Source of Hatred

chapter 1

Ten years had flown by. Raelen and Jaelen excelled in their studies, becoming black Knights and then Paladins directly under the kings command.

Karah had practiced in secret and could pick up moves she watched the brothers do fairly easily, though she lacked their brutal combat prowess.

Raelen and Jaelen now stood at six foot, with muscular builds and set jaws. Both boys wore robes lined with armor, black for Raelen and white for Jaelen.

They were marching with a group of a few dozen soldiers walking along a road. Snow fell around them and made their breath visible, though Raelen, Jaelen, and Stark didnt appear cold.

They'd been ordered to take control of a nearby settlement, with general Stark at the front. He was a massive man with arms like tree trunks and a thick beard. A scar over his left eye showed a wound that'd nearly taken his depth perception.his armor was heavy looking and a white coat was beneath it.

The settlement came into view and Stark turned to the brothers. "Remember. Follow my orders to the letter."

Both boys nodded, having been following orders since they were children.

As they neared the settlement, the soldiers in the back began upholstering bows and knocking arrows to be ready to fire.

Raelen blinked as he looked at the village. "General Stark, permission to speak?"

He grunted. "Granted. Whaddya want, boy?"

Raelen replied, "There arent any soldiers ahead, I doubt we'll need to use lethal force. Could you ask your men to holster their bows?"

Some of the men behind him chuckled, until Jaelen silenced them with a look. He, Raelen, and Stark were the only ones with any real power.

Stark scoffed, "You two just be ready to fight. Elves are disgusting evil creatures that worship nature of all things. They will submit to the king, or be executed."

Raelen bit the inside of his cheek, suppressing his anger.

Jaelen looked away, embarrassed for his brother. If the king willed it, it would be done. No point in arguing.

A farmer met the group half way, smiling gently. He was shorter with an angled face and pointy ears. His lavender eyes and pale skin stood out to Raelen. He was rather thin and had very few wrinkles. His tunic was brightly colored and he smiled brightly.

Stark never gave him the chance to speak.

A wave of power flared out and grabbed the elderly elf in a vice grip.

His eyes were wide in fear, but he couldnt scream, his body was being crushed too hard to breathe.

Stark made a fist and the sound of wet cracking met the groups ears. Blood trickled from the elf's nose and ears, his eyes immediately losing their light. Then Stark released his powerful grip and the elf fell tirelessly in the snow with a soft crunch.

Raelen felt a lump in his throat form. He was no stranger to death, having been a black knight before he'd ranked up to Paladin... but... he'd never killed civilians, or anyone who surrendered.

He turned his eyes to his brother, who looked bored. Disinterested in the execution that had just taken place.

Raelen turned his head away in shame, unwilling to take part in this madness.

Jaelen saw his brother's face and raised an eyebrow. "Are you unwell, brother?"

Raelen shook his head, almost imperceptibly. "I... dont know..."

Stark turned to them as they spoke, staring at Raelen. If the boy wouldnt fight... wouldnt kill... then he was useless. His eyes flickered to the brother.

He couldnt kill Raelen in front of Jaelen, or he'd be in a two on one fight with two very powerful manipulators.

"Men. Spread out and surround the village. The twins and I will go into the town and liberate it." He smirked at his words and drew a long claymore with one hand and started walking towards the town.

Jaelen followed after, hands at his sides, and Raelen followed reluctantly.

Screams filled the air as the massacre began.

Stark moved like a phantom, amping his physical ability with his power. He was little more than a zigzagging blur as blood sprayed in his wake. Elves lay in bloody dismembered heaps behind him.

Jaelen was busy hurling chunks of houses, fireballs, lightning, and waves of energy that obliterated everything in his sight. He was like an angry deity.

Raelen watched, but did not interfere. He clenched his fists angrily.

This isnt what Thorne taught us to do...

A young girl ran out of a burning house in front of him. She couldnt have been more than ten, with dark red hair and large pink eyes. Her pointed ears were angeled down like a frightened animal, and Raelen's heart broke as he raised a hand. His power flexing instinctively as a lightning bolt shot towards her.

The lightning slammed into an invisible shield and Raelen then deflected his brother's lightning into the forest nearby.

He walked over and stepped around the little girl protectively.

Jaelen landed in a crouch in front of his brother, energy radiating off him. He stood and crossed his arms, "What's wrong? Was I about to steal you kill or something?"

Raelen shook his head, his fury building.  "Thorne told us to protect people."

"Yeah? Hes not our ranking officer anymore, though." Jaelen replied, shrugging. Stark stepped out from behind a build behind Raelen.

Raelen looked back at the general defensively.

"Raelen, son of Maximus Merlinium, you are ordered to strike that child down, or face consequences for treason." Stark called out.

Raelen narrowed his eyes, "You think you can beat me, old man?"

"Raelen, just kill the kid. It's no big deal-,"

Raelen whirled on his brother angrily, "Are you insane?!?!" He shook with power and unbridled fury. "These people arent soldiers! They're civilians!"

Then his eyes widened and he twisted his body, barely dodging as Stark flashed by with his sword.

Raelen pushed his power at the girl and pushed her away to keep her safe. "Get outta here, kid. I'll hold them off." He didnt look at her, but his senses were very sharp so he yelled, "Now!"

The girl bit her lip. Her village was in flames and her family was dead, she didnt know where to go.

Raelen prepared to fight his brother and Stark, but Jaelen put a hand on Stark's shoulder, making the general glare at him, unsure of Jaelen's intentions.

"Sir, just let him go. He'll be back, and the king can punish him later, then he'll be back in his right mind. He's just confused is all." Jaelen said.

Stark looked between the two. If he decided to kill Raelen, he'd definitely have to kill Jaelen too... and if he was as fast as Raelen, who'd just dodged his enhanced speed, then that would spell trouble for him.

Raelen silently thanked his brother. He might buy into that nonsense, but he'd just proved they were still brothers.

Stark grunted. "Fine. Get out of here, Raelen. I hereby strip you of rank, and when we get back I'll have the king strip you of citizenship and declare you a traitor."

Raelen let out a breath, then walked backwards towards the girl, intending to take her with him.