The Elder Son

This is a work of fiction

Action leads to reaction. One should act so both the action and reaction are in their power.

War had been declared between the Angles and the Jutes on terms of sacrilege. Those on the northern east coast of the peninsula they called home had, during a blood feud struggle, burned a temple dedicated to the goddess Freya. The contents were taken back north to the land of the Jutes. The family, whose home was burned and temples sacked, called upon promises of old which brought many tribes of the Angles who had once sat out the struggle into it. His was one. His brother, the younger son of one of the kings of the Angles, was sent in as not to bring shame to his father’s family for turning on oaths given by his father’s father. War is not a new thing, but, before this, his experience had been limited. In the course of the war he had repelled assault on a fortification by the Jutes yet instead of remaining behind the walls he followed the retreating force, harried them, and been responsible for the death of a prominent Jute chief at the cost of many soldiers’ lives. He cut supply lines and took captives, though, because he was rash and without forethought, he put many to death without proper notification of superiors, whom had been chosen by a vote of chieftains in his own clan.

The elder brother was responsible for the management of supply lines and maintaining the war effort. Many chieftains, even the elder among them, gave him much respect for his wisdom and intelligent management of the campaign. In a first vote they sought to strip the younger brother of his command but with influence from the elder brother and the king had rescinded this in a second one. The elder brother had offered himself as a means to curb the impulses of the younger brother by joining him as head of the military in the region. Through his experience in the past, the elder brother managed to quell some of the banditry and put into place proper logistics so that food from farms was able to make it to the army even in this time of war. He provided protection to merchants and built some fortifications in the region as a bulwark against retaliation. It seemed that the newly acquired land would have more stability once the conflict had died down. However, the land aided by his management was still rightfully going to his younger brother for his heroism in taking it.

A second event brought into question the ownership of the holdings, though. The rashness of the younger brother led to a conflict between the two in an assault by the Jutes who were attempting to drive the Angles from the land. The elder brother fought from his fortified location and was confident in his ability to keep the land they assaulted. The younger brother took a section of the force and circled the enemy, driving them off much sooner than the elder would have been able. He was grateful but aware that further attack could come at any moment. The younger brother was angry to hear that the order was given not to pursue the retreating force so that the elder might gain more understanding of the enemy. The younger brother ignored this and marched out to chase the enemy. This brought about the death of three sons of notable Angle chieftains but the capture of a son of the enemy king. Though his actions won him renown, he was in violation once again and had led men to their needless deaths. The chieftains were less willing to work with the prince in the future, fearing he’d lead their sons to death. His actions led others to doubt his judgement in maintaining a level head and governance. 

To whom should the lands go?