.what's in a [name]?

[Ginny Weasly]

Cody sat crosslegged on the forest floor, a large leather-bound book opened in his lap. His dark hair swept across his forehead as it wrinkled with concentration. The four year old was reading, yes reading, a lengthy page before him. Although their were pictures, they were not the child friendly ones that people were used to seeing in children's books. They were photos, paintings.

Cody propped his elbow on his knee, his chin in his hand as he studied the text before him.

'Xerxes was son of Darius the Great and Atossa. After his accession in October 485 BC, he suppressed the revolts in Egypt and Babylon that had broken out the year before and appointed his brother Achaemenes as governor or satrap over Egypt. In 484 BC, he took away from Babylon the golden statue of Bel, the hands of which the rightful king of Babylon had to take a hold of on the first day of each year, and killed the priest who tried to get in his way. Therefore Xerxes does not bear the title of King in the Babylonian documents dated from his reign, but King of Persia and Media or simply King of countries (i.e. of the world).'

A small smile grew upon Cody's pale face. This was the man he was named for? King of the World?
Interesting.
Cody knew that names had much bearing. Some people never told their true names, doing so gave others power over them. Some could afford that small amount of power. Most couldn't.

The Fallen boy looked up, seemingly at the trees, but his eyes were distant as he thought.
King of the World?
Fallen Prince.
What was this?
Names, ideas, Kings, Princes.
His father.
His uncle...
Xences, was his name?
Xaver and Xences?
X names, yes, but given as such because of the power of twins?
Twins?
Heracles and Iphicles? Or more like Artemis and Apollo?
Opposites, representing the dualstic nature of the universe?

But weren't such things dependent of a person's choices? Surely it could go anyway? Mind over matter? Why was his uncle so dangerous? Why was he so...evil?
And what made Xaver so diffrent? Was he really so diffrent?

Cody knew of his father's impulses. He felt them. He knew of the underlying nature? But was that really nature, or simply a creation...something embedded in Xaver Xian from childhood?
Because he was the Fallen Prince?
What did that make Cody at this age?

He was only the Prince by title. He had done nothing to earn this.
But he was the firstborn in his family. And he sensed not the last.

It was quite possible that somewhere along the road, maybe not the next but possibly the next after that, that there would be twins in his family. Would the twins be such as Xaver and his brother?
Or would they be like his mother\s brothers? Closer beyond belief, even after the death of one of them?
That play...Blood Brothers?
What was it that was said?
'If twins separated at birth learn that they were once one of a pair they will both immediately die.'

Twins separated? What about twins kept together? Was it possible that both could live? Or must one die eventually? Long before the other?
Must they be separated by cruel nature, even after such nature granted them togetherness?

Such thoughts couldn't be heard, or even guessed by looking at the child's face. He simply looked in intense thought. He bit his lip, his ice blue eyes surveying the area around him. With a sigh, he closed the book and placed it beside him. He flopped onto his back and looked up into the sky. Large clouds dotted the deep blue. It would rain later in the day...a nice cleansing rain.

Cody rubbed his eyes, letting his thoughts continue in their almost endless cycle.

[LavyBrown]

There was movement above Cody and a few leaves fell around him. Lavy was in a low branch over him, watching him. She could tell he was thinking about something important but she couldn't tell what and she wasn't about to pry into this thoughts. She knew full well that Ginny was protecting him.

"Hey there, litle one." She said adjusting herself on the branch so that she was closer to the ground, "What are you reading there?" She asked, pointing at his book.

[Ginny Weasly]

"The History of Man Kind."

Cody yawned, as though no longer interested in the book. But he was. He had taken it from his mother's bookshelf, intent upon reading all he could of it. But he had been surprised to find that his first name had not been pulled from thin air. His mother had named his after a King of ancient Persia...
Had she ever met the man?

His son...Darius? Wasn't there something about him?

Cody stretched his arms above his head, playing with the leaves he found there.
He nodded towards Lavy, "I was interested in my namesake."

[LavyBrown]

"Hmmm...." Lavy jumped down off the the branch onto the ground next to him. "You're namesake, eh? Sounds interesting. So what have you found out about it so far?"

Lavy picked up the book and started flipping through the pages. She almost chuckled outloud when she saw what he had been reading. She wasn't in the least bit surprised that he was reading something that most adults would find difficult. But it was still somehow amusing.

[Ginny Weasly]

Cody chuckled, feeling her small surprise. He didn't mind that she wanted to laugh. It was rather amusing.

"I found that my mother had to have some idea of the name she was giving me. She knew who it represented when she decided." He smirked, "I think it was once again her way of shaping my future."

King...
of the World? No. Someday, far into the future, possibly King of the Fallen.
But to his mother, the Fallen, Xaver more specifically, was the World.
Huh.

[potter_fan122]

A pair of large, green eyes appeared from the darkness of the trees. A snow leopard walked out of the darkness and shook leaves off of her gleaming coat. It turned into Stacey. "Hi." she said, sitting at the edge of the sunlight.

[LavyBrown]

Lavy continued flipping through the book for a moment before closing it. She sat down next to Cody and placed the book on her lap. "Hey there, Stacey." She turned back to Cody for a moment, "Hmmmm.....really. So what does you're future hold for you, little one, other this being completely and utterly adorable."

[potter_fan122]

"Can I see that book?" Stacey asked.

[Ginny Weasly]

Cody rolled his eyes at Lavy, but wasn't upset. Some people he didn't mind teasing him. Others he did. Lavy happened to be one of the few he didn't mind so much.

"I'm Prince of the Fallen...which means that one day I will be King of the Fallen." He paused, "Hopefully far into the future. But nonetheless, I will be King...King Xerxes Xian."

He snorted, "I don't know. My mom likes to mess with my head."

[LavyBrown]

"That she does. But I guess I could have guess that, eventally. I do know who your dad is after all. So, I want to ask you something then. What do you think about being the King of the Fallen. As Prince, so far, you don't have to many duties other then being cute. But as you get older, well you know what happens when you get older. Things start happening. People get nervous of others power. Are you ready for that?"

[Ginny Weasly]

Cody rolled from his back so that he was on his belly. He crossed his arms in front of him, placing his chin on his wrists and closing his eyes.
"Already I am cited for death, Signora."

He smiled, his teeth shining in the dim sunlight that shone through the trees.
"My uncle has already declared he will kill me." His shoulder's shrugged, "So many people have wanted me dead in my short life that I no longer care."

[LavyBrown]

Lavy smiled, "I know how that feels, little one. I didn't have people after me until I was about nine. But I didn't have people protecting you like you did. I just hope you will give it some thought though, even in passing. You're uncle might not be able to touch you but we both know he's not the worst who will come after you."

Lavy started pulling out grass out of Cody's hair and off his cloths. Yeah he had the brain capacity of a thirty year old and the mouth of a teenager, she laughed at that thought, but he was still only four.

[potter_fan122]

Stacey leaned back and put her hands behind her to support herself. "Do you know what the Fallen are?" She asked Cody challengingly.

[Ginny Weasly]

"Of course I do." He said, turning his eyes to Stacey and frowning.

"I'll explain it as my father did." Cody nodded, his dad had given him a worthy explanation.

"It's an old legend, the origin of the term, lies in the Hebrew word for 'giants'. The Hebrew word translated from giants is 'nephilim', a plural, which itself comes from the root word Naphal, an infinitive which means 'to fall'."

He paused, fiddling with the leaves beneath his hands, "It is said that our kind 'fell from the sky to be amongst humans'.  Really, we just appeared in history among humans. No one really knows how or why." He sighed, "Even then we hated each other."

[potter_fan122]

Stacey smiled. "Do you know hat my name means?"