The First Command — How Alaric Became Alaric

A Stay Tethered Exclusive Short Story

Some nights, questions hang heavier in the air than smoke.
And some answers — the real ones — don’t live in words.
They live in the body.
In memory.
In surrender.

One night, long after the world had blurred at the edges, Elias asked Alaric the question we’ve all wanted to ask:
How did you become the man you are?

Alaric didn’t answer with philosophy.
He didn’t answer with pride.
He answered with a story.
The story of the first boy who knelt for him.
The first time he reached out — not to take, but to hold.
The first time he realized dominance wasn’t about control.
It was about devotion.
Containment.
Care.

The First Command isn’t just another night.
It’s the night that made him.
The night that taught him the difference between conquest and gravity.
The night he learned that some men aren’t meant to break things.
They’re meant to catch them.
To carry them.
To tether them.

This story was written for the ones who understand: