http://www.classicreader.com/book/995/28/The emperor was tricked by his deceitful and jealous step mother after he happily married a young woman named Laptitza who bore him two twin sons with stars on their heads, just as she had promised him before their marriage. The emperor’s step mother buried the sons outside before the emperor even knew he was a father, she replaced the boys with puppies. Thinking he was tricked by his own wife, the emperor buried her in the ground up to her neck to let her live her shame in front of everyone. The emperor married his step mother’s daughter who knew the truth of the boys birth and demise. From the burial spot of the boys though, grew two large and magnificent aspen trees, the trees haunted his wife so but the emperor found himself inextricably comforted and drawn to them. In an attempt to get rid of the trees, she had them made into beds for her and her husband. The beds haunted the empress, keeping her awake through the night while the comforted the emperor. Soon they were replaced by normal beds and burned but from the flames they were born into fish, twin fish who were caught by a fisher and spoke to them. They gave the fisher instructions on what to do with them and after following their instructions, the twins were born again into this world as baby boys. They grew astonishingly quick in a course of days and returned to the palce to confront their father’s wife and tell the truth of their story. After telling their tale and proving that they were the true sons of the emperor, things were as they should have been with the boys and their parents happy together as a family and the evil step mother dragged along the ground by horses. After finally being accepted by their father and freeing their mother from her shame, they boys did their best to reinsert themselves back into daily life. It was a challenge as they were only really weeks old with the bodies of men. It was an awkward fit in their new lives, but after several years they started adjusting.
The boys started to grow apart as they grew older. Claus felt betrayed by his father and could never forgive him for the way his mother was treated. He was angry that he was only accepted by his father after having gone through several ordeals and proving himself. Lucas was more forgiving, easily letting his family back into his life and training for the day that he and his brother would take over the empire. He was just happy to have a family who loved him. His mother had forgiven their father for the past so Lucas saw no reason to hold a grudge.
Lucas spent most of his days as a child with his mother, reading and learning. He was more interested in scholastics and music than he was in combative arts. He asked his father if he could have more tutors when they were younger as he wanted to learn everything he could. The emperor, amused by the boys vigor complied and even got him a tutor in music and art. Lucas never excelled in playing music but that didn’t dim his love for it, he turned out to be quite the painter though. He expressed all his emotions, his anger, and his feelings of inadequacy and distrust in his art. He learned to forgive and to move on and even started having a healthier relationship with his father.
He was an odd child, often in his own little world, thinking everything was fine and everyone was good. He never was interested in palace intrigues, he never dirtied his hands with politics or scandal, everything seemingly went over his head. He would talk to his mother about all the good things he would do when he was made emperor in the future, he was under the impression that he and his brother would change the world together. He was, altogether, mistaken.
One night, when the boys had only lived fifteen years, they went hunting with their father. Lucas became separated from the others only to hear his brother screaming for help minutes later. He found his father and brother not too far off, his father bleeding and sputtering, barely holding on to life. The boys brought him back to the palace but it was too late, he died the next morning from the apparent hunting accident. It had not been settled as to how the empire would have been split up between the boys so the fighting began. The empire was completely split in half, one side supporting Claus’s total domination of the kingdom, the other half wanting Lucas to have total control. Lucas knew that his brother could not be held responsible for an entire kingdom but he did not want to take away his right to the throne. Claus wanted total domination but he hid his power hungry nature from his brother. War broke out among the people of the kingdom while the brothers remained apparently neutral.
The body count was rising and Lucas was getting anxious, ridden with anxiety he asked his brother what they should do. Claus suggested they travel out of the empire to get advice from a distant relative. Lucas was not suspicious of his brother at all, but he should have. Claus had plans to dispose of his brother and go back to the empire, sole ruler of their people. Lucas was spared though, when the brothers heard a strange piping they couldn’t resist. They were lead to a fork in the road and met by a man who asked them simply if they were good or bad. Lucas answered quickly “Good!” and was sent on his way, he turned back to see his brother heading down a different road.
