Stories > The Brothers de Morte

The Brothers de Morte – The Sons of Khorne

by Verbal Kint

It has been said since their birth that the Brothers de Morte were doomed to follow Chaos from the beginning. The three siblings, Kalideur, Bernard, and Alexander, were all illegitimate offspring, given life in the land of Bretonnia by a common woman. How she became impregnated with such children is beyond common knowledge, although the rumor states that a drunken traveler passing through the town in which she resided had raped her.

The birth of the three children was long and violent. Screams could be heard from where she was giving birth. The first of the three brothers was Kalideur. Next came Bernard and then the youngest, Alexander. Unfortunately, these children would never be able to experience the warmth of being held in their mother's arms, for she passed on into the other world while giving birth to Alexander, an occurrence for which the youngest son had never been forgiven. It was the death of their mother that earned the brothers their surname, de Morte.

Finding a home for the triplets was not easy. They were seen as damned and tainted, often times, families only agreed to take in Kalideur and Bernard, but not Alexander, for was seen as being held responsible for the death of his mother. Yet luckily they found refuge in the home of a poor Bretonnian minister by the name of le Bon. The le Bon family was known throughout the kingdom as being one of the most generous and caring in the land, despite their social standing and financial short comings. The kind minister's mate was a humble, loving housewife. The two of them together produced one son of their own, Voltaire, who, almost as soon as he could speak, aspired to be a knight of the realm.

The le Bon family did not lie to the de Mortes. They told them, as soon as they could understand, of their origin, and the fate that was bestowed upon their mother. Out of them all, it was Kalideur that soon possessed the greatest strength of the three brothers. He showed much ambition and ruthlessness, and was very prone to playing pranks on his youngest brother, Alexander. Kalideur paid little attention to Voltaire, as he thought the child was insignificant compared to he, but instead worried about proving his worth to his three brothers. Alexander developed a quick rivalry with his older brother, but could never quite match his strength. Their stepfather was aware of the conflict from the start, and was there to stop it at its most violent moments. With Voltaire's aspirations, and Kalideur and Alexander's constant fighting, it was hard to give equal attention to Bernard, who suffered the most, mentally from the life he was given.

It is commonly said that being the middle child is the hardest, and there is no better embodiment of that statement than Bernard. Being paid attention to the least, he quickly looked for a way to reverse that. In it he found Voltaire. Voltaire, being the only birth son of the le Bon family, and the purest, was given the most recognition by their father, and Bernard wanted that same recognition. The rivalry that had developed between Kalideur and Alexander had now developed between Bernard and Voltaire, although Voltaire never contributed to it much. Rather it was Bernard who created the tension between the two, Voltaire just happened to be the target. No matter what it was, whatever Bernard did, Voltaire seemed to do twice as well, and this drove Bernard almost to the brink of madness. Persuaded by Kalideur, Bernard went as far as to kill Voltaire's favored steed after losing to it in a race. This greatly saddened their father, and while Bernard was quick to point the finger at Kalideur, Kalideur was just as hasty to deny his involvement with it. It was a classic case of guilty until proven innocent, and the deck was stacked against Bernard. He was thrown into the family cellar for a month's time, but he was not alone. While he was down there, Bernard's rage against life grew. Upon his reinstatement amongst the le Bon family, he became susceptible to fights amongst the household. He became almost unpredictable and unstoppable. He was sent to mages for help, to the wisest men in the land, but none could diagnose his plight. While everyone else saw such traits as a detriment to one's character, Kalideur saw it as a great strength. Still young and ignorant, Kalideur took to killing animals in hopes he would be granted the same gifts, yet he did it more in secret than his younger brother had. Their father was at a total loss of thought as to who was responsible for the slaughter his livestock. Alexander was the next to follow, and while their middle sibling was away being treated, both Alexander and Kalideur took to the streets and started ridding the land of Bretonnia of society's trash who no one would miss.

As time passed by, the three brothers soon united in a common cause to reap chaos in their small village, and yet, no one suspected it was they; for some one their age could not possibly be capable of committing such terrible acts of violence. Searches and death warrants were put out for the man or men responsible for leaving in the streets the mutilated bodies of the homeless, the disemboweled corpses of sheep, and the severed limbs of cows. Yet there was one watchful eye that knew it was the Brothers de Morte who were to be held responsible for these acts. It was the eye of Khorne, and he blessed the brothers with a lust for carnage, and Kalideur with the gift of opportunity.

Barely two decades old, Voltaire left to be trained for acceptance into the ranks of the Bretonnian knights, and Alexander and Bernard left to seek the aid of an Empire wizard for help with their father's studies. Voltaire came home vigilant and successful, and there wasn't a thing in the Old World that could crush a spirit such as Voltaire's. But going home was half the journey, opening the door started a whole new one.

Upon his entrance into his home, he found the door somewhat open. He thrust it ajar, only to find himself victim to a terrible prank. As he opened the door, a small milk pale smashed into his head, poring a warm, thick liquid down his face and his clothes, smearing against his new, polished shiny army. Wiping it from his temple, he soon found out the liquid was blood, and as he looked up, he saw the naked, gutted corpses of his parents nailed to the wall in front of him, their organs hanging from several large gashes in their abdomens. From the look on their still faces, it could only be assumed that this was done while they were still alive. On the ceiling above was written, in his parent's own gore, the single phrase “Blood for our Father.” It didn't take much time for Voltaire, now scarred beyond repair, and with a thirst for honorable vengeance, to realize it was Kalideur who was responsible for such a gruesome act, and that his brothers would all ready be joining him in the grip of Chaos. Voltaire's new quest was not one for a religious artifact, but one for revenge, and the start of long battle with the Brothers de Morte.