Legend of the Three Brothers

The Legend of the Three Brothers is an old story widely told in the nations of Drena and Varrenholm. It focuses on the group story, as well as the individual of three brothers, whose original names have been lost to the ages. It is widely debated on whether or not the story is fact or fiction, but over the centuries it has been leaning more towards fiction. However, recent discoveries have led many to believe that the tale may actually be true.
===Tale of the Three===
The first story told in the legend is the origin of the three brothers. The names of these brothers have been lost in time, but in the origin story they are simply refereed to as the elder, the middle, and the younger brothers. At one point, in an unknown year, in an unknown spot somewhere in the Old World, the three brothers came across a small ruin in the side of a hill. Inside of this ruin was an elegant golden sword hilt embroidered with jewels, prominently stuck in a decorated stone. No blade was exposed, but the sight of the hilt drew all three brothers towards it. The Elder brother wished to have the sword so that he may kill any who stand against him. The middle brother saw great value in the materials the hilt was made from, and wished to sell it in order to support his family and friends. The younger brother wanted the sword so that he may better defend those he cared about. Simultaneously, the three brothers each grabbed the sword hilt, but that was when things went mysteriously awry. All three brothers suddenly felt something flowing through them, and their muscles felt dead. The middle brother let go of the hilt immediately, and fell on his back as his hair turned to a dark shade of green. The younger brother let go after about 10 seconds, and collapsed as his hair turned a dark shade of red. The elder brother stood his ground, and after a few minutes managed to pull the sword out only to find it had no blade. In a fit of rage, the elder brother threw the hilt across the room, but collapsed soon after as his hair turned to a dark shade of purple. The elder and younger brothers noted after a few minutes of recovery that they felt stronger somehow, while the middle brother claimed to feel no different. All three brothers also noticed that they no longer remembered their own names, or the names of each other. It was at this point that the three brothers went their separate ways, and their individual stories began.
===Tale of the Elder===
The second story told in the legend is the story of the elder brother. His tale is a very dark one, as the elder brother was a very selfish, greedy, and self centered man. He began to wander the landscape, picking random fights and stealing; essentially the same things he did before getting purple hair. However, over time he began to notice that he no longer felt much pain, and he had survived several life threatening injuries. He quickly became drunk over this power, and started threatening higher folk and dangerous individuals. Over the next few decades, the elder brother earned an extremely sinister reputation, and people began to call him "Taresai," which he eventually declared to be his official name. He also took many women; some forcefully; and sired multiple children. Over time, his descendants began to take on the last name of Tearsay, as a way of saying they were his descendants. Taresai eventually settled down in a southern Restinian city by the name of Alptanes, where he lived for several centuries; yes, centuries. He didn't pop up again until shortly after the founding of Drena, where he made his official re appearance. Alptanes was one of the only 3 Restinian cities that made ended up in Drenan borders, so his re appearance was relatively easy. He assassinated the first king shortly after the nation's founding, and declared himself the second king. For whatever reason, there was little resistance to his rise to power, and several new laws were established. To begin, Taresai declared that the position of royal family could be changed every time a king died or would no longer be able to rule. Any family of note could compete for the title, and the patriarch of the winning family would become the next king of Drena. Taresai was later assassinated by an unknown assassin, but his family continues to live on.
===Tale of the Middle===
The third story told in the legend is the story of the middle brother. The middle brother's tale was short, and mostly uneventful. The middle brother spent his short life helping others. He had always had a knack for making a lot of money in a short time, and he would always give most of his money to those who needed it. Those around him began to call him "Hasilvad," meaning green, presumably after his hair. He later made Hasilvad his official name. It is known that Hasilvad had a wife and multiple children, and his children later took on the last name of Halfsvald, as a way of saying they were his descendants. He settled down in a southern Restinian city by the name of Hvanna, where he later passed away at the age of 70.
===Tale of the Younger===
The fourth and final story in the legend is the story of the younger brother. The tale of the younger is the most popular and widely told tale of the three, even to this day. The original version of the tale was vague, but recent discoveries have been able to piece bits together to fill out a more accurate version of the story. The tale begins with the younger brother shortly after the sword hilt incident, where he wandered the world hoping to find people to protect. He ended up mostly hanging around at inns and holding back any raiders that would attack the towns he visited. He began to build a good reputation in western Esgard, and where several called him "Seigfreid." It is known that Seigfried settled down for a short time in a southern Restinian town by the name of Norvegr, where he had multiple children. He left shortly after his children were born, and it is known that his children later took on the last name of Seigfried, though they did screw up the spelling.
After leaving his children, Seigfreid sailed to the southwest, hoping to find a possible new land to protect. After an unknown amount of time, he landed on a large continent with tens of thousands of Testificates scattered about on it. Over the next few years, Seigfreid learned the language of these testificates, which they called Ranovid, and discovered that they called the land they lived on Ranovitria. For the rest of his life, Seigfried remained in Ranovitria, protecting the testificates around him. In exchange, the testificates forged him a special sword using the secret techniques that they had developed. Seigfried named this sword forged from obsidian "Gram."
==Trivia==
*Ironically, all three brothers originally settled in southern Restinian cities, and all 3 of those cities made it into Drena
*The descendants of the three brothers became the big 3 families in Drena
*A massive sword made of obsidian was found jutting out of the sand in southern Varrenholm, and many believe it to be Gram
*#It was this discovery that helped piece together the tale of the third brother
*Due to his long life, Taresai is widely speculated to have gained kysteric from grabbing the sword hilt
*#Some believe Seigfreid received it as well.
*To this day, the Tearsay, Seigfried, and Halfsvald families live on, and most members of each family are very similar to the original members.
Category:New Voldrania Category:Old World Category:Literature