Something Else Entirely
"Admittedly, the only thing the elder prince could boast of was his name itself."
After slaughtering the rest of Undari’s men and sending a clear message that the Ennead is to be feared, King Ulius and his sons lead the way to Freemount.
The road north from Theton to Freemount was well traveled. With the Free Mountains to the west and an estuary to the east, travel here was idyllic. While most of his father’s men remained to garrison Evermore in his absence the troops that did accompany them filled this stretch of land to its limits. Any on the road who came across them was forced to sacrifice half a day to the King’s newest cause.
Just what drove this new cause, Miika could not say. When they set out from Ennea nearly two full turns ago it had been to respond to the reported sightings of raiders along the western border. This sudden trip to Freemount was a surprise. And under the pretense of war? Much had changed in a matter of weeks.
In the midday sun, Miika realized he’d spent most of the morning in his own head. Which was not odd, he was known to keep to himself. The younger, who’d been riding alongside him, was not.
Udonis, who less than a week ago took a man’s life for the first time, wore an expression his older brother had seldom seen. Eyes fixed on the nape of his horse’s neck, Udonis seemed blank. His shoulders slumped forward as if the young prince were about to doze off. Miika knew he should speak to him, but what would he say?
Was this what father meant when he said my time to grow up had passed?
Not knowing what to say wasn’t a good enough reason to say nothing. Miika spurred his horse closer to Udonis and spoke up, a hoarseness making the words catch in his throat. “If it’s guilt that burdens you, I understand. I’ve-”
“What is it that you understand, Miika? And how could you?” Udonis didn’t even feign an attempt to look at his brother. He went on.
“Have you felt a man shudder at the end of your blade? Or heard the sounds of men as they fight for their last breath?”
Silence wedged itself between them before Udonis snapped his head up and stared indignantly. “No, big brother. You haven’t.”
Hurt, but undeterred, Miika searched for the right words. “Well… no. What I meant to say-”
“It matters not what you meant to say. Father was right. You are falling short of your duties, Miika. You are putting us all at risk,” Udonis said.
Those words and all that they’d carried made Miika pull up a bit, just enough to let his brother ride ahead. He knew he’d been a disappointment to Father - Ulius had never passed up an opportunity to remind him. But Udonis? Excoriation from him was new.
Nonetheless, Miika was proud of the man Udonis was becoming. One who could indeed follow in his father’s footsteps and be a leader of men. Not only was he developing the disposition for it, he was built like a man others respect. Broad, strapping shoulders with a sharp jawline to match. His green eyes made for a captivating contrast with his full head of jet black hair.
Admittedly, the only thing the elder prince could boast of was his name itself. He shared little in common with the king and his brother. This campaign was making that even clearer.
The army set up camp in the shadows of the rusty mountains just a day’s ride outside of Freemount. They’d arrive first thing to greet Lord Andion, and no matter how much of an embarrassment his family thought him to be, Miika knew he’d be treated as his father’s son and his brother’s equal. It was time he began acting like it.
Miika moved through the camp with a tempered haste. He was intent on finding Udonis, but he needed time to make sure he had the right words this time. He’d passed men in their cups, others with the company of camp followers. Most were enjoying both. While the King ran a strict camp, he knew the men would need to be on their best behavior within the limits of Freemount. Lord Andion was a pious man who would take offense to any activities he thought might upset the Divine.
Udonis wasn’t among any of the groups of men. He was just outside the bounds of camp sat atop a small boulder when Miika finally found him. His younger brother hugged his knees close to his chest as he stared out over the camp. Miika’s presence didn’t rouse him. The young prince wasn’t the least bit interested in Miika, but he had not spent all afternoon preparing for nothing.
Climbing the boulder took longer than expected, but once to the top Miika sat next to his brother, legs stretched in front of him.
“I know I don’t understand. But I can imagine, Udonis. And I imagine that what you feel is like nothing I’ve ever felt. But I know Father has.”
Udonis cut his eyes towards his brother as Miika continued. “Father has a way about him. I see a lot of him in you.”
Miika placed his hand on his shoulder. Bracing them both for what he’d wanted to say all along. “And that scares me, Udonis.”
Udonis’ head jerked back, eyes once again flashing annoyance. He made to speak, but Miika continued.
“Father is understanding until he is not. He’s calculated. Cold.”
Udonis’ expression stiffened as annoyance turned to disdain.
“Father is obsessed with legacy. He believes he can shield us with it. The truth is, that when he and Mother are gone, you and I will find few friends. We must tread lightly.”
Miika dropped his hand from his brother’s shoulder by degrees.
“In battle I’d sooner follow Father than The Divine herself. Away from it, he’s the last man I’d seek to emulate.”
He knew that he was risking a lot by voicing such things, but Udonis’ future as shaped by their father would be a dark one.
One full of countless battles. Immeasurable blood. Innumerable deaths.
What kind of brother would he be to let Udonis willingly choose such a fate? And for what? He knew better than any that there was no way the two of them could find a seat among the next Nine. It would be viewed as nepotism. The first step backwards towards hereditary monarchy. His mother knew as much, and so they were campaigning with their father instead of learning matters of state.
Miika would’ve preferred that. Both of his parents knew it. As did Udonis, who now seemed to have fully grasped just what Miika was trying to say. He stood, wiping the dirt from his pants as he spoke.
“You’re wrong about Father.”
Miika looked up at Udonis as he loomed over him.
“I know you’re nervous for me- for us, really. But the only way to make sure we are safe during and after the Disentanglement is to make sure the men know we are not meek,” Udonis said assuredly.
The younger prince gestured out over the camp that sat before he and Miika. His voice sounding deeper, more mature than Miika remembered. “These men will follow us if we can show them that we are worthy. I can see that now.”
“The way Father carries himself is purposeful. Every action chosen to spur more from his men. The way we stared down an impending ambush was only possible because he stood with us.” Udonis continued.
Miika now knew why his brother had spent much of their time on the road in silence. He wasn’t fretting over having killed a man. He was reliving the moment. Ruminating on it. The younger brother he knew hadn’t been the man that returned from the woods that day.
“We are here with Father for a reason, Miika. You may think your place is with Mother back in Ennea. Overseeing levy policy, or grain distribution. But it is not.”
Udonis let those words hang before continuing.
“I intend to earn the trust of these men. When the time comes, they will ride with me. If not them, then their sons will be so inspired by the stories their fathers tell that they will follow me in their stead.”
Udonis paused, took a step closer to camp, and made it clear that he was indeed King Ulius’ son. “I used to dream of riding beside you at the front of the lists.”
And it was then that Miika realized that not only had his intervention been late, but it was also misguided. All along Miika had fought the natural tendency to be like his father. He’d assumed his brother would want to join him in that. But why would he?
Miika had only wanted to be like the parent who he’d seen as the better leader. Miika was thinking like someone set to inherit the throne, despite its forbiddance.
Udonis was never going to be given anything, under The Rule of Nine or the old imperial rules of succession. The second born never was.
While Miika had spent his entire life up to this point preparing to be the first “king that never was,” Udonis had spent his trying to figure out what the younger child of a soon-to-be powerless namesake was destined for. Miika couldn’t help but hear his father’s words in that moment as he and Udonis lingered atop that rock as the sun set behind them.
“Not all men come to power because of proximity to wealth. Some of us are men of the sword.”
Ulius, and now Udonis, were both men of the sword. Miika knew he was something else entirely.