Saturday Excerpt, "Quest"

As a young boy, Linvin was a naive, trusting person.  That innocence was forever replaced by skepticism by his cousins.  During his visits, Linvin would be tricked, laughed at and beaten like a toy for amusement.

Growing up, though, none were as cruel as his twin cousins, Rander and Bander Greenlith.  They were slightly younger than Linvin and showed only contempt for him, laced with an equal amount of jealousy.

Though not identical, the twins were of one mind.  That mind happened to be Rander’s.  He was certainly the more intelligent of the two.  Rander was self-serving, conniving and, at times, vicious in his treatment of his older cousin.  His meek stature, even among elves, only fed his hatred of Linvin and indeed all those of grand proportion.

Bander was much the same as a book of blank pages.  There was no story or option unless someone filled it in for him.  The writer of his pages was always Rander.  It was widely joked in the family that Bander did not have a thought in his head which did not originate in Rander’s.  Bander never understood what the saying meant and therefore paid it no heed.  Rander, on the other hand, viewed it as a compliment and helped foster the saying’s proliferation.  What Bander lacked in brain, he supplemented with brawn.  Though still no match for Linvin, few Elves crossed him or Rander, by extension.

As Linvin grew bigger than they did, he tired of their verbal and physical attacks.  He decided to fight back.  Every meeting that followed ended with the three of them being pulled apart by relatives.  The brawls were rough and nasty.  By the time Linvin and his family left, both he and the twins had taken their share of bruises.

Linvin’s father would not stand for the treatment his family was getting and refused to attend any more social gatherings with the Greenliths.  The decision only served to alienate the family further.

The thought of seeing the twins again made Linvin’s heart swell with anger.  His grudge would not be dispelled quickly.