Two Brothers: A Folk Tale
A long time ago, in a time when the galaxy and the cosmos were learning their names, the sky was ruled by a mighty king. He was the Lord of the Winds, and he had one heir to his throne, a daughter he named Terra. Terra was a beautiful princess who cherished her world and everything in it. The Lord of the Winds favored her and once she was of marrying age, the Lord sent his messenger, Comet, into the heavens to travel throughout the universe to find the most worthy of princes to be suitors for his daughter.
Four days passed and on the fifth day, Comet returned, in a brilliant streak across the sky, carrying on his tail over two dozen suitors. On the clouds and the atmosphere, the Lord looked down upon each one, taking in their appearances and character. There were so many who had answered his call, but only one would hold his daughter's hand in marriage for eternity.
Then the Lord told the princes of the cosmos that there would three trials. One would challenge the strength of the body, to see if they would be strong enough to always protect Princess Terra. The second test would be a challenge of the mind, to show their wisdom and cunning. The last test, the Lord of the Winds declared, would be a test of the heart.
Immediately all of the princes began to scoff at one another. All of them confidant of themselves and their abilities; among the group were two young princes, twins from a distant galaxy. The brothers shared a great bond, and knew on their arrival, that they would be happy if either of them was favored by Princess Terra. So as everyone else plotted against each other, the brothers stood close, vowing their loyalty.
Within moments, the first test began. Thunder rolled throughout the heavenly palace in which they stood. The sky lit with the shocking blades of lightning and although many of the suitors were very strong, they were thrown into the emptiness of space.
As quickly as the storm came, it left. In the absence of the storm, there were only ten suitors left standing before the Lord of the Winds. The brothers were among those, shaken and wet from the terrible trial. They had held each other and kept each other from being lost.
The Lord of the Winds began the second test immediately, sending them to the coldest part of the world. The snow piled high as the wind covered the ground. The brothers knew that they would die if they did not work together. While the other princes ran around in fear, or fought each other, the brothers dug a hole in the snow and then sat and waited for the Lord of the Winds to tell them what they must do next. Days passed before the snow stopped and when the Lord of the Winds touched the ground the only ones left were the two brothers who had stayed warm by huddling close together. The others were gone, run away in fear of death. The Lord of the Winds took the brothers back into the sky, pleased by their wisdom and cunning. Either prince would be a very wise husband for his daughter. Once again in the palace of wind, the Lord took the princes and sat between them a long gold dagger.
The Lord of the Winds told them that whoever wanted to marry his daughter must use the dagger kill his brother, and only then could the rightful husband be chosen. The brothers stared in disbelief at the dagger and then to Lord of the Winds. The eldest twin, with golden hair and blue eyes, took the dagger by the blade and handed it to the Lord.
"Kill both of us, for neither must be the rightful husband for your daughter."
The Lord was astonished and asked them why they said such things.
"Because we could never harm our brother." Came their reply.
The Lord of the Winds smiled, they had passed the final trial, the test of the heart.
"Then who will marry my daughter?" The Lord of the Winds inquired.
The younger twin, his hair as black as a raven's wing, looked down upon the world with his dark eyes and saw the princess walking along the shore of the world. She was smiling at the water and the brother saw that in the ocean, a young man walked, smiling back. The younger brother looked back to the Lord of the Winds and said, "The only one worthy of your daughters hand, is the one who has always been and will always be."
The Lord saw this and knew it was true. The brothers bowed low before the Lord of the Winds and asked the King to allow them to stay as guardians for the couple. This would be the greatest honor that they could ask for. The Lord of the Winds granted their request, and from that day on the brothers guarded the pair in their home, one by day and the other by night, circling them in an endless embrace of protection, comfort and love.