The Three Brothers: Part Two of Two

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Gvamya journeyed a while; fed richly, and learned. He grew, and discovered, and then one day, at a rest-house, he opened his door.

His treasures, long precious to him but held hostage by his brother Bteth, waited at the door; as did Bteth's own. And beyond them lurked Bteth himself; body still twisted and warped by his long hatred. Alyaph stood at his side, clearly here for Bteth's purposes.

"Why are you here?" asked Gvamya. Lightning crackled at his fingertips.

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"We are here," Alyaph told him, "To party." And it was only now that Gvamya saw the bindings on Bteth's jaw, holding him separate from the speech of the brothers, had been removed, leaving harsh marks behind.

"So it is," Gvamya replied, smiling. "And I see you have, as I have, exceeded and left the teaching of our father."

"We have," said Bteth, his voice harsh from disuse. "May we enter?"

Gvamya frowned. "Alas, my hosts would ill appreciate it; I fear I cannot welcome you. Perhaps - another time?" he suggested tentatively.

The brothers Alyaph and Bteth looked at one another. "Let us travel!" they cried; and Gvamya thought a moment, then grabbed his gear; for still he felt a brother's love for them.

They travelled a while, telling tales of their separation, and Bteth's many troubles, at which the other two laughed cruelly. Their first destination was shuttered, and Bteth led them to another, access to which he had acquired; but he warned his brothers, "Enter ye not."

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Alyaph obeyed, readily and freely; but curiosity was Gvamya's curse, and despite Alyaph's best attempts to restrain him, he entered. He looked, and saw little of interest; so he continued, struggling against Alyaph's containing arms.

"Stop, my brother!" Alyaph cried. "You know this can bring only ill!" But Gvamya laughed, and broke asunder his bonds, and walked straight past the returning Bteth to the place so named taboo.

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For a moment, Bteth did not even notice him; then he turned, and his face curled in familiar rage. Charging, he tore turf and shrubs alike, blasting Gvamya to his knees with the force of the impact. Wordlessly, he smashed hammer-blows at Gvamya, missing as his brother rolled aside; and Gvamya's face was cracked in a terrible smile as he moved to retaliate, while Alyaph could only stand aside, helpless.

"It has been much time, now," Gvamya cried, raising his hands. "I remember the injuries you did me; the long tyranny, the unfair thefts and attacks. I remember it all; and yet, in the name of friendship, I forgave all that, when you made silent apology at last." His fingertips again crackled. "But this - this latest assault, without honour or humanity - this I cannot forgive - and when I strike, it is with pleasure long awaited!"

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Lightning flashed from Gvamya's fingertips, arcing towards his brother, leaving new scars on Bteth's already battered skin. The smells of ozone and burnt flesh filled the air; but Bteth's agony merely focused him further, as he held his arm before him and charged. It warped as he moved, turning into a whirling, spiked bar; but Gvamya's right arm changed, too, warping swiftly into the shape of an identical bar and locking across Bteth's as his left hand continued to blast Bteth with crackling lighting.

Bteth roared; then he roared louder, and louder. Gvamya felt his ears becoming slick with blood; he shut them, turning them into inert buds, and so never heard the high-pitched whining as Bteth revved his internal motors; the blow that followed buried him a in a wall.

"You're so certain," Bteth growled, "So certain that you're always right. I'm going to improve myself, I'm going to be better than any of you - did you EVER think what that did to ME?" He revved, and struck once. Then again. Then again. Gvamya, nearly helpless, focused; rays shot out of his eyes, cutting at Bteth's flesh, searing it for a moment; but Bteth adjusted, and felt the rays only as a pleasant warmth as he readied the killing blow.

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Alyaph said, quietly, "Stop."

Bteth paused; then, slowly, revved down and slumped to the ground.

There was a long silence, as Alyaph lowered Gvamya to the ground and tended both his brothers' wounds as best he could; but no-one spoke. Eventually, they stood; Gvamya limping, the three brothers left, continuing their travels. And though they eventually laughed again, joked, and all the other things that brothers do, still there was something missing; a gaping wound, so terribly exposed in that last fight; a wound that would not heal.