Inside the Dark Star brigade headquarters, a young Magni twist and turned in his sleep. A nightmare ensnared his subconscious…
"Madame, you've given birth to beautiful twin boys. One's hair is dark like yours and the other has red hair like the sun. A spitting image of Arthur."
"Thank you midwife Leya, I still can't believe we have to separate here." A dark haired women cried whilst exhausted from giving birth.
"Dear, do not falter. They are coming, we cannot subject our babies to such horrors." A red haired man spoke stoic.
If he didn't hold it together then there could be no way they would be able to send their babies away.
"Magni and Sigmund. That is their names, inscribe it into their brains along with our final message. When they turn 16 they will remember…" the red haired man spoke before the dream ended.
"Ah!"
Magni shot up and sat in the infirmary bed upright. He was drenched in cold sweats and his head was faint.
"So your awake." Orsted spoke."Bad dream?" He chuckled.
"Something like that." Magni replied lost in thought.
"Do you know why your not dead right now? It's because I stuck my neck out for you; I managed to convince his majesty that you hold some worth and he has permitted you to join my brigade."
Magni looked at the dark clothed man for a few seconds before deciding to give his genuine gratitude. It is true, he could have died without even knowing what happened.
"Thank you for what you've done. But…where is Sigmund?" He asked taking a look around him.
"Unfortunately, your brother has been scooped by another brigade. You will be able to see him soon rest assured and we've given you guys the same accommodation to use when your not on missions. That is all I could do for you."
"Why did he get scooped by another brigade?" Magni asked with anger in his heart.
"The Blazing Sun brigade are the ones that found you guys in the first place. We were assigned the mission because their brigade had other duties. He has rightful claim to one of you since he was the one that found you and he decided to pick Sigmund." Orsted explained.
"So they picked the better brother." Magni sighed.
He had always been outshone by his elder brother in many senses of the word. His gravity magic, although powerful, didn't have as much destructive capabilities as sun magic or so he thought.
"Your magic isn't weak by any means. Gravity mages were hailed as some of the strongest mages amongst us. You've only ever tried to increase the gravity around you correct? You've never tried the reverse. My point is there are many avenues for you to take in the pursuit of strength."
This made Magni think; the way he had been using magic until now had been very superficial.
They lacked real training and education so thinking about ways to increase the efficiency and capabilities of their unique magic never crossed their mind. He had been using gravity magic in the most literal sense.
If he shortened the affected area then the effects of the magic will increase. If he veils himself in a thin layer of magic and decrease the gravity he could potentially fly. Or even add gravity to strikes with a sword or fist.
"I can still get stronger!"
"You are correct, you can and you must. You are by no means mission ready and it will take quite some time until I permit you to set foot on the field. We will increase your endurance, strength, develop a fighting style that fits you and also increase the ways you could effectively use your gravity magic. There is a lot to do but for now rest. I'll send your brother in now so you can speak." Orsted said as he left the room
Sigmund entered shortly after with that same smile that lights up the room no matter the situation.
"Brother, your finally awake. If it wasn't for Orsted reassuring me you were fine, I would have started to panick." He said bringing me into a tight hug.
"Sigmund, I'm still recovering." I chuckled.
He suddenly turned serious and sat at the edge of my bed.
"So what's the plan, how will we escape?" He asked me.
"Sigmund, we are not escaping. This is our chance to gain true strength, find out why we were abandoned and become mages worthy of our parents. This opportunity is too good to pass up."
I tried to explain to him the importance of staying. I had finally found people who could allow me to improve my stagnated strength.
"You know they intend to split us up right? In different brigades."
"So what! We will live together as brothers and climb to the top of our respective brigades. We will meet each other at the top."
Sigmund sat in silence for a while and pondered the topic. Originally he had been against staying but hearing such earnest words from his brother made his heart waver.
"Magni Aphelion, always and forever, family first." He spoke.
"Always and forever, family first." I replied with a grin.
"I hope you know what your doing Magni. We know nothing about these people or there customs. They only kept us alive because they see us as tools, you know what this means right: people throw away tools that are no longer useful. If we fail to prove our worth, we will be put down like dogs."
"I'm aware, it's just today for the first time I realised that I've been using my magic in such a stupid way. Orsted only had one conversation with me and the amount I learned was equivalent to our entire life. I must get stronger."
"You've always been hard headed brother. Alright, we will do it your way." Sigmund relented.
A smile crept up my face as I shut my eyes. Just speaking this much had exhausted me once more.
"Rest well brother."
"…"