Brahvan, the Brave

“Wait,” Kars said, coming out of his genius to notice that other people were around, “isn’t that Brahvan, the Barbarian?”

Rhun glanced over his shoulder then nodded. “Yeah, he works with us sometimes, and this is one of those times.”

“But… but he’s evil,” the boy hissed, peering over his spectacles at Rhun. He began to turn pale then and breathed out, “Are we evil?”

Sometimes his naïveté could be rather humorous, and for a moment Rhun was fully prepared to have a bit of fun with the young man. Then he remembered the last time he had done that, and how Kars had nearly killed them all with some device he’d invented….

Rhun decided to tell the truth. “Let’s step outside for a few minutes, have a mint stick.” Kars had a ridiculous inclination for the crunchy children’s snack, and he followed the former knight outside, munching quietly. “Brahvan is a bit complicated. And there’s not really a quick way to explain, so I’ll start from the beginning.

“A decade ago, he was called Brahvan the Brave, and he was contracted by a cleric to be a bodyguard and find some fancy artifact. The cleric called it the ‘Sword of Light,’ but your guess is as good as mine as to why. They had a mage with them as well, and they began scouring the world for this special sword. Well, something began to change in Brahvan. At first the cleric thought he was going mad. It wasn’t your average evil stuff though. There was no steady decline into temptation; Brahvan was just suddenly having inclinations toward pure butchery.

“Thankfully, the cleric was pretty smart. He discerned eventually that Brahvan was not going mad; the mage had paid a Druid to place an enchantment on Brahvan and things became very dangerous. The cleric was good and the mage was evil and the spell that had been placed on Brahvan made all good things hated and all evil things beloved.

“Brahvan nearly succumbed to the power of the spell.”

“What happened? Did the cleric free him?”

Rhun paused and shook his head. “No, he’s still under the enchantment. But you’re skipping ahead.

"Brahvan would rage like a maniac, laying waste to trees and talking about cutting down men like scrub brush. They had to start avoiding villages and towns, coming up with excuses to keep him away from normal people before he ended up slaughtering innocents. The cleric feared for his life, but had no means of escape, and he felt some responsibility for it all. After all, he had allowed the mage to join them in the first place. But what could he do? They came to the fabled room of the sword, and, out of options, he finally told Brahvan everything. He told him of his evil inclinations, told him of the spell.

“The mage grew angry, of course, began to state his case, to defend his actions and explain how the world needed him to summon the Master of Darkness (or something) to cleanse it. The Sword of Light was about to fall into the hands of a mad man who wanted to watch the world burn.

“The cleric tried to stop him from wielding it; he used his Talents to seal the iron chains that had encased it for years, hoping it would make it immobile. But Brahvan is a monster. He took up the sword, chains and all.” 

“I saw that sword,” Kars said in awe. “It clinked at me when he walked in. I didn’t realize…. How does he still have it?”

“I’m getting there. Don’t rush me.” Rhun munched on his own stick a moment, letting the boy stew. “The time came for Brahvan to make a decision. Did he believe the mage wanted what was good? Or did he believe the cleric did?

“And that’s the moment Brahvan, with the worst intentions possible, saved the world.”

“What?”

“He decided the mage was the hero of the story; he chose to believe him that giving him the sword would purify the world, and that’s not an evil choice at all. And Brahvan was now evil. That meant the mage had to die; his plan of releasing the Master of Darkness was ended, and the cleric, the mortal enemy of the mage, must be evil.”

“I don’t get it,” Kars said, blinking blankly.

“Brahvan has to be the villain now,” Rhun said. “So we pretend we’re villains, too, and he helps us save the world.”

“We… pretend?”

“Mmhm.”

“I’m not a very good actor,” Kars said after a moment of consideration.

“Best not talk to him too much then.”

The warning was barely complete before Brahvan followed them out. Red-eyed and looming, he slapped Rhun on the back once and asked with a guttural voice, “Ah, comrade, here you are. When shall we feast on the flesh of our enemies and bathe the flanks of their steeds in the blood of their masters?”

“The wicked wizard here has a few things left to prepare,” Rhun said, gesturing for Kars to go back inside. The boy hurried away without trying to look like he was hurrying.

“And Michon?”

“Michon?” Rhun echoed.

“I’ve heard he’s turned noble.” The Barbarian’s eyes seemed to glow slightly.

“He would hardly dare show his face around here then.”

Brahvan chuckled, then laughed heartily. “True, comrade, true! He would get a face full of fist if he did! And then the darkest tortures a man could concoct for such betrayal.”

Kars returned, dressed in a black cloak, the hood pulled up. Rhun coughed and choked a little on his snack. The boy really did look a bit like a dark wizard in that get-up.

“I am prepared,” he intoned, and Rhun scratched at his nose to hide his grin.

“About time!” Brahvan roared. “Let us lay waste to the armies of light!”

“Yep,” Rhun said, hefting his own sword onto his shoulder. “Let’s go destroy an army. Kars, you’ll have charge of the defenses when we reach the gate.”

“And I have charge of the charge,” Brahvan said, and guffawed at the horrible pun.

Two hours later, Rhun and Kars returned to the tavern, a bit worn, but not much worse for it.

“I don’t understand,” Kars said, shaking his head. “How did he not know that they were really the villains? I mean, I tried to play it up, but…. There was necromancy going on on the other side. Isn’t that pretty obvious?”

Rhun nodded. “Did you see him stop to think?”

“No. He just charged into them like a boulder. I’ve never seen anything like it, the way he was throwing things about.”

“Exactly. It’s an important lesson everyone has to learn, Kars: the person most able to fool you is yourself. He couldn’t stop the spell, so he changed himself to counter it.” He paused and the lanky young man stopped beside him. “Because he’s a hero, Brahvan the Brave still wields the Sword of Light to defend the world.”

Kars was quiet for a long moment, his eyes on the dirt path, then he raised them to Rhun and said, “I’m going to find a way to free him.”

Rhun grinned and patted him on the shoulder. “I was hoping you might say that.”