Talent Seth David-Andrew

A House of Brigands (Prologue)

By Seth David-Andrew | 2007

A House of Brigands
By Seth Hubbard

Prologue

Twins were an uncommon occurrence in the country of Ainland, despite the prolificacy of children in most families. John-Nathan Remus and Thom Remus were the only twins in the entire city of Thandsborough. Their family, the Remus Family, was a strange one. In a city such as Thandsborough, a family would normally consist of no less than 8 children. The quota was very often attained through a third party, normally another woman impregnated for the sake of the respectability of the family. It was considered noble to rear many strong, book-learned sons, and dainty, well-behaved daughters. The Remus family had only five children. Their hair was dark, except for the youngest, and all of their children were strong, well behaved, and comely. John and Thom were the oldest at seventeen, and were significant benefactors to the finances of the family, maintaining three jobs while still attending Thandsborough Military Academy to become government letter carriers. Ashley was the second oldest and the only daughter, sixteen years old and already five months pregnant, which was considered so socially inappropriate that she no longer left their home to be seen in public. Quinn and Elliott where the youngest two, Elliott just barely out of diapers, and already it was apparent that they would be as inseparable as their older brothers. Whenever they were let outside to play, mischief would ensue. Their father was Alexander Remus, a strong man in both stature and dignity. He was a good husband and father, with a long-suffering temper and an affection for his children that was seen as weakness by his peers. Neither him, nor his wife, had ever been in “good-standing” with the people of Thandsborough, and he wore the fact with pride. He had never agreed with the rules of conduct that most saw appropriate. He worked as a trapper and a part time huntsman. He enjoyed the wilderness, both for it’s beauty and it’s seclusion from the society of Thandsborough. His wife, was the reason their family had been purposefully small. Alexander could be a passionate man by anyone’s standards, and he had never humored the notion of letting her carry another man’s child, nor would she allow another woman carry his. She was a good wife, affectionate and supportive without being timid. She had a natural beauty that never faded as she aged, an air of grandeur around her at all times. They loved eachother, and that was something that was dismally infrequent in Thandsborough, due to marriages of convenience and profitability. That love raised their children well, and kept them modest and humble, saving them from the more priggish and sanctimonious crowds. Thandsborough itself was divided almost equally into eastern and western parts by the Canon River. West of the river was where the commercial and industrial districts resided. Where everything was made and sold, from crops grown in the outlying fields, to clothes fashioned and dyed right in the market on the street. Tools and luxuries, weapons and commodities. Thandsborough could boast to be one of the most self-sufficient boroughs in the entirety of Westbrixin. On the East side of the Canon River was where the civic and residential districts resided. The south sprawl was where the most poverty stricken families struggled, near the small patch of swampland created by a branch of the Canon river. The streets widened progressively northward, and eventually became cobbled, until the very North end of the residential district was reached. This was where the most affluent and hedonistic of the Thandsborough society lived. The entire city was on a slight but noticeable slant up a hillside. At the very top Fort Colmsbrier was perched, tall and thin and omniscient to the goings-on of the city. Fort Colmsbrier was one of three forts in Westbrixin. They had been there the entirety of the peoples’ historical records, and were used to house the entirety of the municipal government and its auxiliaries. It was home to the richest and most powerful citizens of Thandsborough. Though social and economical difficulties were not uncommon, it could be said that Thandsborough was one of the most peaceful cities in Ainland, and its citizens could only hope that peace would continue.