary’s student.

While Lief had been mentoring Quin, Magnus had been mentoring Sorin. Currently, Magnus was training Sorin in swordsmanship. Magnus watched as Sorin moved fluidly through sword stances. In each hand was a Niuweidao sword. Sorin danced back and forth in a deadly dance, fighting imaginary foes. His shirt was soaked through as he had been practicing practically non-stop for the whole day.

Magnus studied Sorin’s movements. They were fluid with few mistakes. Magnus would drill those mistakes out of Sorin before the end of their stay in the mountains.

Sorin had grown a decent chunk over the past few months. He was close to a hundred and eighty centimeters, but not quite there. He would surely surpass this heightt or more in the years to come. Sorin had short black hair that Magnus made sure he kept trimmed. A stray lock of hair could lead to distraction during battle. Distractions during battle were not to be tolerated.

To match Sorin’s black hair were his eyes. Although his eyes were not technically black and were a very dark brown, a simple shadow would cause his eyes to appear black. Sorin was lean, but well muscled. It gave him an agile grace that he displayed as he finished his sword sequence. Once finished, Sorin returned the dual swords to sheathes strapped to his back.

“Mistakes?” Magnus asked in an unreadable tone.

“Six," Sorin replied with a slight look of disappointment.

“I counted seven,” Magnus stated. Sorin cursed and stamped his foot. Sorin was patient, but hated being wrong or beaten at anything. Sorin always argued that being wrong was the same as losing and Magnus had failed to convince him otherwise. Magnus feared that this obsession with perfection would impede Sorin in the future.

Magnus began to correct Sorin’s technique. Magnus was teaching Sorin his own swordsmanship style. It belonged to Magnus’s family, which was founded by Magnus's ancestor Goth Warbringer. Goth was a High Archon at his peak. He embarked upon a quest to ascend hundreds of years ago and never returned. Most presumed he was dead, but Magnus believed his ancestor was still alive. Magnus had only met his ancestor a handful of times when he was not even old enough to cultivate spirit. Magnus had spent a few dozen years looking for his ancestor, but whenever he began to make progress his family or some other important matter called him back.

Magnus had regaled Sorin with stories of Goth Warbringer since Sorin was a little boy. Goth earned his name of Warbringer when he led a group of Champions as an Inquisitor into light pantheon territory. There, the team of six champions under Inquisitor Goth had slain eight Inquisitors and destroyed a small city. Such a feat was rarely heard of, especially since everyone in the group returned alive.

Sorin vowed to himself when he was seven that if Magnus never went looking for his ancestor that he certainly would. Bringing such a legend home to the dark pantheon would be a glorious task and feat. He would walk the world’s forests and sail the seas looking for the world’s endless secrets. When young Sorin had voiced these thoughts, Magnus laughed long and hard. He said he expected nothing less from the son of Vesperos, the god of darkness, fear, and secrets. It had to be in Sorin’s nature to want to find the secrets of the world.

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“Overall, you are improving at an excellent pace. You have reached the 8th Degree which is respectable. Your swordsmanship is stellar in comparison to those in your age bracket. Although, I do want you to diversify your arsenal so you are not reliant on only your Niuweidao swords. They are suited to hacks and slashes, but may lack the power you may need in some situations. We will continue your longsword training tomorrow. What you really need is a battlefield to hone your instincts and accelerate your power. Those will emerge aplenty in the next few years as you make your return to the land of the dark pantheon. Take the rest of the day off and recover," Magnus analyzed.

“Thank you, Master,” Sorin bowed as he spoke. Magnus nodded and then turned to leave toward the cabin deeper in the woods then paused and turned back to Sorin.

“I know you are most likely going to see if you can find your brother in the village. I know he is your only peer in this village and your blood brother, but you cannot afford to form a close bond with him. There will be a war and you two will not be on the same side," Magnus stated. Sorin looked a little chastised and morose at what was inevitable. “I am sorry Sorin, but I have sworn to my god and your father that I would do my best to kill your brother. If the dark pantheon is to have the best chance at claiming this world, we must kill Quin and ensure your survival. I will give Lief and him a warrior’s death worthy of an afterlife in either pantheon,"

Sorin took little solace in Magnus’s words. He knew that there would be a fight that would kill him or his brother eventually, but it did not have to be in several months. Couldn’t they go their separate ways and meet each other on the battlefield one day like true warriors? How much of an advantage would one side gain from killing one of them? To Sorin’s knowledge there was not much special about being the son of a god. Everyone knew that they would become powerful, but everyone had the potential to become powerful. Sorin had asked Magnus what was so special about being the son of a god and made him powerful, but Magnus did not know.

The children of gods were simply too few and far between. Most never made it to become truly powerful as they were found and killed by the other pantheon at all costs. Those that did ascend to great power would not record their greatest secrets and trump cards in a book for all to read. Besides, they usually led crusades against the other pantheons and then died in battle attempting to use their power to break the other pantheon once and for all. Magnus even stated that there was no record of Vesperos or Solarius putting a child into this world. It did not mean it never happened, just that over the millennium of conflict between the pantheons any record of one of these children were extinguished.

“I will do my best to remain distant,” Sorin replied. Magnus nodded, not believing the young boy, but acquiesced his words and left.

Sorin, doing the opposite of his words, went towards the village in the hopes of seeing his brother there. He trotted at a steady pace knowing that there was plenty of daylight left. He wound through the trees on a path he had broken in over his entire life of living in this mountain. He could have walked this path blindfolded and backwards. This area of the mountain was his… and Magnus’s, but mainly his. Magnus did not know the trees and stones the way Sorin did.

The village eventually came into view. Sorin instantly saw his brother leaned against a tree by the entrance to the village. Sorin jogged over and bumped fists with his brother.

“I suppose luck is on our side today brother,” Quin said.

“The last time we both got out of training on the same day was two months ago. Luck must be in abundance,” Sorin replied. Both brothers turned away from the village and began walking on a path leading away from it. They had no desire to go into the village and have the villagers stare and avoid them. Most of the older villagers still remembered seeing the destruction that Magnus and Lief wrought when they fought upon coming to the mountain. They had no desire to be associated with the boys who were being raised by such crazy men.

“What did you do that got you out of training early?” Sorin asked.

“I reached the 9th Degree,” Quin said proudly while puffing out his chest.

“Damn it. I said I would reach the 9th Degree first,” Sorin lamented as he kicked a stone to let out a bit of frustration. The stone shot down the path bouncing along the ground before landing in the tall grass.

“I win again, brother!” Quin boasted. He raised his arms and flexed his biceps to show off his strength.

“You may have won this battle, but I will win the war and advance to the Acolyte rank before you will,” Sorin vowed while smiling.

“What did you do that made that slave driver, Magnus, let you go?” Quin inquired. Sorin laughed good naturedly. Quin and Sorin frequently talked about their mentors and their different teaching styles. Lief tended to be calm and steady while Magnus tended to drive Sorin forward at a breakneck speed, not allowing for much rest. Quin and Sorin joked about Magnus, but Sorin would not trade his master for anything.

“I am close to perfecting the basic Warbringer style. I got down to seven mistakes in my basic form. I thought it was only six, but I was wrong," Sorin stated while kicking another rock. It still irritated him that he had not perfected the basic styles of Warbringer.

“That's damn good. I wish Lief would put me through more weapon training. Lief wants to train me in the lance, but it is not his speciality. He says I would be perfect for it, but I am not sure. I prefer the broadsword that he is using to teach me currently," Quin replied.

“Lief knows what he is talking about. Magnus always speaks highly of Lief as a warrior," Sorin commented.

“Magnus and Lief always seem to respect each other. I do not understand why they need to fight. Why does anyone in the pantheons need to fight each other?” Quin pondered.

“Warriors are warriors. We cannot have warriors if no one fights. If the dark and light pantheons do not fight each other, then who will they fight? There will always be war even if it is not between the two pantheons," Sorin responded.

“That is true. I still don’t want to be your enemy though," Quin said.

“We will never be enemies, Quin. Look at it as sparing. We can become the best that the light and dark pantheon has to offer. Then we can fight until there is a winner. Winner takes all with no hard feelings. It's all one giant game," Sorin stated. He was warming up to the conversation. Sorin was competitive and always wanted to go all out against his brother. A battle between powers, skill, strength, and tactics all rolled into one. Their fight once they reached the peak would be told across the world for millennia.

“I’m not sure that is a game we should play. I enjoy praying, meditating, and sparing, but a war would kill hundreds of thousands, probably more if innocents are harmed," Quin said demurely.

“You are thinking about it too hard. This is the way things are. It's not like we can defy the gods," Sorin countered. Then he stopped and turned around. “Here we are. How about a friendly spar?”

Quin smiled and nodded. The brothers were not social people with how they were raised. They communicated best with conflict. Sorin didn’t say another word as he drew both Niuweidao swords from the scabbard on his back. He tossed one sword to Quin who caught it effortlessly.

Quin adopted a stance with the sword positioned above his head, ready to drop into an attack in an instant. He then brought his other hand up and gestured a come hither motion to taunt Sorin. Sorin smiled and instantly took the taunt, leaping forward.

Sorin led with a horizontal slash towards Quin’s stomach. Instead of countering the blow, Quin spun away and brought his arm down in an angled slash, dodging and attacking in one movement. Sorin blocked the blade and realized his mistake. Quin had reached the 9th Degree and was now stronger than Sorin now who remained at the 8th Degree. The strength at this stage was not enough to cause Sorin to be overpowered, but it was enough that when their blades met it jarred Sorin’s arm.

It was a silly mistake and both Sorin and Quin knew it. Sorin immediately began to take evasive action. He had to avoid blocking Quin’s strikes directly. Quin took the offensive, using his superior strength to try to overpower Sorin.

The spar fell into a pattern. Quin would launch an attack and Sorin would evade before counter attacking. Quin would be forced to dodge or attempt a counter with his blade. Whenever Sorin spotted a counter, he immediately abandoned the attack and attempted to maneuver past Quin’s guard. Occasionally, the attack would be too slow and Quin would manage to counter Sorin’s attack. This would cause Sorin to grimace as his arm would ache at the clash.

Sorin to avoid his dominant right arm from tiring began to switch his attacks by swapping the sword to his left hand to attack. Eventually, Sorin began to win the war of attrition. Sorin was the superior swordsman out of the two brothers. This came about from Sorin training swordsmanship more than Quin while Quin meditated and gathered spirit more often than Sorin.

After a clash between swords, Sorin lashed out and caught the pommel of Quin’s sword. The sword leapt free from Quin’s hand and landed a few meters away. Quin shook his head in disappointment at himself and stepped back. Then he put up his fists in a boxer pose. Sorin smiled and tossed his sword away into the grass. Then he mimicked Quin’s stance. The boys launched into an impromptu boxing match that eventually devolved into wrestling. Sorin may have won the sword fight, but Quin won the wrestling and boxing with his superior strength.

Hours had passed as the two boys rough housed and enjoyed the camaraderie that came with boys fighting. Eventually, they lay in the grass, sweaty and out of breath. They said nothing for several minutes, just catching their breath. Quin eventually broke the silence.

“I understand that we will need to go our separate ways due to our fathers, but I do not understand why Magnus and Lief must fight and attempt to kill one of us before we leave," Quin stated.

“Magnus said it was a combination of warrior’s honor and that they must obey the decree of their god. If only one of us lives, then that side supposedly gains a massive advantage. We still don’t know what makes us so special," Sorin explained.

“I suppose that is true, but there has to be a way where we can convince them to just leave the mountain without a fight. Our lives are their top priority," Quin mumbled a bit subdued.

“Perhaps there is. Maybe if we show up during their battle, they will panic and move to protect us and decide it's not worth the risk to continue the battle," Sorin said with a bit of enthusiasm. The gears in his head were beginning to turn.

“You are right! That may cause them to retreat with us, then we can battle down the line when we are prepared," Quin proclaimed as he shot up into a sitting position.

The boys smiled at each other and began to hatch their plot. They planned for a few hours, not knowing if they would meet again before their birthdays. Once the plan was finished, the sun had set past the mountain peaks. The boys journeyed back to the village and then split up, heading their separate ways, not knowing if they would ever speak again.