*Chapter one :blood and brothers
The estate of House Duskmoor stood like a fortress — tall, dark, and colder than the northern winds. Within its stone halls, *Lucian* had never felt warmth. Not from his father.
Not since the day his mother died.
"You'll never be what she was," Duke Dorian had once spat at him, drunk on power and grief. "Your birth cost me everything."
He didn't scream when he said it. He never did. He only spoke in quiet, sharp words that left deeper wounds than any blade. *Cassion* had tried to protect Lucian back then, too — shielding him from punishments, standing in the way of cruel expectations.
And Lucian had always wondered… if Cassion hadn't been the firstborn, would their father have ever loved him at all?
Still, they grew up side by side. Brothers in name and in heart.
Cassian, noble and steady like their mother.
Lucian, wild with magic, but silent in suffering.
They trained together, bled together. When Lucian failed, Cassion stepped in. When Cassion was praised, he never let the spotlight dim his brother's worth.
[10/28, 1:16 PM] lost: "You don't have to carry his shadow," Cassion once told him under the training yard moonlight. "You shine just fine on your own."
Lucian had smiled at that. A rare, honest smile.
***
The task came during the monthly War Council.
Duke Dorian's voice rang like steel. "A sealed dungeon has awakened near the outer ridge. Scouts reported strange fluctuations — dark magic. You two will handle it."
Lucian stood still. "Alone?"
"You are sons of Duskmoor," the Duke replied. "Prove it."
Cassion didn't question it. He never did. "We'll leave by morning."
As they walked out of the chamber, Cassion glanced sideways. "You good?"
Lucian nodded, but his fists were clenched. "He just wants to be rid of me."
"Maybe," Cassion admitted. "But I'm going with you."
Lucian's voice softened. "Why do you always take my side?"
"Because you never asked me to." He smiled. "And because you're my brother."
And that was enough.
It was always enough — until the dungeon.
Until the seal broke.
Until everything changed.