>>5880849At the sound of the eldest Warrior-Priest bringing down a weighted rod upon the shield before backing up himself, the two brothers charge. Their battle is fierce, one of hand-to-hand combat as they struggle for control of the shield. The younger brother is scrappier, leaner, and somewhat faster, but the elder brother is the stronger and more resilient. He is more than capable of withstanding his brother's attacks, grapples and throws as he wrestles the shield out of his brother's hands. He bashes his brother with the shield, knocking him down, before getting atop him and slamming it down upon his face again, and again, and again.
The elder brother raises the shield up high for a moment and hesitates, making eye contact with his brother one final time through the blood and tears. The cheering crowd dies away, and all that exists in this moment is him and his little brother whom he once so loved. He remembers playing with his brother, eating the food of their mother with him, playing with the dragons of the royal family, sharing his hopes and dreams with him.
Where did it all go so wrong? How could it have come to this?
He cannot go through with this. He casts aside the shield of their ancestor, now stained with the blood of a descendant of the First Rex, and he lifts his battered brother's head up and hugs him, crying. His brother, so wounded and unable to do anything other than limply return the hug, dies in his brother's embrace from his wounds.
The display of combat, while initially thrilling, is humbling to behold. Many who watch find themselves unable to turn away. The circumstances of fate turning brother against brother and the cruel reality of the end result is not lost upon the people. When they return to their homes, they bring with them tales of what they saw, and the lessons within reverberate throughout all of the communities of our civilization. Siblings, parents, cousins, friends, even strangers hug one another and their loved ones.
War between Anguia and Taurica does not come; the two communities are linked, like brothers, and must join in solidarity rather than be divided by conflict, for the end result of violence between loved ones is only pain and suffering.
The 13th Rex returns home with his love, and cremates his brother in accordance with the burial rites of our people. His ashes join those of his ancestors.
The situation with Taurica, though conflict between the two villages has been avoided, is not yet settled. The village is beset with issues of overpopulation, food shortages, infighting between clans, and more. Its people are restless. It is clear that some course must be taken to correct these issues.
Shall we split up Taurica and form a new settlement, or possibly more than one? Or perhaps a campaign of some sort, to send the warriors off on some task and allow the community to settle? Perhaps an expansion of the arena, allowing the Tauricans to settle matters within it in gladiatorial combat?
