cauterize my heart

While his brothers had shouted at one another, Eligos had been quietly but carefully inserting himself between them in case one or the other lost control and attacked. It had been a difficult time for them all, and tensions and tempers were running high. It would not be unheard of for that to lead to a physical altercation. But that wasn't something they could afford to indulge right now, and while both the twins were built along heavier lines than he was, he was still taller than either of them and Eligos was confident he could intervene before blood was drawn.

"Father was wise," he said quietly, but firmly. "I do not think he was wrong to have chosen you, Pyrrhic. But he was also wise enough to change as the situation changed. If you felt your duty lay elsewhere, he would not have forced you to lead. He would have found another way. Father isn't here now..." He stopped to brace himself against the choking grief and loss that strangled the words in his throat, and as it ebbed continued. "So it is our duty to decide how to adapt. If that means taking a different path than our father intended, than so be it. Is that not what Father did, when he inherited from Grandfather? If you do not wish to lead, Pyrrhic, we will find another way. Inveniemus viam aut faciemus. Brothers, there is always another way."