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Description
Kodlak set out, his plan being to hunt something, maybe learn how to fish properly instead of simply thrashing about in the water. It wasn't as if there had been much else to do at the time, his duties as a simple follower were so few.
The morning was set to be uneventful; no breeze, no clouds, no life. Just sun and sand. So it was actually extremely surprising for Kodlak when he saw it. A large imposing figure on the horizon, it's golden-cream fur almost reflecting the sunlight. It's mane seemed to ripple, though there was no wind to speak of. Was that a lion? It was too far away to tell, but that wouldn't matter for long, as the creature was steadily making it's way through the desert. It seemed determined. It wasn't lost; it knew exactly what it had come for.
--------
"Mordu?" Kodlak exclaimed, a sudden joy bursting through his chest. His brother. His only brother. Was here. In Ascension Abyss.
The larger male stared down at his sibling, eyes steely.
"Kodlak. Finally." His voice held no happiness. The monotone was disturbingly unlike the male, and it only served to quell Kodlak's minor merriment.
"...What...?" He stopped short, eyeing his brother suspiciously. As far as he'd known, Mordu hadn't initially hated him for his defection. What had changed? Outwardly, the elder male looked almost exactly the same as he had before. His thick light colored fur cut into a lion's crown, haloing around his chest and neck to make him both larger and more imposing. The effect was not lost on him either.
"What are you doing here?" Kodlak seemed to find his voice once more, the happy reunion's pulse in his chest having soured into one of foreboding..
--------
"They're dead. All of them!" Mordu roared suddenly, his furious gaze piercing like daggers through his brother's chest.
"I don't understand..." Kodlak had frozen in place, faces flashing before his eyes. Who?
"Mother, Father, Lillin," The lion-like male began, his voice straining as he continued to list all the casualties, his voice crackling as he spoke the name of his mate. He looked down, and then with a renewed venom he continued, "And let's not forget Jesra, your sons, your daughters. All of them. Sacrificed to cleanse the caste of your sins against The Goddess."
Mordu spat, literally cursing the ground his brother walked upon. "I was lucky to get out alive."
Kodlak wanted to vomit. Upon his ever growing list of past guilts, the death of almost his entire family was added.
"What will you do now..?" Kodi's voice was almost... hopeful? As if he could possibly convince his brother to come with him, to eventually accept the true faith, after all that he'd done.
"Now?" Mordu's face contorted into an ugly sort of sadness, the kind that came from a forced hatred, "Now I must avenge their deaths.."
--------
Initially Kodlak had tensed, welded in place and entirely unwilling to fight. Mordu was his last family. How could he possibly fight his only brother? They had been through so much together, had survived their Harrowing together. He watched numbly as Mordu charged ever closer, murder in his eyes.
"...Brother," he murmured, his heart aching to hear some warmth, some remaining love... There was none.
--------
Mordu bowled into Kodlak like a freight train his advantage being that Mordu had always been larger, more powerful than his younger sibling. Kodlak got lucky this time, having snapped to his senses in the last moment and narrowly avoiding Mordu's ever ready jaws, yet still finding himself tumbling across the sand from the impact. The blood dripping from his nose finally served to pressure the dog to fight, his survival instinct overruling his need to preserve family. Kodlak released a strangled cry, rushing at the other dog. He no longer recognized his brother, but an enemy. A member of The Caste. An enemy of the Following. Of Zonje..
--------
Mordu had always wondered why his brother, Kodil, born from their mother entire minutes after he was-- the weaker, smaller brother, who, for the longest time, couldn't fight to save his life-- could possibly outshine him. How this verifyable runt could become Caste Prince and gain the approval of their father so quickly, gain the love of his Caste so easily... Now that the reason was staring him in the face, soulless, uncaring, he finally understood. For all his training and working, Mordu had always held at least one flaw that his brother did not. Mordu felt compassion. Mordu gave mercy. The elder brother relaxed his assault, his blows becoming less and less vicious, until he had stopped fighting completely.
But Kodlak did not.
--------
The tears, the remorse.. none of that came until long after the burial. The blood-spattered mound of sand, the already decaying body that now lie entombed beneath it... none of this registered as belonging to someone he'd once loved.. A burial in itself was an insult, even-- Caste members burned their dead to release the spirits of the fallen. To be hidden away the ground was to be bound in chains eternal. It was a funeral befitting of a traitor.
The Brother Victorious had to turn away from it all; the very sight of the battlefield having made him sick.
For as much as the death had further twisted the pieces of his already broken heart, it was too late to reconcile. The pain of realizing he was-- always had been-- a monster... it was just too much for him to bear.
Ashamed, Kodlak began the long trek home.
He did not once look back.

I struggled with the title for this; was torn between "Clash of the Titans," and "To Lose a Brother," for the longest time.
Anyway, the one I have now is better, more fitting. I needed Kodlak to finally disconnect with his past and embrace the future.
Partially fueled by this song, Soldier On, by The Temper Trap. [link]
Prayer: ??
Worship: ??

Description
Kodlak set out, his plan being to hunt something, maybe learn how to fish properly instead of simply thrashing about in the water. It wasn't as if there had been much else to do at the time, his duties as a simple follower were so few.
The morning was set to be uneventful; no breeze, no clouds, no life. Just sun and sand. So it was actually extremely surprising for Kodlak when he saw it. A large imposing figure on the horizon, it's golden-cream fur almost reflecting the sunlight. It's mane seemed to ripple, though there was no wind to speak of. Was that a lion? It was too far away to tell, but that wouldn't matter for long, as the creature was steadily making it's way through the desert. It seemed determined. It wasn't lost; it knew exactly what it had come for.
--------
"Mordu?" Kodlak exclaimed, a sudden joy bursting through his chest. His brother. His only brother. Was here. In Ascension Abyss.
The larger male stared down at his sibling, eyes steely.
"Kodlak. Finally." His voice held no happiness. The monotone was disturbingly unlike the male, and it only served to quell Kodlak's minor merriment.
"...What...?" He stopped short, eyeing his brother suspiciously. As far as he'd known, Mordu hadn't initially hated him for his defection. What had changed? Outwardly, the elder male looked almost exactly the same as he had before. His thick light colored fur cut into a lion's crown, haloing around his chest and neck to make him both larger and more imposing. The effect was not lost on him either.
"What are you doing here?" Kodlak seemed to find his voice once more, the happy reunion's pulse in his chest having soured into one of foreboding..
--------
"They're dead. All of them!" Mordu roared suddenly, his furious gaze piercing like daggers through his brother's chest.
"I don't understand..." Kodlak had frozen in place, faces flashing before his eyes. Who?
"Mother, Father, Lillin," The lion-like male began, his voice straining as he continued to list all the casualties, his voice crackling as he spoke the name of his mate. He looked down, and then with a renewed venom he continued, "And let's not forget Jesra, your sons, your daughters. All of them. Sacrificed to cleanse the caste of your sins against The Goddess."
Mordu spat, literally cursing the ground his brother walked upon. "I was lucky to get out alive."
Kodlak wanted to vomit. Upon his ever growing list of past guilts, the death of almost his entire family was added.
"What will you do now..?" Kodi's voice was almost... hopeful? As if he could possibly convince his brother to come with him, to eventually accept the true faith, after all that he'd done.
"Now?" Mordu's face contorted into an ugly sort of sadness, the kind that came from a forced hatred, "Now I must avenge their deaths.."
--------
Initially Kodlak had tensed, welded in place and entirely unwilling to fight. Mordu was his last family. How could he possibly fight his only brother? They had been through so much together, had survived their Harrowing together. He watched numbly as Mordu charged ever closer, murder in his eyes.
"...Brother," he murmured, his heart aching to hear some warmth, some remaining love... There was none.
--------
Mordu bowled into Kodlak like a freight train his advantage being that Mordu had always been larger, more powerful than his younger sibling. Kodlak got lucky this time, having snapped to his senses in the last moment and narrowly avoiding Mordu's ever ready jaws, yet still finding himself tumbling across the sand from the impact. The blood dripping from his nose finally served to pressure the dog to fight, his survival instinct overruling his need to preserve family. Kodlak released a strangled cry, rushing at the other dog. He no longer recognized his brother, but an enemy. A member of The Caste. An enemy of the Following. Of Zonje..
--------
Mordu had always wondered why his brother, Kodil, born from their mother entire minutes after he was-- the weaker, smaller brother, who, for the longest time, couldn't fight to save his life-- could possibly outshine him. How this verifyable runt could become Caste Prince and gain the approval of their father so quickly, gain the love of his Caste so easily... Now that the reason was staring him in the face, soulless, uncaring, he finally understood. For all his training and working, Mordu had always held at least one flaw that his brother did not. Mordu felt compassion. Mordu gave mercy. The elder brother relaxed his assault, his blows becoming less and less vicious, until he had stopped fighting completely.
But Kodlak did not.
--------
The tears, the remorse.. none of that came until long after the burial. The blood-spattered mound of sand, the already decaying body that now lie entombed beneath it... none of this registered as belonging to someone he'd once loved.. A burial in itself was an insult, even-- Caste members burned their dead to release the spirits of the fallen. To be hidden away the ground was to be bound in chains eternal. It was a funeral befitting of a traitor.
The Brother Victorious had to turn away from it all; the very sight of the battlefield having made him sick.
For as much as the death had further twisted the pieces of his already broken heart, it was too late to reconcile. The pain of realizing he was-- always had been-- a monster... it was just too much for him to bear.
Ashamed, Kodlak began the long trek home.
He did not once look back.

I struggled with the title for this; was torn between "Clash of the Titans," and "To Lose a Brother," for the longest time.
Anyway, the one I have now is better, more fitting. I needed Kodlak to finally disconnect with his past and embrace the future.
Partially fueled by this song, Soldier On, by The Temper Trap. [link]
Prayer: ??
Worship: ??