'Those ignorant, pathetic, selfish bastards… they don't even think about the city anymore. Holding a public vote to condone murder…'
Tuerri was deep in thought and was pacing himself inside his personal quarters at Sequi's Assembly. He had walked out on Ver and Mercado who were pressuring him to lift the Agnoscere from the city. A bitter scowl was etched on his face as he scratched his head in frustration, mucking up his neatly combed platinum-blonde hair.
'I must find Finn, only a council vote will settle this matter peacefully-'
His trail of thought was broken off as he heard the sound of knocking from the glass doors leading to the balcony. Tuerri cautiously approached the source of the sound, he peeked through the glass panes and saw a figure of a falcon, it was radiating a faint blue light.
"That bird… can it be!?"
Tuerri's olivine eyes dilated in shock, he recognised the bird as it resembled the crest of the Monte family. The falcon had been conjured up from an ancient enchantment created by his predecessors. Tuerri knew that it was a swift letter from Turris as it emitted a blue glow.
"That wastrel... what does he want now?" Tuerri clicks his tongue and rolls his eyes as he sees the bird perch on the balcony's railing. The falcon sat and looked at him with a patient expression.
"Haaahh… why is it so difficult to ignore swift letters." Tuerri sighed and contemplated whether to let the bird into his room.
'That fool, sending letters every month… Shouldn't he be treating patients in Anima instead of wast-'
An ominous feeling crept inside Tuerri's thoughts as he recalls the report he read earlier about the fall of the Palace. One of the envoys he had sent to the capital, had sent word to him of the turbulent situation in Anima. Seditio had violently taken over the city and was reforming it from the ground up. Realising this, Tuerri quickly opens the door and allows the falcon inside.
The bird perches on Tuerri's right hand and transforms into a sealed envelope. He quickly opened it and saw unfamiliar handwriting.
It was from Sagitta and the letter was addressed to him. A bitter scowl forms on Tuerri's face, he didn't want to be associated with the scholar that his brother had married.
Tuerri was about to dispose of the letter, but then a stray page fell from the envelope. He picks it up and sees a sketch of him and his twin. Tuerri was sprawled on a bed on the left side of the page, while a portrait of Turris was drawn on the right. It looked like he was using his reflection as a reference. The detailed sketch was made with ink.
Turris had placed his signature on the lower left part of the page, the paper had turned yellow and was worn out. One side of it had been roughly torn, it looked like someone pulled it off from a book.
Tuerri then flips the page, he sees a date that was written in ink.
{73rd Day of Summer, 9115th Thread.}
He recognized the handwriting, it was Turris'. The date indicated was from the day when they arrived for the first time in Anima. Tuerri then realises that the sketch had been illustrated by his twin. He remembered that Turris enjoyed painting back in his youth.
"Brother…"
A bitter smile forms on Tuerri's face as he recollects the memory of their arrival in the capital.
***
It was a humid summer day, the brothers had agreed to go sightseeing around the city of Anima after unpacking their luggage. They were the first students to arrive in the Academy's dorms and were blessed with free time to explore the city a few days before their classes started.
However, due to a sudden downpour at noon, their itinerary had been spoiled and both of them were stuck in their rooms instead.
"Do you think the rain will end soon?" Turris yawns as he listens to the sound of rain by the window. He was sketching random people and objects he saw around him and from the gloomy view outside.
"Hmm… The tail end of the summer season is usually humid, my dear brother." Tuerri groans. "We can go to the market tomorrow if the rain doesn't stop. We still have four days before classes start." A sly grin forms on his face as he watches Turris idling on the chair.
"Turris! Spar with me, I'm bored." Tuerri threw a pillow at Turris' back as he laid down like a slacker on his bed.
"No, you're good with the sword and I'm only good with my fists. So I'm cutting off my losses as early as I can by not entertaining you with a spar." Turris then glares at Tuerri. "Brother, can you please stay still?" Turris picked up the pillow that landed on the floor and threw it back hard at Tuerri. "I'm trying to make you look good here, so please help me, alright?" He turns his back and resumes his sketching.
The pillow landed on top of Tuerri's face. He then removes the pillow and sits up straight. "Wow! Nice aim, Turris. Right in the face." Tuerri arose from the bed and approached Turris who was seated by the study table.
"What are you doing?" Tuerri rested his chin on Turris' head as he observed his brother drawing a piece. "Is that me, on the left? I look horrible!" Tuerri pokes Turris' cheek. "Why would you draw me like a slacker?"
Turris snorts. "Because you look like a slacker, brother." He sighs and smacks Tuerri's finger. "Your idleness is bothering me. Go away! Let me draw in peace!" Turris picks up his sketchbook, his brushes and inks, and bolts out from the room leaving his brother alone.
***
"Now that I think about it… I guess I was too harsh on him back then." Tuerri groaned and massaged his forehead. He then turns his attention to the letter that Sagitta had sent.
"Maybe it's time for me to move forward." A relieved sigh escaped from Tuerri's mouth, he had changed his mind on discarding Sagitta's letter and opted to read it.
He briskly ran through the first paragraph of Sagitta's letter, but as he progressed further, his face lost its colour and his expression became deathly as Sagitta informed him of what transpired inside the Palace during the siege.
{Tuerri, I know we started off on the wrong foot when we met. But please, believe in me as you read this letter… My Bonds with Turris' were cut off almost a week ago… I believe that someone had killed your brother.}
"No… that can't be it…" Tuerri felt his knees weaken, he then sits on the sofa and contemplates in anguish. "Turris… No! I refuse to believe such lies!"
A golden aura radiates from Tuerri's body as he invokes his Thread of Fate. "If Turris is truly dead then his strand should-"
To his shock, Tuerri only saw his own golden thread and Turris' strands had disappeared.
~~
Fate threads of twin siblings were special. At birth, their threads would manifest in pairs and their strands were braided along with their blood bonds like it was woven together.
Should any of the twins die, the threads and bonds of the deceased sibling would disintegrate and the braids would come undone. Leaving only the strand of the surviving kin.
~~
Tuerri felt overwhelming grief as he saw his lone strand float above his head. Turris perished and Sagitta's words spoke of the truth.
"Turris… why?" Tuerri felt his throat tighten and his tears started to swell from his eyes. His regrets were slowly coming into the light.
"I should have replied to your letters. I'm sorry, Turris… I'm truly sorry… please forgive me..." Teardrops fell relentlessly from his cheeks, soaking the pages of the letters he held on his hands.
Tuerri's wails echoed through the room as he mourned the death of his brother. Gradually, the feeling of frustration and anger took over his thoughts and sprouted hatred. The desire for vengeance in his heart burns bright.
He stands up from the sofa then darts off to his study table, and hastily takes out his signet ring from the drawers.
His ring had an emerald mana stone embedded on the centre, it radiated a verdant glow as he invoked the enchantment on it. Tuerri conjured up multiple letters and sent word to his other siblings in Orto to inform them about Turris' demise.
Turris then generates a separate letter, this time, it was addressed to Sagitta.
"I swear… I'll find the scum who did this to you, Turris… I'll make them pay."
~~~~~
To be Continued.
~~~~~