We Were Once Strangers
Two brothers find themselves on the same battlefield at the end of their lives. Both were raised under the same surname but with two strikingly different recounts of childhood. John, marred by torture at the hands of his stepmother, and Ivan, doted upon by everyone due to John's constant absence. Hardly anyone knew why the eldest twin seemed a lightweight, good-for-nothing, lazy waste of air. No one could imagine the fair Lady of the Nithe could do something as horrid as abuse a stepson when she treated his twin brother so well. Even his all-knowing, all-mighty father didn't know he was being scorned every day of his life. When both brothers fight as brothers in arms in a war against an invading kingdom across the sea, they discover things about each other they did not know. And it takes an entire war for them to conclude that they sorely wish they had the chance to really be brothers. But for them, it's a little too late. The Wraiths of the North have nearly won, and the two brothers are fatally injured. The eldest, John, steps forward to protect his dying little brother Ivan one last time. As Ivan takes his brother's corpse into his arms, he gets an idea that could save them and the Empire, but if it doesn't work, he'll end up making John's sacrifice a vain effort. If it worked, he'd pledge his life to John, his oh-so tragic big brother, whom he's come to love at the end of everything.…