The Children of Ugriccarious

In the countryside of Belomas, there are two identical twin brothers sparring with one another. The two boys were quite young. They had reached their twelfth year. In three years, they would soon be able to join the military, like their father once did.

Every day, they sparred against one another. Each time they sparred, they hoped to achieve greater strength than the day prior. However, their efforts were in vain. No matter what they did to obtain greater power — it was futile.

They were not able to harness their own soul energy. Stanillo, their stepfather, tried to help the pair learn soul energy control. But the twins were never able to wield the power. As a result of their troubles, the twins were believed to suffer from a rare phenomenon.

This phenomenon was the complete absence of soul energy within the human body. However, the twins were born with an absurd immense physical power. They could do things that warriors could only dream of doing with their bodies.

Soul energy could enhance the body and allow it to do things that would seem otherworldly. However, the twins were able to do this naturally at a much higher level. While many could view the twins as cursed, others might find that they were quite blessed.

The names of these boys were Agriotalus and Abbula. The sons of Coria and the young Illya.

Like every other day, the boys found themselves engaging each other in combat. This time through hand-to-hand combat.

Agriotalus, one of the illegitimate children of Illya, stood before his brother. His stance was solid, feet shifting. A jab snapped out, but it was met by a swift palm block by Abbula.

Agriotalus pouted, stepping in, seeking the clinch, but Abbula created space with a frame, then drove a knee into Agriotalus’ stomach. The young Agriotalus grabbed onto his stomach, gasping for air.

“And like I said,” Abbula said, his tone prideful and arrogant. “You can never measure up to me when it comes hand to hand! At this rate, you will never be able to join the army!”

“Shut up!” Agriotalus screamed, furious at his brother’s remarks. “You only like fighting hand to hand because you suck at fighting me when I am armed!”

Abbula laughed. Seeing Agriotalus riled up, brought him a sense of joy. “Well,” he said. “Maybe you would not feel that way, brother, if you did not suck at fighting without your sword!”

Agriotalus stepped towards his brother, grabbing onto his shirt. “You talk as if you have already won,” he said. “I will show you that I can be just as good as you! Heck, I will show that I am just as good as our father!”

“Pfft,” Abbula said, his mood growing sour with the mention of his father. “I told you not to call that man father! In the twelve years we have been alive, not once has he bothered to visit. From what I heard, he was not there when we were born!”

“So please,” Abbula continued. “Stop calling that man ‘father’. He never has the time for you, and he definitely has never thought of your well-being!”

His words would just anger Agriotalus further, who says, “He does care for us! I know he does! Father is just a busy man. That is all.”

Abbula sighed. His brother was always enamored with their father. The stories of his conquests and heroism motivated him. “I know how much that man is important to you,” Abbula said. “But forget about him, please. That man has children of his own who he actually cares for.”

“If he loved us,” Abbula continued. “One of us would carry his name — not that kid, who was not the firstborn son. We were the firstborn sons!”

Agriotalus released his brother, his brother's words hurting him more than the kick. The boy walked away from his brother. Abbula grabbed onto his face, regretting what he said to him.

As he watched Agriotalus disappear in the distance, Abbula says, “I was too harsh on him. I know how sensitive he can be with that topic…”

Argiotalus stormed off to the capital, furious at his brother’s comments. He knew that their father had never done anything for them, but he held out hope things could be different one day. The stories of his father motivated Agriotalus to be great.

To Agriotalus, his father was like a god in human flesh. There could not be one thing that he could not do. The stories of his father’s conquest of Ugrica, fascinated the young boy deeply — despite being a descendant of the Ugrics, himself.

By law, he was a citizen of Belomas. However, to society, the boy and his brother were no better than a dog. This was the primary reason the twin boys remained secluded on the outskirts. The whole empire knew of their existence, but they could never acknowledge them.

They had bad blood in them. Those boys could never amount to anything because of that. Their face and blood were a daily remainder of what the Ugrics did to their people. The hatred ran deep between the empire and Ugrica.

The hatred and disgust prevailed despite the emperor’s attempt to fuse the two cultures together. From the beginning of his quest, the emperor realized that the only way his empire could be maintained was with the union of the two cultures.

However, it was just not possible. Even the nations that Belomas took, who shared a similar culture to their own, could not coexist peacefully with them. Therefore, the conquered and allied territories were to be treated as provinces.

While they retained their culture and identity, they were still considered apart from the empire of Belomas. Under the flag of Belomas, every province stood as one nation.

And as one nation, they would stand before the world and lay claim to the world. Because this was their natural right given to them by the gods…

As the young Agriotalus enters the capital, the architecture itself has developed drastically in the last twelve years. The pitiful developing village of Belomas was no more. The streets were now paved with stone quarries taken from Rostov; the statues of the two Illyas were made of marble.

A sign of the little village’s growth of power. In the current day of Belomas, there was not a single family living in poverty. Every child throughout the empire was granted an education at the state’s expense.

As a matter of fact, the rise of the physician class skyrocketed throughout the empire. Especially, those who were able to heal others with soul energy. Physicians became one of the wealthiest classes within the empire, right next to the warrior and the engineer class.

But the young Agriotalus could not care less about being a physician or engineer. He wanted to be at the front lines, like his father. This was his opportunity to make a name for himself, and get to meet his father.

Rumors had it Ugriccarious, his father, was never in the capital. For twelve years, he spent his life dedicated to expansion. Most people today admitted, they would not know what he looked like now.

Ugriccarious had not been around Belomas since he was a teenager. Others say he established his estate at Stalavat, where his wife and children reside. Agriotalus could not believe this was the case.

His father was likely focused on another conquest. Yes, he had to be. Why else would he forget about him and his brother for so long?

Walking through the streets, his mind was occupied with the thoughts of his father. The young Agriotalus kept his head down, trying not to let others see his watery eyes. As he walked through the streets, people would recognize him.

‘Is that the Ugric boy?’ a woman murmured.

‘Who else could have those accursed blue eyes, woman?’ the man said. ‘Those accursed swines. If I were in power, I would cleanse the entire west of their kind!’

‘Oh, how I agree,’ the woman replied. ‘Those scoundrels will get what is coming to them when Ugriccarious comes to power. The devourer of Ugrics will surely live up to his namesake!’

Their words were the last thing Agriotalus needed to hear. The boy burst into tears. He lowered his head further, hiding his tears. However, it could be fair to say that the boy lowered his head to hide the shame of his Ugric heritage.

As the boy immersed himself in his emotions, he accidentally bumped into a girl, knocking her onto her bottom. The girl was around the same age he was. She had long brown hair, green eyes, and silk skin.

Agriotalus wiped his eyes immediately, extending his hand to the girl. The girl took his hand, and he helped her get back up.

“I am deeply sorry,” he apologized, his eyes red and watery. “I should have looked at where I was going.”

“No need to apologize,” the girl smiled. “I was not looking at where I was going either!”

“Oh,” Agriotalus awkwardly said. “Well, I guess we were both at fault, then?”

"Guess so," Artemis says, her warm eyes alleviating the boy.

As the two stood there, a young girl sharing the same face and clothes, walked over to Agriotalus. She was furious at his carelessness and recognized him to be an Ugric. “You dare lay a hand on Artemis! You filthy second-rate trash! She is the daughter of Ugriccarious and Diana! I will have your head!”

The crowd, previously occupied with their day-to-day life, began to circle the three. The mention of 'Artemis' and 'Ugriccarious' attracted those around.

Apollo began to reach for her dagger, a small ornamental dagger at her waist — a gift from her aunt, Philippus.

“Wait, Apollo!” Artemis pleads, stepping between her sister and the crying boy. “It was my fault! He was not being mean!”

“I do not care!” Apollo screamed, her dagger drawn and ready to kill the boy. “This scum should have been looking at where he was going!”

“He could not have been able to,” Artemis cried. “He was crying! You cannot hurt him! If you want to hurt him, you are going to have to kill me too!”

Artemis’ words were a shock to those around her, a princess defending an Ugric of all things? This was the final straw for Apollo, who could not handle her sister’s soft nature.

“You will never be a shield maiden, Artemis!” Apollo retorted. “You lack the will to do what is needed, and what is needed to be done now is to kill him!”

As the commotion escalated, Abbula, the twin brother of Agriotalus, noticed the commotion going on. Immediately, he ran to see what was going on. This commotion could have only started because of Agriotalus.

Their mother, Coria, had forbidden them to go into the capital. If he got hurt, she would never forgive him. Abbula made his way through the crowd, trying to get to where his brother was.

As he made his way, the young Abbula caught a glimpse of Apollo, attempting to stab Agriotalus. However, Agriotalus was quick to block her attack with his practice sword. The impact was enough to shatter the practice sword, but it did not injure the boy.

Soon after, Artemis pulled Apollo back, telling her to calm down.

“Let go of me!” Apollo yelled.

“No!” Artemis yelled, struggling to hold her sister back. “I will not let your anger do something you will regret!”

As Abbula made his way over to his brother, his jaw dropped at the sight of the girls. They were twins, like him and Agriotalus.

Within the empire, there were only two sets of twins. And the two sets of twins were the children of Ugriccarious, who was the pride and joy of the empire.

There was no mistake; the girls that stood before them were their sisters.

“They are real,” Abbula gulped, his eyes not believing what he was seeing.

“Abbula!” Agriotalus said, his brother’s presence snapping him out of place. “Are you seeing what I am seeing?”

“I am,” Abbula replied, his eyes still not registering the faces of the girls. “Agriotalus…it is them!”

“Are you for real!?” Agriotalus shouted.

As the twin boys stood there in awe, the fighting between Artemis and Apollo ceased at the appearance of Abbula. They were twins, like them. The sisters had heard of the existence of two boys with the same faces, who shared the same father as them.

Could this be them?

“Apollo,” Artemis said, her voice quivering. “Are you seeing what I am seeing?

“Yes,” Apollo gulped, her eyes locked on the two brothers. “It is them. The sons of father!”

The first to approach the sisters was Agriotalus, who had yearned for the day to meet them. Artemis’ dreadful eyes turned to ones of joy at the sight of her brothers, who she extended her arm out to.

“Do not even think about it!” Apollo hissed, pulling her sister back to her.

Abulla slapped his brother across the head, furious at what he was going to do. “You fool!” he yelled. “These bitches are not your sisters! You only have one brother and that is me!”

“Why you!” Apollo barked, but she was held back by Artemis once more.

“You jerk!” Agriotalus yelled, punching his brother across the face for insulting their sisters. The punch busted his lip. “Apologize to them now!”

Abulla wiped the blood off his lips, his eyes furious and veins bulging across his forehead. “Apologize!?” he yelled. “They should be apologizing to you! That bitch almost killed you!”

“Stop calling her that!” Agriotalus barked, pushing his brother back.

As the boys shove each other and Artemis restrains Apollo, the crowd begins to connect the dots of what was going on. Identical faces, the twin pairs, the blue and green eyes. The children of Ugriccarious and Diana had come across the 'bad blood'.

The heavy rhythmic clank of armored boots began to draw out the shouting. A squad of elite shield maidens and defenders — the elite unit designated to protect Princess Diana and her children — broke through the crowd.

“Release her, Artemis,” one of the shield maidens demanded. “You are only escalating the situation.”

Artemis released Apollo, who dusted her shoulders. “Yes, mam,” Artemis said, lowering her head before the elite unit.

“Yes, lower your head, coward!” Apollo barked.

“Lady Apollo, settle down,” one of the defenders said. “Before we escort you back to the palace. Your mother gave you strict orders to not cause commotion here. Act like the daughter of Ugriccarious!”

The defender’s words made Apollo tear up. Nobody ever talked to her like that — not even her own father! Artemis tried to embrace her sister for a hug, but Apollo pushed her off. “Get lost!” she barked, trying to hide her tears.

“As for you two,” the defender said, turning his attention to the boys. “Go back the way you came and quit starting problems. This is your only warning.”

“Our only warning?” Abbula repeated, his voice angry and resentful. “You have no right to restrict me!”

Agriotalus grabbed onto his brother, saying, “Brother, please. Let us go home. We have no place here.”

“Pfft,” Abbula said, turning his back to his brother. “Fine, only because that was the first smart thing you said today! Hurry up, before I change my mind.”

Agriotalus turned to see his brother walking away, but he would not leave at first without waving goodbye to his sisters. Apollo raised a brow, not liking his lack of formality. Artemis, however, smiled, waving goodbye to him.

As the commotion between the pair of twins ended, the youngest son of Ugriccarious, little Illya, was being embraced by his grandmother. She hugged the boy, his face reminding her of his brothers. Little Illya looked identical to his father, except he had the emerald eyes of his mother.

As she held the youngest Illya, she was not only holding a grandson; she was holding the kind and innocent boy that her son once was. She was one of the few people that remembered her son before he became immortalized with the name ‘Ugriccarious’.

The boy she once held in her arms, not too long ago, had become a monster that devours towns.

As Himari pulls the boy closer, the elite shield maidens and defenders enter the courtyard with Artemis and Apollo. While Artemis cooperated with the elite guard to head back to the place, the young Apollo was dragged by one of the shield maidens, who found her to be quite uncooperative.

Apollo was furious at being manhandled, threatening the shield maiden to have her reprimanded. The shield maiden did not budge at her empty threats, slapping Apollo across the face for her insolence.

Artemis reached out to her sister, but she did not want to get punished.

“Grandmother,” Little Illya whispers, feeling the tremor in her hands. “Why are they back so early? I thought they were on a walk.”

Himari sighs. She had an idea of what was happening outside the palace. “I have an idea,” she said, running her fingers through her grandson’s hair. “They must have met ‘them’. Your brothers, Illya.”

“My brothers?” Little Ilya repeated. “But I only have two elder sisters, grandmother.”

“No, my son,” Himari said. “You have two brothers out there, like your sisters. They have the same faces, like your sisters.”

“And like your sisters,” Himari continued. “They are polar opposites.”

“Really?” Little Illya said. “When can I meet them?”

“That is not so simple,” Himari replied. “Their mother, Coria, is not quite eager to let anybody from the family see them these days. When Coria learned of your birth, she was outraged by the fact that you were given your father’s name, despite not being his firstborn son.”

“Since then,” Himari said. “All connections between her and I were severed because of it. I cannot say I blame her. Your father is quite the warrior. But when it comes to his family life, he is quite sloppy and inconsiderate with his children. A trait that he did not inherit from his father, sadly.”