This post was inspired by a prompt in the Worldbuilding Community - Worldbuilding Prompt #962 - Highly Motivated
It's a sequel to one I wrote a couple of days ago, Worldbuilding Prompt #955 - Twins
Enjoy !
Image by Dimitris Vetsikas from Pixabay
He stirred and woke up, finding himself sandwiched in layers of sheepskins. For a few moments, he just felt groggy and confused. Then everything started hurting.
A child's voice somewhere out of sight called, "Mummy, daddy, he's awake !"
Footsteps, adult ones. He forced his eyes to open. It was a struggle, and took longer to focus, but eventually the blurriness cleared and he saw a stocky, dark haired, heavily bearded and muscular man dressed in a rough brown tunic.
"Ah, you're back with us. You've been out for a very long time, we wondered if you were ever going to re-join the land of the living. Don't try to move, you're pretty battered."
He groaned, and gave up trying to get up out of the bed-pile. "Where am I, what happened ?"
The man smiled. "You're in our nuraghe. Middle of nowhere. You're safe here. I'm Garmod the chalkophoros, and this," indicating the attractive young woman coming up behind him, "is my wife Peradena. As for what happened, you tell us. We found you almost dead on the grass. The trail of blood behind you suggested you'd crawled a long way."
Memory started to return. His chariot racing at speed beside his brother. The shock of the wheel spinning off. Sky and ground rolling around as he flew through the air. The chariot pole digging into the ground, flinging the wrecked vehicle high off the ground. The wreckage crashing down on top of him, smashing his leg and breaking ribs. The final look of twisted, smug satisfaction on his twin's face.
"I.... I remember. My chariot... it ... it was deliberate. Sabotage. My brother...."
Gathering his thoughts, he finished, an edge of defiance finally entering his voice. "I am Prince Kallicreon. My brother tried to kill me, right after our father announced us as joint heirs."
Garmod shook his head. "Prince Kallicreon is dead. Everyone was made to attend the funeral. If you are him, I'm sorry to say it was a joint funeral. Kallicrates is now king."
Kallicreon felt tears filling his eyes, and rage his heart. Rage at the injustice of it, and a desperate desire for vengeance and the righting of the wrong that had been done.
It must have shown on his face. Peradena stepped forward, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm so sorry, I know it must be unbearable for you. I believe you are who you say you are. But it cannot become known, Kallicrates is showing every sign of becoming a harsh ruler. I know you will want revenge, but for now you need to heal. Stay with us, get as well as you can and learn from my husband the art and magic of being a chalkophoros."
She smiled sympathetically, "Make a plan to reclaim your birthright by all means, but plan carefully and realistically. We'll help. In the meantime, you are our cousin from the fringe, made homeless by a Greyman raid, and you are called Creon."