Thor was the older of the twins, and because of a genetic anomaly had grown clearly six inches taller than his brother, Jihar. They were the “only child” of the wicked witch of the east, and both had been spoiled rotten by their doting mother, who catered to their every exasperating whim. Jihar had finer features, with dark hair and complexion, and piercing eyes that were unsettling to anyone he gazed upon. He loved to play with things of value, like money and other people’s personal assets.

Thor had been hewn out of rough timber, his features angular and sharp, like his personality, and his eyes glowed with an inner fire that fed on playing with people’s minds. Jihar spoke rarely, and only in short terse sentences, and usually with a decided edge to his tongue. Thor spoke volumes, perhaps to make up for the void in conversations caused by Jihar’s clipped speech. He spoke two languages, actually – one mellifluous and heady, and one that came from somewhere out of the depths of darkness and evil. His cutting and biting and abusive remarks were his standard, but he often cloaked them in beautiful words, words that deceived and veiled hurtful intents.

As children both Thor and Jihar cut a wide swath through their early schooling, on the playgrounds, and in the streets of their village, and everyone gave them a wide berth because they hurt other children and little animals – and, not a few adults who stood in their way, or who tried to discipline them. Eventually they were withdrawn from the community by their mother and placed in private cloisters of the wealthy, where eccentricity and “special problems” were swept under huge rugs for the right price.

Thor liked people, or more accurately, he enjoyed the ease with which he could manipulate them. After his collegium he went to work as a loan officer for a bank in a tiny community near the seacoast. He loved to work with people coming in to ask about a loan because the sea had caused damage to their home in the last storm, or because an elderly mother needed an operation to save her eyesight.

Thor sat the people down, and through eloquence of words that rolled off his silvery tongue, he charmed them into thinking that they didn’t really need all that much help, or that things weren’t actually as bad as they thought. He made them feel perhaps they were being selfish in asking for so much, especially when there were so many more needy people in the community. And he recited tale after tale of those in truly desperate straits, who obviously were more in need and who were making do with so much less. The people left convinced that they had made the right decisions, and only later did they feel something was terribly wrong.

Jihar disliked people, always knew it, and always took pride in the fact. Through his skill and guile he became the president of the same bank in that tiny community near the seacoast. He loved his work because it permitted him to play with money to his heart’s content, and best of all, not be bothered by people in the sanctuary of the vaults. He put up with having to deal with others in the bank, the tellers, the accountants, the guards – a necessary evil since this was where the money was. He was good at what he did, and took the bank from marginal financial existence to being a fiscal giant in a very short time. His reputation grew as that of a wizard of finance, and he was consulted by other financial establishments from near and far. He continued to treat people abusively, but bank presidents and heads of financial institutions throughout the region continued to call on him because of his great success.

Over the years, the bank prospered and grew, and there was more money in the vaults than the people in the community had ever seen before, ever. The local paper printed numerous editorials reporting how the bank’s assets grew and grew, and Thor and Jihar, too, prospered. They moved into grand houses built on the sides of the cliffs overlooking the sea, and rode in magnificent carriages, chauffeured by elegant and enigmatic drivers with foreign sounding tongues. But with each increment of power represented by the increases in the bank’s assets, the power that Thor and Jihar held over the people of the community also grew, and the days grew darker and darker for the people.

Prime interest rates were exorbitant, the loan application procedures impossible. And each individual seeking a loan knew they risked being subjected to biting comments, abusive treatment, and the final indignity, feeling ashamed for having a problem and needing to ask for help.

When the tellers were too friendly, or the bank’s guards took time to help someone in front of the bank, Jihar became enraged, and accused them of shirking their official duties and of wasting the bank’s time and money. When a loan officer took too much time with a family, or went to extra lengths to assist them, Thor exploded and poured upon the unsuspecting and surprised worker the most outrageous and hurtful tirade. Before long all the bank’s employees feared for their jobs, and this for doing what they believed was their charge, to help the people of the community.

One day Thor hired a young woman to be his assistant. She came from the east, and reminded him very much of his mother – she was tall and dark, with flashing eyes that matched her personality. She was full of life, and found much to laugh about. But there was one more impressive quality not familiar to Thor – an intuitive sense about people.

She spoke of the people’s industry and integrity, and worked diligently to provide assistance commensurate with the needs she perceived. She was less impressed with the prestige of the bank, then with what she felt she could do for the good and gentle people. The woman learned her work quickly, and because of her skills working with people, soon made an impression on the greater community.

Individuals called on her more and more, and when tragedy struck, asked to speak with her about their financial needs. Soon all loan applications were being addressed to the young woman, and Thor noticed he was no longer seeing any of the town’s people in their time of need. Jealousy grew rapidly into rage, and he one day called the young woman to his office to talk about her work at the bank.

He pointed out numerous errors she had made over the time she had been with the bank, and how she didn’t ask for help when obviously she needed it. He commented on the time it took her to process a single loan application, and how the loan amounts were much too high for the needs described, and how so many loans were being approved at interest rates lower than the bank had set.

Finally Thor said in tones of concern that she was exhibiting a most dangerous attitude, one encouraging families to use deceit and outright lies in their loan applications, an attitude that undermined the status and power of the prime financial institution of the community.

The young woman acknowledged her early errors, but noted too that from the beginning she modeled her work upon his. She defended her work with the people, and indicated that it indeed took her longer to process a single application, but because of her thoroughness there was significantly less need to rework those same applications. And because the interest rates fluctuated daily based upon the market, she gave people the benefit of those up and down movements. She bristled at the suggestion that she encouraged anything illegal or unethical in her work with the people – she held herself to the highest standards of her profession, as she had been taught.

At the end of the session, the young woman decided that the finest and most powerful institution in the community was indeed that, but the working conditions and style of management left much to be desired. At the end of that day, she tendered her resignation and left the community, much to the sadness of the people.

The next Monday, Jihar was surprised to find a long line in front of the bank when he arrived to open the bank for business. He muttered to himself as anger flashed in his eyes, and he grumbled noticeably at the people. The people nevertheless streamed into the little bank, and soon every teller was working furiously to handle the volume of work. Thor came in a few minutes later, and to his surprise people were streaming out of the bank clutching their life’s savings. Thor asked a teller what was happening, and she explained that all the town’s people were withdrawing their money and taking their business 10 kilometers to the north to a new bank in the next community – a bank where the new president was a young woman who was tall and dark, with flashing eyes that matched her personality…