1 Two Brothers

It was a cool Autum evening, a good day for a fight, and Jack's brother had antagonized him for the last time. Wrapping his knuckles thoroughly for the fight, breathing, he slowed his breath, remembering the punches and kicks the foreigner taught him. Bobbing his head from side to side as a voice from behind him said, "You look like a loonie."

The girl standing next to the knight, Dredmur, chuckled at his remark, Morgan was her name. Dredmur pulled her close to his lips, overtaking her like a panther drinking up a young gazelle's flesh after winning the pursuit. Jack's stomach churned at the sight.

Dred pulled away from his prey, tenderly he stroked her face, "I'll win this fight for you, my immaculate maiden."

Jack approached his brother, towering over the knight.

"Morgan's under his spell, she has to be," Jack thought, "no woman would appreciate the way Dred treats her."

Dredmur pulled away from the girl approaching Jack. Dred was dwarfed by his younger brother in sheer size.

Jack looked back at the Morgan who watched intently, Dred slapped his face, "Oy, eyes over here loonie!"

"Dredmur is going to antagonize, don't let him in," he thought. "You got this."

Dred's fist flew at Jack, He leaned back, throwing his left jab, hitting Dred's cheekbone. He doubled back, only to plow forward. Jack threw his front foot forward, repelling Dred away, leaning forward backhanding at him, but Dred ducked under the punch, slamming his fist into his brother's ribs.

Jack grunted.

"I thought you said that was cowardly?" He exclaimed.

"It's only cowardly when you do it brother, you're bigger." Dredmur said, bouncing on his feet.

Rolling his eyes, he threw a round kick, slamming into Dred's ribcage.

Dred doubled over in pain. Looking in Dred's eyes, Jack saw something he'd never seen in his brother before. Desperation!

Morgan smiled at Jack as it became evident that he was winning the fight. Dred saw and could not let Jack win.

Out of desperation, Dredmur pushed his hands forward onto Jack's chest and an unnatural force pulled him backwards!

Back slamming on the ground, many stone's throw away from his brother, pain shot through Jack's body as he cried out.

Dred huddled over to his injured brother, barely masking the pain he felt.

"Does this mean I win?"

Looking up, he saw that stupid smirk on his brother's face, but knowing that with whatever dark force allowed his brother to perform in this way, he couldn't beat it.

Jack nodded.

Dred's smirk grew, "Sorry, Jack, I can't hear you. Can you repeat yourself?"

His face contorted in a mixture of pain and disgust, "YOU…WIN!"

With that, Dred patted Jack's belly, sending shots of pain and humiliation throughout his body. "There you go, brother."

Then Morgan galloped over to Dred rewarding him with a deep passionate kiss, Dred looked down at his conquered foe, expressing his claim over the maiden. He pulled back from the kiss as she said, "I knew you'd win."

"I always do." Dred said, stroking her face.

Jack gagged.

Dred left with the girl on his arm, as Jack laid on his back alone.

Then their father walked over to Jack.

"Son, that's why he's the knight and you ain't. Now pick yourself up and get them cattle hauled!" Dad shouted as Jack moaned, pain shooting through his back.

"Ain't gonna tell you again, son!" The old man said, turning his back to the boy.

Jack silently but painfully rolled over to his stomach, picking himself up to his knees. He stood, limping to his backpack full of scrolls, and staggered over to the barn to herd the cattle. A woman observed him as she stood hidden in the old wooden shack.

A man with swarms of darkness outlining his silhouette approached her.

"I see you found yourself another puppet." she said, eyeing him carefully.

The man grinned wildly, "Ohhh Yesssss, this one is more thirsty for my power than the last one was."

She looked at him, "He will lose, you know that."

The man howled with laughter, "If he does, then at the least he will cause more chaos, and the beacon of light YOU have put in my way will be extinguished, if he does not rule, I will choose another."

The woman smiled as she looked in Jack's direction, "There is another who has been chosen to fight."

The man followed her gaze to Jack, who was herding the cattle.

The man blinked, "HIM?"

Jack leaned against a tree as he opened the scroll.

"You did well this time, mate," said a voice from behind.

Jack looked back, seeing the old foreigner, "Oy! Fremde, you saw?"

"Aye, I saw, and you gave your brother a good beatin' too."

"I lost." Jack admitted.

"Aye you did, but tis life, you win, you kill, you lose, you die. But if you do lose and live, tis better to run and fight another day." The foreigner said as he watched the cattle graze peacefully.

"The king wouldn't have run." Jack stubbornly exclaimed.

The old man laughed, "The King has Merlin, and 10,000 loyal knights to defend him, you got you. Once you hone that people will follow. If you focus on who's better, you'll spend your time following instead of becoming, and becoming is better than following. Look at me, I don't follow nobody, but I got you following me."

Jack looked up, "I'm not following you."

"Of course, you're not." The Fremde said, failing to hold back his laughter.

Jack looked up annoyed, "What do you want?"

The Fremde breathed as he composed his laughter, "Your brother displayed some unnatural abilities in the fight."

"Aye, he did."

"Any ideas where he might have learned that?"

"I've never known him to have an affinity for spells and incantations."

The Fremde looked down, deep in thought, "It seems your brother holds a great deal of secrets."

"What is going to happen to him?" Jack asked.

"Who knows, those who pursue such darkness are normally marked for life, keep an eye on your brother."

Jack nodded as Fremde left.

That night Jack herded the cattle into the barn when he saw a light in the distance, it glistened through the trees. If it was in the sky Jack would have thought it was a star, but it was in the forest, Jack needed to know what that light was.

After locking the barn and grabbing his hunting knife, he sought after the light. Pushing his way through the bushes, he saw a bear! The beast's back was turned to him as it devoured the flesh of a bear cub, so as not to disturb its meal, he turned to go the other direction but there was a snap under his foot!

Jack turned to see the bear lunging at him. He moved off line, stepping back, breathing. The bear slashed at Jack's ribcage, ripping open his side, grunting, he pulled out his knife, stabbed the bear's eye, enraged, the bear stood on its hind legs roaring. Jack doubled back, dwarfed by the mighty beast. The Bear slashed his claws at Jacks shoulder, Jack bobbed under the paw, hook punching the bear's kidney, the other fist slammed into the bear's front, knocking the wind out of it, sweeping his leg he tripped the bear on its back. Jack dropped. Grabbing the knife. He pushed it further into the predator's brain, he twisted and pulled the knife out. The bear manically waved its claws around, Jack dodged its claws, rolling onto his side, away from the bear's mania. He stood to his feet, seeing the bear struggle to get up.

"I need to end his suffering, now!" Jack ran forward holding his hunting knife in reverse grip, stabbing down, in the heart of the mighty beast, and it struggled no longer, despite the bloody eye and the wound on its chest, the bear almost looked peaceful. Jack looked back, to see a woman glowing white.

"It's time for you to face your destiny." She said, her voice sounding like an echo radiating with power.