Alone, atop a hill, a figure stands

A soul that sings of gloomy dirges

The sun, a scorching heat, burned without relent and held no mercy even toward the weak, the faint. It's intensity burrowed deep in the bones of all men belonging to Myungsoo's company; a heat so strong it would become a lasting memory for all who travailed along the desert that led the way back home. Achim's blazing sun had already claimed a dozen or two of the enslaved rebels, but there was not much he could do, leaving their bodies to rot in a forgotten desert. It had been forty days since Myungsoo and select members of the whole Sanritem army left the capital city of the Sanritem, Ra'ah. 

They ventured past the enchanted Torm deserts into the hill country of Modenot after hearing reports of Adamah rebels gathering together with the intent of revolt. The rebels were scattered across the plains there like ants but it didn't take too long to take captive every single one of them. Other races of humanoid species were found conspiring with them, but they were few. At any rate, even if they somehow mustered a small contingent of warriors daring enough to fight against Oscuridaon's batallions (the leader of which was Myungsoo), their efforts would not even leave a footnote in the written records of Sanritem history. Thus said, Oscuridaon sent Myungsoo and his troops to demoralize and humiliate all opposing his rule.

Riding atop his mount, a species of giant canine well over six feet in height that had been gifted to him in his childhood by the benevolent king Oscuridaon, Myungsoo narrowed his eyes to catch a glimpse of Ra'ah, his city and chief home of the Sanritem, that peaked its highest tower over the crest of a sand dune that lay ahead.

With his hands firmly clutching the reigns of his favorite furry beast, Doggy, Myungsoo turned back and shouted at the Sanritem company behind him, "Almost there men! Press the slaves to walk quicker!"

One of the man-at-arms, a short one about five feet in height, approached Myungsoo's steed too closely. Even with the desert winds wildly blowing sand, it seemed suspicious how the armored figure seemed to obscure his face with a shroud almost too well, as though he wanted to conceal his identity.

 "What is it?" Myungsoo asked with a cold tone.

 The soldier whose armor made heavy clanking noises as he walked pulled his shroud away, revealing his non-pointed ears. It was a rebel! An Adamah rebel at that!  This one was not an escapee, but surely he managed his way into the ranks by furtive means. He pulled a sword that was holstered on his hip and aimed for Myungsoo's throat. "Over one hundred years and you still serve devils!"

 Myungsoo raised his arm and used his golden bracer to deflect the blade. There was no hesitation on his part. Myungsoo pulled his blade from the scabbard on his back and killed the rebel, Doggy all the while walking ahead as though nothing had ever happened.

It was no surprise to Myungsoo that his life had just been threatened. He had gotten used to it. At first he hated it and was ashamed of serving his father's presumed murderer. But, over the course of decades, he became unfazed by it. Deep inside, he hated Oscuridaon with every fiber of his being, but what could he do? Oscuridaon was the ruler of not only his native dimension of Kershe, but was the ruler of Myungsoo's dimension, too. He knew that opposition meant certain death.

After King Avlot suddenly died, Oscuridaon opened a portal and led a great army of Sanritem and magical beings to conquer the world Myungsoo called home. Home, it was no longer. For, after fully demolishing the capital of the Adamah, Oscuridaon decisively overthrew all 7 of the other kingdoms that lived on the planet. Soon after, disgusted by the sight of high technology, he eradicated the pride of the Adamah people and banned all forms of technology that surpassed that of the Sanritem.

The planet of Achim, Myungsoo's planet, was then changed beyond recognition. Giant trees and new fauna replaced the high towers and mechanical marvels, and beasts roamed the planet as they did in ancient times. In a power display, Oscuridaon exiled the Adamah people from their kingdom and scattered them across the planet. He soon after brought a large portion of his own kind, along with other species of intelligent lifeforms, and settled them on the planet.

With torture as his favorite pastime, Oscuridaon seized the heir of Avlot alongside his sister Myungeun and brought them into his own fold, claiming them as a prize of sorts and calling them his own children. In this way his erted sense of humor was satisfied as he looked on the Adamah people look on the two children with scorn and hatred, the two growing amongst wealth and luxury while most of the common folk were forced into and others executed or exiled from their homeland.

 Myungsoo had a gut feeling Oscuridaon somehow, perhaps through magic, killed his father, having his ears pressed against the door of Avlot's throne room during the time of his demise. But, Myungsoo was forced to accept his new father, having been threatened with the execution of his baby sister. "Rebel, she dies! Submit, and she will live and become high priestess of our god, your new god, and you will become general of my army in this domain," he had told Myungsoo. Myungsoo objected, of course, but in a surprising turn of events, Oscuridaon healed Myungeun of her fatal disease and she soon grew alongside him. He agreed to Oscuridaon's plan, with his sister's life as his best interest.

Being fed with a special milk, both siblings were granted a long lifespan that far exceeded that of most beings, rivaling even that of the Sanritem. At the mature age of 40, he began intense training to become strong and mighty. At the age of 80, Oscuridaon charged him with the role of general over his army. Now in his 120th year, the two had the appearance of young adults in their twenties and, Myungsoo was happily waiting to see his beloved sister again.

She was his only joy and what kept him going during excursions that would often occupy most calendar months of the year. Myungeun had blossomed into a woman, the one and only thing Myungsoo conceded gratefulness for- that she lived beyond the years of her expected life. To others she was plain, not unlike a dandelion weed, but she was different to Myungsoo. He saw her through a very special set of eyes that cherished her and praised her beauty with every granted opportunity; her beauty far exceeded all roses of the field. He loved his sister, deeply, his love surpassing the hate he aimed at Oscuridaon.

 Calling the memory of the previous time they met, over a month ago, to mind, a pleasant smile crept on Myungsoo's face. She was of adequate height with fair skin like the white of cumulus clouds and had thin lips that pointed upward at the edges. Her cheeks were still chubby, reminiscent of a young child. He loved that about her, her plump cheeks that were soft to the touch and satisfying to pinch. Moreover, her eyes! Oh, her eyes! They were a bit rounder than an almond and were deep, a warm, brown color that solicited an eruption of nostalgic feelings. They were clear and presented you with a vision of a vast meadow in autumn. Her hair, darker than the shadows during a solar eclipse, gracefully adorned her head, a compliment of her inherent beauty, and reached down her hip. But, her voice, her voice was full of charm and oozed love, reviving him every time he heard it.

Tensing the reigns and clapping his gargantuan steed with his legs, he shouted, "Onward, Doggy!" Myungsoo was possibly too excited to greet his sister again. Now standing atop the sand dune that had covered most of Oscuridaon's palace an hour ago, he motioned the  company behind him to hasten. They were at the final stretch before reaching the capital city. Nothing could impede him from meeting the face he so desperately wanted to see.

                 ..........
Riding into the city with such a great throng behind him always caused great commotion amongst the inhabitants. Firstly, all the women strode along the caravan hoping to catch even the slightest of glimpses of Myungsoo. He was handsome beyond all his peers. His hair, long and black like haunting shadows which roam amidst forgotten tombs, his lithe body, limber and forged of steel, muscles rippling about, yet his eyes, like a fish, seized by waves and dragged onto a desolate coast, full of gloom and always portending to a horrific doom. Secondly, even the outline of his silhouette stirred fear and hatred in the hearts of the males. His furry trunks and boots were product of a myth of a beast thought to have killed and eaten even the strongest of gods, yet he, with no aid from the Sanritem or magic, with a lone sword of gold cleaved the beast in two, from head to toe. Unbeknownst to all but him and Oscuridaon, his strength came from the special milk he drank. 

 "Lead the captives to the citadel of the king." He told an with a frigid tone. 

 "But, my liege! Surely, you must visit your father, Oscuridaon, too! He awaits the good news from your lips, not mine! He, too is here! He arrived from our native world just early in the morning," the replied with a shaky voice, his hands trembling from fear of Myungsoo and the panting of the giant beast, Doggy.

 Myungsoo clenched his fists in a visible fury, having been identified as son of Oscuridaon. "He knows my custom, knave! Now leave before your tongue is cut!"

The cowering Sanritem robed in splendid colors bowed his head in apology and scurried off quickly into the direction of the rest of the throng. Myungsoo, his ears listened to the grumbling noise the soldier made under his breath, "Always his sister! Always her! Does his love shatter moral barriers?" The insult resounded in his ears, so waxing wroth, he unsheathed a small dagger hanging on his thigh and darted it at the plebian, killing him instantly.

 "Let all insults be made before my face! Else, die a coward like this fool!" Myungsoo exclaimed as he spread his arms wide at the gathering people.

No one dared utter even a whimper. Such merciless displays were frequent and the cause for so much hatred aimed at him. Why should an Adamah rule over the army of its conquerors? Paradox it was to his enemy Sanritem: conquered and downtrodden, yet conquering and exalted. It goes without saying that Myungsoo hated them, too.

 Satisfied, Myungsoo patted Doggy's head and dismounted his loyal friend. "Good job, boy," he whispered into his ear before he gestured for him to leave for now.

With a haste quicker than a deer, Myungsoo rushed to his home where Myungeun also lived. Several minutes' worth of running to the east of Oscuridaon's palace was the abode belonging to the siblings. When they were still adoloscents the two were split apart and Myungeun was sent to the hall of priests where she would learn the religion of Bolar, chief deity of the Sanritem. Then, after Myungsoo garnered the trust of Oscuridaon as a loyal vassal when he successfully defeated the defiant bugmen (a non-native species hailing from Kershe, the faerie dimension, that was brought to aid Oscuridaon in his conquest of the dimension belonging to Myungsoo), he requested to live with his sister in a private home where separate they would be no longer. Oscuridaon obliged and had the Adamah slaves build a tower made of marble for the pair. Myungeun relished in the sight of her brother and so the two lived in quiet peace in the tower.

 "Myungeun! Sister!" Myungsoo shouted with both hands cusped around his mouth to make a louder yell as he spotted a figure staring outside the tower's balcony. His heart, colder than tundra of ancient worlds, melted once he caught sight of a feminine figure stealthily retreat inside the home.

Inside the marble tower, Myungsoo briskly washed the blood off his chest and arms, not wanting to frighten his sister. He set off his weaponry, skull helm and leather chest-harness (made from the same beast mentioned earlier) on a golden table engraved with the language of the Sanritem. He rushed up a spiraling staircase and rapped on Myungeun's door with boisterous knocks. "Myungeun! It's me!"

 The ornate door opened in with a distinct creak. Myungeun stood by with her head hung low.

Myungsoo, bewildered, brought her head to his chest in a show of worry. Her face, no longer bright, but a sickly ashen white, her cheeks no longer plump but puckered in, and her hair, a short squared cut. Her splendor was gone. Even her once fanciful clothes, now a simple, loose fitting white tunic.

Myungsoo, half angry, half sad, asked with a tone of bewilderment, "Myungeun! What happened?! Who did this to you?"

 She pulled herself away and refused to meet his gaze. "I," she paused, "I found the scrolls hidden in your golden chest, the one you always keep locked and hidden under your bed..."

Myungsoo sighed and pulled her into his arms once more. Gently her hair, he answered with a relieved tone. "Curious as you are, I'm not surprised you discovered them. But, it eases my heart to know that no one harmed you."

 Myungeun began to cry and whimper. "For over a century, you have held... all this pain? Why did you not tell me?" She pounded on his chest as hard as she could, but such light blows could never hurt her brother. "When I found the truth, of Nesher, our father's- No, our people's god, I could not not strip myself of a glory given by the hand of a bold liar, Oscuridaon." She wept and cried with much bitterness. "I thought he was our father! Why didn't you ever tell me the truth?! And our people! Our people, the Adamah! You help enslave them? I grew up thinking they were vile and full of malevolence, but they simply wish to take back their world! And you, their prince! You, rather than save them, enslave them?!"

Her brother exhaled deeply and caressed the crown of her head. "It hurts me more than you will ever know," he lied. Myungsoo used the art of sophistry to deceive his sister into thinking he still held a spot in his heart for their people. In reality, he had long gotten over the protest of the conscience. In the scales of his heart, he weighed his sister of more value than the Adamah. He did not want to lose her. Sure, it was a selfish thing, but stripped of all that he loved, save her, who could blame him? Who would choose to save a stranger over kin? Over blood? Over your only loved one?

 "Why do you serve such an evil monster if what you wrote of him is true?! That he stole our world and subdued its inhabitants to ridicule and- I hate him!" She sobbed and sobbed, clawing her fingernails into Myungsoo's bare chest, the sting of which he ignored.

 "My sister," he said, "the fiend would have your tongue cut if he were to hear his high priestess speak such words against him."

 Myungeun, irritated and still confused, pushed Myungsoo away and stomped on his toes. "Why didn't you tell the truth?"

 If it were anyone else, Myungsoo wouldn't delay in dealing a proper punishment onto such a person that would dare treat him with disrespect, but his sister was different. She was his Achilles' heel; he never laid a finger against her, let alone imagine striking her even with a flower petal. He rubbed his toes and questioned her anger, thinking it was misplaced. "I did it for you!"

 Myungeun gasped and turned around. "You, full of conceit and with an ego taller than the greatest mountain! Why would you not share such a burden with me? You don't think I would ever want to know?"

 Myungsoo sighed and took a seat on Myungeun's bed, patting on the space next to him. "Sit and we'll talk," he insisted.

Myungeun crossed her arms and with her chin pointed up at the ceiling, she bluntly replied, "No!" 

He sighed again and rubbed his temples. This man, mightiest in the land, cold killer of evil beasts and defiant rebels, had lost to his baby sister, a girl whose dainty figure and rounded, narrow shoulders inspire pity. All his days alongside her were filled with such spats; insignificant as they were, he held them close to his heart.

 "Fine then! Stay standing! See if I care!"

 Myungsoo opened the sporran that hung just below his waist and began to eat a piece of meat that he had cured and dried (that is, jerky). "How long have you been fasting? Because that's what you were doing, right? Fasting? To appeal to Nesher?"

 The scent of meat, a scent seldom smelled because of its being banned in the Sanritem kingdom, reached the nostrils of Myungeun. Her stomach growled and rumbled with hunger. She moaned and wondered if Myungsoo would ask her to eat. It had been forty days since she began her fast; Myungsoo had accurately hit the nail on the head, not to her surprise. Though it always annoyed her, Myungsoo often saw straight through her. There was nothing, nothing, she could keep secret from him, although he always kept many secrets from her.

 "That's why you took off your finery, right? those golden earings and ruby jewellery that you love? The golden circlet?"

 Myungeun turned to him and stomped on the wooden floor. "You should be fasting too! Maybe Nesher will finally deliver us from this evil king if we call to him! I have been praying for forgiveness! For him to forgive your sins, too! I feel he is on the verge on answering!"

 Myungsoo wagged his head, "He won't listen. Trust me, I know."

 "How can you be so conceited? To think you know the mind of god?"

 With a deep sigh, Myungsoo laid back and began to dig out the dirt stuck in his fingernails. "I already tried it," he said with a lazy voice. "For decades! I tore my clothes, shaved off all my hair, fasted much like you! I already tried calling on him, but he never answered!"

Myungeun at first doubted her brother, but as he continued sharing his complaint, she knew by the exasperation in his voice that his frustration was all too real. Her tiny face was now full of gloom. "You really don't think he will answer? Is it because of all those years I spent dancing for the pagan god of the kingdom?"

Myungsoo sighed and rubbed his face. "No, it's not you. It's him. It's this god that is callous, unwilling to answer our desperate cries. He is the Unmoved Mover. Master of the universe, they called him, I remember, yet he has abandoned us, his people, and left us for dead."

 His sister's frown betrayed her usual smile and with slow paces she delicately walked over to him and sat by his side. "That's not true! I read in the scrolls you hid that he saved his people before. Surely he can do it again."

 "He won't. If he wanted to, if the scrolls are correct, why did he not answer our father? But c'mon! Up until what? A month ago-"

 "40  days," Myungeun cut in. "I finally managed to open the chest on the day you last left," she gasped, "whoops!"

 Myungsoo chuckled, "So you always rummage around my room?"

 "Not always! Only when I get bored. I- I've only done it several times since we first began to live together," she lied.

He clicked his tongue, "Liar! You know Nesher hates lies?" After a long moment of thought, he continued, "up until 40 days ago, you thought you were actually the princess of Oscuridaon. You believed his lie that you were a faeire born with short ears! And now you want to go and crawl over to a god who hates and rejects his own worshippers?"

 Myungeun moaned. "Well how come you didn't tell me earlier? What was written in those scrolls? Huh? That you and I are actually the children of a king who died, a king whose people we now use as slaves? The Adamah. And how our mother died when I was born? About our god Nesher who promises to never forsake us, although he..." she trailed off, not knowing what next to say.

Myungsoo gestured for her to lie down; she did. "I'm sorry for keeping it all a secret. About our father, our mother, our people, our god... But I did it for you. All those times I am forced to capture any rebel of our race, the Adamah, I steel my heart," he lied. In actuality, he felt no throe of remorse. "Because if I ever did anything against Oscuridaon's wishes, he threatened to kill you. I gave up on praying to Nesher and decided that I'm fine as long as you are alive and happy. I had your best interest in mind. I thought it would be better for you to live without knowing of the hurt, the hurt that I remember every night."

 Myungeun sat up and rested her palms on her knees. "What more secrets do you hold from me? I always thought the people hated you because they were jealous, but do they have legitimate reasons? I've heard rumors...that you kill without remorse. I've always ignored those rumors because I know the real you, that you're not a demon, but my loving brother."

He sighed. "There will always be rumors. Now, have some meat! I know you love the boar meat I usually bring home," he said as he extended a piece of jerky to her. She took it and began nibbling on it. Myungsoo, now sitting up beside her, brought her head to his shoulder and rubbed his head against her in a loving manner.

 "Why do you smell like blood?" she sniffed. "It smells recent. I know somehow."

Myungsoo scratched the back of his head. He guessed he wasn't thorough in washing away all traces of blood; at times, it stains deep into the skin. Yet, he had a lie ready.

 "There was a couple of wicked, ugly cretins, big ugly monsters that lashed their tongue at me and tried to eat me alive just before I came back! Although I always do my best to avoid shedding blood, I had to do it; the giant boars I'm forced to kill because of how often they destroy the villages of our neighboring fellows. I'm sure you know that already."

 "Yeah, I also know to keep eating its meat secret, just like you've always told me." She looked around for the satchel he usually uses to store the meat and other knick knacks he finds on his journeys. "But where did you pull this out from?"

 "My sporran..."

Myungeun spat out the jerky she was chewing. "Ughhh! You mean your crotch pouch?"

 Myungsoo gasped, "Such obscene words! Your tongue is dirty! I never thought you would say the word, crotch."

Gazing at her face, as annoyed as it seemed, made his heart swell with joy and warmth. The temptation was too strong, much too overpowering- it was as if her lovely cheeks were begging to be pinched, so without further deliberation, his thumb and index quickly plucked at them.

Clicking her tongue, her tiny hand slapped at his fingers.