This post was inspired by a writing prompt in the Worldbuilding Community - Worldbuilding Prompt #893 - Tie-breakers
It's set in my Dungeons & Dragons homebrew world.
Enjoy !
Image created by AI in NightCafe Studio
Honweg and Malweg looked at each other, two Mugaddi brothers, close in age and almost identical in appearance. They both wore the grey wolf-pelt cloaks that indicated they were part of the chief's (admittedly very extended) family of the Majisti Tribe.
"One of us has to do it."
Honweg was the eldest by two months, and tended to take the lead in their discussions. Malweg nodded his agreement then said, "You are eldest. Our father is the chieftain, but your mother is the senior concubine and my mother is one of many junior concubines."
The elder brother knew where this was going. "So what ?" was his retort. "As you say, I'm the eldest so it's my decision and my responsibility."
Shaking his head, Malweg came back at him. "No. You'll succeed our father, and I'm glad of that because then you'll stop having fun while I'll be able to carry on partying, drinking and stealing Kadit girls to ravish."
The two sat in silence for a long while. They were the only two who knew the way to sneak through the Siazi patrol lines. It was hugely risky, but if they couldn't get word back to their father to bring a war party, their cornered hunting party would be wiped out by the Siazi tribesmen when the dawn revealed their hiding place and small numbers.
Finally, Honweg made an announcement.
"Let's settle who goes the traditional way, yes ?"
He drew two arrows from his quiver, rapidly cutting the barbed heads off with his knife and stripping the fletching away.
Each brother took an arrow and, after considering it for a while, snapped it. They laid the four resultant sticks next to each other, each broken arrow's two parts side by side, and then stood them up, holding them so that the bases were on the flat.
Malweg grinned. His arrow had been snapped so accurately that the two halves were almost exactly the same length. Honweg's was close, but it was clear that one piece was nearly quarter of an inch longer than the other.
This was a better game than the random picking of straws or throwing of dice that the soft city-dwellers used. There was real skill in trying to snap an arrow or twig so that the two pieces were an identical length.
Bowing his head in acquiescence, Honweg spoke almost formally in a low voice.
"Go, my brother. Yours is the risk, and yours will be the glory when you bring our father and the warriors of our tribe. It will be a great day for the Majisti tribe as we once again put the Siazi scum in their place. But please, take care and get through safely, my brother."
