The Firstlings

The Foul One

He woke up with a grumble. Mother had called, but the first thing in his sight is his stupid Brother running around shouting. He was trying to get them to go and get stuff for Mother, but who did he think he was?

'He wasn’t Mother!'

He had no business ordering them around and was stupid and ugly. Brother’s words carried Mother’s Will, but he fought it. Why had she blessed him anyway? He was the dumbest one of them all, and that was saying a lot. All his siblings were on the lowest level of stupidity, at least, compared to him. He was the smartest one of them all and the most handsome. He would show Mother the truth.

Whenever they gathered, he would steal from his siblings, as they were too dumb to notice anyway. He took great hauls back to Mother to prove to her that he was better than them. Things got even better when Mother let them have her treasures. He barged in, grabbing anything he could see, pushing his siblings to the side. He gathered a horde of tools and shiny things and kept them for himself.

He found a long knife with a belt but couldn’t figure out how to carry it. After some time and quite a few failed attempts, he managed to get it attached to his waist, dangling loosely. He admired his work and thought of how great he was and how worthless his siblings were.

During their exploration of the surrounding tunnels, he found something amazing. He found that his knife worked wonders at ordering his sibling around. It was like what his Brother did all the time, only a little rougher. One of his siblings tried to step up and fight back, so he caught them in a dark side-tunnel and beat them until they submitted. They didn’t fight back as much after that.

'Stupid siblings! They needed to know their place!'

Another sibling tried to trail him as if to spy on him, but he laughed in his heart. They thought they could outsmart him. He was the smartest in the Nest, except for... maybe Mother. He caught them unaware while everyone was sleeping and sliced them with his knife. He dared not kill them, as the bond would alert the entire Nest, including Mother. He smiled in satisfaction, though, when all his siblings eventually yielded, giving him free reign.

As time passed, he got bolder, seeing the need to rid himself of his pesky Brother and that stupid grin. When Brother showed them what he called the truths, he scoffed and dismissed him until he tried and saw the same thing. He even saw the node inside himself but couldn't understand what exactly it all meant. Brother talked like he was smart but was only acting tough.

'He was too stupid to be useful!'

Taking what his brother had shown him, he tried to comprehend these truths but failed miserably. His node was active but showed no response to his crude urgings. He could barely see the nodes of his siblings and doubted they were even strong enough to see their own nodes. While sitting and eating mushrooms he had stolen from his siblings, he heard a commotion in the cavern.

He looked over to see Brother rushing into the cavern with a look of fright in his eyes. He knew that Brother had done something terrible and was enjoying the ugly look on his face. He crept up, overhearing their conversation about finding humans and them coming to the Nest. He listened as Mother began ordering her children to block the tunnels and teaching them the best she could.

His heart raced.

This would be his chance to rid himself of Brother.

They worked tirelessly, filling in the tunnels, building makeshift walls from mushrooms, dirt, and rocks. During this time, he found plenty of opportunities to wreak havoc on his siblings. He found one of his sisters to be especially fun to torment. When he struck or cut her, the muffled cries she’d made sent rolling laughter through his heart. She was too soft and stupid. They finished the makeshift wall and were sitting idle when the battle finally came.

An explosion rocked the tunnels, startling everyone. He and his siblings ran to the tunnel barriers and started taking up positions. Holes started forming in the wall as flames and swords began to burst forth from the other side. His siblings tried to fight back as he tried to use them as shields, waiting for an opportunity. Slowly getting overwhelmed, one of his siblings fell as Brother ordered a retreat, shouting at them like he always did.

He noticed Brother trailing behind them and began to slow, attempting to get closer. Surely accidents were bound to happen? An arrow skipped past his feet, and he abandoned the thought, sprinting faster to catch up with his siblings. 'Stupid flying sticks!' He growled as they ran into the Nest and stood guard over Mother. He stood a bit further back to ensure his siblings were standing in front to block him. They were stupid, but he was smart, and he wouldn’t die here.

He watched as the big human started fighting Mother, wincing when he harmed her. His siblings wailed and sobbed around him in fright and anger. When Brother ran up and tried to defend Mother, his chest tightened in excitement. Seeing the man strike Brother to the ground and raise his fearsome sword covered in a terrorful green aura.

But his hopes were dashed.

Mother rushed forward, blocking the swing, and died in Brother's place...

Fear, loss, and rage—pure rage, built in his chest—and excitement.

'It's time!'

Rushing forward as fast as his legs could carry him, he ran towards Brother. He had swapped out his knife for a sword before the battle. Pushing all the strength from his legs into his arms, he plunged that sword forward...

Through Elder Brother’s back and out of his chest.

He stared at the sword exiting Brother’s chest and laughed with glee as his brother fell to the ground, blood pooling around him. Markings appeared in his vision, and he swatted them away with a growl.

Then the world shifted, and he looked down, puzzled, at the sword sticking out of his side.

Falling over with a groan, he looked up to see his attacker.

And her clear blue eyes.

With a grunt, he swung his sword in a mad, sideways swing. She deflected the blade and returned a swing of her own. But expecting that, he rolled to the side, dodging the swift blade. He darted across the cavern, as the humans cursed, giving chase. She gained on him quickly as he jumped at the cavern wall.

He watched in joy as the human’s ugly face got even uglier when he scaled the wall like a lizard. He had found early on that his nimble fingers were also strong. Crawling past the group of humans, barging through blasts of fire and arrows, he cried in pain as he jumped.

The humans had moved further into the cavern, leaving the entrance unblocked behind them. Soaring through the air, he landed hard and gritted his teeth. 'Stupid humans!' He cursed as he darted into the empty tunnels. He heard sounds of chase behind him, arrows, and fire hitting his backside.

Using his swift legs and superior vision in the darkness of the tunnels, he shook his attackers and ended in a random side passage falling against the tunnel wall. Moaning in pain and delirious, he fell to his side. He pulled the arrows from his body, making the wounds worse, gasping for breath.

As his vision began to blur and darkness claimed him, his final thought was of his Brother.

And that stupid grin.