Chapter 57: Brother against brother

Nothing brings me greater joy than to see my children treating each other as friends and companions.

-Athanaric

As he chewed on some fresh potatoes, Athanaric watched Wrend depart from the caravan on horse, leading the paladins. He wondered—was he doing the right thing? It felt so cruel.

But he needed to choose an heir. He needed to select the best son.

Pitting them against each other was as effective a way to decide as any. He loved them both equally, and could not choose between them.

Steeling his heart, he looked back at the caravan as Teirn rode up through the wagons toward him. What a good son this was. He bore some anger in his heart, but he was flawlessly obedient—which was more than could be said of Wrend, who had in recent days come to worry Athanaric some.

Yet, despite that worry and disobedience, Wrend had demonstrated considerable strength of mind and will. He was willing to make sacrifices for what he believed in, take risks for things that mattered. Athanaric had been the same way when he was young. That was what a god had to do, and that alone had kept Wrend alive. That was why Athanaric tolerated the insolence. Any other child would have died long before for the things he’d done.

And because of that—because both sons bore attributes that would serve them well if they replaced him as god—he couldn’t choose between them. He needed them to choose for him.

As he waited for Teirn to reach him, he thought of Rashel. He hadn’t seen her since the morning before, and the servants had said she’d left the caravan without a word to anyone. That bothered him; she’d never disappeared, despite her general dissatisfaction with being his wife. But he didn’t worry too much. She also loved him deeply. She would return.

When Teirn came, Athanaric halted the draegon and helped his son mount the neck and sit in the thick fur before him. When the boy had settled into place, he looked back and up at his god, devotion blazing in his eyes.

Athanaric swallowed his sorrow.

“My son, I have a task for you. This will be your task, and you cannot let anyone stop you from completing it. Do you understand?”

Teirn nodded, his face solemn. In his eyes, Athanaric saw that it mirrored his own look.

“To the southwest,” Athanaric said, “in the foothills of those mountains, there’s a small village. . . .”