The la Marche Brothers

Olivier had brought his brothers Albert and Andre to a secluded area for a talk. The three of them were in a small country home around a very homey looking table drinking tea. Olivier had his normal goofy smile on his face as he began, "The reason I brought you two here is to discuss a few things. First of all, Andre, you should know that our brother Albert is not an idiot. He is the of the smartest of us or would have been if I had not undergone some changes." Andre stared at Albert who shrugged but didn't deny it.

Olivier then turned to Albert and said, "Albert you should know that the woman you are in love with, Cecil, is actually married to her servant Norris. She's been playing you for a fool this whole time. She uses you to let her use the Black Knights as her personal revenge force and as a power grab for the throne." Albert looked confused, he knew there was no way his love for Cecil could be known by anyone, and more so that she was the leader of the Black Knights and under his power.

Andre and Albert stared at each other in suspicion and then Albert asked, "And what about you, Olivier, what are you going to reveal here about yourself?"

Olivier smiled and said, "I'm a Mage. But, Andre already knows this."

Albert looked at Andre and asked, "What does he mean by Mage?"

Andre looked at Albert and said, "Olivier, he has the power of the ancient Wizards. What we always assumed was exaggeration and myth, is all very real. Olivier and his friends are powerful beyond your wildest imagination, Albert. I know you won't believe me until Olivier shows you the way he did me, but I swear to you, it's very real."

Olivier cleared his throat and said, "Moving on, now that we have those pesky matters out of the way I would like to talk about the throne and about the rule of Pays De Abrutis going forward into the future. I have seen a future where the la Marche family killed itself from stupidly fighting over the throne, and I can tell you, there is no path where the two of you are King for longer than a week. Before you ask, no I didn't kill either of you. I originally chose not to bother myself with the throne and you two managed to get yourselves killed."

Albert laughed and shook his head, "We are supposed to just abdicate to you little brother on your word?"

Olivier shook his head and said, "I brought you here to listen to what I have to say, I don't expect you to suddenly change who you fundamentally are overnight. Father raised us to be King, each of us. The problem is that we only have one Kingdom which means he set us up to be brothers only in name who have to fight to the death for this one throne. Whether you want to accept the fact that I am superior to you both in every way possible is beside the point, I am actually going to make a different suggestion. Our family took power from the Montfort family thirty years ago in exchange for helping fight the Duke of the Fall. I want to see us return the Montfort family to power and return to being one of the four great houses. Albert, you would be the Duke. Andre, you and I would hold positions as ministers for the King."

Albert laughed and said, "Why would we ever wish to voluntarily give up on the throne?"

Olivier looked at Albert and said, "Albert, you are happiest when you can pull strings behind the scenes and are a very effective ruler who makes relatively sound decisions."

Olivier looked at Andre and said, "Andre, you make bad decisions and only really care about pleasure and having fun, a minister position would allow you to work lightly and be around the royal social scene in a position of power without responsibility.

As for me, I am more like Andre than I care to accept, which is why I made the suggestion. Why I decided this was what would be best for us, is that I can promise you, not one us enjoys the throne, it's not what we thought it was, just look at father, he is miserable. He is afraid of even his own children. The crown is not a prize, it's a curse. A curse that needs a head, strong enough to bear it, and I am telling you, that man is Guy de Montfort." He looked at his brothers and said, "I am not going to beg you or argue with you until you agree, I just want you to just think about it."

Albert looked at Olivier with a serious expression and then said, "I admit, I am happiest when I am pulling strings in the dark."

Andre sighed and said, "I don't really want to be King, I just like being a prince and having the attention."

Albert asked, "Olivier, why are you hoping we accept this?"

Olivier smiled his normal goofy smile and said, "You're my brothers and I don't want to bury you both again. Maybe you two have forgotten, but I am the youngest when I was little I looked up to both of you. I miss having you as brothers. I don't want rivals."

Albert asked Andre and Olivier, "And the two of you would want to see me as the Duke?"

Andre chuckled, "King, Duke, as long as I got to flirt around with women trying to get close to me, I really don't care, Albert."

Olivier nodded and said, "I have already seen what happens to you if you become King, Albert, so I won't say I would like to see you on the throne. But I promise you, I have no interest in being King, Duke, or any other leadership position."

Andre looked at Olivier and said, "I think you should show Albert, Olivier."

Olivier nodded and then said, "Gate." A silvery gate opened and then Olivier walked through, Andre smiled at Albert and motioned for him to come along. They walked through and were standing along a winding mountain pass. In a valley down below were thousands of El Pais De Lotharios troops getting ready for an invasion. They were camped and waiting for the season when the mountain passes would open.

Albert asked, "El Pais De Lotharios? Why do they seem like they are getting ready for war?"

Olivier smiled and said, "They were in a secret alliance with Wütendes Menschenreich who were planning to attack Pays Des Abrutis simultaneously forcing us to fight on two fronts. We discovered the plan and took action. Guy de Montfort killed the Wütendes Menschenreich invasion force, and today I am going to kill this one."

Albert laughed and said, "What you are going to run down there and threaten them with your sword?"

Olivier grinned and then said, "Firestorm. Firestorm." The entire field of soldiers was engulfed in flames. Thousands of men screamed in agony, the sound of men and horses dying filled the air in a terrible cacophony.

Albert looked on in complete horror, he slowly looked at his younger brother in a new light. His brother wasn't just threatening him, he was allowing him to see the difference in might between them. Albert swallowed and asked, "Lord Montfort, he can do this as well?"

Olivier nodded and then Andre said seriously, "I watched him kill four hundred thousand Wütendes Menschenreich troops in just the same fashion, Albert."

Albert watched the men and horses giving their last dying gasps, the smell of burned bodies heavy in the air, "Duke, hmm, as one of the four great Dukes, we would be able to easily manipulate from the shadows without the heavy target of the crown, wouldn't we?"

Andre nodded and said, "Our great grandfather was such a man."

Albert looked out over the chaos and said softly, "Yes he was, it's in our blood."