The Irish Gemini brothers
Year 495 AD, Sanctuary:
It was at times like this that Darius could feel his high age. Generations of humans with a normal lifespan had come and gone under those nearly 250 years which had passed since the Holy War where he had been the only surviving Gold Saints, but now it was time to fill the final spots of various Saints that would serve in the Holy War of this era.
If only that Curse of Gemini was not hanging around like a dark cloud to haunt his thoughts. The memory of Elena's horrified face when she realized that Romulus and Remus would haunt the future generations of Gemini Saints through the curse, and her desperate attempt to prevent it from happening.
Now when Tiernan and Owen had succeeded in becoming Saints, even proving themselves powerful enough to join the Gold Saints despite being only fourteen years old, would the curse strike down on them when they least expected it to happen? Would one of them die before the Holy War started? Or would they be separated from each other in a different way during the fighting?
The former Capricorn Saint wanted to just stop thinking of all the scenarios that could happen to the Irish twins thanks to that damn curse, and to keep focus of the present, he addressed Cian:
"You have trained your great-nephews well over the past seven years as your students, Cian. At first, I was haunted by the memory of Lydia and Elena when first seeing them, but they have managed to take themselves out of that shadow over the last seven years and proven themselves to be worthy wearers of the Gemini Cloth. As their great-uncle, you must feel proud of them."
The Lyra Silver Saint was kneeling in front of the Pope and Athena, and raised his head at being addressed.
"Your holiness, I am indeed proud to have witnessed them become the Gemini Saints of this era after all their hard work under my training. Even if there is that small issue of Tiernan being nearsighted, he is working really hard to not let that become a handicap in battle…
Darius could see why the almost retired Silver Saint was worried about that detail for his oldest great-nephew. It was not so bad to the degree that Tiernan was almost blind, but not being able to see clearly on longer distances risked becoming a danger for himself if an enemy realized that weakness.
"If you two old men worry for his eyesight out on missions, then I can ask Tiernan if he can imagine the role of being my main bodyguard!" Athena suddenly said, already on her way out.
"Lady Athena?! It is a nice idea, but please wait a moment and let us talk a little about how to not make it sound like we do not trust Tiernan to be successful on missions…?!" Cian pleaded as he rose to his feet, but the fourteen-year-old Goddess was showing the difference of her young body and his own.
"No need to worry, Cian," Darius said as the purple-haired girl vanished out of sight, "she knows that his eyesight is something that Tiernan really does not want to be seen as a weakness by others. Athena must already be thinking of what to say so it does not sound like an insult to both the twins to make Owen the one to get out on missions while Tiernan stays behind to protect her."
Once Cian too had left, Darius looked over the newest reports of what happened in the world, events that the Sanctuary needed to know and keep an eye on for the aftermath. Nineteen years ago, a coup to depose the Roman Emperor Romulus Augustus had marked the end of the Western Roman Empire as a political entity. The Eastern Roman Empire with Constantinople as its capital city was still standing, but Darius knew that it was a far cry from the days of Pax Romana, when the Romans ruled their empire across Europe.
"I can really imagine Lydia and Elena cheering in joy over how the Roman Empire ended up as a shadow of its glory days, because their owners were Romans from Italy just like Romulus and Remus."
~X~X~X~X~X~X
After doing some mourning training with their comrades in arms, the Irish brothers had gone to the sea to do their version of relaxing:
A longer swim in the sea near the beach, and then taking out a boat for some fishing with nets and fishing rods.
"We may not be fishermen and working that way to support a family in the same manner as Father, but we at least know the basics."
Standing on the row of the boat, Tiernan took a pose that looked like he would throw out another net.
"Knowing how to get food from the sea is important, it was what helped our family to survive despite the famine after the failed harvest in our sixth year."
Focusing his Cosmo to his fingers, Tiernan uncovered the new attack that he had spent so much time on creating in order to hide his nearsightedness for a possible enemy:
"Dimension net!"
A fishing net made of Cosmo, but not intended for normal fishing. No, this was as much a way of training as back up on the training grounds of the Sanctuary.
"Careful, brother, I am trying to keep the balance of the boat here!" Owen requested at feeling that he was close to falling over while dragging up the normal fishing net into the boat.
"I really need to get this side effect fixed in some way…"
Somehow, neither one was surprised by the giant wave that suddenly showed up, Tiernan was using the Dimension net in a curve around himself and this would not be the first they accidently knocked themselves out of the boat on his road to perfect this attack.
"Galaxian Explosion!"
While the wave was blown out of existence, they could finish the rest of the fishing trip and more or less jump back to the beach after picking up the boat to carry between them.
"That was your best attack so far, brother….ouch!"
Without any warning, Owen was suddenly knocked to the ground face first into the sand by someone landing on him from above. And it was no one else than Athena herself.
"You accidently shattered the cliff I was standing on when you sent off that Galaxian Explosion, in case neither of you noticed."
Both the twins looked a little alarmed at that information as Tiernan helped her back up on her feet, even if Athena was unharmed. They were going to hear no end of a scolding if Pope Darius and Cian learned what had happened.
"Our apologies, lady Athena."
Soon, a fire was burning on the beach and three fishes were being grilled for a quick snack, as the three adolescents talked about what Darius and Cian had discussed earlier.
"I am actually not that greatly surprised that they worry about my nearsightedness possibly becoming a danger to myself or any fellow Saints in battle, we have noticed that a lot during our training over the years," Tiernan commented, but he did not manage to completely hide some disappointment over it though the way he lowered his eyes. They knew stories of historical Saints who had not been ideal warriors for whatever handicaps in some form they may have, but it was impossible to not notice that many did not treat Tiernan in the same way as Owen at times.
"I am rather protected by one of you Gold Saints than any of the Bronze Saints who tries to impress me for some silly reason," Athena huffed in annoyance. She may be in the age when normal human girls would start to notice boys in a different manner than before, and the reverse for said boys, but quite a lot of the same-aged Bronze Saints tended to get distracted by her presence and not exactly show themselves impressive despite their training as Saints due to acting immature for their age.
"I fully agree on that. Sometimes I think we may come off as more mature than our peers, because great-uncle Cian has always insisted that there are times for acting childish and times when you need to either act or think more like an adult despite not being of age yet. As he says "If a group leader can not earn respect by acting as a role model for the whole group, then the others may not follow any given orders during a critical time,", and I think that is part of it," Owen agreed, handing his brother and Athena their respective grilled fishes.
"I think there are some who are jealous that we are the same age but managed to rise to the elite of the Saints, as well. Not everyone may like to take orders from an even younger yet superior person."
Athena looked angry at being reminded of how plain jealousy could sometimes cause tensions between various Saints, often because of their own egos or self-image.
"Then why are they fighting for me when most of my past lives tend to be between ten and twenty-five years of age when the Holy War breaks out? My very birth is an omen that the Holy War will start in the coming years and every Pope so far, has done their best to avoid that I am still a very young child when the battle starts!"
Her still being a young child and learning how to use her godly powers when the Holy War broke out, was a nightmare scenario that the Pope of every era desperately wanted to avoid, because while Hades always chose a human vessel for his soul, the young age of Athena herself would be a huge obstacle for her in battle even with the Saints protecting her.
~X~X~X~X~X~X
On the way back to the Gemini Temple after leaving the catch of fish to the village to share, Tiernan and Owen placed their customary offering of food and drink at the tombstone wearing the names of Lydia and Elena, as a sign of respect for the Greek sisters as their predecessors in the Holy Wars.
"I have gotten used to seeing you do this regularly ever since coming to the Sanctuary, even before you became the Gemini Saints of this era. It is nice to see older generations be cared for even if they can not thank you themselves."
It was Leo Alaric who came into the graveyard, with some flowers to place at the grave of his own master, the previous Lego Saint who had died from high age a few months ago. He was five years older than the Irish twins, but had no problem accepting them as part of the Gold Saints despite being the youngest members.
"We want to show that despite the whole danger with that Curse of Gemini, we do not blame Elena for not being able to stop it from happening. Besides, the sisters had a very difficult life before they came here to the Sanctuary, Pope Darius should not have to feel that his late students are not viewed with respect for something out of their control," Tiernan responded, as he removed some unwanted weeds among the soil around the tombstone.
"Aye," Alaric said, "but please, be careful. That damn curse clearly is intended to kill one of you when we least expect it, to cause distress for the surviving twin and weaken the power you share."
The twins nodded, remembering what Darius had told them of the curse and his own worry for them getting caught up into it.
"Curse or not, we will do our best to help Athena defeat Hades even if it ends up costing our lives."
Pleased with the answer, Alaric let them leave with no other comment.
On the other hand, there was a minor problem to be found when they were almost at the Twelve Temples:
"Oi! Do you want the Aries and Taurus Saints to witness this become a fight, or what?!" Owen wondered, blocking a kick from the Unicorn Saint. Most of the time, the Irish brothers got along well with most of their peers here in the Sanctuary, but there was a few that naturally was jealous on how Athena herself often would seek their company:
"Do not think that you can charm Lady Athena by being part of the Gold Saints, you…?!"
Tiernan sighed as he simply avoided the intended punch aimed at his face, by turning around. No wonder Athena complained about how some of the Bronze Saints came off as immature whatever she was spotted, and their great-uncle being so strict about that he and Owen needed to take their roles as Saints seriously.
"And exactly what do you aim to succeed in by beating us up? Impressing Lady Athena by being a brute in battle, more suited for the style of Ares?"
Really, while some of the Saints seemed to be out place in the army of the Goddess fighting Hades and other threats against humankind, this was a sign of how Athena, apart from being the Goddess of wisdom, was also the Goddess of War, with war intended as fighting smart, as opposed to Ares who were the God of War, as in violence and bloodshed. The Cancer and Pisces Saints was a good example of how "fighting smart" could have pretty flexible meanings; the ability to teleport the souls of an enemy directly to the entrance to the Underworld alongside other attacks connected to the spiritual side of the living world and the other using poisonous roses as well poisonous blood as a extra back-up in case said roses was not enough to make a victory?
"Damn…do not think that you can look down on us, just for being Gold Saints!"
Realizing that the next punch was aimed at his left eye, where his nearsightedness was worse than in the right eye with his spiral tattoo on the cheek as a way to help people know which twin that was which, Tiernan repeated his earlier movement by turning around so the Bronze Saint simply fell past him without any success in getting a hit.
"Lady Athena does not enjoy the company of immature boys who think that they can impress her in childish manners. If you want a compliment from her, then act your actual age instead of what you are doing right now!"
Even if Tiernan or Owen had not yet found someone they may like in a more romantic sense so far, Cian kept repeating one very important thing to remember now when they were in this age group: "You are never entitled to someone else's affection or attention just because you're interested in them." The Lyra Silver Saint had witnessed quite a lot of ugly results from that sort of mindset over his nearly 60 years as an active Saint since he was the same age as the twins were now, which was a rather long time for this sort of service without choosing a successor of his own, and refused to accept his great-nephews acting like that.
"Come on, brother, we have something more fun to do at the Gemini Temple than this nonsense."
Despite that it took them a few more minutes before all the Bronze Saints laid defeated on the ground so they could leave, Tiernan and Owen showed another sign of maturity that Darius had praised them for in the past:
Refusing to gloat about a victory, or openly enjoying said victory because of their different level in power and Cosmo. This also marked them as a clear contrast to the memories of Romulus and Remus for Darius, who understandably had very mixed emotions about seeing a new set of twins being trained as the Gemini Saints after the events in 241 AD.
~X~X~X~X~X~X
Inside the Gemini Temple:
Even if they now were Saints, Tiernan and Owen had tried to expand their skills in starting to craft pottery as a hobby, and also to find a way to support themselves in adulthood outside the fishing. They did decorate those pots by carving triquetra and triple spiral ornaments into the clay before the drying.
"There, all finished. With some luck, we can bring some of those out in Athens to sell at markets and maybe get some coins for them."
With the new pots finished and placed on shelves in a storeroom so they could dry, they went towards the Gemini Cloth, carrying a roll of brightly coloured woolen fabric and two small boxes with thread and sewing needles.
"Lydia and Elena should be happy with those gifts as a sign that we are not planning to become the type of men that they despise so much from their own lifetime. Trying to befriend them was a good idea, even when we had just started our training."
"Yes. If we end up staying in the same spiritual space after our own death, it is a lot nicer to pass time if the sisters are not afraid of us!"
As usual when the Irish brothers entered the spiritual version of the Gemini Temple inside the Cloth, the Greek sisters were a bit hesitant at showing themselves at first. But it was a lot better than the first meeting between the two twin sets in this place six years ago when Tiernan and Owen had accidently opened their spiritual senses around the Gemini Cloth, when they had flat out refused to open the door to their shared bedchamber for the brothers, their old fear of unknown males acting up.
"Lydia, Elena? We have brought something for you that we hope will be to your taste," Owen called aloud to get their attention, while Tiernan almost walked into a stone pillar because he was looking to the sides.
"...y-yes?"
Even if they wore a spiritual version of their face masks as female Saints because they still did not feel completely comfortable around their successors to openly show their bare faces, it was a good sign that they had shown up.
"Are those…for us?" Lydia asked in a surprised voice at seeing what the brothers were carrying.
"You want to have some other clothing than the standard training suits you are still wearing here in death, right?"
The body language of Elena hinted to a realization about that, or that they possibly had not been thinking much of it before. After all, they were ghosts in a sense, forever the ages when they had died.
"...t-thank you…." Elena managed to say, though her voice naturally was not very strong due to spending most of her last five years alive almost mute due to the trauma of losing her sister in a such brutal murder. Placing the gifts on the floor between them, Tiernan and Owen then stepped back so the sisters could pick them up and get a closer look on what they had been given. Perhaps with time, Lydia and Elena would feel safe around them to take off their masks one day. And who knew? Maybe it could even be the first "physical" contact between them one day.
~X~X~X~X~X~X
Leo Alaric is named after Alaric I, the first king of the Visigoths who ruled 395-410 AD.
I wanted Tiernan and Owen to not be a stereotype of teenage boys that are being sex-crazy troublemakers or acting irresponsible in other ways. In historical times prior to the 1950s, there was no word for "teenagers", you were either a child or an adult, which the Sanctuary seems to follow as well. By ancient Irish law, Tiernan and Owen would not be counted as adult men until age 18, but they knows that they are expected to act in a mature way because as Gold Saints, there is a high chance that they may lead teams on missions and acting in a immature manner can put the whole group in trouble if there is a fight.