Date: Tue, 9 Aug 2011 15:12:26 -0400
From: X X <thewriter_x@hotmail.com>
Subject: The Brotherhood #19 {X} {MM College & Sci-Fi/Fantasy} [19!?]??????

The following story contains sexually explicit acts between men.  If such
things bother you, annoy you, disturb you, or frighten you, then why the
hell are you here?  Do yourself a favor and leave before you read something
you like and discover that you're actually gay; you might not be able to
deal with the revelation.

I started a yahoo group for TBH a while back.  It's place where you can get
the latest chapters and talk about the story with other readers if you
like.  As thanks to those who are signed up, I'll be keeping the group one
chapter ahead of Nifty.  So while Nifty is up to date with chapter 19,
chapter 20 will be up on the group (within a couple of weeks or so of
updating Nifty, give or take a day or two).  So if you want to keep up just
sign up here:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/theinnercircletbh/

As always, thanks for reading and I'd love to hear your thoughts, good or
bad, on the latest chapter so feel free to write me at: thewriterxx@aol.com


The Brotherhood
Chapter XIX


      It was a strange feeling being whisked away by Q in such a manner.  I
couldn't even pretend to explain the experience. All I know is it felt like
I was wrapped in warmth and I was as light as a feather.  The sensation
didn't last long.  Before I knew it the light surrounding us faded and Q
was standing in front of me, smiling.  His arm was around my waist.

      "We're here," he announced.

      I looked around confused.  I wasn't exactly sure of where "here" was.

      Q laughed.  "We're in Aquaiia, Jacob."

       "Okay..." From where I stood, we were in freaking cave, "Not exactly
how I pictured your city, but I guess this could work."

      "I guess I should be more accurate," he laughed again and shook me
slightly.  "This is the entrance to the caverns beneath Aquaiia.  The city
is above us obviously."

      "So you decided to give me a tour of a cave, huh?"  There really
wasn't much to say about the cave.  If you've seen one cave, you've seen
them all I guess.  The only thing that stuck out were the crystals coming
out of the walls.  They were in clusters of various shapes, sizes, and
colors.  More impressively, they gave off a faint glow that illuminated the
cave. "I will say this though; you sure know how to treat a boy."

      "Very funny." Q playfully slapped me in the back of the head before
pulling away.  "It's not about the cave and you know it.  It's about what I
want to show you."

      "So what is it?" I said turning around and taking a step forward.
"Holy shit!" I yelled, realizing I was standing on a ledge with nothing but
open air beneath me.  My stomach felt like it was literally about to fall
out of my ass!

      "Oh, I'd watch my step if I was you."

      "You could've warned me!"

      "Yeah, I guess I could have," he came up behind me and wrapped his
arms around my waist again, "but where's the fun in that?"

      I absolutely loved when he did that.  Hell, my heart fluttered
anytime he was near me, never mind touching me.  I enjoyed just leaning
back into him and letting him hold me.  We could stand there for hours just
like that and I'd be content.  It was wishful thinking I know, but a nice
thought nonetheless.

      I have to admit it. The sight before me was amazing.  No matter how
many times Q mentioned his floating city, I never fully appreciated it
until I saw the clouds floating so close I swear I could reach out and
touch them.

      "Q how is this possible?" I finally asked, astonished.  "Is this
real?  I swear if you tell me we just traveled back millions of years I'm
going to lose it."

      I felt his smile against my neck when he kissed me.  "No, not quite,"
he said.  "This is merely a recreation of a memory pulled from my thoughts.
It's as real as I need it to be.  Does that make sense?"

      I simply nodded as if I knew what in the hell he was talking about.
I knew asking him for more of an explanation would probably just give me a
headache.

      "Here they come," he said and pointed out two figures in the
distance.

      Two Nave were flying towards us; their long, white wings outstretched
and powerful.  I leaned forward a bit and squinted.  I could've sworn they
were naked.

      I even started to ask Q.  "Are they..."

      Before I could finish my question, the Nave flew over our heads and
landed behind us.  They weren't naked like I believed.  Instead they wore a
simple white cloth around their waist.  The material was somewhat sheer and
didn't leave much to the imagination.  I suppose when you live in a society
with nothing but men modesty goes out the window.

      The Nave themselves were perfect just like I expected them to be.
Nicely toned with tight bodies and asses so firm you could bounce a quarter
off them.  They both had shoulder length, blonde hair although one was a
shade lighter than the other.  Basically they would make great candidates
to model swimwear.

      "Come on," he said, taking me by the hand as we followed behind the
Nave.  I don't think they were aware of us.  At least I didn't believe
that's how this reality from Q's mind worked.

      We went thru some tunnels and winding corridors before we entered a
room that was probably the size of a football field.  At its center was a
huge floating sphere of light with two rings spinning around it.

      The Nave walked closer to the sphere.

      "What in the hell is that?" I asked pointing at the swirling energy.

      "It's the Core," Q answered as he continued to follow his brethren.
"It's pure El'odian energy and what allows Aquaiia to float over Eiyr.  I
can't pretend to know how it works exactly for it was Naveyk's creation.
And to be honest, we never felt the need to question its function.  For us
it's simply the Core.  But that's not what I brought you here."  He pointed
at the two Nave.  "Watch closely and be amazed."

      "Why?" I asked.  "What are they going to do?"

      He grabbed my chin and turned my head towards the Nave.  "Just
watch," he said with a smile.

      They were kissing and it was very tender and loving.  Their bodies
were pressed together while their hands explored each other.  I suddenly
felt very awkward like I was a peeping tom spying on them from behind
bushes or something.  But I wasn't hidden.  I was right there front and
center. Almost close enough to touch them.  If nothing else, I was sure
they couldn't see us.

      "Q this feels wrong on so many levels."

      In that moment they stretched out their wings. One Nave pointed his
wings up above his lover's head.  The other Nave pointed his wings down
towards the ground so his partner was between them.  One thing I noticed
right away was their wings were growing, getting longer.  I watched as they
wrapped their wings around themselves forming a kind of cocoon until I
couldn't see them anymore.

      My curiosity was more than peaked.  I left the safety of Q's side and
circled the feathery shell.  Before I even realized it, my hand reached out
and I touched the cocoon. It was soft like I expected but surprisingly cool
to the touch and my fingers tingled as if there was a slight electrical
current present.

      "What are they doing?" I asked, pointing at the cocoon as I walked up
next to Q.

      He didn't say anything.  Q just looked at me and then looked back at
the cocoon and with a flash of his eyes came a shimmer that made the cocoon
transparent.  We could see inside!  The two Nave were snuggled up inside;
they kissed one last time before resting their heads on each other's
shoulder.  I watched in amazement as they slowly transformed into pure
energy and melted into each other.  It was as if they dissolved into
crystalline ribbons that meshed, and danced and swirled in perfect rhythm
to a song I couldn't hear.  Each ribbon twinkled, as though bathed in
liquid diamonds. Yet they weren't solid or liquid or gaseous in form...they
were ribbons of light energy but...something else...as well. Something
multifaceted, that glinted, and pulsed, and sang and loved. Each ribbon
seemed composed of a thousand threads, each thread composed of a thousand
silken strands, each strand...
      I watched hypnotized.

      It was magic.  These flowing ribbons and threads and strands moved in
unison and yet somehow separately at the same time.  I watch them entwine
one into the other; snaking, tangling, knotting themselves together. They
circled each other over and over again, until the two ribbons were no
longer distinguishable from each other.  They had become a single sphere of
pulsating light...a single sphere of passion.  The two Nave were now truly
one.

      Watching that kind of union or fusion between living beings was
beyond anything I've ever experienced.  It was a wonder beyond words.

      "That's incredible," I said, unable to pull my eyes away.

      "Yes, it is," Q agreed.  I don't think he could have hidden the smile
from his face even if he wanted to.  "In our purest form we can merge in a
fusion of thought, sensation, experiences, and if we so choose...intimacy."

      "Intimacy?  You mean sex?"

      "No, something far more important is going on here, something beyond
the simple concept of human intimacy and sex." Q circled the now
transparent cocoon; the energy within continued to pulsate and swirl.
"They will be joined like this for the next seven weeks until..."  Allowing
his words to trail off, Q backed away from the cocoon and stood next to me.

      I watched in amazement as the orb of light began to settle and split
in two.  Slowly the two halves started to expand and take shape.  Before
long the Nave took their physical form and appeared snuggled up together
but there was something more.  There was a third, smaller sphere of energy
floating between them and it too started to take form.

      "Oh my god..." I whispered and approached the cocoon.

      "We evolved Jacob."

      They created a child; a baby boy that appeared to be around three or
four years of age - if he were human.  I was awe struck.  I had just
witnessed the birth of an El'odian child.  He was curled up between his
fathers with his small wings obscuring him from my sight.  The only thing I
could really see was his tiny butt peeking out from the bottom.  I was
literally on my toes trying to find an angle that would allow me a glimpse
of his face.  All I could see was a tuft of blond hair.  It was so
frustrating!  And then suddenly the cocoon was solid again and I could no
longer see inside.

      "Hey!" I protested.  "Why did you do that?"

      Q simply smiled.

      "So you guys are able to have kids?"

      "Believe me Jacob, no one was more surprised than we were. We had no
idea how or why it happened, but we were grateful.  Our biggest fear was
that our culture would become stagnate without the infusion of fresh blood.
We knew that without the Ai'lea to breathe new life into our society, the
decay of our civilization was inevitable.  Our immortality was irrelevant.
The miraculous birth of this new generation of children changed that; there
was a sense of hope that was lacking since the days of the Ai'lea."

      "Were they all boys?"  I wondered out loud.

      "Yes," Q replied and pointed at the cocoon.  "This child was a
product of his parents as any child would be.  The difference here is this
boy now carries within him all the memories, experiences and knowledge of
his fathers.  This information will slowly unravel in the boy's mind for
years to come until eventually he knows everything his parents did at the
point of his birth.  But for now he's born with the basic ability to speak,
walk and even fly, but that is it.  Oddly enough he won't come into his
true Nave powers until his tenth year."

	"What do you mean?"

	"Nave children are born completely mortal; as mortal as we all were
before Naveyk gifted his sons with immortality.  It remains that way till
this day and again, we don't know why.  What we do know is that exactly ten
years after his birth, the powers hidden with a Nave child will emerge and
he will become immortal.  We can time it down to the very second."

	"That's..." I stopped when I noticed a single feather peel away
from the cocoon and slowly fall to the ground.  I was going to continue but
I noticed a second and then a third feather fall.  Suddenly it was like
someone pulled the single string that was holding the cocoon together
because hundreds of feather began to drop.

	The three emerged naked.  The newest, smallest Nave rubbed his eyes
with the back of his hand.  He was ridiculously cute; flapping his little
wings behind him like a newborn might stretch his limps.  Just as Q said,
the little tyke was able to stand on his own two feet when his father set
him down.

	I smiled at the sight of the new family. There was a glow about
them.  Not a magical, other worldly glow.  It was more like a glow of
happiness...of completeness.  It was the glow of three separate beings who
knew that together they are now one.

	I envied them.

	We followed them out to the same area where Q and I first
appeared. The little boy was speaking to his parents in their native
tongue.  It was just a few words here and there but I was completely
amazed.  Even though I couldn't understand what he was saying, I could
easily tell that his fathers were doing what most parents do.  They were
humoring him.

	I turned to ask Q a question but I was instantly shrouded in his
brilliant aura and taken from that place.  As the light faded my
surroundings became all too familiar once again.  I stood in the middle of
Q's bedroom.  He was looking at me, the light not completely gone from his
eyes.

	"Thank you," I was honored he'd allowed me to witness, no...to
experience...the birth of that new family.  "Did you ever..."  I felt the
heat rise to my cheeks and I looked away from him.

	Q laughed at my inability to finish my question.  "No, I never had
a child of my own."  He walked behind his desk and looked out the window.
"I choose never to bond."

	"And you regret that?"

	"Why do you ask that?" he inquired, looking back at me puzzled.

	"I don't know... something in your voice, I guess."

	"Hmmm..."  Q returned his gaze to the window and never really
answered me.  "Aquaiia was filled with the innocent laughter of children
again and so it was for many centuries to come.  While in Cyprinia we
learned the Skai evolved much in the same manner we did.  No one could say
with certainty which race was the first to bring an El'odian son into
being.  Like many things between our people it was a heated topic of
debate.  I suspect the Great Mother knew.  But, like much of her knowledge,
it was never shared."

	"Why would it matter?"  Feeling a bit bold, I sat in Q's chair and
spun around to face him.  I had the best view in the house.  His hot ass
was right there - eye level - and I wasn't about to complain.

	"You are talking about two races who...at their very core...were
created to prove they are better, stronger, and more powerful than the
other."

	"Gotcha."

	"Eventually even our King had his first son.  I was beyond relieved
when Sol was born.  Finally, the kingdom had a legitimate heir.  At first
there were rumblings of discontent.  For some continued to believe I should
take over, but I was quick to remind our people that I agreed to rule only
if the House of Zet was no more.  With the birth of the prince the line of
kings would continue.

	"To my surprise, I was as much a son in the King's eyes as I was
before Sol's birth.  He loved us both equally.  In fact, I had to remind
him on more than one occasion that I wasn't actually his son.  That he
should show favor to Sol every now and again.  He wouldn't hear of it.

	"Sol and I grew very close and as he got older I was charged with
his training.  Every king before him was skilled with a blade and he would
be no different.  He really did see me as his big brother, and as such,
sought my approval for all he did.  He needed to know I was proud of him.

	"Over a century would pass before Soullen was born and by then Sol
grew to be quite the Nave.  He grew fiercely independent - a little too
independent for the King's liking.  He had a habit of venturing off on his
own without his personal guards to look after him.  I tried to call him out
on it countless time, but he would give grand speeches about how one day he
would be king.  And when that day came, he'd need to know how to fend for
himself without someone looking over his shoulder all the time.  Sol
definitely had a point and I forced myself to turn off the "big brother
switch" and let him be his own person.  I even helped convince his father
to do the same.

	"I started spending more time with young Soullen and, aside from
our training sessions, I let Sol have his space.  But as time went by his
behavior grew more suspect.  He was spending more and more time away from
the city.  There were days he would leave at first light and not return
until late at night.

	"I remember one night I found his father and brother standing at
the edge of the city looking into the darkness, searching for any sign of
Sol.  Soullen was still a mere boy, not even an immortal yet, and he loved
his brother.  Try as I might to reassure him that Sol would return soon, I
could do nothing to quell his fears.  He refused to go to bed until he knew
Sol was safe.

      "I didn't wait for the order.  I summoned a handful of the Royal
Guard to go out and help find him.  The minute I took that first step off
the edge of the city, Sol came flying in like a kid late for curfew.  I'm
not sure I'd ever seen the King so angry.  He, along with several high
ranking members of the court, blasted Sol.  Hell, even I was on his case.
But, true to form, Sol gave the same pushback he always did.  He wasn't a
child anymore.  If we expected him to be king one day we had to trust his
judgment."

      "Oh yeah," I said matter-of-factly, "I know that song and dance all
too well. Of course the whole 'being king' thing never came up with my
parents."

      "It didn't?"  Q sounded genuinely shocked, and I couldn't help but
laugh.  "You come across so kingly I found it hard to believe."

      "I know right?"

      "Suspicions about Sol's actions grew to an all-time high when he
stopped linking to the Eye of Eiyr."

      "The Eye of Eiyr?  What?"

      "Oh yeah." Q snapped his fingers and pointed at me, 'Did I forgot to
tell you about that?"

      I just nodded.

      He leaned back against the window and spread his hand out in front of
him about a foot apart.  "The Eye of Eiyr was about this big, probably a
little bigger than a basketball.  It was an orb Naveyk left behind when he
made us immortal and disappeared.  As was customary, a statue was erected
in his honor in the center of Aquaiia which held the orb for all to see.
There was nowhere in the city you could go where you couldn't see its
radiance.

      "It allowed all Nave to connect thru it."  Q paused for a
moment. "Think of it as a wireless network where a Nave could link his mind
to it and share his thoughts and experience with the rest of the
population.  For example, let's say I discovered a new hot spring I thought
others would enjoy.  All I had to do was link to the Eye and anyone
connected would know exactly where it was.  They'd see it thru my eyes;
feel the water against their skin as if they were there.  We could reach
out and touch the mind of any Nave even if they were on the other side of
Eiyr for it amplified our natural telepathic abilities.  That's why it's
known as the Eye of Eiyr."

      "That seems a bit intrusive don't you think?"

      "Not at all," Q assured me.  "No one was required to link with the
Eye.  And you could control what you wanted to share.  You could easily
share an adventure, and yet keep the more intimate parts of your life
private.  We lived in a pretty open society with very few secrets.  We were
a race that craved knowledge, and therefore shared it willingly.

      "That's why it was so unusual when Sol stopped linking to the Eye
completely.  He obviously didn't want anyone to know what he was doing
while he was alone and away from the city.  He could have kept those
thoughts private but it was like he didn't want to risk making a mistake.
He didn't want to reveal too much.

      "So it was no surprise to me when the King wanted him followed. And
of course the undesirable task of spying on Sol fell on me.  I was close to
him and the King knew I'd be discreet.  The King tried to be fair.  If
Sol's activities were harmless, he told me to keep my findings to myself.
If that were not the case, if Sol was in danger or endangering others, I
was ordered to report back to him.

      "And so I did my duty.  Early one morning I followed Sol as he flew
out of the city and it wasn't a trip around the block, let me tell you.  He
took me to one of the most remote islands in all of Eiyr.  I didn't even
know this place existed. No one ever went out that far.  There was simply
nothing to see.  My curiosity was already peaked just following him over
the vast ocean but it was more so when I landed on the island.  I remember
asking myself, what in the world would bring him out here?

      "I took cover on the mountain side while Sol roamed up and down the
beach.  It seemed like I was watching him forever."

      "How did Sol not know you were watching him, trailing him?  How did
he not notice you on the island?  It's like not noticing the other person
in the room."

      "I was far more powerful than Sol and could easily mask myself from
him.  Trust me, he had no idea I was there.  I was about to leave,
believing the whole venture out there was a colossal waste of time.  But a
shadow caught my eye as I was about to take flight.  I stopped but
everything was still; at least for a moment or two.  I was ready to dismiss
it as my imagination when I suddenly saw Sol get knocked off his feet by
this fast moving shadow.

      "It took me but a second to realize it was a Skai.  In an instant my
swords were drawn and I was flying down that mountain ready to tear it up
with the Skai.  As I got closer I realized they were laughing
together...giggling actually."

      "Nave giggle?" I smirked and bit my bottom lip.  I could never
picture Q just giggling.  Well, actually I could and that was the problem.
It took everything I had to keep myself composed.

      "It's a state secret," Q remarked with a roll of his eyes.  "Anyway,
I was quick to duck behind some tall trees and bushes so they wouldn't see
me.  I was completely dumbstruck by what I was witnessing.  They rolled
around in the sand a bit longer and then they kissed.  A Nave and Skai
kissed!

      "I just couldn't believe it!  I distinctly remember closing my eyes
and shaking my head thinking maybe I was seeing things. That perhaps that
Skai was really another Nave.  But there was no mistaking the Skai's white
hair and obsidian eyes and skin.  To make matters worse it wasn't just any
Skai.  Sol was making out with Juyx, the Prince of Asevaya."

      "You mean the Skai Prince? Damn."

      "Yes!" Q exclaimed and pushed himself off the glass.  Placing both
hands on his head, he walked a few feet away from me and then snapped back
around, slapping the back of his right hand into his palm.  I actually
jumped a little.  "You have no idea of the ramifications of what I was
witnessing.  No idea!"  Then Q leaned back against the window and calmly
folded his arms over his chest.  "My god Jacob...they were in love.  I mean
true, no holding back, to hell with what anyone thinks, love.  Any idiot
could see it within minutes of seeing those two together.  I had an entire
day.

      "I couldn't leave or look away even if I wanted to.  They held me
spellbound.  They laughed, joked and even talked about their lives back
home.  They spoke of how they were tired of sneaking around.  And as with
any lovers, there were times when they just laid in each other's arms in
silence completely content.  I could have easily been watching two of my
Nave brothers.  This wasn't possible.

      "Speaking of the impossible, what they did next was..."  Q broke off
as if he suddenly lost the ability to form words or what he was about to
say was so profound there weren't any words to describe it.  Slowly Q
interlocked his fingers.  "Like two raindrops coming together...they
merged."

      My eyes instantly grew wide.  "You mean like the two we just saw?"

      He nodded.  "The essence of a Nave and Skai...together as one...in a
cohesive sphere of pure thought and energy...it's unthinkable Jacob."  Q
laughed despite himself.  "If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes I never
would have believed it.  Not in a million years and I can honestly say that
because I'm much older than that."

      Now he had me laughing.

      "That's how they spent the rest of the day.  They only separated when
Juyx had to return to Asevaya.  I waited until he was long gone before
approaching Sol.  He was laid out on the sand as happy as can be...that is
until he saw me standing over him.

      "He was so angry at my presence he actually summoned his swords and
attacked me!  I understood his frustration and so I indulged him -
temporarily.  I was after all his brother and confidant and the one Nave he
really admired.  In that moment he felt I betrayed all of that.  Eventually
I disarmed Sol and dropped him on his ass and reminded him that I still had
a duty to our King, his father, and he was the one sneaking around behind
everyone's back.  I gave him a choice.  We could either continue to fight
or we could talk.  And, since my blade was at his throat, Sol choose the
latter

      "I won't bore you with all the details of our long conversation, but
it turned out he'd been seeing Juyx in secret for nearly a decade.  They
met on that very island.  They would often go there individually to get
away from the pressures of home and being a prince.  Years went by before
either of them realized the other was also visiting the secret hideaway.
One day, they simply ran into each other.  And somehow, instead of seeing
'the enemy', they looked at one another and saw 'commonality'.
Miraculously, they understood each other more than they hated each other.
Weapons were never drawn that day; they stood side by side and discussed
the amazing scenery instead.  The rest, as they say, was history.

      "In the end, Sol pleaded with me to not tell his father.  All I had
to do was look at him and he knew exactly what I was thinking.  Someone had
to tell his father the truth.  And that someone had to be him.  Sol knew
eventually the truth would have to come out.  There was no way to keep it a
secret forever.  To this day I give them credit for keeping it a secret as
long as they did.

      "Sol asked me to give him three days.  He felt Juyx had a right to
know and needed time to contact him.  I agreed and laid low for a bit.  I
avoided Aquaiia for fear of being summoned by the King.  I wasn't prepared
to lie him.  I passed the days in Cyprinia visiting with the Great Mother.
I was shocked to learn she had been aware of the relationship between the
two princes.  In fact, she'd been counseling them from the very beginning.

      "I turned to the Great Mother for answers.  I needed to understand
how such a union was possible.  Her response was simple. 'It was
inevitable.'  The way she saw it their union was a natural evolutionary
process, in much the same way as was the ability for the Nave and Skai to
procreate.  It by no means meant that the two races would be merging left
and right; in fact the Great Mother believed Sol and Juyx were one in a
million, but they offered hope in her eyes.

      "We spent the better part of two days debating the implications.  On
the eve of the second day she came to me and told me it was time to go.
Before I could even ask why the Great Mother teleported us to Aquaiia.  We
appeared at the very edge of the city looking out at Eiyr.  On the horizon
I saw Sol flying towards the city.  He was accompanied by Juyx.

      "He was bringing a Skai to Aquaiia!"

      "I'm guessing that never happened before?" I said.

      "Never!  If a meeting had to happen between our people it always
happened on neutral ground.  The only place on Eiyr that we considered
neutral was Cyprinia.  But they were flying over us heading towards the
center of the city.  And as he did, Sol linked with the Eye of Eiyr.  In
that instant he shared with all of Aquaiia his relationship with Juyx.  We
got to feel the intense connection between them; the emotions and love that
bound them together.

	"Stunned by Sol's revelation, the city fell silent.  The people of
Aquaiia simply stood by and watched in utter amazement as Sol and his
beloved made their way thru the city to the royal palace.

	"The King walked out of the palace as his son approached and to
everyone's surprise he welcomed Sol with open arms and a fatherly embrace.
What Sol shared thru the Eye had a profound impact on the people of Aquaiia
and his father in particular.  The King even acknowledged the young Skai as
he would a friend and invited him into his home for 'they had a lot to
discuss'.

	"It took some time but eventually the King was able to accept the
union between the two and, with the help of the Great Mother, Juyx's father
did as well.  The Great Mother had high hopes that this union between the
princes would lead to a real lasting peace between the Nave and Skai."

	"And the people?" I interrupted.  "Are you telling me everyone
accepted them just like that?" I snapped my fingers.

	"God, no.  That would be too easy, but still there with plenty who
embraced them, especially among the younger generations.  There were those
who were cautious of such a union but hopeful.  And then, of course, you
had El'odians on both sides that didn't like it and didn't trust it.  But
there wasn't much anyone could do so life went on.

	"A couple of years went by and things started to look good for both
of our people.  Many of the old disputes were put to rest and it really was
beginning to feel like we were entering an era of peace."  Q sort of
laughed to himself.  "Amazing isn't it?"

	"What is?"

	"That it took only these two to quell the violence and hatred that
plagued us for so long much like the Ai'lea did in their time?  I suppose
what Sol shared with us when he linked to the Eye of Eiyr opened our minds
and hearts to new possibilities.  Don't misunderstand me.  The Nave and
Skai weren't exactly buddies.  We kept each other at arm's length. There
was after all eons of mistrust there.  But Sol and Juyx coupling offered
hope to those who believed in and desired a better tomorrow between our
people."

	"I see," I said pensively.  "So where exactly did you fall?"

	"What do you mean?"

	"Well you said there were basically three sides to all this: those
who were okay with it, those who were cautious but had high hopes, and
those who didn't trust it at all.  Where did you fall?"

	"I remained distrustful of the Skai.  I was in the Royal Guard
after all.  My job was to protect and defend my brothers and our Kingdom.
I could not afford to let my guard down.  Not even for an instant.  But
honestly I had no problem with Juyx.  In fact, their relationship intrigued
me and I respected their courage and conventions."

	I could see the "but" coming a mile away.  Q's demeanor changed and
he looked as if a dark cloud was hanging over his head.  He actually got up
and walked away for a moment then came back.  And with a heavy sigh, he
continued.

	"There was a big celebration for Soullen's Day of Ascension; the
day he came into his powers and became an immortal.  It's the only birthday
we celebrate and since he was a prince there was a big to do about it. The
whole city was alive.

	"That evening one of Sol's guards came and told me the Prince got
word that Juyx needed to see him.  I immediately sensed all kinds of red
flags.  It wasn't that it was late in the evening that caused me concern.
They met at all hours of the day.  But my question to the guard was how
exactly did Sol get 'word' from Juyx?  It's not like a Skai could just fly
into the city with a message for the Prince without all of Aquaiia being
alerted to his presence, you know?"

	"Right," I nodded.

	"Of course when I pose this question to the guard he had no idea
how the Prince got the message because Sol never said and he never thought
to ask.  I immediately tried to reach out to Sol with my thoughts to no
avail.  Not even with the power of the Eye of Eiyr could I touch his mind.
Something was very wrong.  I alerted the King and a patrol was sent out
right away to look for Sol."  Q slowly shook his head.  "We never saw or
heard from Sol again."

	I was anxious to hear what happened next, but when Q fell silent I
didn't dare press for more.  I gave him a moment to collect his thoughts
for it was clear that this memory wasn't an easy one for him to relive.

	"Our search parties turned Eiyr inside out with nothing to show for
it.  It was then that we learned Juyx was missing as well.  For the
briefest moment the Nave and Skai joined together to search for the missing
princes, but it all fell apart when both sides met in Cyprinia after weeks
of searching.  The whole point of the meeting was to share any new
information and come up with a joint plan to find them, but it wasn't long
before the finger pointing started.  The Skai accused us of killing Juyx
and hiding Sol to make it appear like they were both lost.  We accused them
of being such savages they likely killed our prince and their own to hide
their involvement.

	"The meeting quickly broke down after that.  Try as she might, the
Great Mother couldn't keep the peace and for the first time ever we turned
Cyprinia into a battleground.  It was war.  There was no getting around it.
The Great Mothers expelled us from Cyprinia back to our respective cities.

	"This time there would be no grand speech to rally the troops.
Aquaiia lost a prince; the King lost a son; and I lost a brother.  The lust
for retribution was overwhelming and we flew out to meet the Skai in
battle. It was brutal.  After thousands of years we finally gave into our
original design.  We fought for annihilation.  Each side knowing they would
stand victorious in the end.  Thousands of Nave and Skai were killed that
first night.  And yet it was just a prelude of things to come.

	"It set the pace for a war that raged on for months.  There was one
rule: Kill or be killed.  Both sides followed it to the letter and we were
both very good at it.  We were efficient.  Of course that posed a problem.
The war could have gone on for years with no clear victor in sight.

	"One night I was returning to the city with my men after a long and
drown out battle on the frontlines.  Needless to say, I was surprised to
see the city was not where it was supposed to be."

	"The hell?"

	"Exactly!  Since its creation Aquaiia had never moved from its spot
in the sky.  Never.  Just as panic was sitting in we were met by a group of
Nave who were left behind to inform those of us who showed up after the
fact.  Apparently the King decided it was time it put an end to the war.
And so with the combined power of the Nave in the city, the King moved
Aquaiia towards Asevaya.  His plan was to use the city's core to direct a
massive beam of Nave energy into Asevaya, thereby reducing it to ruble and
killing all the Skai once and for all.  I'd been away for weeks and so I
was not involved in the planning of his attack.  I had no idea who came up
it or that it was even possible to use the core in such a way.

	"The very first WMD," I remarked.

	"So it seems," Q agreed, "We flew towards Asevaya to join the
battle, but once we got there what we saw was horrific.  Aquaiia was under
siege, burning, and overrun with Skai.  My men and I hit the streets with
blades swinging as we tried to make our way to the palace to stand with our
King.  Even in the confusion of battle, it didn't take long to discover the
King was nowhere in the palace but in the caverns beneath the city trying
to keep the Skai from the getting to the core.

	"We were cut off from the King but that didn't stop him from
reaching out with his mind.  He wanted to me to locate Soullen and get him
out of the city.  I resisted at first for my place was by his side. But he
was my King and he gave me an order.  I searched the palace for Soullen.

	"I found him hiding in the armory when the unthinkable happened.  I
didn't witness it myself, but from I was told from those who escaped, a
Skai got passed the King and his men and merged his dark energy with
Aquaiia's core.  It resulted in a catastrophic chain reaction that threaten
to destroy the city.  The order to retreat and evacuate the Aquaiia was
given.

	"I lead my people, including Soullen, a safe distance away from the
city.  The King was not with us.  He stayed behind with a group of his
elite guard to give the rest of us time to escape.  I gathered my men to go
back for him but there was an explosion in the city.  It could be seen for
hundreds of miles.  Aquaiia was turned into a massive fireball and fell
from its perch thousands of miles in the sky.  I could only guess the King
and those with him held out until the very last minute."

	"What makes you say that?"

	"Aquaiia slammed into the Skai city; the chances of that are like a
billion to one.  The only thing that we could surmise was that those left
in the city used their power to aim Aquaiia into Asevaya.  The King gave
his life to take out as many Skai as possible; retribution for the loss of
his son.

	"The impact and the subsequent explosion created a blast wave that
encompassed most of Eiyr and destroyed everything in its path.  Millions of
tons of debris hurled into the atmosphere which blocked out the sun and..."

	I threw up my hand in utter shock.  "Are you telling me you were
the cause of the extinction of all life on earth sixty some million years
ago?"

	Q laughed.  "Well not me personally, Jacob."

	I rolled my eyes.  "You know what I mean!"

	"Your scientist believe a meteor struck the planet sixty five
million years ago and caused an extinction level event that killed off the
dinosaurs and almost all other life on earth.  Now you know what really
happened.  It wasn't a meteor, Jacob.  It was Aquaiia slamming into Eiyr."

	"Holy shit!  That's fucking unbelievable!"

	"Believe me it's not our proudest moment...for the Nave or Skai.
The one thing we have in common is our love for Eiyr.  To cause such
massive destruction, well..."

	"I think I understand.  Couldn't your people use their power to
undo the damage?"

	"No," Q shook his head.  "When we were made immortal by the Gods
they ensured we could not affect Eiyr on a global scale.  I suppose it was
a safeguard so no one El'odian could blow us all to hell and back.

	"But things were far worse than causing the extinction of life on
Eiyr.  We could have lived thru it for it had no effect on us.  The
destruction of Aquaiia caused the core to release its energy into the
atmosphere as if it was a geyser of light.  Had it not been for the Skai
fusing his dark energy with that of the core's all Nave would have been
unaffected.  It would have been pure Nave energy being released into the
sky."

	"But that wasn't the case," I added.

	"No it wasn't," Q agreed.  "The energy was corrupt; it became a
poison to both the Nave and Skai.  Any El'odian caught in its path would
have been killed.  It was the equivalent of a human walking into the
radioactive fallout of a nuclear explosion.  And it was slowly spreading
and consuming Eiyr.

	"Only the Great Mother was immune to the corrupted energy.  It was
she who came up with the idea for us to sleep while Eiyr healed herself.
Thousands of us dove down towards Eiyr from high in the sky.  As we reach
the surface we enclosed our wings around us to form a cocoon like you saw
earlier.  We slammed into the ground and buried ourselves hundreds of miles
deep within Eiyr.

	"And so it was that all El'odians slept for tens of millions of
years."

	"That's one long ass nap," I joked.

	Q laughed.  "Yes it was.  We existed as pure energy within our
cocoons and fell into such a deep sleep we lost all track of time.  A
million years could have easily been a day and we would not have known the
difference."

	"That's crazy!  When did you finally wake up?"

	"We've been waking up randomly throughout the years.  I awoke a
little over two thousand years ago.  There doesn't seem to be any pattern,
any rhyme or reason when an El'odian wakes up.  We simply do.

	"I broke thru my protective shell and like a snake I slithered
upwards toward the surface.  I didn't take my Nave form until I was able to
break thru the ground.  As my energy seeped thru the surface I slowly
turned solid and used my hands to pull myself out of the ground.  I was
weak and disorientated with no idea where I was or how much time had
passed.

      "I do remember thinking how different the air smelled.  I don't know
why but that's always my first thought when I think back to that day.  I
laid there for hours gathering my strength and thoughts before I was
approached by a man dressed in strange clothes.  I'm sure I looked just as
strange to him because I was still wearing my armor.  I had no idea he was
human for to me he looked like a Nave and so I spoke to him in our native
tongue and he responded in his.  His thoughts were erratic and made no
sense to me.  I needed to go deeper into his thoughts to get a better
understanding and so I asked him to link his mind with me, but obviously we
weren't getting anywhere.  He didn't understand me.

      "Finally I just grabbed him by the head and drained his life energy
so I could absorb his thoughts as I would with a Nave.  In a matter of
seconds I knew everything he knew; his language, all his memories, the
world history as he knew it...everything."

      "Then I don't understand," I protested.  "Why can't..."

      "Why can't I do the same to you and learn about your hidden past?
Because when I finally released him, he was dead.  I literally sucked the
life out of him leaving nothing but a dried up corpse that looked like it'd
been dead for decades.  That's what would happen to you Jacob.
Unfortunately humans cannot survive the process we use to probe deep into
your minds."

      "Oh..."

      "Like I told you before, we can only read what's on the surface
without causing you any harm.  At any rate, from the man I learned he was a
centurion heading home to a city called Rome; more importantly I learned
about humanity.  A new race had evolved during our slumber and he had no
knowledge of El'odians.  I found that very disturbing.

      "Even though I was awake, my powers were still very much asleep. It
took me about a day to gather enough strength to reach deep inside myself
and summon the full force of my Nave power.  In that moment when the surge
of Nave energy raises to the surface other Nave can detect it.  It's like a
fly hitting a spider's web.  The web vibrates.  The Nave web vibrated and
that's how my brothers found me.

      "Shaun was one of the Nave who came to find me.  He awoke just months
before I did.  I linked with him right away and within minutes I was up to
speed on everything.  The first Nave awoke about six centuries earlier and
so I had six hundred years of history downloaded into my mind.  It was
refreshing to have my thoughts ordered and focused.  There were eighty six
Nave at the time.  Our priority was to locate newly awoken Nave.

      "With my appearance the question of who should lead was brought to
the table.  And like always I had no intentions of rocking the boat since
we already had a leader in place.  We did reorganize a council of five with
Kyrios as the head.  It seemed fitting to adopt the title given to me by
our King for the new leader of the Nave.

      "It wasn't until a couple of centuries later that we discovered we
could pass on our essences to human males to make them one of us; a
full-fledged Nave with all our power and the long history of our people.
It was then that The Brotherhood was born.  So it's a little older than
what we lead you to believe when we gave the brief history on The
Brotherhood."

      "You call two thousand years 'a little?'" I laughed and playfully
punched him on his leg.

      Q merely shrugged.  "And here we are.  I think you've had enough of a
history lesson for now."

      "What?  No!  What happened during that time?"

      Now Q laughed at me.  "Relax Jacob.  You'll find out in due time.  I
just wanted to give you the basics of who we are, where we came from, and
how we came to be.  I'm not saying the last two millennium weren't
interesting because believe me they were, but that's a story for another
time.  The short of it is we had to learn to deal with humans.  We hid from
them while growing our power and influence over the years to make us what
we are today. "

      I sat back in the chair and took a moment to take it all in.  Q just
gave me a history lesson to top all history lessons.  If my 10th grade
U.S. History class had been even half as exciting, I might have stayed
awake thru more of it.  The origin of the El'odian was an amazing story.
My head spun at the mere thought of how long they've been around.  It kind
of changes your perspective on things you thought you knew.

      "I have a question for you."

      "Okay..."

      "How is that we look so much like you?  I mean without your wings and
crazy powers the Nave and human beings look alike.  How's that possible?
It can't just be coincidence."

      "Ah yes," he smiled.  "You know every single pledge asks that same
question.  Well, we believe when Naveyk's radiance rained down across the
land to make us immortal, his energy somehow became the catalyst for human
evolution.  We've been investigating this for centuries because like you
said, it's not mere coincidence."

      "Uh huh," I nodded.  "So basically you're saying humankind was the
byproduct of your immortality?"

      "Basically."

      "Well that's lovely."

      I got up from the chair and walked around the room until I stopped in
the center and looked at Q.  Everything he told me was still racing thru my
mind.  My heart pounded in my chest but not because I was afraid of what I
just learned.  Quite the opposite in fact.  I was excited beyond belief.
It's the kind of excitement that made me want to jump online and create a
blog titled "You'll never fucking believe this".

      "Will all your human brothers eventually be turned into a Nave?"

      "That's the plan," he answered with a slight nod.

      "Why wait?  Why not just make them all Nave right off the bat?"

      Q laughed.  "My you're certainly fired up all of a sudden."

      "I'm sorry.  I'm just trying to understand."

      "No need to be sorry, Jacob," he assured me.  "Questions are good.
I'm glad to see you feel comfortable enough to ask what's on your mind."

      I smiled.

      "There are two reasons why some of our brothers are still human.
First, we want to make sure they keep their human perspective on things
when we send them out into the world.  The Nave really can't see or feel
things thru human eyes.  Our human brothers are our connection to you, our
connection to humanity.  Secondly, when a Nave passes on his gift to a
human he won't be able to do it again for another forty to a hundred years
depending on the Nave.  We give a big part of ourselves when we transform a
man into a Nave and it takes a while for us to rebuild what was given.
It's like recharging a battery."

      "So what happens to a human brother if he gets sick, old, or just
dies from any of the number of things that can kill us?"

      Pushing himself off the window, Q stood behind his chair and gestured
for me to come over and have seat.  "Let me show you something," he said as
I sat down in front of him.  Q reached over and tapped the computer monitor
in front of me.  The screen rippled as if he placed his finger on the
surface of a still pond.  After a few moments it settled and an image of
the downstairs living room appeared on the screen.

      "I'm going to go ahead and guess that there really isn't a camera
downstairs."

      "No there isn't."  Q pointed at the old man on the screen.  "Remember
him?"

      "Yeah that's the old guy that was in the papers.  He's a senator,
right?  The paper said he passed away from natural causes, but obviously he
didn't since he's still snoring it up downstairs."

      "Do you remember his name?"

      "Um, John something." I paused for a moment.  "No wait!  It was
James."

      "James K. Polk."

      I snapped my fingers.  "Yeah that's it.  Why? What's the big deal?"

      "The name doesn't sound familiar to you?  Think back to your American
history class back in high school."

      I thought about it for a moment and came up blank.  "I got nothing."

      "My god!"  Q slapped me in the back of the head.  "And you got an A
in that class.  I'm so writing someone a letter after we're done.  James
Knox Polk was the 11th president of the United States."

      "Okay," I shrugged.  "So what?  Is he like a descendant of his?"

      "No, that's actually former president James K. Polk."

      "What?" I nearly shouted and spun my chair around.  "How's that even
possible?"

      Turing me back around, Q leaned into my ear. "Watch," he said and
kissed me.  "I'll be right back."  Q was already walking on to the screen
before I could ask him where he was going.

      He shook James to wake him up and when he did he was overly excited
to see Q.  They spoke for a good five minutes or so but I could only see
them not hear what they were saying.  Eventually Q stood directly in front
of James and placed his hands on the old man's face.  I watched in awe as
Q's radiance poured out from his hands and washed over James.  I couldn't
even see the old senator anymore for he was completely bathed in light.
After about thirty seconds the light dissipated and all that remained was a
young man who appeared to be in his early twenties.

      "Holy shit," I whispered.

      The young James stretched his limbs and cracked his neck.  It looked
like he thanked Q before taking off.  Q looked up at me and waved.

      "Now do you understand?" Q asked from behind me.

      I fucking jumped out of my skin.  "Don't do that!"  I spun around to
face him.  "You damn near gave me a heart attack."

      He just smirked.

      "So you guys are a walking, talking fountain of youth."

      "As you can see our human brothers are well cared for and enjoy a
measure of immortality thru their Nave brothers.  There's no human illness
we can't cure, no wound we can't heal.  If we get word that one of our
brothers is sick we go to them immediately."

      "Let's say you're too late and they die. What happens then?"

      "So long as we get to them within thirty three hours we can bring
them back."

      "That's seems pretty specific."

      "Doesn't it though?  The truth is we don't know why the window is
thirty three hours long.  It's one of the things about ourselves we're
still trying to discover.  Even after all this time we don't have it all
figured out...not quite yet."

      Leaning back against the chair, I ran my hands thru my hair
completely blown away yet again.  Just when I thought it couldn't get any
crazier Q drops another bombshell on me.

      "So why hasn't he been made a Nave by now?  If you're telling me he
was the 11th president that means he's been around for a long ass time."

      "It's simple.  James enjoys what he does.  He's earned the right to
be gifted with immortality but he turns it down every time.  He enjoys the
human experience too much I think.  We're okay with that.  The Brotherhood
has big plans for James."

      "Okay that's what I don't get," I said, throwing out my hands in
frustration.  "What is the point of all this?"

      "I don't understand the question."

      "Well clearly you guys are incredibly powerful beings but yet you
decided to infiltrate colleges around the country and probably the world to
do what?  I get recruiting guys to turn to Nave so you can grow your
numbers, keep the species going.  But then you send your human brothers
into the workforce to become lawyers, doctors, senators and even
presidents.  That I don't get.  What's the motivation behind it?  What's
the Brotherhood trying to get out of it?"

      "You're sharp Jacob," Q said just before a big smile appeared on his
face.  "I knew I picked the right guy.  You're the only pledge to ever ask
me that."  Turning my chair around to face the computer, Q reached over so
my head was between his arms and started typing on the keyboard.  He pulled
up an encrypted file.

      "Take a look," he offered before walking around the desk to sit
opposite of me.

      I looked thru the file and was amazed.  It was a list of Nave
brothers and their respective careers over the years.  A lot of these guys
were powerful men.  CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, senators, congressmen,
and they previously had four brothers who held the office of the vice
president and three that were actually in the oval office including James
Polk.  There were several governors and plenty of mayors who were currently
in office.  They had brothers in all branches of the military and many were
in high ranking positions; two of which were currently serving as members
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.  The Brotherhood was everywhere.  And I was
just looking thru the list for this country.  I could only imagine what
they were doing internationally.

      I probably looked thru this massive list for about ten minutes
without saying a word to Q.  I was finally able to pull myself away from
the screen and sat back for a moment.  I started laughing out of nowhere at
the craziness going thru my head.

      "What's funny?" Q asked and sat back himself while he interlocked his
hands before him.

      "I'm looking at this and I can't help but think chess."

      "Explain."

      "Well it looks to me like the Brotherhood is strategically placing
its members in all the right places like you would on chessboard."  Again,
I couldn't help but chuckle at myself and pointed at the screen.  "If I
didn't know any better I would say the Brotherhood was trying to take over
the world or something."

      I laughed and laughed and laughed.  The only problem was that Q
wasn't laughing along with me.  He was dead ass serious and staring at me
with that knowing look.  I felt the heat coming up from my body and warming
my face.

      "Oh my god," I whispered.

      "Checkmate..."


__________

To reach chapter 20 join: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/theinnercircletbh/

So there you have it - the 19th chapter of The Brotherhood, I hope you
liked it.  I will definitely continue the story, no problem, but it really
depends on you guys.  If you enjoyed what you read so far and would like to
read more please drop me an email at thewriterxx@aol.com or post in the
group.

Your Lord and Master,

X