A Tale of Brotherly Love

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The global seat of the Dozan Bovic Church. A protected sovereign nation.

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Adam
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A Tale of Brotherly Love

Post by Adam »

It was an awfully chilly day when Adam set off for Doza. He had been looking forward to this day for a long time. His latest correspondence with his brother Aldin had convinced Aldin – in whose care Adam officially was – that there might be hope for reconciliation between the two brothers. Accordingly, Aldin had invited Adam to visit him in Doza.

The meeting would of course be extremely discreet. Only a handful of people knew of the plans, though Aldin had improved security around the Dozan palace compound, “just in case”, as he whispered to his closest confidante.

In any case, a small car, registered with the Order of Elijah, drove up to the monastery courtyard. Abbot Vom escorted Adam to the car, gave him a quick hug. “You be good now, my son,” he said, smiled, and opened the car door.

“Yes, master Abbot. Thank you, again, for everything. I’m a new man.”

“A new man, indeed, my son.”

The dirt road to Doza is long and horrible. Adam felt sick for most of the ride. He was agitated. Why was there no real infrastructure on this forsaken island? Why can’t anyone build real roads? Or heck, why not a railway, or airports? However, strong as this new man was (Adam), he managed not to succumb to the motion sickness, and he arrived some 14 hours later at Doza, where he was hushed inside to meet his brother.

The two brothers stood face to face.

“You’re looking good, brother,” said Adam.

Aldin smiled. “You’re the one who’s buffed up!” And it was true, compared to his twin, Aldin looked extremely scrawny, but when it came to their faces, they were exactly the same.

Though the first hour or so of their meeting was awkward, things lightened up after they had dinner. They started talking about childhood memories.

“Do you remember when…?” and they would laugh their heads off.

At times, their dead brothers were brought up, too. And despite the sudden sadness of such a mention, the two brothers handled it well. They both spoke well of the fallen ones, and joked about memories, and so.

“I wonder what they’d be like these days…” said Adam. “I am very sorry for what I did, Aldin. I don’t know why I was so evil. It’s not me, you know?”

Aldin didn’t know what to say, and elected to say nothing. When he saw his brother break down in tears, he embraced him, and held him for half an hour, until Adam’s tears subsided.

“I love you, brother,” whispered Adam. “Thank you for saving my soul.”
Adam Anushiruwân

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Aldin
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Re: A Tale of Brotherly Love

Post by Aldin »

Aldin was brought to tears by his brother's total rehabilitation. Truly it must be a miracle! He was confident that Adam's demons had been exorcised and that all taint of evil had been sweated out of his pores. Aldin looked at Adam, and he saw a deepness... a deep darkness behind his eyes. It puzzled him, and frightened him.

"Brother, this day has been wonderful, but I still sense some thing you're holding back from me." Aldin looked into Adam's eyes, it was actually not like looking in a mirror, there was a sharpness to Adam, a hollowness that Aldin had always attributed to Adam's evilness, and now he assumed to be permanently etched into Aldin's features. Aldin saw a man capable of anything, but he also saw a great pain.

Adam began to speak, but Aldin cut him off, "No dear brother. Forget I said it! I know of the things you hold back from. You consider me sensitive, and think I cannot handle some of your darkest secrets. Perhaps you are correct. But I must be sensitive to allow Bous to speak through me, it has caused great pain to me in the past. I wish I could be just a tiny bit more like you, dear brother. A bit more reckless, a bit more emboldened, a little more detached. The joy of this afternoon has been so pleasant. I do not want this to end. It is the first time I've felt like we were a family since before... before... our brothers...passed. I'm so happy for us! I think you have been totally rehabilitated. You will always have a place in the Church family, but I think you've earned the right to be welcomed back into our family too. I'd like to invite our cousin, Asara, to meet us. As you know she all but kicked you out of our father's family, but even in her wrath she had mercy, she allowed you to stay in the family as a technicality so your son could enjoy the benefits of being a Waffel-Paine. I know she will be tough to convince, but I think we both, together, can get her to see the light in you now, and restore you to your titles and positions. And, with greater responsibilities proving your goodness, maybe... just maybe our dear Mother will see your changed ways too, and she will forgive you too."

Adam smiled and embraced Aldin, and whispered into his ear, "Please dear brother, I think we should invite Mother here first. Her approval and influence is great, if I can re-connect with her... all be be well." Aldin began to weep joyfully at the prospect of finally fixing his family, at long last, they would all be a happy family again!
His Eminence, Aldin Ayreon-Kalirion
Metrobosarch of the Eparchy of Smjorkyr,
Marquess of Sentratera

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Adam
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Re: A Tale of Brotherly Love

Post by Adam »

Although Noor had arrived some days earlier, Adam had not yet had a substantial conversation with her. He was sure to remain calm and respect his mother. They ate together, and during the meals, Aldin would speak to Adam and Noor, but Noor would only acknowledge Aldin.

Adam thought this was only natural. His crimes to his mother (and the world) were great, and he had little hope of reconciliation with his mother. Aldin, he understood, had enough hope for both their mother and Adam.

Privately, Adam would confide in his brother, stressing how difficult this arrangement was. He was living with his mother, and yet she did not speak to him, she had not even greeted him. But Aldin calmed Adam down. “Give it time,” he would say, “that she is here is a sign enough”.

Later he said: “She’ll come around. We can all stay here until we feel more confident. Mother told me that she would stay here as long as she saw it necessary to give you a chance to show yourself to her. She wants to be able to converse with you, but so far, it’s simply too difficult for her. She’ll come around though.”

Adam didn’t quite understand how their mother was there (given her hate for him), but he was happy she was. He just had to show her his very best, and then perhaps, there would be some hope for his release. He longed for freedom, and for receiving admiration, devotion and respect from his family.
Perhaps, too, he would be able to see his son. So far he was too scared to bring that prospect up. He couldn’t afford to screw this up.
Adam Anushiruwân

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Kaiseress Noor
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Re: A Tale of Brotherly Love

Post by Kaiseress Noor »

Noor jotted down a letter for her husband, put it in a top-secret envelope which was dispatched immediately.
Doza, 22.IX.1647

My dear husband

You know very well why I went to visit Athlon. I did not need say it out loud. I saw in your eyes what you knew.

I've finally had my first substantial conversation with Adam since before Dominus's death. It's been 47 days since I arrived here. At first, I refused to speak to him, to even acknowledge him. But after a while, having observed him several hours every day, seeing how he interacts with Aldin, we began small talk – short conversations about nothing – that lead to more general conversations, and finally, yesterday, he and I had a breakthrough.

I looked into the eyes of my son, and I saw his soul. I felt sorry for the lad. After all, Noah, I created him. I sent him to Walstadt, I robbed him off a childhood, I had him kill the Jingdaoese emperor. I am the artist behind Adam.

Noah, darling. When I look into his eyes, I see his pain. I see his longing for love.

Perhaps I am ready to begin the process of forgiving. It will be one long journey though.

I can never forget what he did to my babies... to my family, to my kingdom. I hope to one day forgive.

But he is, and will forever be, my blood, my son, my creation.

I spoke to Aldin about it. He is confident – he says Bous tells him to be sure of it – that Adam will be redeemed, that he will be a beacon of light for the world.

My darling – I must seek your advice on what to do before I come back home.

But he is my son, he is my blood, and I will forever be his mother.

I remain your loving wife and sovereign lady,

Noor.


PS. Give Esther and Vilhjalm many hugs from Aldin and me.
NOOR
Kaiseress of Shireroth

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Adam
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Re: A Tale of Brotherly Love

Post by Adam »

His mother having left for Shireroth, Adam looked back at the time he had with her and his brother. It was a long time, more than two months, and they did grow closer. He understood that his mother would always be pained by his actions, and that he would have to live with that, but he knew that he had reached down to her.

When boarding the orbital express that would take her within a two or three hours to Shirekeep, half across the world, Noor gave Adam a hug. It was the first time she actually touched him since before the Dominus debacle. It felt good to Adam, he knew he was getting his mother on his side.

He remarked to Aldin afterwards, "well this wasn't too bad... let's see if the Empress would let me out of here... Do you think she'd come see us too?"
Adam Anushiruwân

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Aldin
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Re: A Tale of Brotherly Love

Post by Aldin »

I have been in touch with her, and she has been in contact with our mother. Asara confided in me that she would not entertain any meetings with you unless Mother permitted it. Mother's heart has softened to you, Brother, and I know it can only get better from here. I've given Asara my word that you have been redeemed, and reassured by Mother's change of heart, the Empress has agreed to also come here to meet with you for a few days to decide whether or not to restore you fully to our father's family.
His Eminence, Aldin Ayreon-Kalirion
Metrobosarch of the Eparchy of Smjorkyr,
Marquess of Sentratera

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Asara
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Re: A Tale of Brotherly Love

Post by Asara »

Asara arrived in Doza to evaluate Adam's recovery. At first, she met with Aldin privately.

"Cousin, it's a good thing you are the leader of our church, because I would not expect miracles to be performed by any one else. From what your mother has shared with me, she is convinced that Adam is rehabilitated, and on the path to forgiveness. Maybe not soon, but eventually. Hope. A wonderful gift you have given your mother, to let her believe in her son again."

"It was wonderful, to be able to spend so much time as a family. I'm confident that once I restore Adam's church duties, he'll be able to regain trust in the secular world."

"That's very good. I'm still quite conflicted about restoring his Waffel-Paine status, but I think I will decide on that after meeting him tonight."

"Of course! The kitchen staff here at the palace have been put through culinary bootcamp, so to say, by the past several months trying to prepare meals fit for my mother and her station in the world. You will now reap that benefit as we dine like gods! My mother had expensive taste so we are plenty stocked up on Babkhi, Goldshirian, and Elw foods.

Asara was eager to meet Adam and to try some exotic food fusions.
Her Most Bovic Majesty,
Asara Sisu
Empress of the Natopians
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Asara
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Re: A Tale of Brotherly Love

Post by Asara »

Asara, Adam, and Aldin enjoyed a delicious feast, and the three chatted into the early hours of the morning. Asara was quite confident in Adam's progress, and she had hinted to him throughout the night that she would gradually restore some of his Waffel-Paine rights as soon as she returned to Flaventia to file the proper mandates. She was so pleased, so thankful to Bous and Aldin, and proud of Adam for his recovery.

She went to bed that night, falling asleep quickly and full of hope.
Her Most Bovic Majesty,
Asara Sisu
Empress of the Natopians
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Re: A Tale of Brotherly Love

Post by Adam »

In the middle of the night, Adam’s plan unfolded nicely. Although he was alone there in the Pentheral Palace, he had planned meticulously for this event. Since coming to stay with his brother, he had observed him closely, Aldin’s patterns of speech, movement, and so on. He had practised impersonations of Aldin in his room on his own, and to his own satisfaction, he was confident he could trick the guards so that he could enter into Asara’s room.

He didn’t have any of Aldin’s clothes though, but he decided to just wear some underwear, wrap himself in his duvet, and walk slowly, slouchedly (like Aldin would do at night) to Asara’s room. When he passed the guards, he could hear one of them whispering to the other, “that’s the pentheros isn’t it?” and the other replying “of course it is, don’t be stupid!”

Adam smiled to himself.

He knocked on Asara’s room and felt the door handle. To his surprise, it wasn’t locked, so he decided to enter the room without getting Asara’s permission. In the dim room, he scouted for things. He found an interesting accessory to the curtains. A curtain rope. But to get there, he needed to get to Asara.

The empress woke up, but before she could get any bearings, Adam rushed to her, sitting on her, and smothering her face with a pillow.

“If you make any sound, I’ll do to do you what I did to Liv, and then I’ll kill you like I did to Kettei.”

Asara complied. Adam didn’t care about what went through in Asara’s mind, as long as she was quiet and weak, all would be well. While holding her down, with a pillow still over her face, but with less force so that she could actually breathe, Adam untangled the curtain and got that rope, and tied it around Asara’s neck.

“Now, bitch, we’re off to your little shuttle. Lead the way.”

Adam snickered. Asara looked like a literal bitch now. A she-dog. Her hair was all over the place, and she had a leash on her, and Adam was the one in charge.

If she was any hotter, he might have wanted to take her. But nah. Sure, it had been years since he had been with a woman, but in the monastery, he had trained his own acolytes to serve his needs in every single way he wanted. There was no way she could give him any of that pleasure, as resisting as she would be. No fun in that. He had a greater plan instead.

“Oh wait!” he cried as they were almost out of Asara’s room. He pulled the leash toward him, and Asara fell to the floor, coughing and out of breath. “We need to find a way to keep you quiet.”

Adam looked around the room, and in the end, he found some of Asara’s clothing. He used one of her shawls to gag her. He had one problem extra though; he had no clothes on. But he decided against using any of Asara’s. He wouldn’t go that low to humiliate himself. He’d rather walk in his underwear. Clothing could be sorted later.
When confident that Asara was properly tied up and had no way of escaping from him, that her fate would be bound with his, he told Asara to leave the room, quickly followed by Adam who held her in his arms, as the two cousins walked slowly in the corridor. The only guard by Asara’s door was about to sound the alarm, when Adam cautioned him.

“If you make any alarm, I will kill your empress right now, right here. Unarm yourself”

The guard looked at Asara and then did as he was told. Adam quickly picked up the guard’s weapons – an automatic gun and a knife. Then he told the guard to undress. “I need your clothes, you see.”

“They’re not your size,” replied the guard (who was 15 cm taller than Adam) as he undressed himself.

“Doesn’t matter. It’s cold.”

The guard took off all his clothes, his undershirt and underpants excepting.

“All of them,” ordered Adam, and the poor guard complied. When the guard fiddled with his socks in order to get them off, Adam slit the guard’s throat, and then stabbed him with it in his heart. He died rather quickly, but not, as Adam thought, quickly enough. He needed to get better at this for the next one.

As the pair then continued walking through the Pentheral Palace toward the shuttle bay on the grounds outside, all guards who came close all lay down their weapons as they realized that the fate of their empress depended on them.

“Don’t worry,” Adam would assure them. “I’ll let your empress go, I just need her shuttle. Let me get to the shuttle, and I’ll set her free. I promise. I’ve no quarrel with her, she’s done me nothing wrong.”

“Sshh…,” he whispered to Asara’s ear. “Trust me, cuz. I don’t want to harm you. I just want to get out of here. I’ll set you free, I promise.”

In the end, he arrived at the shuttle, Asara attached to his leash.

He knew that Asara’s shuttle would have an autopilot. He wouldn’t need a pilot. He just needed Asara to help him programme it.

“Okay – everyone, I just need the empress to programme the autopilot for me… then I’ll set her free, I promise you all. On the life of my son, I will set her free!”

Asara opened the Imperial Shuttle – a magnificent little suborbital ship, and the two of them entered.

“Where do you want to go?” she asked and pressed a button of some kind.

“Shirekeep, of course. I need to speak to my mother.”

“Okay… Computer – set a course for Raynor’s Keep shuttlepad.”

“That’s it? I just have to talk to it?”

“Pretty much. Press that button over there, and speak to the computer.”

“Cool… Now sit down, I need to make sure it works.”


The door had closed, and the engines started up. Asara sat down in a chair.

“Computer –,” he began, looked at Asara, and smiled. “Set a course for the Palace of Whales in Walstadt.” The computer replied by beeping appropriately. Adam tied Asara up in the chair and gagged her. Her voice would only annoy her.

“Don’t worry, I’ll set you free soon. We just need to get moving. You’re my protection. I’ll set you free when we get to Walstadt – I promise. No one is gonna hurt you there. You’re there fucking empress, hah!”

And then, the Empress’s shuttle was up in the air. Adam in it, Asara in it.
Adam Anushiruwân

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Asara
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Re: A Tale of Brotherly Love

Post by Asara »

Asara felt such dread falling over her. She briefly hoped the unscheduled flight into Shirekeep would raise alarms, and something could be done to stop in en route. But, a flight from Athlon to Walstadt? Routine.

She sat in her seat, not saying a word, as she knew anything she said would potentially anger Adam. She glared at him. How could she have been fooled? Such an evil, irredeemable, devil. His plot had to have been perfected and coldly calculated, like the psycopath that he no-doubt was, and manipulated all the good people around him.

She looked out the window, she watched as the twinkling lights of her empire's cities passed below her.
Her Most Bovic Majesty,
Asara Sisu
Empress of the Natopians
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Adam
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Re: A Tale of Brotherly Love

Post by Adam »

Why did the bitch look so fucking whiny? It really annoyed Adam. Sure, she was all quiet, but she just looked so whiny. She wasn't showing him proper respect. "Little whiny bitch..." he muttered to himself. He cursed himself for having promised her to set her free.

Adam to calm himself by planning ahead. In Walstadt, the local government was sympathetic to him, and once he arrived there, he could use Asara as leverage against the Natopian authorities. They wouldn't attack Walstadt if they knew that Asara was close to Adam at all times.

Then Walstadt would be recognized as independent again – Adam's honour would be restored as the sovereign prince of Walstadt, and all would be well in the world.

Adam smiled to himself.

The computer now signalled that the approach to Walstadt was imminent, the descent was ongoing. In just a few minutes, they'd land.

The only thing that was wrong was Asara's annoying face. It polluted all good things about this plan.

Adam quickly decided. He took that knife (the one he had used to slay guards at the Pentheral Palace) and repeatedly stabbed Asara over her entire body and face.

That felt good. Ding dong, the whiny bitch is dead.
Adam Anushiruwân

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