The Citadel's Sacrifice

     Meridell hadn't even asked for a share of what the Citadel had; they had just stormed in, robbed the Orb and left without any thanks. But it wasn't just the Orb. It was lives, happiness and peace.

     They could have just asked nicely.

     Mark's eyes glowed redder at the thought, and he raised his purple paw in a battle cry alongside his peers. His wings spread out sharply. He will fight alongside Lord Darigan. He will fight for the Citadel, for what they had lost, for what had belonged to them in the first place.

      ---

     "Mark?"

     A pair of large eyes met Mark's own. Not for the first time, Mark felt his stomach twist at the sight of the scrawny purple Kougra, looking so weak and thin even just after a few weeks. But he had to be brave, so the Lupe smiled down at his younger brother.

     "What is it, Alex?" asked Mark. "You wanna come with me and look for food?"

     Alex shook his head. "Why do we have to look for food nowadays, Mark?" he asked. "We used to have food all the time, and we used to be happy. Now look at you, you're all fur and bones."

     A lump formed in Mark's throat. Mark was of solid built, while Alex was scrawny, but the latter kept insisting on letting Mark have the larger share of whatever scraps could be found. According to Alex, the more Mark ate, the more food Mark could bring back. A few weeks ago, that might have been true. But now, Mark wasn't so sure.

     "People talk about a famine," Alex went on, "but it isn't. I don't know about you, but I hear things from the people of Brightvale. They think it's unnatural. There are no sudden floods or draughts, the plants have caught no disease, and the rivers have not been suddenly polluted by magic. What could have brought about this? Could the Faeries have suddenly decided to put a curse on us for being so prosperous in resources?"

     Mark was taken aback. He knew that Alex was a smart one, always eager to learn more. The famine must have been taking its toll on Alex really badly for him to have gone all the way to Brightvale to eavesdrop. But back to the topic, Mark realised Alex was right. The famine had suddenly appeared in the Citadel, with no warning and no reason.

     "There's no point thinking about this though," replied Mark after a pause. "We already have the higher-ups looking into this. For now, my aim is to put food on the table. Anything in particular you want for tonight?"

     Apparently, Mark had said the wrong thing, for Alex's eyes narrowed. "Are you really so lazy that you can just wait for the 'higher-ups' to solve this?" demanded Alex. "We've had had years of prosperity, and now that we're in trouble, nobody knows how to deal with it. We're just going to sit back, let the authorities handle this, and everything will go back to normal?"

     Alex was almost shouting now. Mark was at a loss for words.

     But then, Alex's voice dropped to a hollow whisper. "I don't want us to die from... whatever this is. We may live amongst many, but you're the only real family I've got, y'know?"

     Shaking his young head, Alex folded his outspread wings, turned tail and padded away. Mark stood up, only now aware that his paws had given way during Alex's outburst. He had no idea what to do. He didn't have brains like Alex did, he only had his muscular built to help him brute force his way through everything. He could only search for food, because that was what was helping them survive right now. Mark sighed and placed a paw over his eyes. He felt like a failure.

     Alex glanced back with a softer look in his eye, like he knew what Mark was thinking.

     "I want an apple, a whole apple. No sharing with you this time."

     As Alex walked away, Mark smiled a little. No matter what was happening, he'd always protect his baby brother.

     ---

     "Listen up, Citadel!" a large Skeith shouted to the crowd that had gathered in the Citadel square. Mark's ears perked up as he rummaged around a mound of rubbish. "The reason for this famine has been discovered. Lord Darigan's Orb has been stolen!"

     There were a few gasps here and there, and angry voices started mumbling. Nobody really knew what this Orb was about anyway, but if it could cause a famine without it, it must be powerful. Who could have stolen it and taken away the livelihood of so many, from their Lord no less?

     "Quiet, please!" shouted the Skeith. "The Orb had been replaced by another artefact with similar magic waves to the Orb's. You may not know this, but magic waves can be faked, so the artefact holds no power at all. However, none of the authorities had suspected that the Orb had gone missing, and we apologise for the delay."

     The Skeith glared at the crowd that had started talking again, and the noise bubbled down. "In fact," continued the Skeith, "it may have been a long time, many months possibly, before we discovered the disappearance of the orb, if not for a young Kougra."

     Mark stopped his digging and turned towards the crowd. Now the Skeith had his full attention. It couldn't be Alex... right?

     "This Kougra tipped us off about the possibility of the stolen Orb. We invited him into the castle to inspect the Orb, since he seems to know much about magic waves. After confirming it was a fake, he tried to trace the origin of the magic, but the magic waves were cursed."

     The silence now was almost deafening. Mark's blood ran cold.

     "The Kougra knew of the curse," said the Skeith, "but he sacrificed himself so that we, the Citadel, would know who to take back Lord Darigan's Orb from. He sacrificed himself so we would know who the one who stole our livelihood is, to know our enemy's name. We will always remember Marizalex for his brave sacrifice!"

     The crowd may have cheered vehemently at this point, but Mark wouldn't have heard it. He couldn't do anything except tremble in shock, his eyes becoming blurred with hot tears at the news of his brother's death. Alex had done this just to restore the lives of the Citadel. Alex has just been cursed to death. Alex, his baby brother. This couldn't be happening.

     "You're the only real family I've got, y'know?"

     Alex's voice reverberated in Mark's ears, the echo of a voice that he would never hear again.

     "Tonight," the Skeith boomed, "we wage war on Meridell!"

     As angry cries rose up, Mark rose too, his velvet wings outstretched. Hatred flooded the Lupe's heart and mind – Meridell had taken his only family away. The tears disappeared from his eyes, and a growl formed in his muzzle. He had to fight alongside Lord Darigan. He had to fight for the Citadel, for what they had lost, for what had belonged to them in the first place. But somewhere deep down, Mark knew that no matter how much he fought, his brother would never return.

     He didn't care. Meridell would pay for their thievery.

The End