Post by Silent on Aug 18, 2012 19:58:33 GMT -5
The Treachery of Honesty
Let the eye take in this world. Watch as it spins in its prescribed arc around its home sun. It’s not often even in the whole of the multiverse that you find a planet that seems to be made of blood. Everything within sight was a shade of red, from the dark almost brown of dried blood to the bright, arterial red which sprays from a newly opened wound. Let the eye zoom in closer, the sole continent is a smear on a bright ocean, closer, the mountains of rust reaching like bloody claws into the sky, closer, stop, let the eye take in the vast plains on the continents interior. The plains rustled in the wind. Other then the coarse susurration of grass against grass all was silent.
Suddenly the eye is draw towards movement. A creature is slowly slinking from its burrow beneath the earth. Look closely at the creature in question; it closely resembles a rabbit from a certain blue planet in a universe 3 microns to the left of this one. Its sole differences to that creature are its color, the two small antlers upon its brow and the fact that it is carnivorous. The creature twitched its nose, scenting for danger. It was its first time on the surface, having spent the first few years of its life in the hellish confines of the earth beneath the plains, avoiding larger creatures and preying on smaller ones.
It looked towards its horizon, bloodgrass bathed in pure blinding light and, hesitantly, it set off. Suddenly a stalk of grass pierced the rabbit’s leg pinning it to the ground. The creature squealed trying to throw off the stalk when others came from all sides piercing its body and rupturing its internal organs. With a last choking breath the rabbit breathed its last and fell still. The grass slowly began to devour its kill.
The figure looked down upon the cooling corpse of the rabbit. His existence there defied logic, one minute there was empty grasslands, and next he was there. The figure was encased from head to toe in armor so dark it looked like a hole had been cut through the universe into the darkness beyond. The cloak draped from his shoulders appeared to be made from a similar material, casting flickering shadows as it danced in the wind. His fierce aspect was offset slightly be the fact that a single ordinary wooden toothpick protruded from his mouth grille.
The figure continued to stare down at the rabbit until it was completely devoured. He sighed once and then looked upwards into the sunlight, unhindered by its glaring brilliance. The sun never set here, ever. But soon enough night would fall forever, for the sun itself was in supernova, consuming itself in a desperate effort to survive. The figure sighed again and began to walk, feet coming to rest a few inches above the sentient grass.
‘An inhospitable, uncompromising planet orbiting a voracious sun’ he thought, why in all of infinity would his brother make such a place, let alone chose to make it his home? He would never understand his sibling’s motivations. No matter he was not here to try and understand them only to check on his brother. After what happened to Timorous... He had to check on his siblings, to ensure their safety and, his thoughts hardened, to make sure none of them had any part in it.
The figure looked up, craning his neck trying to see the pinnacle of the tower he now stood in front of. It, like everything upon this world, was the color of blood. He touched the sides of the tower and his fingers came away slick. ‘A tower of blood’ He thought rubbing his fingers together, ‘how quaint’. He reached forward and pushed open the door to the tower. It swung inwards noisily. “Brother it’s me!” he shouted as he stepped silently across the threshold into the antechambers dank coolness. There was no reply, all was silent.
As he paced silently through the halls calling for his brother he felt a sudden chill come over him, something was deeply wrong with this place, a kind of sicken he could not fathom. He paused suddenly in his pacing. He’d heard something, something so faint as to think he could have almost imagined it. He strained his ears, listening silently… There! There it was again, a faint groan, coming from further along the path to his right. He began to run down the hall, as he ran he heard the groan again, stronger this time. He increased his pace yet again. There was a door barring his way at the end of the hall. He slammed into it bursting it wide. The sight that greeted his eyes was not the one that he had expected.
The room beyond, unlike the rest of the tower, was large, airy and brightly lit by Torches on the upper reaches of the walls. It appeared some sort of armory with racks of every time of weapon coating every wall and a forge and anvil resting at the back of the room. But that was not what drew his attention, it was the figure chained to the anvil. He crossed the room in three strides and propped up the figure against the anvil.
The figure was a man who, once so recently in his prime, had atrophied prematurely under the scourges of his tormentors. He bore the marks of those scourges all too clearly, his flesh rent and tore in many places, his powers struggling to heal his wounds, he always had the weakest healing factor. “Hephaestus, my brother, who did this to you” the black armored figure asked, aghast at what had been done to his brother. “It was H- h- h-….” Hephaestus trailed off, speaking was painful for him. ”Who brother, WHO?!?” He picked up Hephaestus and shook him, desperate and dreading to know the answer to his question. Hephaestus’s head fell forward as he tried one more time, “H- H- H-…. ““ME”.
Both men turned at the sound, one with fear on his face the other with incredulity. A creature stood in the doorway. It resembled a bear in the same way a man resembled a monkey at one point during evolution. Its snout was shortened; it had opposable claws, walked bipedally and was clothed in ornate silver armor. Its features drew back into a feral grin as it stared at the duo. “Oh it’s you, my brother, the man of the law” It drawled sarcastically, strolling in. “Have you been enjoying my planet? I do enjoy the sunset” It chuckled depreciatively.
“Did you this?” The Lawman demanded. “Do what?” It replied, still smiling. “THIS! DID YOU DO THIS TO HIM?” The lawman shouted, gesturing to Hephaestus’s broken form. “I already said it was me don’t you remember? You really need to listen more brother” It sneered in reply. “Why?” The lawman’s fists clenched. “He wouldn’t obey my demands” It shrugged. “God will hear of this” The Lawman hissed through clenched teeth. At this the Bear actually laughed out loud. “His oh so Holiness? Oh I’m so scared” He grinned again.
The Lawman paused, something was not right here; he’d never seen his brother act this way, and what he did to Hephaestus, well... Sibling squabbles happened often enough but he’d never seen this extent of damage wrought on one of his kin by another. Worse he felt something he’d never felt around his brothers and sisters before, in danger. “We’re leaving. Right now.” He said firmly, reaching behind him for his wounded brothers’ arm. He didn’t find it.
He spun around, confused. Hephaestus was not there anymore, the chains that had bound him hanging slack and rattling softly against the anvil. He turned to the Bear,” Where is he? Where did you send him?” he spat, struggling to hold back his rising anger. “Oh just a little pocket dimension, he’s perfectly safe, don’t worry about him” It replied, putting a slight emphasis on the last word. Its grin widened. The Lawman stood still for a moment, thinking on what to do next. “I’ll be back, the others must know of this” he said stiffly and began to walk towards the door,”you will pay for this Honesty”. The Bears grin stretched, becoming a leering grimace. “That is not my name” It hissed as it raised its claws and clicked them together. The doors slammed shut of their own accord and it grinned again. “And you are going nowhere.”
The Lawman stopped walking and turned to Honesty. The silence lengthened as he just stared at his brother. “Why” he said eventually. It was a statement not a question, an order not a demand. “I desire a change” was all the reply he received. The Lawman continued to stare at his brother. He turned on his heel suddenly and resumed his stride to the doors. He reached for the handle. Suddenly there was a searing flash of light. The Lawman raised his arm shielding his eyes against the sudden burst.
When he lowered it again he saw that the room had changed around him. Symbols and Icons now shimmered brightly from the doors, walls, ceiling and floor. Even as he took in the symbols he felt a strange sensation, like a blurring around the edges of his being or as if a door had been closed on an extremity. Confused, he tried to reach into the void and leave the room that way. But he could not, he couldn’t reach it at all, it was sealed off to him. He was trapped. “Maybe now you’ll listen to me for more than five seconds” Said the voice behind him, sarcasm clear in the tone.
“Quite impressive isn’t it?” Honesty was speaking even before the black armored figure had turned to face him. “It was no easy task finding the correct pattern and arrangement, let me tell you, and let’s not even mention what it took to discover and forge the symbols themselves” It continued talking, its eyes never leaving the Lawman as he begin to walk around the edge of the room examining either the racks of weapons or the symbols, it wasn’t sure. “They’re quite neat even if I do say so myself, shutting us off from the void and unaffected by everything, but for our items” At this it grinned wetly “And I see you don’t have your sword with you today, what a happy coincidence”.
“Well once you’ve finished inflating your own ego, maybe you can finish what you started saying earlier before you got sidetracked by the sound of your own voice” The Lawman replied mildly, tracing the intricate scrollwork on a steel war hammer hanging on the nearest rack. “Of course brother” Honesty replied courteously. “I desire a change, a change to the way we run, to the way we RULE, this multiverse. There are those who agree with me and those who are opposed”. “And how do you know they would oppose you if you haven’t asked?” the Lawman countered. “They would oppose me on principle” It replied smoothly, “Once they’d heard my idea they would not wait to listen to the argument, so I would have to present my points more… forcibly” Honesty smiled, a gesture that was both disarming and malicious, “you understand?”
“And what of Hephaestus? Did he still, oppose, your ideas?” Asked the Lawman softly. His voice became softer still, “And what of Timorous?” Honesty laughed “You know Hephaestus brother, so stubborn, so set in his ways. He just needed some, persuasion. And as for that arrogant scofflaw he never would have listened, and can you really say it wasn’t deserved?” Honesty chuckled mirthlessly. The Lawman inclined his head, neither agreeing or disagreeing, nor showing the mounting horror that was building inside him with his brothers every word. ‘How can he speak so flippantly at nearly killing two of our brothers?’ He thought, deeply disturbed by this side of his brother. ‘What has happened to him?’ He wondered. Whatever madness had taken Honesty he couldn’t fathom, but the others had to be warned and, the Lawman’s resolve hardened, he would have to go through his brother to do it.
“So what do you intend to do with me? He asked. “Keep me imprisoned here?” He gestured around the room. “Imprisoned?” Honesty looked at him in mock horror. “What in the seven circles made you think you were imprisoned? You are my GUEST here” It grinned “You are free to leave whenever you like” It laughed and the grin became a sneer “If you can that is”. At this the Lawman began chuckling and Honesty’s eyes narrowed. “What’s so funny?” It demanded. “Oh nothing” The Lawman replied, still chuckling “Just thinking on how kind it was of you to give me a prison that suited me so well”. Honesty’s brow creased in confusion, ‘What could he mean?’ It thought, ‘unless….’ His eyes widened in realisation just as the first war hammer struck him in the face.
Honesty stumbled backwards, more in shock than actually hurt by the impact. More hammers struck him, keeping him off balance and forcing him backwards. “Looks like I’ll have to knock some sense into you” It heard its brother grunt, each word punctuated by the thunderous impact of another hammer. “Enough!” It roared raising its hand, palm outstretched. Waves of invisible force rippled out from Honesty’s palm, splitting the next volley of hammers asunder, ravaging everything in its path and raising a great cloud of dust. Honesty looked up in time to see the cloud parting. The weapon rack opposite it had been completely destroyed, and the wall beyond it hadn’t fared much better. Great cracks and fissures were clearly visible on the wall. The only thing seemly unaffected by the wave were the symbols, which still shone greasily as if nothing had happened.
The Lawman was nowhere to be seen. Honesty grimaced, that was never good. Honesty spun on the spot, trying to observe the whole room at once. Nothing, he couldn’t have escaped though, so where WAS he? Honesty stopped spinning and stood stock still and listened. There was no noise other that of its own heartbeat, breathing and the whistling in its ears. Wait, whistling? …. Aw crap. Honesty’s head slowly turned through the air so that it now had a view of its erstwhile body and the Lawman standing behind it, a pair of falchions in his hands.
With a thought Honesty propelled its body into action. Its body leaped forward followed hotly by the black armoured figure. Honesty’s body caught its head in one hand and slammed it back onto the stump of its neck, the flesh knitting together instantly, as the other hand snatched a mace from the weapon racks. Honesty swung around and struck out with the mace. The lawman parried but such was the force of the blow that one of the falchions shattered in his grip. He leapt backwards. “Falchions aren’t really the best weapon to us against a mace brother” Honesty mocked. The Lawman looked at the weapon in his hand, “Your right” he replied and flung the falchion at Honesty, impaling its foot to the floor, “You keep it” He grinned.
Honesty pulled his foot from the floor with a grunt and locked eyes with his foe. The two brothers faced each other, motionless. Honesty moved first, lightning quick the bear spun in a circle, bringing its foot around in a roundhouse motion and sending the falchion embedded in it spinning towards its previous owner. The Lawman fielded it easily, grabbing it by the handle and flicking it back the way it had come. Honesty smashed it aside with the mace and charged, intent on getting to grips with his brother. The black armoured figure stood firm in the face of the charge, not wavering or even reaching for a weapon.
Honesty roared, footsteps pounding, and raised the mace high. Suddenly his brother’s cloak was in the bears face. Disorientated, Honesty swung the mace and feeling it swish trough the air not connecting with anything. It felt the mace twist from its claws and a second later felt an impact against its stomach. Honesty struck the far wall with a crunch of metal on stone. The bear looked up snarling, glaring at the black armoured figure whose silent amusement radiated from his form. Honesty grabbed a sword from the nearest rack and then, with wrench and the sound of tortured metal, flung the rack at its tormentor. The Lawman weaved between the flying swords as if they were moving through water even snatching one from mid air. He faced Honesty even as the swords smashed into the wall behind him. “Impressive” he said sarcastically, a trace of a smile on his lips. “Now” the Lawman bowed towards the bear, “Shall we dance?”
With another roar Honesty charged and the battle was joined.
The duel was fierce and frantic, blows being traded faster that the mortal eye could follow. Yet for all its fury the duel was clearly one-sided. The Lawman was a swordsman of sublime skill, weaving, cutting, parrying and thrusting. Honesty on the other hand was, while still skilled, clearly outclassed. The bear was continuously on the defensive, parrying and blocking desperately. Yet despite this constant defence his brother had already inflicted several telling blows, notwithstanding the time he had managed to remove all Honesty’s limbs and only a head butt had driven him back, giving time for the bear to gather itself, literally. “Honestly Honesty, I thought you would have put up a better fight then this” Said the Lawman, grinning at the alliteration. “That is not my name” the bear grunted in reply, parrying another stroke and attempting a riposte. His brother blocked it easily and continued with his assault. “Honesty is your name, for it is the one you chose for yourself at the very beginning. By naming yourself you gave yourself identity, that you are you and no one else. Your name is woven into your very being just as mine is.” His brother spoke to him without even breaking stride in his attack. “That is NOT my name!” The bear snarled in reply blocking furiously. His brother shook his head sadly, “You cannot change who you are Honesty, only conceal it. You are Honesty, no one else” “THAT IS NOT MY NAME!!!!” Honesty howled, lashing out savagely. The black armoured figure weaved out of the way of the blow and struck. The bears arms were suddenly pinned together, skewered at the elbow. The Lawman leapt back and the charged in again before the bear had a chance to recover. He swung his foot back. Honesty’s eyes crossed in pain as the armoured foot connected and the bear collapsed into a knock kneed crouch. His brother stood over him, sword in head. “Do you submit yet?” He asked nonchantly.
“You know brother, I’ve always admired you” Honesty choked out, slowly rising to its feet. His brother tilted his head to the side, clearly confused by this change of tact. “The others I’ve always respected” the bear continued “for their power or creativity, but you brother I admired because you had something none of the others had, a sense of responsibility. The others just go around creating and doing whatever they want, leaving behind their works, forgetting about them and moving on to the next project, but not you. You clean up their messes, break up their petty squabbles, without ever asking for a word of thanks. You actually CARE for what happens to the mortals they leave in their wake, no matter how much you try to hide it. You give them laws and rules to follow, even watch over them and intervene occasionally, for spirals sake!” The Lawman, who had been silent up until that point interrupted “What’s your point?” he snapped. Honesty continued as if he hadn’t been interrupted “You never rose to Timorous’ arrogant boasts or were drawn into the others fights. You didn’t even complain when God decided to claim the realm you’d built for mortals for himself!” “It was an agreement. He has more minions to watch over them” His brother muttered in reply. “My point is, brother” Said Honesty returned to his brother’s earlier question as if it had just been asked “that you should look at yourself! You are a warrior with war to fight in, a lawman who enforces one set of rules for the mortals and none for us! And you don’t even have enough servants to enforce the laws that you DO have everywhere and the multiverse is still growing, you can’t be everywhere at once! It can’t go on like this brother you know this, but you and I, brother we can change that. This is the change I spoke of brother, a chance to start again and make everything right. The mortals will be ruled fairly and we will have laws among our own kind. Others have already joined me and with your help we can sweep away those who oppose us in the coming war and then we can rule all. You understand brother?”
The Lawman stood still for a long time. “I understand brother” he said eventually. Honesty breathed a sigh of relief, “That’s good brother, I’m glad that-” “But you clearly do not ‘understand’ me” His brother cut across him, his voice hardening. “I have no wish to ‘rule’ the mortals or see that the laws I laid down are enforced to the letter. They are there to keep them as safe as possible so they may live out their fragile lives and then enjoy what comes after in relative peace, safe from our kin’s interference. It is true that my servants are few in number but they are equal to a thousand of your paltry things” He looked up and locked eyes with his brother, his gaze steely. “As for this war you speak of, you honestly think that I would turn against my brothers and sisters? Truly you’ve gone insane” He shook his head sadly. “I cannot allow you to go through with this” his grip tightened on the hilt of the sword. Honesty laughed, “What are you going to do? Kill me?” the bear mocked. The Lawman looked directly into his brothers eyes;”Yes” he replied and leapt into the arm bringing the sword arcing downwards.
“Enough” Honesty growled, raising his claws and sending a blast of force directly at his brother. The blade shattered in his hand and propelled him backwards. He twisted in mid air to land in a crouch. The room had been ravaged by the blast but the Lawman barely seemed phased. “Did you honestly think a normal blade could kill me?” Honesty growled, advancing. The Lawman looked down and removed the toothpick, which had somehow stayed intact throughout the whole battle, from his mouth. “No” He said and flung the toothpick at his brother. As the toothpick travelled towards honesty it shimmered and morphed into a silver sword with an ornate black cross guard and hilt. It struck Honesty, slicing through his armour like it was made of silk and piercing the bear’s heart. Honesty staggered back a single step before falling to his knees. He stared at the blade in his chest with a look of shock before looking at his brother. “I-I didn’t know you could do that....” Honesty said before collapsing, his brother’s item embedded in his heart. The Lawman stared at the body for what seemed like an eternity, a single tear rolling down his cheek within his helm. He sighed and turned away. Then he heard it.
There was a chuckle which quickly grew into full throated laughter. The Lawman Spun around, shock plain. Honesty was standing up slowing, laughing all the while. “Oh my poor, deluded brother, you really have no idea how to kill one of us do you?” The bear mocked. “Of course you don’t, you’re much too noble for that. So you just had to stab and hope.” It laughed again. It grabbed the sword and pulled it from its chest holding it in one hand. Darkness began to shroud the bear like a maleficent aura. “You don’t know how to kill our kind” The bear repeated. Huggles grinned “I, on the other hand, do”
Huggles advanced on his brother shaking his head. “You should have accepted my offer brother; I was not lying about how I admired you”. “So you just lied about everything else?” Snarled the Lawman, backing away slowly from his brother. His brother smirked,” Well maybe I told a few white lies” the bear sniggered. “I’ll inform our kin, we’ll stop you” said his brother through gritted teeth. Huggles laughed, “Oh I’m sure you’ll try” The bear grinned, “Don’t get me wrong, you are skilled, but this is not a question of skill. This is about POWER.” As it said this it raised the sword in its claws. Tendrils of darkness lashed out from the aura that had surrounded the bear and struck it. They wrapped around the weapon, pulsing sickly. A black mark appeared on the tip of the sword and began to spread slowly. The Lawman’s eyes widened in shock and he whipped his hand backwards. The sword flew from his brother’s grasp, taking the bears claws with it. The bear laughed as darkness enveloped the stumps and reformed its claws.
The Lawman caught his sword and stared from it to his brother in horror. “This is corruption from the void” He said, aghast “Brother, what have you done?!” ”Claimed the power that you and our siblings were too weak to” the bear growled in reply, still advancing. “But the corruption brother” The Lawman pleaded “It is affecting your mind! We must try and remove it...” “NO!!” The bear roared, “There is nothing wrong with me” it hissed, “There is nothing to this but power, MY POWER” the bear raised its arms and a wave of darkness pulsed towards his brother. The wave smashed into the Lawman hurling him off his feet and smashing him into the door. He dropped to the ground and grunted in pain. The sheer power of the blow had rattled him. His brother continued to advance on him. The Lawman slashed his sword through the air. A thousand swords materialized from thin air slicing at Huggles. The dark aura formed a shield in front of its master. Many swords struck it and shattered on impact but a few made their way through to strike the bear. Huggles staggered back a single step. The bear laughed “Is that the best you can do?” and started to advance again. The Lawman backed up against the door and the bear smiled,” Trapped with nowhere left to run” It said. “Not quite” The Lawman replied, the sword in his hand transforming into a war hammer. He grinned “ What was it you said about these symbols earlier?”. The Bear’s eyes widened,” NO!” It shouted lunging at his brother. The Lawman struck the door with all the force he could muster. The door groaned once before there was a catastrophic implosion.
Both Brothers were hurled from their feet. The Lawman was the first to rise looking to the doorway as the dust settled. The light of the symbols had died the moment the seal had been broken and the doors had been reduced to ash from the force of the blow. A man stood on the threshold of the doorway, hand raised as if to knock on the door and soot on his face. “Erm...” He said taking in the devastated room before him, “I was just wondering if you had any sugar i could borrow?” He asked meekly. The Lawman heard Huggles rising slowly to his feet behind him and thought quickly. “Ostaf! Vortex! Now!” He yelled, sweeping his hand at the air and opening a hole to the void. “Wha? Why?” The man asked, confused. “JUST DO IT!” The lawman yelled in reply, plunging his sword into the ground, anchoring himself. “Alright, if you say so” Ostaf muttered and began to inhale. Winds of unimaginable ferocity engulfed the room, ripping racks and bricks from the walls. Huggles stood feet braced on the floor and laughed, “You really thought that this would work? How pathetic”. The Lawman raised one arm off his sword and pointed at him. No, wait, not at him, behind him. Huggles turned just in time for the anvil to strike him in the chest.
The bear was bowled over and, no longer braced, sucked along by the vortex and into the void hole his brother had created. The Lawman stood and closed the hole. As it was closing he heard his erstwhile brother shouting at him, “You cannot stop me! I WILL rule! And you will be the last to die brother! This I promise! I curse you D-” The Hole sealed shut, cutting off the bears words. The Vortex died down and Ostaf came to stand beside his brother. “Sooooooo” He said, “Care to tell me what that was all about?”
The two brothers stood silently on the planes of bloodgrass, staring up at the ravaged sun. “So what should we do?” Ostaf broke the silence first. “We will tell the others. Forewarn them of what’s coming.” The Lawman replied. “But if what you tell me is true them we may already be too late” Ostaf said, worried. “I know but we have to try” His brother sighed. “We have been dragged into a war we have no wish to fight, against our own kin. We cannot just stand idly by and watch our brothers and sisters die can we?” “No” Ostaf replied “But you’ve seen his power, we have nothing that can match that”. The Lawman looked down at his sword, staring at the stain on it. The metal was slowly repulsing the blackness but he was not sure if it would ever completely be cleansed. The stain would stay with him, the stain of his brother’s treachery, until the traitor lay dead at his feet. “This may not be a war we can win” He said and raised the sword above his head. He flung it towards the ground. The sword plunged into the earth, through the soil, through the crust, through the mantle, speeding up all the while. The Sword pierced the core of the planet with a colossal detonation, sending cracks in all directions, breaking the planet apart from within. On the surface the Lawman raised his hand and the sword that had just killed a world reappeared in it. He looked at his brother, his gaze steely, and said “But that does not mean we will not fight”. And with that they were gone, leaving the dying world and its dying sun locked in their fatal embrace.
Let the eye take in this world. Watch as it spins in its prescribed arc around its home sun. It’s not often even in the whole of the multiverse that you find a planet that seems to be made of blood. Everything within sight was a shade of red, from the dark almost brown of dried blood to the bright, arterial red which sprays from a newly opened wound. Let the eye zoom in closer, the sole continent is a smear on a bright ocean, closer, the mountains of rust reaching like bloody claws into the sky, closer, stop, let the eye take in the vast plains on the continents interior. The plains rustled in the wind. Other then the coarse susurration of grass against grass all was silent.
Suddenly the eye is draw towards movement. A creature is slowly slinking from its burrow beneath the earth. Look closely at the creature in question; it closely resembles a rabbit from a certain blue planet in a universe 3 microns to the left of this one. Its sole differences to that creature are its color, the two small antlers upon its brow and the fact that it is carnivorous. The creature twitched its nose, scenting for danger. It was its first time on the surface, having spent the first few years of its life in the hellish confines of the earth beneath the plains, avoiding larger creatures and preying on smaller ones.
It looked towards its horizon, bloodgrass bathed in pure blinding light and, hesitantly, it set off. Suddenly a stalk of grass pierced the rabbit’s leg pinning it to the ground. The creature squealed trying to throw off the stalk when others came from all sides piercing its body and rupturing its internal organs. With a last choking breath the rabbit breathed its last and fell still. The grass slowly began to devour its kill.
The figure looked down upon the cooling corpse of the rabbit. His existence there defied logic, one minute there was empty grasslands, and next he was there. The figure was encased from head to toe in armor so dark it looked like a hole had been cut through the universe into the darkness beyond. The cloak draped from his shoulders appeared to be made from a similar material, casting flickering shadows as it danced in the wind. His fierce aspect was offset slightly be the fact that a single ordinary wooden toothpick protruded from his mouth grille.
The figure continued to stare down at the rabbit until it was completely devoured. He sighed once and then looked upwards into the sunlight, unhindered by its glaring brilliance. The sun never set here, ever. But soon enough night would fall forever, for the sun itself was in supernova, consuming itself in a desperate effort to survive. The figure sighed again and began to walk, feet coming to rest a few inches above the sentient grass.
‘An inhospitable, uncompromising planet orbiting a voracious sun’ he thought, why in all of infinity would his brother make such a place, let alone chose to make it his home? He would never understand his sibling’s motivations. No matter he was not here to try and understand them only to check on his brother. After what happened to Timorous... He had to check on his siblings, to ensure their safety and, his thoughts hardened, to make sure none of them had any part in it.
The figure looked up, craning his neck trying to see the pinnacle of the tower he now stood in front of. It, like everything upon this world, was the color of blood. He touched the sides of the tower and his fingers came away slick. ‘A tower of blood’ He thought rubbing his fingers together, ‘how quaint’. He reached forward and pushed open the door to the tower. It swung inwards noisily. “Brother it’s me!” he shouted as he stepped silently across the threshold into the antechambers dank coolness. There was no reply, all was silent.
As he paced silently through the halls calling for his brother he felt a sudden chill come over him, something was deeply wrong with this place, a kind of sicken he could not fathom. He paused suddenly in his pacing. He’d heard something, something so faint as to think he could have almost imagined it. He strained his ears, listening silently… There! There it was again, a faint groan, coming from further along the path to his right. He began to run down the hall, as he ran he heard the groan again, stronger this time. He increased his pace yet again. There was a door barring his way at the end of the hall. He slammed into it bursting it wide. The sight that greeted his eyes was not the one that he had expected.
The room beyond, unlike the rest of the tower, was large, airy and brightly lit by Torches on the upper reaches of the walls. It appeared some sort of armory with racks of every time of weapon coating every wall and a forge and anvil resting at the back of the room. But that was not what drew his attention, it was the figure chained to the anvil. He crossed the room in three strides and propped up the figure against the anvil.
The figure was a man who, once so recently in his prime, had atrophied prematurely under the scourges of his tormentors. He bore the marks of those scourges all too clearly, his flesh rent and tore in many places, his powers struggling to heal his wounds, he always had the weakest healing factor. “Hephaestus, my brother, who did this to you” the black armored figure asked, aghast at what had been done to his brother. “It was H- h- h-….” Hephaestus trailed off, speaking was painful for him. ”Who brother, WHO?!?” He picked up Hephaestus and shook him, desperate and dreading to know the answer to his question. Hephaestus’s head fell forward as he tried one more time, “H- H- H-…. ““ME”.
Both men turned at the sound, one with fear on his face the other with incredulity. A creature stood in the doorway. It resembled a bear in the same way a man resembled a monkey at one point during evolution. Its snout was shortened; it had opposable claws, walked bipedally and was clothed in ornate silver armor. Its features drew back into a feral grin as it stared at the duo. “Oh it’s you, my brother, the man of the law” It drawled sarcastically, strolling in. “Have you been enjoying my planet? I do enjoy the sunset” It chuckled depreciatively.
“Did you this?” The Lawman demanded. “Do what?” It replied, still smiling. “THIS! DID YOU DO THIS TO HIM?” The lawman shouted, gesturing to Hephaestus’s broken form. “I already said it was me don’t you remember? You really need to listen more brother” It sneered in reply. “Why?” The lawman’s fists clenched. “He wouldn’t obey my demands” It shrugged. “God will hear of this” The Lawman hissed through clenched teeth. At this the Bear actually laughed out loud. “His oh so Holiness? Oh I’m so scared” He grinned again.
The Lawman paused, something was not right here; he’d never seen his brother act this way, and what he did to Hephaestus, well... Sibling squabbles happened often enough but he’d never seen this extent of damage wrought on one of his kin by another. Worse he felt something he’d never felt around his brothers and sisters before, in danger. “We’re leaving. Right now.” He said firmly, reaching behind him for his wounded brothers’ arm. He didn’t find it.
He spun around, confused. Hephaestus was not there anymore, the chains that had bound him hanging slack and rattling softly against the anvil. He turned to the Bear,” Where is he? Where did you send him?” he spat, struggling to hold back his rising anger. “Oh just a little pocket dimension, he’s perfectly safe, don’t worry about him” It replied, putting a slight emphasis on the last word. Its grin widened. The Lawman stood still for a moment, thinking on what to do next. “I’ll be back, the others must know of this” he said stiffly and began to walk towards the door,”you will pay for this Honesty”. The Bears grin stretched, becoming a leering grimace. “That is not my name” It hissed as it raised its claws and clicked them together. The doors slammed shut of their own accord and it grinned again. “And you are going nowhere.”
The Lawman stopped walking and turned to Honesty. The silence lengthened as he just stared at his brother. “Why” he said eventually. It was a statement not a question, an order not a demand. “I desire a change” was all the reply he received. The Lawman continued to stare at his brother. He turned on his heel suddenly and resumed his stride to the doors. He reached for the handle. Suddenly there was a searing flash of light. The Lawman raised his arm shielding his eyes against the sudden burst.
When he lowered it again he saw that the room had changed around him. Symbols and Icons now shimmered brightly from the doors, walls, ceiling and floor. Even as he took in the symbols he felt a strange sensation, like a blurring around the edges of his being or as if a door had been closed on an extremity. Confused, he tried to reach into the void and leave the room that way. But he could not, he couldn’t reach it at all, it was sealed off to him. He was trapped. “Maybe now you’ll listen to me for more than five seconds” Said the voice behind him, sarcasm clear in the tone.
“Quite impressive isn’t it?” Honesty was speaking even before the black armored figure had turned to face him. “It was no easy task finding the correct pattern and arrangement, let me tell you, and let’s not even mention what it took to discover and forge the symbols themselves” It continued talking, its eyes never leaving the Lawman as he begin to walk around the edge of the room examining either the racks of weapons or the symbols, it wasn’t sure. “They’re quite neat even if I do say so myself, shutting us off from the void and unaffected by everything, but for our items” At this it grinned wetly “And I see you don’t have your sword with you today, what a happy coincidence”.
“Well once you’ve finished inflating your own ego, maybe you can finish what you started saying earlier before you got sidetracked by the sound of your own voice” The Lawman replied mildly, tracing the intricate scrollwork on a steel war hammer hanging on the nearest rack. “Of course brother” Honesty replied courteously. “I desire a change, a change to the way we run, to the way we RULE, this multiverse. There are those who agree with me and those who are opposed”. “And how do you know they would oppose you if you haven’t asked?” the Lawman countered. “They would oppose me on principle” It replied smoothly, “Once they’d heard my idea they would not wait to listen to the argument, so I would have to present my points more… forcibly” Honesty smiled, a gesture that was both disarming and malicious, “you understand?”
“And what of Hephaestus? Did he still, oppose, your ideas?” Asked the Lawman softly. His voice became softer still, “And what of Timorous?” Honesty laughed “You know Hephaestus brother, so stubborn, so set in his ways. He just needed some, persuasion. And as for that arrogant scofflaw he never would have listened, and can you really say it wasn’t deserved?” Honesty chuckled mirthlessly. The Lawman inclined his head, neither agreeing or disagreeing, nor showing the mounting horror that was building inside him with his brothers every word. ‘How can he speak so flippantly at nearly killing two of our brothers?’ He thought, deeply disturbed by this side of his brother. ‘What has happened to him?’ He wondered. Whatever madness had taken Honesty he couldn’t fathom, but the others had to be warned and, the Lawman’s resolve hardened, he would have to go through his brother to do it.
“So what do you intend to do with me? He asked. “Keep me imprisoned here?” He gestured around the room. “Imprisoned?” Honesty looked at him in mock horror. “What in the seven circles made you think you were imprisoned? You are my GUEST here” It grinned “You are free to leave whenever you like” It laughed and the grin became a sneer “If you can that is”. At this the Lawman began chuckling and Honesty’s eyes narrowed. “What’s so funny?” It demanded. “Oh nothing” The Lawman replied, still chuckling “Just thinking on how kind it was of you to give me a prison that suited me so well”. Honesty’s brow creased in confusion, ‘What could he mean?’ It thought, ‘unless….’ His eyes widened in realisation just as the first war hammer struck him in the face.
Honesty stumbled backwards, more in shock than actually hurt by the impact. More hammers struck him, keeping him off balance and forcing him backwards. “Looks like I’ll have to knock some sense into you” It heard its brother grunt, each word punctuated by the thunderous impact of another hammer. “Enough!” It roared raising its hand, palm outstretched. Waves of invisible force rippled out from Honesty’s palm, splitting the next volley of hammers asunder, ravaging everything in its path and raising a great cloud of dust. Honesty looked up in time to see the cloud parting. The weapon rack opposite it had been completely destroyed, and the wall beyond it hadn’t fared much better. Great cracks and fissures were clearly visible on the wall. The only thing seemly unaffected by the wave were the symbols, which still shone greasily as if nothing had happened.
The Lawman was nowhere to be seen. Honesty grimaced, that was never good. Honesty spun on the spot, trying to observe the whole room at once. Nothing, he couldn’t have escaped though, so where WAS he? Honesty stopped spinning and stood stock still and listened. There was no noise other that of its own heartbeat, breathing and the whistling in its ears. Wait, whistling? …. Aw crap. Honesty’s head slowly turned through the air so that it now had a view of its erstwhile body and the Lawman standing behind it, a pair of falchions in his hands.
With a thought Honesty propelled its body into action. Its body leaped forward followed hotly by the black armoured figure. Honesty’s body caught its head in one hand and slammed it back onto the stump of its neck, the flesh knitting together instantly, as the other hand snatched a mace from the weapon racks. Honesty swung around and struck out with the mace. The lawman parried but such was the force of the blow that one of the falchions shattered in his grip. He leapt backwards. “Falchions aren’t really the best weapon to us against a mace brother” Honesty mocked. The Lawman looked at the weapon in his hand, “Your right” he replied and flung the falchion at Honesty, impaling its foot to the floor, “You keep it” He grinned.
Honesty pulled his foot from the floor with a grunt and locked eyes with his foe. The two brothers faced each other, motionless. Honesty moved first, lightning quick the bear spun in a circle, bringing its foot around in a roundhouse motion and sending the falchion embedded in it spinning towards its previous owner. The Lawman fielded it easily, grabbing it by the handle and flicking it back the way it had come. Honesty smashed it aside with the mace and charged, intent on getting to grips with his brother. The black armoured figure stood firm in the face of the charge, not wavering or even reaching for a weapon.
Honesty roared, footsteps pounding, and raised the mace high. Suddenly his brother’s cloak was in the bears face. Disorientated, Honesty swung the mace and feeling it swish trough the air not connecting with anything. It felt the mace twist from its claws and a second later felt an impact against its stomach. Honesty struck the far wall with a crunch of metal on stone. The bear looked up snarling, glaring at the black armoured figure whose silent amusement radiated from his form. Honesty grabbed a sword from the nearest rack and then, with wrench and the sound of tortured metal, flung the rack at its tormentor. The Lawman weaved between the flying swords as if they were moving through water even snatching one from mid air. He faced Honesty even as the swords smashed into the wall behind him. “Impressive” he said sarcastically, a trace of a smile on his lips. “Now” the Lawman bowed towards the bear, “Shall we dance?”
With another roar Honesty charged and the battle was joined.
The duel was fierce and frantic, blows being traded faster that the mortal eye could follow. Yet for all its fury the duel was clearly one-sided. The Lawman was a swordsman of sublime skill, weaving, cutting, parrying and thrusting. Honesty on the other hand was, while still skilled, clearly outclassed. The bear was continuously on the defensive, parrying and blocking desperately. Yet despite this constant defence his brother had already inflicted several telling blows, notwithstanding the time he had managed to remove all Honesty’s limbs and only a head butt had driven him back, giving time for the bear to gather itself, literally. “Honestly Honesty, I thought you would have put up a better fight then this” Said the Lawman, grinning at the alliteration. “That is not my name” the bear grunted in reply, parrying another stroke and attempting a riposte. His brother blocked it easily and continued with his assault. “Honesty is your name, for it is the one you chose for yourself at the very beginning. By naming yourself you gave yourself identity, that you are you and no one else. Your name is woven into your very being just as mine is.” His brother spoke to him without even breaking stride in his attack. “That is NOT my name!” The bear snarled in reply blocking furiously. His brother shook his head sadly, “You cannot change who you are Honesty, only conceal it. You are Honesty, no one else” “THAT IS NOT MY NAME!!!!” Honesty howled, lashing out savagely. The black armoured figure weaved out of the way of the blow and struck. The bears arms were suddenly pinned together, skewered at the elbow. The Lawman leapt back and the charged in again before the bear had a chance to recover. He swung his foot back. Honesty’s eyes crossed in pain as the armoured foot connected and the bear collapsed into a knock kneed crouch. His brother stood over him, sword in head. “Do you submit yet?” He asked nonchantly.
“You know brother, I’ve always admired you” Honesty choked out, slowly rising to its feet. His brother tilted his head to the side, clearly confused by this change of tact. “The others I’ve always respected” the bear continued “for their power or creativity, but you brother I admired because you had something none of the others had, a sense of responsibility. The others just go around creating and doing whatever they want, leaving behind their works, forgetting about them and moving on to the next project, but not you. You clean up their messes, break up their petty squabbles, without ever asking for a word of thanks. You actually CARE for what happens to the mortals they leave in their wake, no matter how much you try to hide it. You give them laws and rules to follow, even watch over them and intervene occasionally, for spirals sake!” The Lawman, who had been silent up until that point interrupted “What’s your point?” he snapped. Honesty continued as if he hadn’t been interrupted “You never rose to Timorous’ arrogant boasts or were drawn into the others fights. You didn’t even complain when God decided to claim the realm you’d built for mortals for himself!” “It was an agreement. He has more minions to watch over them” His brother muttered in reply. “My point is, brother” Said Honesty returned to his brother’s earlier question as if it had just been asked “that you should look at yourself! You are a warrior with war to fight in, a lawman who enforces one set of rules for the mortals and none for us! And you don’t even have enough servants to enforce the laws that you DO have everywhere and the multiverse is still growing, you can’t be everywhere at once! It can’t go on like this brother you know this, but you and I, brother we can change that. This is the change I spoke of brother, a chance to start again and make everything right. The mortals will be ruled fairly and we will have laws among our own kind. Others have already joined me and with your help we can sweep away those who oppose us in the coming war and then we can rule all. You understand brother?”
The Lawman stood still for a long time. “I understand brother” he said eventually. Honesty breathed a sigh of relief, “That’s good brother, I’m glad that-” “But you clearly do not ‘understand’ me” His brother cut across him, his voice hardening. “I have no wish to ‘rule’ the mortals or see that the laws I laid down are enforced to the letter. They are there to keep them as safe as possible so they may live out their fragile lives and then enjoy what comes after in relative peace, safe from our kin’s interference. It is true that my servants are few in number but they are equal to a thousand of your paltry things” He looked up and locked eyes with his brother, his gaze steely. “As for this war you speak of, you honestly think that I would turn against my brothers and sisters? Truly you’ve gone insane” He shook his head sadly. “I cannot allow you to go through with this” his grip tightened on the hilt of the sword. Honesty laughed, “What are you going to do? Kill me?” the bear mocked. The Lawman looked directly into his brothers eyes;”Yes” he replied and leapt into the arm bringing the sword arcing downwards.
“Enough” Honesty growled, raising his claws and sending a blast of force directly at his brother. The blade shattered in his hand and propelled him backwards. He twisted in mid air to land in a crouch. The room had been ravaged by the blast but the Lawman barely seemed phased. “Did you honestly think a normal blade could kill me?” Honesty growled, advancing. The Lawman looked down and removed the toothpick, which had somehow stayed intact throughout the whole battle, from his mouth. “No” He said and flung the toothpick at his brother. As the toothpick travelled towards honesty it shimmered and morphed into a silver sword with an ornate black cross guard and hilt. It struck Honesty, slicing through his armour like it was made of silk and piercing the bear’s heart. Honesty staggered back a single step before falling to his knees. He stared at the blade in his chest with a look of shock before looking at his brother. “I-I didn’t know you could do that....” Honesty said before collapsing, his brother’s item embedded in his heart. The Lawman stared at the body for what seemed like an eternity, a single tear rolling down his cheek within his helm. He sighed and turned away. Then he heard it.
There was a chuckle which quickly grew into full throated laughter. The Lawman Spun around, shock plain. Honesty was standing up slowing, laughing all the while. “Oh my poor, deluded brother, you really have no idea how to kill one of us do you?” The bear mocked. “Of course you don’t, you’re much too noble for that. So you just had to stab and hope.” It laughed again. It grabbed the sword and pulled it from its chest holding it in one hand. Darkness began to shroud the bear like a maleficent aura. “You don’t know how to kill our kind” The bear repeated. Huggles grinned “I, on the other hand, do”
Huggles advanced on his brother shaking his head. “You should have accepted my offer brother; I was not lying about how I admired you”. “So you just lied about everything else?” Snarled the Lawman, backing away slowly from his brother. His brother smirked,” Well maybe I told a few white lies” the bear sniggered. “I’ll inform our kin, we’ll stop you” said his brother through gritted teeth. Huggles laughed, “Oh I’m sure you’ll try” The bear grinned, “Don’t get me wrong, you are skilled, but this is not a question of skill. This is about POWER.” As it said this it raised the sword in its claws. Tendrils of darkness lashed out from the aura that had surrounded the bear and struck it. They wrapped around the weapon, pulsing sickly. A black mark appeared on the tip of the sword and began to spread slowly. The Lawman’s eyes widened in shock and he whipped his hand backwards. The sword flew from his brother’s grasp, taking the bears claws with it. The bear laughed as darkness enveloped the stumps and reformed its claws.
The Lawman caught his sword and stared from it to his brother in horror. “This is corruption from the void” He said, aghast “Brother, what have you done?!” ”Claimed the power that you and our siblings were too weak to” the bear growled in reply, still advancing. “But the corruption brother” The Lawman pleaded “It is affecting your mind! We must try and remove it...” “NO!!” The bear roared, “There is nothing wrong with me” it hissed, “There is nothing to this but power, MY POWER” the bear raised its arms and a wave of darkness pulsed towards his brother. The wave smashed into the Lawman hurling him off his feet and smashing him into the door. He dropped to the ground and grunted in pain. The sheer power of the blow had rattled him. His brother continued to advance on him. The Lawman slashed his sword through the air. A thousand swords materialized from thin air slicing at Huggles. The dark aura formed a shield in front of its master. Many swords struck it and shattered on impact but a few made their way through to strike the bear. Huggles staggered back a single step. The bear laughed “Is that the best you can do?” and started to advance again. The Lawman backed up against the door and the bear smiled,” Trapped with nowhere left to run” It said. “Not quite” The Lawman replied, the sword in his hand transforming into a war hammer. He grinned “ What was it you said about these symbols earlier?”. The Bear’s eyes widened,” NO!” It shouted lunging at his brother. The Lawman struck the door with all the force he could muster. The door groaned once before there was a catastrophic implosion.
Both Brothers were hurled from their feet. The Lawman was the first to rise looking to the doorway as the dust settled. The light of the symbols had died the moment the seal had been broken and the doors had been reduced to ash from the force of the blow. A man stood on the threshold of the doorway, hand raised as if to knock on the door and soot on his face. “Erm...” He said taking in the devastated room before him, “I was just wondering if you had any sugar i could borrow?” He asked meekly. The Lawman heard Huggles rising slowly to his feet behind him and thought quickly. “Ostaf! Vortex! Now!” He yelled, sweeping his hand at the air and opening a hole to the void. “Wha? Why?” The man asked, confused. “JUST DO IT!” The lawman yelled in reply, plunging his sword into the ground, anchoring himself. “Alright, if you say so” Ostaf muttered and began to inhale. Winds of unimaginable ferocity engulfed the room, ripping racks and bricks from the walls. Huggles stood feet braced on the floor and laughed, “You really thought that this would work? How pathetic”. The Lawman raised one arm off his sword and pointed at him. No, wait, not at him, behind him. Huggles turned just in time for the anvil to strike him in the chest.
The bear was bowled over and, no longer braced, sucked along by the vortex and into the void hole his brother had created. The Lawman stood and closed the hole. As it was closing he heard his erstwhile brother shouting at him, “You cannot stop me! I WILL rule! And you will be the last to die brother! This I promise! I curse you D-” The Hole sealed shut, cutting off the bears words. The Vortex died down and Ostaf came to stand beside his brother. “Sooooooo” He said, “Care to tell me what that was all about?”
The two brothers stood silently on the planes of bloodgrass, staring up at the ravaged sun. “So what should we do?” Ostaf broke the silence first. “We will tell the others. Forewarn them of what’s coming.” The Lawman replied. “But if what you tell me is true them we may already be too late” Ostaf said, worried. “I know but we have to try” His brother sighed. “We have been dragged into a war we have no wish to fight, against our own kin. We cannot just stand idly by and watch our brothers and sisters die can we?” “No” Ostaf replied “But you’ve seen his power, we have nothing that can match that”. The Lawman looked down at his sword, staring at the stain on it. The metal was slowly repulsing the blackness but he was not sure if it would ever completely be cleansed. The stain would stay with him, the stain of his brother’s treachery, until the traitor lay dead at his feet. “This may not be a war we can win” He said and raised the sword above his head. He flung it towards the ground. The sword plunged into the earth, through the soil, through the crust, through the mantle, speeding up all the while. The Sword pierced the core of the planet with a colossal detonation, sending cracks in all directions, breaking the planet apart from within. On the surface the Lawman raised his hand and the sword that had just killed a world reappeared in it. He looked at his brother, his gaze steely, and said “But that does not mean we will not fight”. And with that they were gone, leaving the dying world and its dying sun locked in their fatal embrace.