A century ago, Northedge,

"Issam! Issam!" A man came running into a hut, screaming his friend's name. Anyone could tell the man was in complete distress from his actions. So, the curious neighbours crowded around the house to hear a hint of what was the matter.

"I am here. Slow down and take some breaths. You are frightening everyone." Issam tried to calm his friend. However, his words did not reach him.

"Issam, I saw my wife. I saw my wife. Sh-she...she walked past by me."

There was nothing scary in his words for someone who did not know what happened to his wife last week. She fell off a cliff accidentally during a hunt. After hearing his words, people muttered indistinctly. "Is he high on moonshine?" "He is in grieve, so." "Well, mountains can be deceiving." "Or maybe an actual spirit. Mountains are holy places." They projected their own opinions on the matter.

"Oh come on. Maybe you are seeing things because you miss her so much. Let's go inside and drink some warm tea to calm down."

"No. I am not seeing things. It was just like you said. Like a rabbit with an antler. Sh-she has... Her legs are those of a goat."

The last words retook their attention quickly. It was not just the two who had seen strange animals lately. They all had a fair share of experience in their hunt. But this was the first time they heard of a human. And a dead one on that.

"What kind of sinister things are happening on that mountain?" An old woman wept. She was the mother of the dead wife. "It is because we let the outsiders on our holy land. We anger our father and he punishes my poor daughter."

People of Northedge regarded the northern light 'Aurora' as a god and their father. He is believed to guide their souls to heaven with his mystical lights. Those who die on the days when their father does not visit, their spirits will wander around the earth till their father visits them again. When a Northedge person dies on the lowland where their father never visits, a personal belonging where a part of the soul resides must be returned to Northedge so that the spirit shall be guided to pass onto the next life by the father.

Unfortunately, Aurora never shines on that mountain. The husband searched for his wife's remains but couldn't so they went with personal belonging. However, it did not seem to be working since the wife's spirit was seen wandering around.

"Our father is angry because we let an outsider into his house. Now my poor daughter is paying the price." Her mother, the old woman, cried in sorrow for her daughter who couldn't pass on.

"Well. Let's not conclude everything instantly. We should confirm and discuss with the elders first." Issam tried to comfort the woman. The others also agreed. "Right. Let's ask the Sage first. He has been meditating and doing rituals on that mountain for years to bring forth our mother to it. If something is happening at that mountain, he will know best."

And so the villagers went up the mountain with offering to the great sage.

After they climbed up the slope between the two capes, they saw a humble hut at the peak. An old man bare naked except for a loincloth covering his crotch was waiting for them on a charpoy. He was so thin, his ribs could be counted even from afar. His long messy grey hair was spotted white by the snow. All alone on this mountain, bearing the sufferings to call their father upon the mountain impressed them.

They paid their respects in a deep bow. Before they could say anything, he raised his hand, gesturing for them not to interrupt him.

It took him a while to end his meditation session. All the villagers, young and old were waiting for him in the snow. Some covered themselves from the snow with their shields.

"Is this for the matter of your wife?" He spoke to the dead woman's husband in a low voice. His eyes were still closed and his body was in the same position without changing posture.

"Yes, O' wise sage." The man replied in great respect. "I saw my dead wife, walking in goat legs."

The old woman wept again when she heard the misery of her daughter.

"Then, need not worry. What you saw was the spirit of your wife and a goat attached when she crushed upon it. I have separated the two poor spirits already. They are wandering around freely now."

After they found out that there was no sinister thing going on, the audience chattered happily. The man was also happy to hear his wife was free of agony now. "Then, o' wise sage. May I see my wife again for one last time? I want to say goodbye to her and that I will do my best to take care of Cañ, our son. And if I could get her remain, I may be..." He asked a request.

"Insolence!" The sage shouted angrily before the man finished. "Is it not enough to help your wife, now that you ask for more? Does your greed see no limit?"

The man hurriedly denied but it was over.

"I have decided your wife to be the first offering for our father."

When the sage raised his hand, a gust of wind appeared and created a snowstorm between them. Issam pulled him out and they retreated from the mountain.

The man apologized to the villagers for angering the sage but they understood him completely.

"It is fine. We all feel the same way when our loved one leaves us suddenly. All we could do is hope that they will see us doing fine when they reach to father, and pass onto the next life without worry."

While the rest were comforting the man and the old woman, Issam was not satisfied with the conversation with the Sage. There were things unanswered.

Meanwhile, the sage went behind the hut after the meeting. When he swayed his hand, the wind carried the snow away from the ground, revealing a small tunnel. He looked around before entering into it. The tunnel was small, the size of a ten-year-old child. Although he was a tall adult, staying alone for many years in the mountain made him as thin as paper so his body fit the tunnel when he crawled. It took him some time to reach the room hidden inside the mountain.

A middle-aged man welcomed him joyfully while feeding his pets. "Hey, grey head Mordu'! Look at how this one grows in a day!" He showed one of his pets which was placed inside an iron cage. All his six pets were contained inside the cages which were placed in a row. The one he was most proud of was a huge worm, nearly the size of an adult, with thick scales all over its body. It was wriggling over the joy of eating a rabbit its master just fed. "I don't know if it will fit with this cage tomorrow. We should build something bigger."

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Mordu' shook his head in disagreement. "I ain't doing anything for it. In fact, for all these things. What's the point!? To crawl through a hole? I should have walked here decently like a man."

"But you reach here in what_ four candles time? It would take half a day before."

"Then try crawling for an hour yourself. Fricking hell. Why are you even feeding it? Dispose it already."

"Dispose? Why would I? This is a breakthrough in science. It can cut the distance in mountains. It can dig a tunnel in an instant. Men would take weeks or even months. Also, today is the era of mining. Think of how much gold it will dig in Rode or irons in Midlake. One worm was all it took when hundreds of men were needed. Two rabbits were all it took to feed a worm while more than thirty rabbits might be needed to feed hundreds of men. This will bring a new era."

The man successfully persuaded Mordu'. The Sage smiled profoundly when he imagined the gold.

"Then, Sahel. Let's get rid of that one, at least. It will give us a headache whenever those idiots from the village come to look for it." He pointed to a woman with goat legs. She was also detained in a small iron cage like the others.

"But you said that was your breakthrough. We resurrected a human who would have surely died. With your magic and my knowledge, we will make humans immortal. Yesterday, we replaced the legs. Tomorrow, it will be the heart."

Sahel explained his grandiose ambitions. Mordu gave a thought for a while. It was tempting. He was already 60 years old. He felt there wasn't much time left for him yet he felt this void of unaccomplishment. He could bend the wind and fire to his will now. He could eject water and lightning out of thin air. If he would live another ten more years; he believed he might have accomplished calling Aurora to the mountain.

"Fine. Let's keep her for a few more days. But don't ever let her walk around again."

"They need to move around for good circulation but sure. I will have them walk only here."

For a few weeks, there was no incident of finding strange animals around the village. Issam and the villagers believed it was all over like the sage said or so they thought. Until one day, when the iron cage could no longer hold Sahel's favourite pet, the giant worm. The ten-week-old monster had grown into the size of a big hut as if it had lived a century. The iron, one of the hardest materials of the era was instantly grinded into pieces by its menacing razor-sharp teeth which were in hundreds of thousands in number.

It broke out of captivity and went down the mountain. Along its way, the other cages were also broken.

Panic, Sahel asked Mordu' to take care of it while he would take care of his smaller and less vicious pets. He thought he could control them at their will. However, a beast was still a beast. When it no longer satiated with the rabbits, it eyed to bigger meal, the humans.

Mordu' hurried down the mountain before King Dane and his Lowlander army defeated the monster and traced the origin. It would be the end of him if things got out of control. He may wield the power of spells but it won't be enough to take down the entire army.

Contrary to his worry, the lowlander soldiers were no match for the ferocity of the vicious monster. When he reached Rombit, he found out that the entire garrison in the quarry was annihilated by the monster. Worried to the bone, he did not rest at Rombit and decided to hunt it down before there were more causalities.

When Mordu' reached the northern outskirts, he saw a mass of people running toward the town to seek refuge from the monster. They thought the stone wall of Rombit would stop the monster. Their futile dream was crushed when the centuriworm toppled the stone tower in a single blow.

While they were hopeless and desperate to cling to their pitiful lives, they saw a grey old man in a ragged robe with a long staff. His face was full of worry and love for them without a glimpse of fear. He was standing tall and huge.

Mordu' was worried that there would be no way to get out of the wrath of King Dane if there were more causalities. I must save them and defeat this monster before it leaves clues that relate me to it.

He spread his arms. The crowd split into two from the middle, revealing the hideous monster coming from underground. The earth's crust raised above as it approached closer to him. Then it appeared before him, splattering the earth, readied to devour him. Mordu' chanted. A big bolt of lightning ran out of his staff and penetrated through the monster. Mordu' fried the worm thoroughly till no evidence was left to trace its origin. When he came back to his senses, he saw the entire mass including the army led by Duke Goldfield bowing him on the ground. Young Ducan, on his knee, was staring at him in deep and utter respect.

"O' saviour of men and defeater of the devil's beast. May you bless us with your name?"

"Me?" Mordu' muttered quietly and confusingly. Then he raised his voice in full confidence, "In my name, Mordu', I punish the foul beast and let its soul repent in the cycle of life, till it rests under your feet O' Father."

"Is your name Mordu', O' saviour?"

"Yes. My child."

"And from where O' saviour has come?"

"I have descended from_," Mordu' turned to the north. Then he remembered they might find out if he told the truth so he pointed to a mountain in the east. It is the farthest mountain in the east where aurora can still be seen.

"O' saviour from the mountain. I shan't thank you enough for saving our pitiful lives from the foul beast. I was afraid as if it was the end of humanity."

"No. Rise, my child. Rise without fear, my children. Our Father has sent me to protect his children. I shall guide you to his light."

"Then I, Goldfield, promise that I and all of my coming generations shall be your faithful servants. My army and I shall be your sword and spear in your endeavour to salvage humans."

After he had a taste of accomplishment, Mordu' had a change of heart. He was no longer afraid of letting loose the monsters in the world. Death. Destruction. Despair. He decided to step on them.

He told Sahel to make more monsters. Fouler, viler and viciouser. At the same time, he would abduct humans from flatland by using the roaming of monsters as cover. They would dissect, operate and experiment on them until one day when he no longer needed Sahel. He blamed Sahel, the foreigner, as the culprit of the strange animals to the villagers and executed him. And he became the owner of the Book of Sahel.