1. Game:

Wahisietel wanted and asked for something more and Sliske felt entitled to something more. Oh, they created games of their own for sure. The younger put his raw intelligence and rather unusual talents to gruesome uses while the older put his raw intelligence and knack with words and sentiment to advise the elders about tribal politics (but never actually took part in them).

Freneskae was a game, but the two craved a grander one.

2. Responsibility:

Wahisietel had passed the age when he was still under the influence of his mother, but Neyreza was clever. She appealed to his sense of responsibility, his unquenchable desire to be useful, the keenness for being slightly apart from the norm, and he gravely accepted to look out for his half-brother.

3. Rebellious:

She observed the younger one and realised in him acceptance of – but not submission to – authority, his rebellious side hidden under a careful veneer of reliability, and his desire to get his fingers into as much as he could get out of life. She showed him that side of his half-brother and encouraged him to seek Wahisietel out.

4. Thrive:

Neyreza took care to show them how to rely but never depend on or trust each other. Trust and dependence meant weakness and she would be damned if her children didn't thrive. She showed the older how slippery, how cruel the younger was and she showed the younger how manipulative, how unfathomable the older was.

5. Giggle:

Sliske was still not old enough to join his brother in the Ritual of Enervation, but he would be damned if that was going to stop him. He and sat right next to his brother and his mate as they went ahead with the ritual. He giggled from within the Shadow Realm and whispered in Wahisietel's ear, "I know you'd rather have Krazhar's female than this little Muspah hatchling clawing you right now."

Wahisietel was too preoccupied to make a swipe in the Shadow Realm.

6. Threat:

Sliske would stash whatever barely alive Mahserrat and Chelon-Mah he could find in the Shadow Realm. He would perform some vile combination of magicks upon them and use those bodies as fodder for nightmares.

"One more complaint from a mother about her young one losing its mind and I swear I will drag you myself to the Market next Ritual!" Neyreza threatened, half-serious. "You jeopardise my and Wahisietel's standing with your antics, not to mention the tribe's future!"

Wahisietel sniggered. Sliske saw that with the corner of his eye but kept his attention focused on their mother. With a practiced enigmatic and charming smile that never quite reached his eyes – it would become a trademark over the centuries – he disappeared.

Over the next few years Wahisietel came close to accidentally slipping into the lava, finding himself without clothes after he woke up, having deathstones under his name crop up with the most outlandish final moments and getting trapped in the Shadow Realm a lot many times.

7. First Born:

Neyreza vowed to herself that her children would carry her legacy. She vowed to herself that she would be the dominant figure of their childhood – not their fathers. They would carry her formidable power and her indomitable spirit. She took a long while to name her first born. She took the time to learn enough of him to give him a suitable name.

He was observant but his eyes didn't flit about everywhere. It was long before he took to the speech. There was a patience in him that was missing in his mother. He was deceptive – whether he chose to be or didn't.

And so she named him Wahisietel – the calm before the storm.

8. Second Born:

The second born sapped her of her power more than she cared to admit. She never let it show though – not even to her sons. This one, unlike the first, made no pretense about his capabilities. This one flaunted his intelligence and his prowess. You acknowledged his presence, but you were never sure when and where and how he would come for you.

This one was observant too but his eyes flitted about everywhere. This one had brought a chill to her bones.

And so she named him Sliske – that which stalks dark.

9. Alliance:

In their first Ritual of Rejuvenation together, they stood apart. Wahisietel wasn't always the best at paying him attention, but Sliske had never felt quite as isolated from him as right now.

Many of the assembly howled for the new blood to show his might. He looked across. Although Wahisietel stood at great distance, he deduced from his body language that he didn't want Sliske to do anything.

Sliske looked on and soon enough the discussion moved on against another Mahjarrat and a sacrifice was made. He learnt that day that sometimes silence and inaction are the better virtues. Neyreza looked upon this silent alliance with grim satisfaction.

10. Struggle:

There was a lot of mudslinging and a cluster of angry accusations. Wahisietel's name sprang up a fair number of times.

And then Sliske grinned. He sowed the seeds for a new struggle – threw some choice taunts and snide remarks and disappeared into the Shadow Realm.

Wahisietel looked on and some Mahjarrat started cursing Sliske's antics while others raised fingers at some new individuals, and eventually a sacrifice was made. He learnt that day that sometimes words and action are the better virtues, and Neyreza looked upon this with relief.

11. Camaraderie:

The brothers discussed among themselves the oncoming Ritual of Enervation.

After the Ritual, after Neyreza had examined Sliske's first mate who had probably been bruised and battered beyond anything ever seen before, she eavesdropped on the brothers. There was an ease and fluidity in Sliske's movement as if he had asserted something or been reassured of something. There was an uneasy acceptance but not shock or horror on Wahisietel's face.

A camaraderie indeed.

12. Hiding:

Sliske dragged the Mahjarrat to the Ritual Marker. She screamed and shot out volleys of missiles but at last she was overwhelmed and sent to the void.

Wahisietel made sure Sliske's sudden prolonged retreat into the Shadow Realm that followed this Ritual wasn't noticeable. During his time alone, Sliske came to realise two things: treachery begets treachery and pain always comes from those who become close to you – like enemies – and those who are supposed to be close to you – like children.

13. Everywhere:

His face was stoic as he examined his son – alive, but with unhealable injuries from battle against the Chelon-Mah – ready to be sacrificed should he still be alive when it's time.

"Life is as ephemeral as the ashes, as brittle as the rocks, as volatile as the lava. Whether you believe in Mah or not, he too shall go back into the everywhere – the ash and the rock and the lava."

It was the closest Sliske had come to abstraction and commiseration, and Wahisietel was not sure what disturbed him more: his son's fate or his brother's distant sympathy.

14. Imitate:

One of his brother's brood had gone astray and ended up here. Wahisietel stretched out his hand and called, "If you don't want to get struck by lightning and have your body ever so slowly roasted and flaked and brought back to some distortion of life by your father, I suggest you come in here."

The child wobbled into the shelter and Wahisietel listened to him like he listened to his own.

Later, a half-tickled, half-furious Sliske growled at Wahisietel, "What in Mah's name were you thinking telling Darkar all that?"

Wahisietel smugly retorted, "I was only trying to imitate you so that the child wouldn't feel too wary."

Sliske's right eye twitched. "Well if you die your children are going to feel your absence even more keenly so you'd best be careful, eh? Come to think of it if you die they will be great playmates for my kids." He made sure to place a diabolic emphasis on 'playmates'.

15. Shun:

Sliske came back a changed Mahjarrat after his climb to the volcano. He brushed off any questions about whether he'd seen Mah, but it was clear he had seen something. Whereas there used to be a slight sadistic glee in his heart and a cold light in his eyes, now Wahisietel saw an icy darkness and a frustration and desperation that teetered on the edge of madness to have something more than Freneskae.

Soon after Sliske took to experimenting upon Mahserrat and Chelon-Mah bodies. The rest of the tribe shunned him immediately, but Wahisietel shunned him only after he'd fully analysed the experimentation processes and results.

16. Disgust:

It wasn't often that Sliske introspected, but this time he had Zemouregal to thank for that. Considering the latter's dimwitted infatuation with anything dead, his magnetism to anything as unintelligent as him, and his complete lack of control around any female, Sliske became disgusted at the similarities between them and decided it was time for some change.

There was no dominance in bringing his mate to within an inch of death nor any real skill in stashing away bodies in the Shadow Realm. Controlling both pain and pleasure and seeking out only the most useful dead came closer to sophistication.

17. Dexterity:

When he grew too tired with Neyreza and Sliske's Shadow Realm trickeries, he would seek out his father. Faghar did not have as dynamic a personality as Neyreza, but he taught Wahisietel lessons in dexterity, alertness, sleeping without having nightmares, spells to soothe away aches and injuries and ways to keep the mind patient and calm.

He was a survivalist, quick with his fingers, and took time to patiently teach his son all that he needed to know. He was always ready to offer him shelter or an intervention when his mother got too much for his son to handle alone.

He was mild-mannered, but upon Sliske's birth he laughed for ages before finally wheezing, "Learn what I teach you well, son. Between the two of them and hopefully a long life ahead, you are going to need every bit of your sanity intact."

18. Fatherhood:

Neyreza tried to urge her sons towards siring children. "It secures the tribe's future, which in turn secures yours. It is a proof of your usefulness."

Wahisietel needed no further encouragement but Sliske rebelled against this sense of duty. He owed the tribe nothing, and besides, who was to say that this said child would one day not rise up against him?

Wahisietel subtly hinted towards how children can be so easily manipulated and licked into shape – and Sliske's interest was piqued.

Their fatherhood was just like Neyreza imagined it to be: both of them distant, suspicious and manipulative – Sliske even more so. Their lack of involvement was uncommon, but not unheard of.

Wahisietel made sure to listen to all his children and ensured they had functioning brains. Sliske gave more time to the more promising one and took his (and sometimes Wahisietel's) children into the Shadow Realm. They never taught them anything more than they needed. They both had the instinct to want to care for them in their own ways, but Sliske also kept an eye on them (and wanted something in exchange from them) because they were 'his', so to speak.

19. Interrogation:

"How long will you stay with him?"

"Why did you choose him?"

"Did you willingly give way to him?"

"Why were you speaking to Shraenar earlier?"

"What made you choose this location for shelter?"

Some of Sliske's earliest interrogations were an attempt to keep an eye on his brother's mates.

20. Teach:

Neyreza explained how amusing Wahisietel's frustration and difficulty at learning how to fight and survive in the Shadow Realm would be and how Sliske would end up honing his own skills through observation. She encouraged him to teach Wahisietel what he knew.

She explained how amusing Sliske's frustration and difficulty at teaching something that is personal and natural to him would be and how Wahisietel would end up becoming all the more respected for it. She encouraged him to learn all he could from Sliske.

21. Accept:

Coughing, burning and wheezing, Wahisietel called out for his kin. "Yarnar! Jasnaal!" He screamed even as his own pain choked and blinded him. He somehow managed to identify their bodies, distorted and disfigured as they were. He leant down, picked apart their forehead crystals, and fiercely held on to them as if they were the balm to his wounds.

He got up, closed his eyes from the dizziness, then remembered something else. "Neyreza! NEYREZA!" He yelled. Mahjarrat stopped addressing their parents as 'mother' or 'father' once they had taken part in either Ritual.

"NEYREZA!" He roared, but there was no answer nor a body. He inhaled and exhaled rapidly. The smoke and burning smell stung his nose. He looked ahead, and saw a dark cloaked figure limping towards him.

Sliske.

His gait was heavy and there was an odd grimace on his face. His face looked as if it was flaking away and it made his gaze look even sharper and more intense.

It was then that Wahisietel knew that Neyreza was no more. The two brothers looked each other deep in the eyes. They visualised the desert that now lay behind them and the grasslands that lay in front of them. They visualised the death that lay behind them and the uncertainty that lay in front of them.

And they accepted that they had each other, the same way they had each other back home. They had been closer to each other than they had been to their mates, children and even their mother – and that was what mattered above all. And so did Neyreza's legacy continue for several more millennia.

22. Duties:

Whenever possible, Wahisietel exerted his influence on the leaders to have Sliske carry out duties that needed the use of the Shadow Realm. It meant he would be the first to hear of any interesting information. But on top of that, he would be the proud receiver of a heartfelt thanks from Sliske, and Sliske expressing gratitude in one of his many delightful ways always did warm his heart.