A hawk’s shout, heard from above, made Jrijuru look at the sky eventually. Thus, he saw the black-like pitch sky, with angry clouds on it, running one after another while weirdly sparkling in a strange light that made the field in front of the Gates of Alshamal City seem so empty. At the same time, Jrijuru found the dawn weird: gloomy and at all to his taste. Yet, even if all this was something the king hated, he was still aware that he couldn’t fight against nature’s caprice and against the whole world in fact.

At the same time, that gloomy dawn seemed interesting to the king. He saw it so many times before, but it never seemed so interesting as that day, just as he could never understand it. At that moment, however, standing on the defensive wall of the city and looking in the distance, at the western lands of the Magos, Jrijuru got to compare that gloomy sky with a wicked witch, one of those that often predict bad things to people, eager to see them suffer. Yet, even if he had such sad thoughts, Jrijuru smiled eventually. After that, closing his eyes, he allowed the pleasant breeze of the west to warm him although it was still a matinal hour, saying eventually, „There is still hope in this world. Just as there are people ready to sacrifice themselves to bring happiness and peace on a barren land.”

„Do you mean that stranger?” Asked Samit. He was a few steps behind the king, also looking at the horizon of the gloomy morning, just as they used to do each time they got to hear some news from the western lands. Just as it happened a night before when they found out that the fearsome enemy woke up and it was about to swallow the world.

„That’s right,” responded Jrijuru, eyes still closed, enjoying the pleasant breeze. „Actually, even if I don’t like to accept this, I must do it: she’s a courageous woman if she’s been able to walk so much only to get to a different land, into a world of men, just to send a message. The message of an enemy that has been my friend for a short time only.”

„Birakuh min alhijarat alsawda'i!”

„Yes, Samit! The message of the Mago of the Black Stones! The same Mago, who saved my life twenty years ago and who made me owe him for an entire life.” Saying this, Jrijuru kept silent, profoundly breathing in while trying to calm down the mad beatings of his heart. After that, opening his eyes, he looked in the distance again. Yet, even if he opened his eyes, he wasn’t calm as he tried to be while having his eyes closed. Even so, he kept looking as though he was calm while looking at the western horizon, the one colored black, with a few reddish arrows piercing it, something that made him sigh and say again, „It looks like my life, pierced by a spear.”

Hearing the king talking like that, Samit said nothing. He only looked at the horizon where the dawn of that morning looked so gloomy. Thus, still looking in the distance, he remembered that black day the king mentioned a few moments ago. That day, twenty years ago, when their worst enemy attacked them: no one other than the Coal Burners! Yes, the same Coal Burners that got to obey Tikil in the end, turning themselves into fearsome beasts, still being humans at that time.

***

„The Coal Burners attack! They attack!” The poor wounded soldier kept yelling while running on the gray streets of Alshamal City, at dawn. He had a deep wound in his right shoulder because he’d been on guard that night. He was standing on the defensive wall when an arrow, thrown from nowhere, pierced his body, knocking him down, bringing him to his knees, and forcing him to touch the cold stones of the wall with his right palm while the left palm was pressing the wound. Then… bitter tears, drops for life, ran down his cheeks.

Yet… even if that wound hurt like hell, he didn’t stay to shed tears for a long time. Only a few seconds he stood on his knees. After that, when he’d been able to do this, he stood up and started to run like a mad soul down those stone stairs, yelling at the other soldiers, who fell asleep at their post, that the war had started. Yes, the poor soldier kept yelling even if he needed to conserve his strength. He did that to save others even if he could have died eventually because his wound was badly bleeding at that moment. Something that he didn’t care about while their worst enemy was so close to their Gates, bringing death to their lands. He kept running on those streets too. It was necessary to act this way because only this way he could save a great city from falling.

While running on the streets, the soldier felt the energy madly flowing through his veins. He felt his life flowing through his body, giving him the power to protect his country. A strength he eventually lost in front of King Jrijuru of Alshamal, falling on his knees right next to the stone stairs that led to the throne. Thus, falling, the soldier heard the yells of the other citizens, yells that brought the king and the Council out of the palace, alerted by the madness heard outside. Seeing the king stopped only a step from him, the soldier raised his glance and whispered, „Almawt yatbaeuna 'ayuha almalika! Almawt… ealaa bued khatwatayn faqat!" (Death is after us, my king! Death is only two steps away from the gates of our city!) After that, losing first the fight with the passing life, the soldier fell to the ground. While closing his eyes, he saw the other citizens'legs and the gray soil while all around him the pleasant scream of the hawk that was still flying above the city was heard.

Staring at the fallen soldier and not understanding a big deal of what had just happened or what the soldier said before dying, Jrijuru got scared. He even became preoccupied the moment he heard clamor in the distance, coming from the defensive wall of the city. After that, seconds only after that, he understood what was going on and ran like a mad soul toward the wall, followed from close by the members of the Council and his soldiers, to check what was really happening there. Thus, getting not that far from the wall, Jrijuru and the others saw the soldiers falling off the wall, pierced by spears and arrows thrown from the field, a rain of arrows and primitive bombs, smeared with fuel oil and burning in flames, bombs that knocked down everything they met in their way.

That day, many brave soldiers died. That day Jrijuru lost one of his sons and his heart when his beloved wife Ameia fell too, killed by the enemy. Who exactly killed Ameia that day, nobody ever found out. Not even the king, who had cried a lot, holding his newborn son to his chest, the only son he still had alive, whom he wanted to protect with his life. Yet, understanding that he was forced to fight with the enemy face to face, Jrijuru put the armor on, held the bow in his left hand, put the quiver with arrows on his back, squeezed the sword in his right hand, taking the shield with him too. Then, confident in himself, he asked the soldiers to open the gates, those that were barely standing, and got out of the city.

Right after passing through the open Gates, Jrijuru, who was about 30 at that time, asked his soldiers to close the big gates. Then, with a heavy heart, he asked Samit to turn back and take care of his son. He also asked his good friend and servant to burn the city to the ground, but not to let the enemy capture it. And… Jrijuru said that no matter what would happen to him on the battlefield; nobody should ever open the gates or leave his post. Only… to take care of each other, fight against the enemy, and do everything to survive.

Jrijuru said all this at sunset. He spoke such words while the sun was still in the sky, but rushing already to the horizon. Because of this, a big red stain was seen in the sky, right behind the Coal Burners, toward whom the young king headed eventually, shouting to the enemy king, named Rueb (terror), „Arbah 'aw mitt, Rueb! Kun rjlaan shjaean wala tadae ma yukhfi wara' quaatika. Anzur 'ily, jundiun hadhih al'amakin, mmskan bialsayf waldire fi yadih wala yakhtabi mithl aljaban khalf aldaraea. (Defeat me or die, Rueb! Be brave and not a coward that hides behind his soldiers. Face me, the soldier of these lands, hold the sword and the shield, and do not hide behind the shield like a frightened bunny!)

After saying such words, Jrijuru stopped and waited. He kept his eyes on the enemy, the one who was hiding behind the tall shields, made from shiny steel that was sparkling in the light of the sunset. And, in the middle of those shields, Jrijuru saw the symbol of the Coal Burners: the head of a hawk, with a wide-open beak as though he was always hungry, looking for meat. A hawk that seemed so frightening in the light of the sunset. Yet, the bird didn’t scare Jrijuru in the end. The king of Alshamal just stood still, waiting for his enemy to look into his eyes, without fear. Yet, Rueb kept hiding behind his army.

At least Rueb stood hidden for a while until the sun hadn’t been seen on the blue celestial vault anymore. Then, when the red light of the sunset bathed those lands in a strange reddish light, Rueb, the fearsome king of the Coal Burners, appeared between his soldiers. Yes, he advanced at a slow step between them, with slow but sure steps, making the horizon resound because of his shoes with metallic soles, meant to protect their ankles in times of war.

That footwear, of shiny metal, made the dark olive skin of the king of the Coal Burners seem as though greased with oil. A dark skin that had been kissed for a long time by the sun that was bathing the Lands of Taṅkam or the Lands of the Black Gold, as it was known among the strangers. Thus, due to the dark of his skin, Rueb seemed to be afraid of nothing. He didn’t fear even the sun, which he considered his benefactor even if the Coal Burners never bent in front of the Titan of the Sun: neither in front of Tī nor in front of Helyos. Actually, because of their rebellion to worship in front of the Titans, Helyos and Tī had a lot of fights with the Coal Burners, but they’d never been able to defeat them.

Yet, even if Rueb considered the dark olive of his skin a kind of heart treasure, he was most proud of his military clothes. Yes, he was definitely proud of them because they were tailored from a kind of precious cloth, known as Hiraka among the Coal Burners. A special cloth in fact. It was a mix of hard metal wires, such as steel or aluminum, but in small amounts, and strong wires such as linen and hempseed. Thus, used together, the four elements of the ground could be considered a kind of natural shield against the enemy’s spears. And, thrown from the distance or stabbed while being close to the Coal Burners, the swords and the spears of the enemies could never break the cloth Hiraka. Thus, not allowing the enemy ever to hurt the body on which it was worn, Hiraka had a magic power at the same time: its metallic color. This one was powerfully reflecting the solar light through those small rings that were worn as a kind of armor, sending it later over the enemy’s sword or spear. And, the moment the reflection of the sun got on the weapon, it was blinding the enemy for a few moments. Enough for the Coal Burners to attack and kill them, being always winners.

The clothes tailored from the material Hiraka weren’t the only Power of the Coal Burners. It was also because of their armor, made from many small metallic rings, known as Whakamaru (protection.) Rings made from hard steel, in a small amount anyway to be easy to wear on the shoulders and never bother the soldier during the fight. At the same time, it had to be impenetrable, protecting the soldier from being injured in his belly or chest, wounds that were deadly in most cases. It was also protecting their hips because it was long, getting up to the middle of the loins. A kind of a long robe for fights, which, along with the skirts made from the hard skin of a bull, but not very thick, to bother them in fights, made up the basic fight vestment of the Coal Burners.

Down by the Whakamaru, in the area of the knees, which they protected so much, the Coal Burners wore, even in times of peace, the famous Turi. Made from aluminum, the Turi kneepads seemed simple at first glance, but very practical. The truth, in fact, because, when the Coal Burners asked the artisans to tailor something to protect their knees, they told them to make something practical and durable. Thus, using hard metal to protect the soldiers, the artisans added some other elements, such as suede, which was soft to the touch. They used it in the inner part of the kneepads, protecting the Coal Burners from injuring their knees while walking. At the same time, they were practical due to the cords, which were tightly wrapping around their knees first, fixing them, lifting up on the hips after that, and down the knees, making sure that they wouldn’t fall while walking or running.

Thus, well protected, the Coal Burners thought they had nothing to fear. Yet… it was only an illusion because what their enemies didn’t know, the Coal Burners knew, and, because of this, they often shivered like an Aspen leaf, afraid that their biggest secret would someday be discovered. A secret that was known by them as Ghātaka (deadly), which was the Coal Burners’s Achilles heel, in fact. Ghātaka was a dark brown stain on the right ankle, right down the lateral malleolus, which, pierced by spear or cut by the sword, killed the Coal Burner for sure. Because of this, they started to wear boots with metallic soles, which were made from hard bull skin on the area of the ankles. Also, around the ankles, to be sure they were definitely protected, the Coal Burners used the same Whakamaru, which they wrapped around the ankles and tied in place with cords made from hard skin. Thus, hiding that stain Ghātaka, they considered that they were invincible.

Actually, they weren’t that wrong in thinking so because, in their many battles for conquest and ensuring the primacy of their authority, nobody ever could defeat them. At the same time, nobody ever found out about Ghātaka because, even if at least one enemy had found out about that stain, they would have been winners and not losers for sure. Yet, being too focused on protecting themselves and not studying the enemy, those attacked had been always defeated, their cities burnt to the ground, their children and women taken in captivity, and their lands owned by others… forever.

The Coal Burners won many battles this way… easy and surely. Yet, what they wanted the most, but which they could never have was the supremacy over the Alshamals. A city they could never conquer no matter how hard the Coal Burners hadn't tried. And… this made them confused and enraged them a lot at the same time because they couldn’t understand what was different at the Alshamals. Not even Rueb could understand this. Yet, even if he felt a kind of fear while looking at Jrijuru, Rueb decided not to let the enemy know about this. Because of this, while heading toward the king of Alshamals, he let loud roars be heard coming out of his throat, roars made by his soldiers too, roars meant to frighten Jrijuru because, so suddenly, they started to hit their shields with their swords or spears, making a deafening sound all around. A noise that seemed not to impress the King of Alshamals too much because he didn’t move from his place or shudder to let his enemies know he was afraid.

The safety felt at Jrijuru made Rueb attentive eventually. This one, even if seemed not to be attentive and too focused on his tribal roars, was carefully analyzing the vestments and the armor of the enemy, looking for the weak points to defeat him easily. A too primitive armor in Rueb’s opinion because unlike him, who was protected from top to toe, Jrijuru wore only a light robe, made from a tiny material of flax, the color of the ripped wheat. Then, right over that robe, the king wore metallic armor to protect his chest and his belly. He wore nothing on his head and, in his legs, he had boots with wooden soles, covered on the upper part by small cords of suede. In his left hand, Jrijuru was squeezing his oval shield, with the Alshamals’ emblem in sight - the Black Horse or the Hisan, while, in his right hand, he had his sword, which helped him to win many battles. A sword that he named Ameia, as his beloved wife's name, because he received that sword as a gift from his father-in-law the day he got married.

Thus, face to face, because Rueb finally stopped about ten meters from his rival, the two kings looked at each other for a while, in silence. They looked not only in front but also carefully into their enemy’s eyes, trying to understand what the other one was thinking and how to defeat the rival. Yet, being two skilled soldiers, neither Jrijuru nor Rueb showed their weakness to the rival, aware that this could kill them eventually. A wise thought in fact because, unlike Jrijuru, who seemed vulnerable because of his armor, Rueb seemed confident and thought he would definitely win that battle because he was well equipped. That’s why he suddenly told his rival in a sure voice:

„The one who should hide behind his shield is you, my friend because these 1.5 meters you have in height are definitely your weakness.”

Jrijuru smiled, hearing Rueb talking like this. Actually, he expected such a remark from Rueb because of the difference in height between them: Rueb was about 2 meters in height while Jrijuru barely got at 1.8. Yet, even if among the Alshamals the King was considered a tall man, in front of the Coal Burner he seemed a kind of insignificant worm. Something that didn’t demoralize him, sure that not the height but the wisdom could help the soldier in battles. Thus, well-trained and skilled in battles, especially in the one-to-one battles, Jrijuru told himself that he had nothing to be afraid of eventually. Because of the same confidence in himself, he told Rueb in the end, laughing, „A barking dog never bites, Rueb. You also know that, even if you prefer the barking instead of astuteness.”

Rueb gnashed his teeth. „You're insulting me?”

„Of course not: I just name the things with their real name,” calmly responded the King of Alshamals.

„It seems to me an offense, in fact. Actually, I consider this a personal offense, something that enrages me more and convinces me that I did well accepting to stay in front of you and, staring into your eyes, to predict your death.”

„Then… let it be this way!” Said Jrijuru calmly. „Let's kill each other. In an honest fight, one-to-one.”

It’s been Rueb’s turn to laugh. „If I accept a one-to-one fight, it’ll be like the ant fighting with the elephant. Nothing funny actually. I rather prefer the shield and the sword. Thus, hearing the music of the metal in the hissing of the wind, the one heard after being cut by the sword hitting the shield, I’ll really feel pleasure cutting your head.”

„Do you think so?” The King of Alshamals asked. „That my death make you feel satisfied?”

„It’d always been this way. It’ll always be this way.”

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

„Then… you lived this life in vain, Rueb. You wasted it, better to say because not the death of the enemy makes one satisfied, but seeing him on his knees. A bowed head means defeat and not a cut head that rolls to your feet. Yet, as I realize that it's useless to explain obvious things to you, I’ll accept your offer. With one condition!”

„Which one?”

„The winner spares the servants of the defeated one. Thus, if I win, you bow your head in front of me, take your army, and leave this field once and for all.”

„A reasonable offer, I must accept that. Yet, if I win, then: your head falls off your shoulders, the Gates of the City are opened, and your servants accept me as their king. What do you say?”

„That’s a damn bad idea,” said Jrijuru, bitterly smiling.

„The reason?”

„A very simple one: a wise king isn’t cheered by his servants. Only the one that’s been able to win their respect and support. Only that king will be let pass through those gates and not a king that won this title with the sword.”

„Then… we have no deal, Jrijuru and the war goes on.”

„I say not to rush, king of the Coal Burners. I never said I don’t accept.”

„Then? Should I take it as an acceptance: that you are ready to lose your head and your servants to open the gates, accepting me as their king?”

„Something impossible because… a fallen head never bows or cheers the king who cut it. Yet, dreaming isn’t something impossible. Just as it isn’t impossible for me to win in front of you. Thus, until my head doesn’t fall off my shoulders, don’t place yourself on the throne of the Alshamals, Rueb. First… win, then sit on my throne, naming yourself king.”

Saying such great words, Jrijuru attacked first, thinking that the last sentence he said was the one that concluded the pact with the Coal Burner. At the same time, he was sure that his enemy wouldn’t keep his word and would burn the city to the ground if winning. That’s why, the Alshamal decided to do the impossible if necessary but win.

Jrijuru wasn’t only determined to do this, but he was also able to do it if he wanted. Because of this, he fiercely hit while attacking his enemy, forcing Rueb to hit too to protect himself. An intelligent tactic of the Coal Burner, in fact, because, seeming vulnerable and capable to protect himself only, he managed to weaken his enemy. After that, when he felt that the enemy was lacking power, he turned from prey into a predator, starting the attack. A fierce one in fact, precise, with sudden but sure movements meant to cut the enemy’s head from one movement. Yet, an attack that was late to be started at that moment, as though he kept playing with Jrijuru, training him and nothing more.

They fought like this for about an hour: Jrijuru attacking and Rueb defending himself only. Eventually, bored to hit with the sword without cutting the enemy’s head, Rueb started the real attack. Using all the power he was capable of at that moment, he suddenly hit, leaving Jrijuru without his shield at first. After that, also throwing his shield away, which he considered useless at that moment, Rueb grabbed the handle of the sword with both hands and kept hitting. This way, Rueb made Jrijuru understand that he’d been wrong attacking and not spared his force because, despite the tough training with Samit, he still felt the fatigue eventually. Thus, often staggering to his feet when the Coal Burner’s sword hit his sword, the King of Alshamals saw not only once Death in front of his eyes. A death that seemed to approach him at full speed, lurking on him from behind the enemy’s army or from above because, so suddenly, the powerful shout of a hawk was heard from above.

Seconds later, when he was less expecting this, Jrijuru had been attacked from above. The same hawk, whose shout he heard before, pounced on him, vertiginously flapping his wings above his head or pinching Jrijuru’s flesh with his strong and crooked beak, scratching the king’s skin to the blood with his sharp nails. Thus, attacking the Alshamal, the hawk gave Rueb a short time to catch up his breath.

Seeing that he had time to breathe, convinced that his faithful hawk would weaken his enemy, Rueb turned his back to them and took a few steps away from them. He kept holding the sword in his hand because he never let it away if the battle was still on. Thus, while slowly moving on that battlefield, covered by dust and hot sand, the king of the Coal Burners raised his glance and looked at the sun that was barely seen in the sky, fully enjoying its blessed warmth.

He stopped eventually, still with his back at Jrijuru and the hawk, whom he heard still fighting, the moment he heard the hissing of an arrow piercing the air. A hissing that was so fast approaching him, of an arrow thrown from the distance, from the city of Alshamal that he wanted to conquer and burn to the ground later, a city he could never defeat and which had always been a stain of shame on his honor. Yet, even if Rueb thought that someone tried to defend the King of Alshamal by throwing that arrow, he stood in place, with his back to the city and that arrow. He did that not because he calmly waited for his death, but because he wanted to show his supremacy to his enemy. And, while he waited, he grabbed the handle of the sword even tighter, with both hands, preparing for the attack.

Rueb hit eventually the moment he heard that hissing sound so close to them. Yet, he hit the air and not the arrow, which hadn't been thrown to kill him but the hawk, the one which was lying on the ground at that moment, on his back, fighting with death that kissed his beak. A terrifying view that made Rueb gnash his teeth eventually, staring at Jrijuru, who looked at the hawk in amazement, because he also didn’t expect that one to be killed by someone of his. Then, with hatred, while his eyes were madly sparkling at that moment, Rueb hissed through his teeth, „You dared to break the pact, king! Killing a soldier of mine, you declare war not only on me but on my entire army.”

„Tit for tat, king!” Jrijuru replied, confident. „The first one in breaking the pact, asking for help from above to weaken me, was you. Thus, cheating, you gave my soldiers the chance to cheat on you too.”

„It’s not the same, King!” Rueb yelled bitterly. „I asked for the help of one soldier while you…”

„…I did the same!” Replied Jrijuru, straightening his back. After that, he pointed with his head toward the defensive wall of the city. There, they saw Samit, standing on the wall, with the bow and another arrow prepared for shooting because Samit was who killed the hawk, shooting him by staying on the wall. „You see, I didn’t lie to you: one soldier against another one.”

Rueb gnashed his teeth again, „Yet, it’s been your big mistake, Jrijuru!” He said. After that, using a precise movement of his legs, Rueb got next to Jrijuru, touching his throat with his sword. Actually, Jrijuru didn’t oppose that attack because he had no sword in his hand after the hawk’s attack. Even so, even if he saw the zeal to kill him sparkling in Rueb’s eyes, the King of Alshamal smiled, calmly saying eventually:

„There’s nothing shameful about dying because of a traitor. Yet, I would have preferred to die because of a brave king!”

„You don’t consider me a brave king, do you?” Rueb hissed through his teeth again.

„Yes, because a king, worthy of the crown, wouldn’t have ever attacked an enemy without a sword. Why? Because this means to be a coward, great King of the Coal Burners. It’s proof of weakness in front of the entire world. At the same time, I must accept that you used an intelligent trick to hold the blade of your sword to my throat.”

„Do you see?! And you say I’m a king that is worth nothing.”

„I never said that. I only mentioned the truth, one that only a worthy enemy can tell another one on the battlefield, looking straight into the rival’s eyes, a truth that you would never hear while drinking with your friends. Yet, let’s not waste our time, Rueb: cut the head of the loser as you wanted and enjoy the victory that’s so short!” After that, closing his eyes, so calm, Jrijuru looked at the sun.

A strange hissing of the wind forced Jrijuru to open his eyes. Thus, even if for seconds only, he saw someone’s sword piercing the air. Then, passing in front of his eyes, that sword cut his enemy’s head in one movement while the sword that touched Jrijuru’s throat by then fell with a bang at his feet. A movement that Jrijuru had never expected, but still, a movement that saved his life. That’s why he looked in front, at the one that saved him. There, he saw Ahi, standing between him and the army of the Coal Burners, which seemed like a stone army at that moment. Yet, even if he clearly saw Ahi, the Alshamal had no idea who that man was or why he helped him.

Jrijuru said nothing eventually. He didn’t even ask the stranger who that one was. The king just kept staring at the stranger that wore a long black robe and had the hood on his head at that moment. While looking at Ahi, Jrijuru saw his black eyes, deep and shiny, with no anger or meanness in them. At the same time, he didn’t see kindness in those eyes. Only a strange fire was seen sparkling in that glance, a fire that made Jrijuru wince, then shudder, even if he also didn’t know why he did that.

He winced again the moment he heard Ahi saying, „Now that you won, what do you intend to do, King?”

„Did I win?” Asked Jrijuru, confused.

„Your enemy is at your feet, right?” Said Ahi, smiling. „Well, only his head, but it’s what you wanted.”

The Alshamal smiled in the end. He sadly smiled, looking with regret at the Coal Burner’s head, which was at his feet. And, with sadness in his soul, Jrijuru told Ahi, „A death that doesn’t make me the winner.”

„Yet, it makes you superior in front of others. At the same time, it saved your people. This makes me think you won.”

„What I don’t understand is why you’ve done this. You helped me even if you don’t know me.”

„It’s because of a promise.”

„Of a promise? Whose one?”

„Yours. The one you’ll make now for my help. A simple one, but dangerous at the same time: to stay by my side in battle if I need this. As an ally and not as an enemy, Jrijuru. What do you say? Do you accept this pact?”

„What if I’m against this pact?” The king calmly asked.

„Then… your head will fall. Just as the Coal Burner planned. Something I doubt, in fact, because I’m sure you aren’t stupid. You aren’t ready to die. Not now when your people and your son need you so much.” Saying this, Ahi kept silent, looking at the Alshamal while waiting for his answer.

Jrijuru didn’t late to give Ahi that answer. Not in words. He only looked into the Coal Burner’s eyes, the one that was lying at his feet, still eyes opened. Then, feeling compassion for the fallen one, the King of the Alshamals squatted and stretched his hand toward the head. After that, he closed Rueb’s eyes because… there’s nothing crueler in this world for one than to die with his eyes open…

***

Powerfully squeezing the mammoth tooth in his hand, Jrijuru kept staring into the distance. He felt confused, somehow overwhelmed, allowing his black horse, Alghajar, to take him at a slow step in the distance. There… wasn’t only Jrijuru and his horse. Behind him, also at a slow step, two of his legions were following him on horses while three of the legions were on foot, carrying bags with food, guns, and shields with them.

Next to Jrijuru, on a white horse, was Morena. She wore a black robe on her shoulders while the hood was on. At the same time, she didn’t wear the veil on her face after Jrijuru allowed her this, telling her right before leaving, „Only our women use to hide their faces from the sun, afraid of it. You seemed not to be afraid of Helyos or of the power of the sun. That’s why you shouldn’t hide.” Advice Morena followed eventually even if she couldn’t understand why the king decided so easily to follow her. She thought she’d need time to convince him or the Alshamals to join the Army of Magos and other magic creatures in the war against Maranam. Yet, it had been easier than she had ever expected.

Or maybe it hadn’t been that easy?! She wasn't definitely able to understand this even if she should have done this because the road from the Mount of Fear to the Gates of Alshamals, on foot, hadn’t been an easy one for sure. To get there, Morena needed six long months. She faced many dangers in her way. Many tried to convince her to turn back because it was impossible to get to the City of Alshamal because the desert between the Western World and the City of Alshamal was a dangerous one. A desert with many hidden traps and, even if she had managed to get to that city, she wouldn’t have ever been able to enter the City, which the Alshamals fiercely defended.

Even so, Morena never gave up. All that mattered to her was to fulfill that mission because she could save her daughter only this way. At least this was what Ahi told her, who summoned her to talk to her two days after Mayar followed Parca. Then, in that hidden room where he kept his books, papyruses, and bottles with magic liquid, the Mago told her, „You must leave, Morena! Now, this isn’t a safe place: neither for you nor for us.”

„Impossible!” The woman told him in a sure voice. „I can’t leave! Not now when Mayar is in danger.”

„Yet, you can’t help her in anything right now.”

„I’m her mother. I’m sure I can convince her to give up on her madness because a mother’s love can defeat everything,” said Morena, stubbornly.

Hearing her talking like that, Ahi smiled. Then, slowly frowning but not because of her, but because he remembered that he allowed Parca to deceive him so easily, he told Morena, „I don’t doubt that a mother’s love can do wonders. Not after you managed to take Mayar out of that Forest of Shadows. Yet, this time is different. For an unknown reason, we’re talking about Fate, who controls Mayar. One I still don’t know, but which I’ll find out for sure.”

„Then, what should I do to save my daughter?”

„You?! Nothing. Not in the World of Magos. Yet, I’m sure you’ll succeed in the World of Humans.”

„In the World of Humans? What do you mean? To hide?”

„No! I need you to be Rasul in the World of the Northern Ones.”

„The Alshamals!” Murmured Morena, shuddering.

„That’s right! I need you to go there and summon them to fight against Fate and Maranam.”

„I understand what you need, Ahi. Yet, why are you so sure that the Alshamals will accept to fight? As far as I heard from the travelers that crossed that city, the Alshamals never bow in front of anyone. At the same time, they never look for wars even if they are more than able to win one.”

„I know all this and it’s because of this I need them: because they are skilled in battles and because we have a common enemy - the Coal Burners.”

„The Coal Burners? Who are they? I never heard about them.”

„They are Tikil’s dogs!” Replied Ahi, hissing the words through his teeth. Then, walking up and down that room, in front of Morena, with his hands at his back as he generally used to walk, he added, „A very skillful enemy, in fact. A poisonous one. Yet, an enemy that the Alshamals, with a little bit of luck, can defeat.”

„Maybe it’s as you say, but this is still not enough reason for the Alshamals to accept to fight or provoke the Coal Burners if they know who this enemy is.”

„Yet, they’ll do that! They have no choice because they are tied by blood and the power of the Vow!” After that, opening his palm, right in front of Morena, Ahi showed her the tooth of a mammoth, which he received as a gift from Jrijuru, a symbol of his acceptance to listen to the Mago’s command, twenty years ago.

Having this memory in her mind, Morena closed her eyes as though the view of the morning sky bothered her. Then, she opened her eyes the moment she heard Jrijuru’s question, „Are you tied by the Mago because of a promise too? Or maybe… was love?”

„None of it,” said Morena without watching him, even if she felt the king’s glance focused on her. „It’s because of Fate, who seems to control everybody’s life in this world.”

„Yet, I’m not sure that Fate forced you to come to the Gates of Alshamals. I mean, not the Fate of the World, but the Fate of someone in particular. Or… is this a secret?”

„No, it isn’t a secret,” the woman whispered, sadly smiling. After that, looking at the king, she said, „I will try to change my daughter’s Fate and, if possible, the World’s Fate.”

„Still I don’t understand why you do this. I mean, why risk so much for your daughter because… yes, a mother’s love can make wonders, I agree. Yet, you are a simple human and not a Mago.”

„I’m not a Mago, you’re right. Yet, my daughter is. A Mago born from my womb, a daughter I haven’t been with for so long. I feel guilty in front of her for not being with her when she needed me. At the same time, I feel guilty for allowing Fate to deceive me that night, when I conceived her, sentencing her to eternal suffering and loneliness.”

„Or maybe you just gave her the Fate she was predestined to have when Moirae planned her birth, don’t you think so?” Morena looked at him, confused. „I mean the Fate we all believe in, but who nobody ever saw. The Fate that you said controls each of us even before our birth. Something that makes me think that if you are the mother of a fox, as Shelba named your daughter, a fox who also has a human body and soul, then it must be for a noble cause. Something you shouldn’t doubt ever.”

„What about your decision, King?” Morena asked him after a few moments of silence while he looked in front only. „Did you decide to go to war only because of a promise? Yes, I accept that it is a promise you can’t break, but… it’s still a promise that leads your steps to Death. At least this is what I think.”

„I have a different opinion about this,” responded Jrijuru, looking straight into the beautiful black eyes of Morena. Eyes that charmed him, even if not as a man, but as a human charmed by another one. „I think that promises are more than a simple vow. Are something secret, unique, something that ties one’s heart from another one through respect, devotion, and faith.”

„Devotion? For who? For the Mago?”

„Of course not. The Mago of the Black Stones has nothing to do with that promise.”

„Yet, a promise you made many years ago.”

„Yes, I made it… as a reward for being saved that day. At the same time, I made that promise, looking for a friend. A promise that turned us into faithful allies, I hope.”

„What about the decision to join the Army of Magos in this fight? Was it because of Fate or maybe because of the entire world?”

„Because of love,” replied Jrijuru confidently. „The love for my son. The one I left behind to protect our holy lands, for my people, who are still there, protecting our home, the love for those who aren’t in this world anymore, those who died because of our common enemy, the one who lifted his sword again, trying to kneel us all.”

„Revenge then?”

„Justice!” The King said. After that, spurring the horse, he started the gallop toward that red horizon, which seemed not to predict his death. Only… a new beginning for the entire world.