322 CHPT 322: The Tale of Two Brothers...

Story time. The setting was so perfect it was almost cliche.

Cliche in the way the night sky spread overhead like a dark blanket studded with starlight diamonds. That darkness spread and soaked into the forest below like a virus, casting pools of black in every corner and crevice where the strong green of trees failed to shine. The cold winds gave the woodlands an eerie feel, with every gust and blow the forest whispered and cackled as if it were alive and invested. Like a sadistic crowd of individuals that couldn't wait to hear the very real retelling of events with world shattering consequences.

It all fit-- like a glove, like a sword in a sheath...

Even the fire, that now died down to a quieted crackle as the flames bit at the long scorched wood, as if it were whispering in favor of allowing all who witnessed to hear the story teller that much better.

Claude sat near the quieted fire. A rigid and anxious mess with his fists knotted into a tight ball while his elbows rested on his knees that couldn't help but bounce endlessly in an attempt to exert even the smallest portion of excess energy. If he had hackles, they'd be raised to blade-like points that stood against the icy winds.

Going against the overall mood that settled around the churning flames, Rollan continued to sleep, put into a near catatonic stupor induced by alcohol with nothing but a relieved smile on his smooth and incredibly dark skinned face. Ursula was in a similar state, brought on by food which catapulted Claude and Arne into their collective state of raw panic.

She ate-- she ate everything. Everything Rollan offered and everything she desired. She expressed no distaste for cooked meat-- no urge for raw meat, and could stomach fruits and veggies.

Something wasn't right, and Claude was about to learn exactly what that was. He was going to learn through history, the history of what he'd become. The history of the Lupines that began with two individuals he knew almost nothing about.

The Tale of Romulus and Remus, Brothers turned Immortal Shape-Shifting Gods and sworn enemies.

It was a story he'd always wanted to hear-- unfortunate it had to be under such circumstances. But, now was a better time than ever. Even if Arne spoke with a discomfort that made Claude fear what he'd learn.

"[Alright. Before we actually begin, do you know what Feral Children are?]"

"....Kids raised in the wild?" Claude guessed, his voice came out cold and tight.

"[More or less, yes. Feral Children are a rare phenomena lost to time. They were much more common in the Old World-- before Magic and Monsters gripped the world in an unbreakable hold. And even then, they were rare. They were children that for one reason or the other, were left in the wild-- closed off from humans and modern society since birth.]"

"How do you even survive that?" Claude asked over the crackle of flames.

"[Well, in many cases you need a great deal of luck. Incredible luck. And some also gain help.]"

"Help?"

"[Some children weren't forever alone in their quiet forests and caves. Some were raised by the animals within. Some even thrived-- relatively, in such a way before being found by those like themselves.]"

A silence spread between them when Arne finished speaking, leaving Claude confused on why the story even required such a piece of information, "Ok....? What does this have to do with anything?"

"[Well you see, Romulus and Remus are the only recorded Feral Children in New World History.]"

"..."

"[Not one record of a single other. And that is how this story begins..]"

Claude stayed silent, now eager to understand how two children could survive in the wild full of Monsters and things that would each children without a moments hesitation.

"[Two boys-- twin children, no name, no sense of self, barely hanging onto life in the icy heart of Islandia..]"

The level of amazement he felt over the fact that they'd survived as feral children was just taken up a notch after Arne casually stated that they'd did so in the land of Primal Ice and vicious pockets of Wild Magic.

"[....Obviously, they only had so much time to survive on their own-- arguably they had no time to survive alone. They were saved by the Wild-- that same wild that worked against them every second of every day. We don't know at what age, but they eventually found themselves traveling with a pack of Wolves and Canid-Hybrids. They found warmth-- family, connection with beings other than themselves for the first time in the Wolves. And over the following years that connection grew, carrying them from childhood into adolescence. They hunted and interacted with these Wolves until they saw themselves as nothing other than members of the pack. But, I think by this point you can assume they were different-- not just in terms of being humans....]"

"Yea."

"[The Magic of Rebirth-- it came to them early. And they used it in every aspect to help them on their hunts and when defending territory. And by the ripe age of seven or eight, they were without a doubt Reborn as twin Beast Mages and keeping their pack fed in the wilds of Islandia. And Islandia seemed the best and worst place for them to grow alone in the wild. Very few human cities or villages, cold forest and mountain everywhere-- and Wild Rifts. Pockets of condensed Wild Magic that could build and grow for decades under the hard spread of the permafrost below ground. The twins may have been lacking in human language and complex comprehension-- but they were smart-- possibly learning of it's devastating capabilities from witnessing what they did to other animals. They searched for these Wild Rifts, built territories and dens around them, and waited for each and every one to burst-- giving their pack strengths and mutations that made them a formidable force in the wintery forests.]"

"...They were familiar with Wild Magic even before knowing the human language."

"[Rather telling, isn't it?]"

"No kidding..." Claude thought, trying and failing to imagine a couple seven year olds and a dozen mutated superpowered Wolves running in the endless tundra of Islandia.

"[It's also-- in many ways, the perfect, zero to hero story. Two boys, with nothing good going for them but the cold welcome of death. Out of sheer luck or any other interference out of their control, they survived. And prevailed-- sharpening their skills and raw power using the very same things that threatened to kill them in the beginning. It sounds almost too perfect, doesn't it?]"

The fire they sat around coughed up a tuft of sparks and burnt wood as if it were agreeing.

"Yea, I'm waiting for the bad part..." Claude added.

"[Indeed. But, I will say. It doesn't start as massively impactful as you'd think. In fact, it starts rather simple.]"

"...."

"[Confidence. It's often the downfall of those in power. The Feral brothers had long since grown accustomed to the word with their wildly mutated pack of Canid Beasts. It allowed them to flourish and develop in ways beyond simple survival, it allowed the...hmm...the growth of individual personality one might say.]"

"...They were allowed to be kids...in a way?"

"[Yes, yes indeed. Their pack grew with them as well. The Wolves, through constant exposure to Wild Rift explosions and Rank increases, they too developed a deeper sense of self through the growth of their intellect. It was a shared growth that the brothers were at the apex of. And this is where we see the beginnings of Romulus and Remus.]"

Claude felt a chill run down his spine despite the warmth of the fire in his face.

"[We'll start with what I know most. That of Romulus. The elder brother-- that's what he liked to call himself. Even as a child with no verbal language other than the barks and yips he shared with his canid family, he was curious, brave, determined and willful. In the wild a few of these qualities are not looked upon kindly. He often hurt himself, got injured or lost due to his own mind pulling him towards the questions he couldn't yet enunciate. Remus always found him, always helped him heal and recover from whatever fiasco he'd dragged everyone into on behalf of his urge to...learn. When they were Reborn in those snowy wilds, his curiosity only grew and turned towards the magic within himself. He became skilled magically years before Remus....]"

"Sounds like how you've described him."

"[Remus on the other hand was a bit more.....practical in the beginning. He was much more like the Canids he lived with. Much more content around them, energetic, protective, possessive, caring, paranoid and most importantly, he was afraid. Always and endlessly afraid.]"

"Well that's a curve-ball..."

"[I said the same thing. But it makes perfect sense.]"

Claude stayed silent.

"[You see. I said confidence was a word they began to know well, right?]"

"Mhm."

"[It's for that reason that they came into contact with their first batch of humans. A small Village at the edge of a forest on a hill...what do you think happened, Claude?]"

Rollan giggled in his sleep, startling him out of his mind for a moment before responding, "....Romulus."

"[Yes. His curiosity led him down the mountainous forest hill they currently occupied to search the village full of beings that were noticeably more like himself than the Wolves above....physically at least. And as a result, he met his first humans other than his brother.]"

"Oh no..."

"[Romulus never spoke to people about his past in excess or often really. But the story of the brother and sister he met is one he never failed to repeat. A little boy and girl around his age from the Village. He'd stop by their window at night after hunts to play and amaze them. Oddly enough, they were amazing each other. Romulus found their complex language and mundane house supplies incredibly interesting. And in turn, they were baffled by his ability to to summon fire and create animalistic constructs out of pure magic. They had a nickname for him in their Russian language that roughly translated to fireboy he later learned.]"

"How innocent." He said, the beginnings of a growl shaking his voice in response to the building suspense he didn't enjoy in the slightest.

"[Then Remus learned of his brothers friends. First he was afraid-- afraid of being found and hunted by beings he knew little of other than the wariness his pack felt. So, he watched. Overtime the fear subsided-- they were just kids. The adults were too wrapped up in their own work or too deep asleep at night to ever notice. All should've been well. But a new emotion crept into the brothers mind some time along the way of him watching his brother make friends without him.]"

"Jealousy."

Arne sighed, "[Jealousy indeed. He didn't like it-- didn't like the pack being split, a member missing, his brother away from him. His paranoia only made matters worse...and then Romulus got too curious. He became too bold as he often did at that age and met his first adult human. When he returned, Remus had witnessed it all and wouldn't let him leave for weeks after. Unfortunately, they didn't have to wait long. The Hunters of the Village were led by their own brand of curiosity and Heroism. A kid was found on his own in Islandian Wilds, of course they had to check it out...maybe he needed help, right?]" Arne asked, rhetorically.

Claude was gifted with another shiver.

"[Men and Women carrying weapons and lanterns eventually found them, cooped up in a Den near a clearing littered with animal bones and stripped carcasses. For one reason or another, a Wolf was shot and killed despite all their mutations and wild magic fueled power. The brothers and the rest of the pack killed them in response. Romulus always told those closest to him that he didn't regret what he'd done. They entered foreign territory and killed one of his own. It was natural. He only wished they could've understood each other. Understanding is important to get behind Romulus and his motives as you'll see...]"

"Not a good first meeting with the humans for Remus..." He thought.

"[Not good at all. You see, the brothers were as intertwined into the social workings and bonds as every other creature among them. They'd lost family. Through all their trials and tribulations in those icy wilds full of incomprehensible monsters, all it took to lose one member was one group of interested and afraid humans. The brothers lived with animals-- but they were human. And their human rage dictated their next decision.]"

"Revenge." Claude knew the world well, as if it were a limb on his body, always there.

"[Romulus originally was on the fence-- you see, his friends lived in that village. His curiosity was quenched on those nights he crept up to the window of the cabin at the edge of the village to play with the boy and girl that looked at him as if he were a fantastical child of magic and the wild. Remus couldn't give a damn. Remus knew his and his own, and he knew others took one of his own. He wanted to take back, he wanted to eliminate the threat. His paranoia was a sword that stabbed both him and every enemy he's ever faced. I think at the age, he felt it for the first time.]"

"Felt what?"

Arne was silent for a moment, "[Superiority....]"

Claude knew what happened next, it didn't matter how conflicted Romulus was. His brother was fueled by something Claude knew well. Nobody stops what was coming, they only get out of the way or hop aboard.

"[Another smaller group of Hunters came. Romulus often thought Remus let them-- let them creep into their territory again-- now with faces twisted into anger as they cast unknown accusations at them. He wanted Romulus by his side. He wanted his curious brother to see the threat they posed. What they did to their brother Wolf-- it could happen again. I think those were the days Remus learned how beneficial manipulation was as well. Because, it worked. No wolf was hurt that time. Remus trapped them, and the Wolves descended. Later that night, they did so again.....on the village.]"

Claude felt his stomach lurch as if he were actually there, watching through the eyes of one of the Wolves as they bounded down the hill to unleash absolute carnage on the Village below.

"[Superiority. It's a drug to those that once only knew the touch of fear. It becomes their sword to slash and stab at their old friend, terror. Remus wielded it for the first time on that night. Romulus often spoke about how his brother looked different that night. This was no fight against a raging Wendigo in the mountains, a Bauk in the darkness, or Native Babaroga trying to lure the boys into a dark cave. This was no hunt either, nothing led by hunger or will to survive. This was a massacre, and Remus spearheaded it at the age of ten. Nobody fought back once the strongest men and women fell. It was completely one sided and ended in the span of twenty minutes. Quick, messy and violent...]"

He was silent for a moment before continuing.

"[Romulus told many that he regretted that night more than anything. He thinks that was a pivotal part in his brothers development. Hell it was pivotal in both of their developments. But it didn't do anything good for Remus. On that night, he slaughtered without mercy, killed women and children and ate their remains with his Wolves. When the sun rose on the tarnished village-- the brothers seemingly switched places for the first time. Romulus was horrified, discomforted and saddened deeply by all the unneeded death and greed lead consumption. His curiosity was gone in those moments. He didn't want to wade through the bloodsoaked homes and grounds of the Village in search of anything to learn. Remus on the other hand, had tasted true relaxation for the first time. And in turn, had developed a curiosity for power. No more fear, no more paranoia. He enjoyed the silence that met them when they'd slain the perceived threat. That was the beginning.]"

Silence came again. This time lasting infinitely longer, allowing the facts and details of the story to settle in and leave Claude with a simple question.

"So...Romulus learned of his brothers pension for violence-- dominance, after the village massacre. I get that, but what does this have to do with Ursula?" He asked while casting a glance over at her, sleeping deeply with four of her fingers submerged in Frosty's mouth.

"[Oh, Claude. It has everything to do with her and this situation. You see, this night was not only a massacre. It also became their pattern. It became the very thing that put them on nearby cities radars. They were an unknown force in the wild for years, and then they became cataloged, free for any Hunter to track. They'd developed a pattern of destruction. Remus lead by his fear and paranoia perceived a threat. Manipulated his brother and the Wolves into feeling the same, and they erased. They erased all they ran into....and as a result, Remus tasted superiority and forgot fear for longer portions of time. Romulus too lost more of himself along the way. But it was too late to go back...]"

"[What do you think happens to two boys like they when they start being tracked by Hunter's Guilds hearing of Villages in the wild being destroyed by abnormally powerful Wolves? They don't run in fear, they don't submit to anyone but their Alpha Male and Female parents, and they definitely don't stop doing what they're doing. So what happens?]"