Chapter 56 - Twins

Jude stopped in his tracks. He stared at Uk’Yan. This could not possibly be true. The brother of Lukäski? Surely not!

“Surely you can’t be serious!” he said. “You cannot possibly be the brother of Lukäski!”

Uk’Yan looked back at him. “Why do you say that? Have you met my brother before?”

Jude’s face turned sad. “Yes, I have met him. We have a personal vendetta against each other. I have nearly killed him twice, and he has escaped both times. I am sure he will come to foil our plans again, and soon, too.”

The two stared at each other. Uk’Yan was filled with worry. “We must be on our guard. Lukäski is crafty, and he will stop at nothing to destroy you, Jude.”

Jude nodded in agreement. They began to walk, and five or so minutes later, Jude stopped.

“Uk’Yan, can I ask you a question?”

“Of course, Jude.”

“How do you know that Lukäski is your brother?”

Uk’Yan stopped and thought for a minute, then began walking again. He took a deep breath and began his speech.

“When the kryons came, not all had the noble objective that they did. They did not come as heroes and saviors to humanity, but as pillagers. They wanted money, power, and sex.

“My mother was a human raped by a kryon warrior. She conceived and gave birth to twins, Lukäski and I. He was born first, and thus received the inheritance, as human custom dictated.

“She survived the invasion, but later died of a sickness. Lukäski and I had to fend for ourselves when we were young. He began to believe in the superiority of the half-breeds, but I did not think so. I believed that we were simply a part of the circle of life throughout the universe, as humans and kryons are. We are just another part of the whole.

“We separated. I did not know where he went, but we met again some years later, and he had a band of kryon and human deserters with him. He said that he sought a book, called the Kryonomicon, which would spill the past of this dead planet to him. I told him that I did not know where it was.

“And then he asked me to join him. I refused, and he attacked me. He chained me and kept me as a prisoner. He tortured me, and I always cried out to my twin, but he never listened. He ignored me as a cat ignores a mouse’s plea for help.

“But I escaped. I lived on my own for a long time. I wished to be reunited with my brothers of all of the races, but such a thing is impossible on this world. And so I seek a journey to the planet of Kryon, so that I can meet my brothers at long last.”

Jude walked in silence next to him for a few moments. “Uk’Yan, I have the Kryonomicon. I found it. It may have the answers you seek.”

Uk’Yan stopped dead in his tracks. He looked at Jude in wonder and awe, and said, “I knew there was something about you. You may be the other Messenger.”

He got no verbal response from Jude, but the expression on Jude’s face spoke volumes.
“Everything comes in pairs, Jude, in twins. Lukäski and I are twins. You and Tyra are a pair, as are Relik and Kysandra. The ones I have heard of from the Free Council called Survivor and Pulse were a pair.

“You may be part of multiple pairs, Jude, as many people are. You may have been a pair with Leader, as a wielder of great mental might. And I believe that you and The Messenger are twins. He speaks for the world of the kryons, and you for the world of humans.”

Jude walked in silence next to Uk’Yan. This was something that he had never thought of. The concept that everything in the universe came in pairs was new to him, but it made sense. Good and evil, male and female, human and kryon – everything seemed to fit a twin system.

They spoke no more to each other during the day, Uk’Yan getting to meet new people and Jude thinking more about what was said. He told Tyra of this, to which she responded, “I have never thought of it that way, but yes, I suppose it may be true. We still have much to learn, Jude.”

Night had fallen, and the Free Council stopped for shelter yet again. Jude knew that the tower was growing closer, but it was still not visible over the horizon. He lay down on the ground to sleep, and saw four words carved into a rock beside him.

“Ukl mort tÿr undâr.”