A long time ago, at the time of the great wars of Eire and Greece, there were two brothers named Seamus, and Amen. Seamus was just shy of 2 meters tall, and topped out at 20 stone.Amen, the smarter of the two, was just a bit shorter, at 1 meter 90,but only weighed about 15 stone..They were the best of friends, but still fought like brothers would.

They had both fought valiantly against the Grecians ,and had both gotten wounded.Seamus would chide Amen by saying "I got cut by a sword my height, taking off my hand,and you just got cut by a dagger, losing just a finger,Hahaha." Amen would stare at his brother,not knowing what to say,not of fear,but of love for Seamus. They were the only children of Laratel and Loka, and the reason for this, we will get into shortly..They had a multitude of cousins, as Laratel alone had 6 brothers, and 4 sisters, all of them with good size families of their own..

On the day they were born,Amen arrived first.
He was a small baby, weighing about 3Kgs. Seamus, on the other hand, was born a full 7Kgs,and caused the death of their mother when he was brought unto this world.. With her dying breath, Loka asked Laratel to raise the boys like they were complete equals,then she closed her eyes and slept the sleep of the Angels..

Laratel tried his best with the boys,but,it was difficult for a single man to raise two boys alone..He moved onto his brothers' land, and his brother's wife watched after the boys along with her own..

By the time the boys were 3,there was a big difference not only in size,but in attitude,and strength. This only grew over time. What also grew over time were tempers,and their love for each other.. Their philosophy was that they could rile,fight,and terrorize each other,but no one else had better attempt to do this..

Amen, for what he lacked in size,made it up by having the heart and wit of two lions. Seamus, having the strength of two bulls,had a laziness about him, and would often slack off at his chores,knowing that Amen would pick up the slack, to save them both from their Father's hand. Even though, at 15,Seamus was already looking south to see his Father's eyes, he wouldn't dare tempt the fates.

When they turned 18, they both thought that they had enough of living out in the fields,and they set out together for the the sites of the world.
They were on their way to Ulster, when they were approached by a group of soldiers. The soldiers asked them if they would fight for their country, and for The Crown. The brothers knew nothing from crowns, but would fight for a free Eire.
They were taken to the barracks of King Conor himself. The King had an interest in meeting all new prospects,and was intrigued by the brothers after the introduction. He told them he needed to see them fight,and wanted them to fight each other.
They looked at each other,and jointly asked the King to say again his request. The King looked at them brashly, and started to become irate at the boldness of these two. Amen, the wiser, spoke to the King as a courtesan would. "Your Highness, we were born of the same Mother, and would request to fight ten men, than to fight each other."

The King, being a brother as well, understood the situation. He called for the Captain of the Watch to bringforth 10 men for the brothers' test.
An hour later,and with 8 men laid-out, the King decided he'd seen enough.He called again for the Captain, but this time to bring equipment for his two newest soldiers. Seamus ate like a horse at supper,like usual,but Amen ate little.

Later, at night, Amen asked Seamus what he'd have done if the King insisted they'd fought each other. Seamus said he didn't know,but was happy Amen was so quick-witted,and spoke before that was a needed reality,for to refuse a King meant possible death,a flogging at least.

As their Father had trained them for battle, there was little that the two had to learn from the soldiers,save the knowledge of the weaponry, and tactics of battle itself.
They had used logs for spears as children,and had play-fought at least a thousand times.The training went quickly for the two,and was tiring for neither,for as a team, they were unbeatable.
They were brought to the attention of one of the fiercest Warrior soldiers of the time,Cuchulain.

It was told that Cuchulain would change into the Devil himself in battle, and go into such a frenzy, that he'd kill friendly troops as well, if they happen to get into his way.

Cuchulain was the nephew of King Conor,and respected his Uncle's ideals. He also liked the thought of these brothers fighting for Conor, and got along with them famously. He would sit and tell them tales of war,but left out details that he himself could not remember,for the frenzy was upon him at the time of battle..

Amen and Seamus would listen quietly for hours without a word parting from their lips, mouths open in awe. Of the battles, the women, the bounties of War.. They had never heard such stories from their dear Father, nor from their Uncles..

The day came,not long aft, that the brothers had to prove their keep to the King.By this time, they were getting along well in the army of the King,and had been entrusted to lead the Kings' men into battle,alongside Cuchulain.

When they arrived at what was to be the battle field, they both felt a sudden longing for home, as most soldiers do when this time arrises.
But,they knew that they had a job to do, as the safety of the Emerald Isle could wane on this date. As inexperienced as they were, they were better prepared than most of the others, even those a few years older. The day passed along, and they watched as the Grecian soldiers prepared for this battle as well.They were the foreigners here,as this was not Eire.They had travelled for two weeks on a ship that had too few bunks, and enough room for only half the men theirs' held, and had marched the rest of the way.

They hadn't seen Cuchalain during this time, he had arrived on his chariot, pulled by the Grey of Macha,and the Black of Sainglend.

At dawn,when the moment of Honour arrived,the Brothers took their place alongside Cuchalain,and led the men into what they themselves knew not.

When the first of the Grecian soldiers met them, Amen took him out at his knees, and Seamus took off his head. They had no time to think, as the rest of the army was shortly behind this fallen man.The brothers fought well alongside eachother, and saved each others' hides many times. As the battle got fiercer, they lost sight of eachother, and this they feared most. Seamus got into a battle with a man just slightly smaller than himself, and bore his sword down on the man's head with such force that it knocked Seamus off his feet. When he hit ground, it happened that his head hit squarly upon the soldier's sheild, and this was his soft spot. He blacked out,but soon awoke to searing pain. His eyes opened, and he found that his sword was between himself and the two Grecians that were bearing down upon him.

He rolled to his side, and got up quickly, and tried to find a weapon.He picked up a dagger that the first Grecian was wearing on his waist, as this was all that was available. As the first Grecian raised his sword to fell Seamus, he saw his dear brother Amen coming up quickly upon them. Amen had his sword raised overhead with two hands, and he let out a yell that was talked about for years. The first Grecian still bore down upon Seamus, but the second turned to meet his Death. As big as Seamus was, a dagger will never equate with a sword, and he was losing the battle quickly. He lost his concentration, and started to flail with the dagger in his right hand, and used his left to attempt to grab hold of his enemy. With Amen still 10 meters off, the Grecian bore his sword down upon the hand of Seamus, cutting it off in one fell swoop. He screamed out in pain, just as Amen arrived to save his brother from certain death.

The Grecians' attention now diverted towards Amen, Seamus picked up the dagger again, and came up behind the Grecian. As it is a soldiers' Honour to fight face to face, he instead brought the dagger around the stomach of the enemy, and sunk it deep into his stomach from behind. He then heard Amen yell out in pain, and thought the Grecian had done his brother in. He worked his way around the enemy, still holding onto the dagger,to find that Amen's hand was there as well, and that he, Seamus, was the cause of his brother's pain.

The battle was over within an hour hence, and both Amen and Seamus fought well.

There was never another word spoken of this mishap between them. Not because of anger, but out of a love that brings families so close.

They both settled down and had huge families, Seamus' of course being bigger, and Amen's being the wiser. The stories are still told around the skirts of Ulster of a bond that can't be bettered

*applaudes Sully* ............. well done, Sul !! Tis a beautiful story ..... *whispers to Sul .. just like me and typan * LOL

*clapping* Great story Sully More Sully!!

PLease, another tale! Well told!