INHERITANCE: Memorandum Of Scales

HER NAME IS NASUADA

I was supposed to do it days ago.

Last Night.

Now.

"The stars are as bright as God's eyes, Murtagh."

Murtagh smiled at Nasuada, who looked at him, a half-grin written on her face. They sat side-by-side, large cloaks spread out below them, covering the sand of the desert. Murtagh himself peered at the heavens. The stars were bright, blue beacon fires lit across a sea of blackness, and for a moment, Murtagh forgot who he was.

And then he remembered.

You're a fool. Either you run now, or they find out what you are and execute you.

The thought always came to him, a jarring of the mind that was so strong he felt as if he was coming down with a massive headache. Yet, he couldn't listen to his own advice.

He had grown attached.

The Dwarves were amiable, in their own quirky way.
They had a strange culture, and all of them had been surprised when the leader of the group, a dwarf named Neybark Wind, was second son of the King.

"You're a Prince?" Nasuada had said, surprised. Neybark gave them a polite smile as he gripped his reigns with six fingers.

"My eldest is a Prince. We have different rules of succession than Man or Elves. Only they who are born first lay claim to the throne. As such, my elder brother inherited the name of my father, his House, and the kingdom. Me? I was born second, and while I am higher in the social system than most commoners and even nobles, I was given only a first name."

It was Murtagh who spoke next, knowing he would hate himself for it later.

"Then how did you come to be called Wind?" he asked.

Neybark sighed as his eyes gave off a reflection of sights prettier than the sand dunes before them.

"A second born must find a profession, a Guild, if you will, before they turn the page of adulthood. If they fail to do so, they are simply conscripted into the Dwaribahem. In your tongue, it is called Dwarfbane. A training so brutal and visceral, once it is finished those admitted are dead on the inside. Their are minds wiped save for being able to do simple tasks. In return, they become great warriors, guards to the Gun-nam Gun-la, King of Sky and Stone. This practice was done to keep siblings from stealing the throne from their eldest brothers.

The Gun-nam Gun-la can also pick people inside his family to go throughout the training: One of our Kings during the first wars had all of his uncles, cousins, and brothers turned into Dwaribahem, fearing that they would come across him during his war. In a political sense, his actions were genius, as it turned out his uncles had been conspiring to rid him of his head. But still . . . a brutal life."

"If you were in the Royal Family, you live a life of constant fear." Murtagh said suddenly.

He knew how that felt, as a boy he feared his father more than any God. When the madness was set upon Morzan . . . there was no stopping him.

"Exactly. A Guild is a protection due to the fact that once you are a part of one all formal ties are cut, meaning even your relation to any family is stricken. I know I came from my father's loins, but the keeper of family records no longer does, nor does the birth-seer. My existence has been erased. Should I be mad enough to attempt to claim the throne if my brother die, I would be put to death without trial, due to the fact there being no evidence of my claim."

Nasuada covered her eyes as a gust of wind blew past. Murtagh squinted, but Neybark remained vigilant. It was only at that point that Murtagh realized that Neybark had two eyelids. One of skin, and one of a clear shell-like material that protected his pupils.