Vvokkam, the great king of the Coal Burners, was so adamant. The fire was burning in his glance while he was staring at the Barrier that was separating their camp from the Lands of Paṉi Makkaḷ, something that let him know that they were unable to pass it. Because of this, he suddenly roared like a mad soul, making the entire field Ātmā loudly resound, there where his army and of Tikil, along with the Veḷḷams, the Vanamars, and the Yātrīkars camped.
Then, feeling himself a little calmer, even if the hatred in his soul was still boiling, mixed with the desire to get revenge, he turned toward the others, whom he told in a loud voice, „We won’t leave from here! Not until we find a way to break this wall of air and scorch everything to the ground after that. We must find a way to succeed in this! That’s why, we’ll use the most skilled spies we have to break into that damn Taṭai and find out what our enemies are planning to do.”
Tikil, who was laying on the grass at that moment, about two meters from Vvokkam, yawned at one moment, bored. After that, he said, „Finding out what they are planning isn’t a problem because there are a lot of souls able to sell their souls to the devil, betraying their country. Yet, we’ll find out this not passing through the Barrier, but looking elsewhere.”
„Why waste our time and force when we can simply break this Barrier?” Insisted Vvokkam, showing his fangs, a hint that he was outraged.
„Simple,” responded Tikil, even more bored than before. „Because that Barrier is unbreakable. Actually, nobody ever could break it, and, for this, we should say thank you to my beloved sister Inlan Diar, who build it.” After that, standing up, he added, „As I know her, a lover of perfection, I’m sure she did a damn good job building it. That’s why, as I’m sure that this Barrier is perfect, I say to look for traitors elsewhere rather than wasting our time by trying to crack this Barrier.”
„What if it cracks eventually?” Hissed Vvokkam through his teeth. Even his eyes sparkled because of anger while staring into Tikil’s eyes, who calmly replied:
„Impossible!” After that, grinning, but not because of happiness, but because Tikil was furious, seeing the madness in his ally’s eyes, a stubbornness born from stupidity as he believed, he asked Vvokkam, „Do you know why?”
„Enlighten me!”
„Because only two people in this world are capable of creating such a Barrier. Wow no, I’m wrong now: there are three people capable of this - Inlan Diar, our beloved Master Dike of the Rophions, and, of course, the last but not least - the Mago of the Black Stones.”
The irony felt in Tikil’s voice made the blood of the Coal Burner boil with even more force. Moreover, he felt outraged, hearing the name of the one he hated the most in this world, Ahi because, still being a child, he started to hate him, considering Ahi his worst enemy. The reason? Well, nothing out of the ordinary: he had been the witness of Rueb’s death because, even if Vvokkam was only fifteen at that moment when the Coal Burners attacked the City of Alshamal, Rueb took his son with him to war. He wanted to make his son stronger, turning him into a real man on the battlefield, without knowing that he poisoned Vvokkam’s soul in fact because, when Ahi cut Rueb’s head, Vvokkam was behind two soldiers from the first row. And, even if the other Coal Burners fell prey to the Mago’s magic, not the same happened to Vvokkam. This one, having an impressive inner power, resisted the Mago’s hypnosis. Thus, he clearly saw the image of Rueb’s head, falling off the shoulders. Yet, even if he felt that his heart stopped beating in his chest and the scream, „No, father!” stopped half through his throat, he said nothing. He didn’t even cry. He only looked at his father’s body that fell to the enemy’s feet. And, powerfully gnashing his teeth, he decided that as soon as he had the power to do that, to kill Ahi as he did to Rueb.
Because of this, Vvokkam got to hate everything related to the Mago of the Black Stones. He hated even Ahi’s name, even if it was only whispered around him. More than that, he hated to hear that Ahi was capable of something really impressive. No, this was something impossible. Not in Vvokkam’s mind, who always said that, „That Mago is only a fool and mindless old man. One that loses his mind by the day, surrounded by those red foxes, something that definitely works against him.” Yet, even if Vvokkam always thought this, he had never been able to find a way to defeat Ahi or hurt the red foxes, intending to weaken the Mago’s power. Because of this, he often felt outraged, thinking that Fate made fun of him, forcing him to stay in place when he wanted to most to yell loudly, „Victory! The Victory is ours, my brothers, because the one who killed our king twenty years ago died just as our king Rueb died then: decapitated!” Yes, Vvokkam wanted to shout all this being above Ahi’s body, having Ahi’s head in his right hand, in plain sight, to be seen by everyone how a traitor dies. Yet, the days passed by him, and his greatest dream remained only a dream.
Nevertheless, even if he didn’t fulfill his dream, Vvokkam still hoped to fulfill it one day. Because of this, he followed Tikil to the Field Ātmā, the one that was so close to Ahi’s kingdom. Yet, he wasn’t there to knock Ahi down, but to help Tikil with his plan. This one, aware of the hatred from Vvokkam’s soul, especially after he found out that Inmar and the red foxes were in the Kingdom of Ice, he told the King of the Coal Burners, whom he visited right after being released by the Devilish Virgins, „It’s time to take revenge for your father, Vvokkam!”
„To avenge my father? What exactly do you mean?” Vvokkam asked that day, staring into Tikil’s eyes, confused.
Tikil, savagely grinning that day, hissed through his teeth, somehow triumphantly, „Seeing a head falling off the shoulders and rolling until your feet!” Yet, Tikil didn’t say Vvokkam whose head would fall. Even so, Vvokkam saw, in his mind only, what he wanted to see: Ahi’s head at his feet. Because of this, he gathered his army and rushed to help Tikil because what Strebasus’s soldiers heard not long ago, metallic objects hitting each other, was only the march of the Coal Burners, those who were still wearing the boots with metallic soles, meant to protect their biggest secret and their lives.
Suddenly, Vvokkam winced, leaving the memories behind, when he felt Tikil’s glance focused on him. Then, seeing the strange sparkle in that ancient Titan’s eyes, Vvokkam looked elsewhere. After that, swallowing hard several times, trying to calm down, he hissed through his teeth again, „Yet, you haven't mentioned the reason for us not being able to break this Barrier.”
„I said that!” Tikil drily answered.
This response made Vvokkam stare at Tikil. He even frowned, seeing the Titan grinning in mockery. Because of this, he said, hissing the words, „It can’t be! Is it because we can’t equal the power of the three?”
„No, it’s not because of that!”
„Then?”
„It’s because we won’t ever be able to break something created by White Magic.”
„That… Mago doesn’t have such Magic!” Vvokkam shouted, with controlled hatred in his voice. „Or… are you kidding me right now, Tikil?”
„No. I'm not mocking you! Actually, I don’t even have a reason to do that. It’s more than enough to look at you and realize that you can do that by yourself. To mock yourself, I mean. Yet, let’s leave these philosophical talks behind and focus on the important thing right now. As… explaining what I meant by saying what I said. No, I’ll give you the chance to do that. Thus, I’ll ask you this question: what has in common our beloved Master Dike of the Rophions and the Mago of the Black Stones?”
„The power?”
„Something simpler than that,” said Tikil in a mocking tone. Seeing Vvokkam ready to break him into pieces because of that mockery, he grinned. Then, he said in a „peaceful” tone, „Before burning this place and us all, I’ll tell you that: to find the bond between these two, you must think primitively because… maybe they are Magic and more, but… they aren’t different from the rest of the world.”
„Their children!” Murmured Vvokkam, confused.
„Bingo!”
„Yet, I don’t understand how the fact that they both have daughters can influence such a Barrier like this!”
„Well… it doesn’t! At all actually!” Said Tikil, taking a few steps around Vvokkam. This one, not losing sight of the Titan, started to rotate on his heels. He looked straight at Tikil because something in the Titan’s behavior seemed weird to him. Yet, Vvokkam didn’t know what exactly bothered him at Tikil. That’s why he decided not to lose sight of him, not even of the minor details. Thus, he saw that Tikil kept grinning because of a thought known only by him, but still, a thought that seemed important for them to win the battle. Which thought? Vvokkam decided not to ask this. He only calmly waited to see what Tikil would say and, this way, to understand what was in that one’s mind. And he hadn’t been wrong in thinking so because he right away heard the answer to his question, „This Barrier, that doesn’t allow us to cross through it, it’s only my beloved sister’s merit. In Dike and Ahi’s case, it’s different. Why? Because they had been able to build such a Barrier only after their daughters were born.”
„The shape-twins!”
„That’s right! Actually, Dike and Ahi have always been strong. I won’t deny this, just as I won’t lessen their merits. Yet, at the same time, I must outline the fact that after the shape-twins have come into this world, time itself has turned upside down and flows differently by the moment of their birth.”
„Differently? In which way?” Vvokkam asked, staring at Tikil’s back.
This one, gnashing his teeth while staring in front, at the Barrier Taṭai, said, „Simply because Time flows in reverse now!”
Vvokkam winced, „In reverse? What exactly do you mean?”
„The fact that this world is so secret that an eternity won’t be enough to find out all its secrets,” said Tikil, barely heard, and looking past his ally’s shoulder. „I mean here the external forces that influence this world, the Cosmic Powers, not only the earthly ones. Actually, if carefully thinking about this, this world has been always strange. It was strange even before Dike’s coming or maybe even before this world was created. Something that seems to me that’s influenced by someone with secret interests.”
The confusing answer of Tikil made Vvokkam even more confused than before. Because of this, he also looked at the Barrier but saw nothing different there. At the same time, for him, Time kept flowing in its normal rhythm and not in reverse as the Titan mentioned. Yet, maybe Vvokkam was wrong because Tikil really had a special power, especially related to seeing things without their usual mask. That’s why he decided not to insist anymore on finding out the truth because, sooner or later, it would have been obvious to him too.
Unlike Vvokkam, Tikil seemed to think differently. For him, not the truth mattered but victory. A full victory in front of Inlan Diar and her allies, by the side of Maranam and the army of evil, whom Tikil got to „serve” thanks to his freedom. Yet, what others didn’t know, Tikil knew: he planned to be by Maranam’s side only formally and, when he’d had the chance, to chase this one back to his den and force him to hide there forever. At the same time, Tikil decided not to rush to bring Maranam to his knees, whom he definitely thought he could defeat, because he had to do things that were more important for the moment. Like… finding out the way to destroy the Kingdom of Ice. That’s why, when he decided how to act to succeed in that battle, Tikil pointed with his head toward the forest, letting Vvokkam know that it was time to follow him. After that, without telling a word to Colte and Kaṇkaḷ, who looked thunderstruck behind them, not knowing what to do, Tikil and Vvokkam entered the forest, losing themselves soon behind the first rows of trees.
***
„Are you sure of this, Karayel?” Kkāṟṟu asked his son after listening to him telling them what he heard from Vvokkam and Tikil’s conversation. „That the Mago of the Black Stones is the fearsome enemy of the Coal Burners?”
„Yes, Father! I’m pretty sure of this. Actually, not only I heard their talk, but also Teṟku. Right, Teṟku?” Looking behind him, where he knew that the Southern Wind was, Karayel frowned, not seeing his friend. That’s why he eventually hissed through his teeth, for himself only, „Where this one ran when I needed him the most?”
Yet, even if he thought that he’d been the only one hearing that question, he’d been so amazed to hear Īramāṉatu chortling, right into his left ear, „He hit the pike, it seems to me!” Then, after being forced to face a warm breeze that had been blown right into his face, Karayel frowned and squinted at the second friend he had, who simply adored poking his nose into others’businesses. Īramāṉatu, at all bothered by Karayel’s „killing” glance, only shrugged and added, „To be more precise, I saw him heading to the Palace.”
„To the Palace? What exactly did he lose there?” Asked Kkāṟṟu, frowning.
„I don’t know. Honestly! What I know is that the insufferable Titan and his ally, the Coal Burner Vvokkam, aren’t on the Field Ātmā anymore.”
„Aaa, no? And… where did they go, if it’s not a secret? To see Maranam?” Karayel said, teasing his friend, convinced that Īramāṉatu was lying to them because, when he and Teṟku left the field, after surrounding it for a while, on the sly, without being felt by their enemies but still able to hear their talk, the two enemies were still there. Yet, Īramāṉatu said the contrary at that moment, something that confused Karayel and made him think his friend was lying to them.
However, Īramāṉatu wasn’t lying because, also on the sly, he followed Karayel and Teṟku when he saw them heading toward the Barrier. The reason? Well, he thought that those two were eager to play. That’s why he followed them, convinced to be their mood breaker, as punishment for not telling the others about their plan. Yet, once next to the Barrier, which he, for an unknown reason, had been unable to cross without permission, saw his two friends heading toward the enemies. He saw them very well actually, like two transparent silhouettes outlined in front of his eyes, as though the two winds were made from transparent gelatin. Īramāṉatu had been the only one in seeing the two winds, not the enemies. That’s why he stood still, realizing that those were trying to spy on the enemy camp, trying to find out their secrets. Then, he saw Karayel and Teṟku sneaking back to the camp and he decided to hide, afraid not to be scolded for „poking again his nose in others’businesses.”
Thus, „transforming himself,” Īramāṉatu got away with it because his friends didn’t notice him. Not even their enemies saw them. However, he not only saw everybody clearly, but he also heard their conversation. That’s why he decided to approach the Barrier more when he saw that awful look in Vvokkam’s eyes, who seemed to have an argument with Tikil. Īramāṉatu wasn’t at all wrong in thinking so because, once next to the Barrier, he found out why exactly Ahi and Dike had been able to build such a strong Barrier Taṭai, an unbreakable Barrier in fact, and this was due to the power of the shape-twins. A fact he talked about to the others too because he felt it was necessary to do that.
Kkāṟṟu, hearing this news, frowned because even if he suspected that something rotten was related to Ahi’s power, he hadn’t ever been able to find out what exactly was increasing the Mago’s power. Not until that moment. Yet, more interesting than that seemed to him the fact that their enemies left the Field Ātmā, heading toward an unknown target. That’s why he said to Karayel, „Take someone with you and go to search the area! If you can find out where those two went, better. Meanwhile, I’ll inform the queen about this.”
„Not necessary,” they heard Inmar’s voice not that far from them. A voice that made the three winds wince because none of them heard the fox coming. Yet, even if all of them were still amazed and wanted to ask the fox how she managed to get there without being felt by any of them, in the Northern Part of the Kingdom, near the rocks of Kaṟkaḷ Pēy, they decided to keep their tongues behind their teeth. Moreover, when Inmar said, „I mean… that’s not necessary to find out where Tikil and that Vvokkam are heading.”
„Why? Do you know where they are going?” Kkāṟṟu asked.
„Yes,” responded Inmar, walking up and down in front of them. „They are going to the foxes’village. On the mountain.”
„And? What do they hope to get there?”
„Probably… to find out Ahi’s secrets because… I think this is what they think: that my brother has been careless and left a track toward him. Or at least they try to find a way to enter this kingdom because they know very well that Ahi isn’t a friend of the Kingdom of Ice.”
„A wise thought! Yet… I don’t understand what they can find there. As far as I know, a Mago of Ahi’s type protects his hide-out very well and he’s also able to „erase” any trace of his existence if he wants this.”
„And you’re absolutely right, Kkāṟṟu! Something that our enemies don’t seem aware of. Eventually, it’s up to them if they want to go there and waste their time because… the Vanamars have done this when they came here and found nothing. A few days ago, I mean.”
„They hoped to find you there,” murmured Īramāṉatu.
„Probably. Yet, not finding us there and feeling you close, they decided to attack. They hoped that this way Inlan Diar would fall into the trap and come to save you, opening a gate or something in the Barrier Taṭai. Something that didn’t happen eventually and this enraged them more. That’s why they look for answers elsewhere this time. Something that works for us.”
„Honestly, I don’t see how this works for us,” growled Kkāṟṟu.
„Simple: as long as they aren’t around, the only ones that have the power to feel the winds that are stronger than Karayel and the others, we can attack them at will because neither the Vanamars nor the Devilish Virgins are capable of facing the winds.” The part with „others,” Inmar hissed through her teeth, looking at Īramāṉatu from top to toe, a gesture that none of the winds appreciated because they also showed her their fangs. Inmar, at all bothered by their glances, added, „At least, they give us the chance to buy some time.”
„I consider this risky,” said Karayel suddenly. „Especially now when my father’s dogs are still weak. More than that, the foxes are also weak while the People of Ice… Well, if Tikil and that Vvokkam are back, they won’t be able to face them alone.”
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
„Karayel is right,” admitted Kkāṟṟu. „We must find a way to deceive them. Which one… I don’t know. Yet. Nevertheless, we’ll definitely find this out.”
„I know this, instead. At least I suspect that this is useful to do it,” said Inmar, making the three winds frown and look at her. „I mean… I know how we can weaken them: by defeating the Coal Burners, Tikil also falls. And, right after him, the same fate will have the Vanamars and the Yātrīkars.”
„Easier said than done.”
„Yet, not impossible, Kkāṟṟu. And, to be honest, it’s exactly what Ahi thought about right before leaving the mountain.”
Kkāṟṟu looked at her, thunderstruck. „Ahi thought about how to protect the Kingdom of Ice?”
„Even if you don’t believe this, it’s the truth. Why? Because even if Ahi doesn’t love either Island or Inlan Diar, he still doesn’t want them to fall. At least not because of others. Actually, he considers that if Paṉi Makkaḷ falls, the entire Mount of Fear falls, and, right after it, the entire world. That’s why he chose the riskier variant: summoning the Alshamals to fight.”
Karayel shuddered, „The Alshamals? But these are…?”
„Exactly: the eternal rivals of the Coal Burners and the only ones capable of defeating them.”
„They could defeat them,” Kkāṟṟu suddenly murmured, hissing the words through his teeth. „While they still didn’t have magic power. Now, the Coal Burners have part of Tikil’s power. I felt it while fighting with them a few days ago. That’s why I think it’s useless to make humans fight with them. It can be dangerous.”
„I have a different opinion,” insisted Inmar. „Do you know why? Because people have always been stronger than we are, those with magic powers, who, even if we consider ourselves unbreakable, we have never been able to bring them to their knees. At least not totally. Thus, because they’ve always been able to stand up, I consider the Alshamals more than capable to defeat the Coal Burners. For this, we must wait a little bit. How long, I don’t know. Just as I don’t know if they will accept to fight eventually. Yet, if Rasul manages to convince them, we have a chance to survive.”
„Rasul? Who’s this?” Īramāṉatu asked in amazement.
„The Messenger,” said Inmar in a sure voice, making the poor wind wince. „No one other than Morena, Mayar’s mother. And, as I know that this woman is capable of making the water drip from hard stone, I’m also sure she’ll manage to convince the Alshamals to join us in this battle. For the moment, we must only wait. Later, when the time comes, we’ll decide if this last game of Ahi is useful or not.” After that, looking straight into Kkāṟṟu’s eyes, Inmar sent him a message, one meant to be heard only by him, „If not, Kkāṟṟu, if the Alshamals don’t join us in battle, not only the Mount of Fear will fall, but the entire world.”
***
„It has been told to you to stay only in the Northern part of Paṉi Makkaḷ and don’t show up over here even if the world burns,” Zeal told Inmar when she saw the fox in front of the palace, right in front of the stone stairs. Not alone, but with Alena, who was barely standing, supporting her arm around Inmar’s neck.
Inmar, looking straight into Zeal’s eyes, at all intimidated, responded to her with the same deep voice, „If it wasn’t necessary, trust me, I wouldn’t have passed by here, not in a thousand years. Yet, as my friend needs the queen’s help, I've dared to break my promise.”
„And?” Zeal dryly asked. „Why should I be interested in your problems? They are your problems, so… face them alone!”
„What if it’s not like that?” Alena whispered. „I mean the problems. What if these aren’t only ours, but also your problems?”
„I don’t get the point. Just as I don’t understand how this can help us if we heal you.”
„Simple: you’ll have another fox capable of fighting and another trustful ally.”
„It doesn’t convince me,” said Zeal confidently. „Just as your cunningness doesn’t convince me because I’m sure that you are here for something. Something different from the wound in your belly, which doesn’t heal but keeps bleeding. A wound that won’t ever heal because this isn’t a place to heal foxes. Not those who hurt my people so much.”
„You did the same. You also hurt the magic foxes,” said Inmar in a deep voice. „You killed too. Never forget this.”
„I won’t. Just as I don’t forget the fact that we’ve done this to protect ourselves because you’ve always attacked us.”
„Yes, we admit this: that we’ve always attacked you. Yet, we did this to survive,” Inmar hissed through her teeth. „We are strong! Yes, we accept this, but we aren’t that strong to survive on our own. Thus, as no help is for free, we’ve paid a price.”
„Are you blaming your brother right now? Well, yes, it is something I must wait for from you: now that he’s not here and can’t defend himself, you can blame him to save your back, leaving him behind.”
„Don’t get it wrong, Zeal!” Said Inmar in a deep voice. „I won’t ever leave my brother behind me. I only name things by their real name, just as you should do because, instead of doing everything to protect your people, you allow your old obsession to be your guide now, looking for someone’s death, instead of making him an ally in this war that comes.”
„I only look for my justice. I don’t see anything wrong with this.”
„No, there’s nothing wrong in looking for justice. However, it becomes an evil thing if you do that only to satisfy your pride and ego in times of war,” Inmar scolded the girl in a hissing tone. „And, as I don’t have time to waste with children, I'll look for solutions somewhere else!” After that, turning her back to Zeal, she wanted to leave that place.
After two steps, Inmar stopped when she heard Alena saying, „The Grotto of Kaṟkaḷ Pēy! There… you should look for the answers to your eternal questions, Zeal! Those questions that started to spin in your head after Zayleea vanished!”
Zeal winced. Then, in a stutter, she asked, „Wha…at are you talking about right now?”
„About your mother, young princess of ice,” Alena said, without watching Zeal. Then, looking at Inmar, Alena asked her by a glance to help her to turn and look at Zeal, who was shuddering at that moment. „Just as I talk about the fact that the Coal Burners are also to be blamed for her disappearance.”
„And you, how do you know all this?” Zeal gnashed her teeth.
„Because I’ve been part of those places,” responded Alena, moaning. An answer that amazed Inmar too. Alena, even if clearly saw the two women thunderstruck because of her answer, didn’t rush to clarify what she said. She only told Zeal in the end, „I can help you to find out those answers if you want. For this, you must help me because only if I survive, you can find the truth behind your mother’s vanishing.”
„You are lying to me!” Zeal shouted.
„What do I win by doing this? On the contrary, I can lose my head because of you if it’s proved later that I lied. Yes, it’ll be a smaller evil than the one I face now, but still, it's something that can make me suffer in the future. Me or… one of my sisters. That’s why I can assure you that it’s not a lie. And you can convince yourself of this, Zeal… only if you help me!”
Zeal said nothing. She was badly shaking at that moment, squeezing her fists and gnashing her teeth, a gnash heard by Alena and Inmar very well. Actually, that gnash made Alena smile eventually. A smile, which had been seen by Zeal, who said, hissing the words through her teeth, „I see that you are fully enjoying my pain, looking straight into my eyes!”
„I only… smile in front of Death that’s rushing toward me! Nothing more! It’s… all I can do right now!” After that, gasping, Alena spat blood, shaking to her feet, something that made Inmar also lose her balance a little.
None of them fell eventually due to Eṉōl, who, suddenly appearing behind them, grabbed Alena by the right arm, which he passed around his neck, to support her. Then, looking at Zeal, who wasn’t at all happy seeing him helping her enemies, Eṉōl said, „They are right, Princess: it’s not the right time for childish revenge! Not now, but later! Later, if you need, I can help you to rip off their skin if we find out that they’ve lied to you.”
Inmar showed him her fangs, „You seem pretty courageous, commander!”
Eṉōl smiled, „I have nothing to be afraid of. Not while you are here, Inmar because, on the Realms of Ice, you can’t hurt a local of Paṉi Makkaḷ.”
„What about… leaving the kingdom? Don’t you think we’ll see each other after this?”
„We’ll see. If we survive,” said Eṉōl confidently. „Now… It's important to save your friend. Later… we’ll see who’ll rip off the skin of who.” Saying this, Eṉōl made a sign to Inmar to turn her back to Zeal. Then, in a slow step, because Alena was barely standing, they headed back to the Camp of the Beasts.
Zeal, still furious because Eṉōl helped the foxes without her permission, gnashed her teeth again. She even formed the famous cobra neck made from her clothing, showing her anger that she couldn’t control anymore. Yet, understanding eventually that both Inmar and Eṉōl were right and that it wasn’t the right time for childish revenge, she followed the three, sure that her help would be also necessary.
***
Although they headed toward the Northern area of Paṉi Makkaḷ while it was still day, Eṉōl and Zeal, along with the two foxes, ventured into the forest after dark. The reason? Alena’s wound, which was even more serious than it looked at first glance. Thus, because the local doctors couldn’t help her and either Inlan Diar’s power didn’t heal her, whom they summoned eventually to the Camp of the Beasts, they decided that it was necessary for the four of them to look for the Nymphs’help. Actually, it was absolutely necessary to ask for their help because, this way, they could tell them about Tikil and the Coal Burners’plans too. They could also summon the nymphs to the Kingdom of Ice by sending them a message through Argol. Yet, afraid that the enemy would find out something and do something against the nymphs eventually, they decided not to take that risk.
Thus, on the sly or normally walking, the four travelers ventured more and more into the forest. They weren’t alone there because, everywhere, both Inmar and Zeal saw spies. Spies of nature, with good intentions for them. That’s why they hadn’t been so preoccupied eventually. At the same time, they didn’t get scared hearing Argol shouting from above, right above the forest, where he hovered for a while, rotating in circles later, smoothly floating on the large wings of the wind Teṉṟal, his best friend. Yet, doing this, floating on Teṉṟal’s wings, Argol wasn’t spoiling himself, but making sure that no enemy was around. Thus, understanding eventually that the place was safe, he shouted again, loudly, informing his friends that it was safe for them to advance.
„Argol also let the nymphs know that we are heading there,” murmured Zeal, thoughtful. „That’s why Argol followed us: to make sure will get there. Safe.”
„It still seems dangerous to me,” said Inmar, carefully looking around. „More now when we know that Vvokkam and Tikil are somewhere around.”
„I agree with Princess Zeal,” said Eṉōl, pushing Alena’s body up, whom he was carrying on his back, unconscious, because the pain let her powerless eventually. „With Argol overhead, we’ll be sure that none of them will approach us on the sly.”
„Just as he can let others know where we are, don’t you think so?” Insisted Inmar in her theory.
Zeal cooked her nose, „As distrustful as always. Something that surprises me in fact because I thought the foxes are courageous by nature.”
„Courageous not stupid,” replied Inmar. „And as precautious as cunning we are. Something you should try, actually.”
„To be a fox?” Zeal asked in mockery.
„No, to think more and show your cobra-forked tongue less.”
„Hei, whom do you call a cobra right now?” Zeal almost shouted, considering an insult, what Inmar said. Yet, feeling Eṉōl’s reproachful glance focused on her, she kept silent eventually. Not Eṉōl, who told them:
„What I think it's that it’ll be wiser for all of us if you stop this dangerous game! And… maybe one of you is a cobra and the other one a cunning fox, but… you are still beings with limited power in this forest that’s full of enemies. So, keep your mouths shut and follow me because I intend to return to the palace in one piece and not be almost dead like the one I carry on my back!” After that, making sure that Alena won’t fall off his back, he entered first the dark thicket.
Right after he left, Inmar and Zeal exchanged glances. They even showed their fangs to each other, a hint that both of them were more than ready for a good fight. Yet, hearing Argol’s shout from above again, a hint that it was time to move on while the area wasn’t a safe one, Inmar said, „Let’s go! We’ll decide later who’s a cobra and who bites better!” Then, turning her back to Zeal, she followed Eṉōl, entering the same thicket.
Listening to the fox’s big words, Zeal puffed through her nostrils several times, sharing frustration. She even hissed through her teeth after that, „As if it’s necessary to prove this. It’s already well known who the cobra here is.” Yet, understanding that by saying this she insulted herself, she suddenly shook her head, reproachfully, and followed her companions.
Behind her, so suddenly, the forest became cunning. Skillful lianas slowly winded on the ground, hiding under the leaves that fell plentifully from above, following the four. More than that, black eyes, strangely piercing the darkness, had been seen lurking on them from above, from the branches or from the bushes, from dens and hollows because the whole forest was on the brink of war and nobody was sure who was a friend and who was an enemy in that unfriendly and cunning world.
***
A wolf’s howl, heard in the distance, made Vvokkam stop. The same Tikil did because that howl seemed to be a signal. For whom? He didn’t know. What he knew was that it was time to quicken his steps to get to Ahi’s grotto, search it for evidence and tracks, and turn back after that, for it was absolutely necessary to be with someone in such unfriendly times.
Yet, even if they both knew this very well, none of them moved from his place. They only kept looking in the distance, stopped on that winding mountain road, with the cliff of the Mount of Fear to their left while, on their right, a bottomless chasm could be found. Above that chasm, they focused their glances eventually, feeling something strange coming from over there. What exactly was strange there? None of them was sure of this. Only… a strange wind got to their nostrils, making them feel itches on their skin.
„The Foehṉṉ?” Vvokkam suddenly asked, after good moments of sniffing the horizon and feeling the same strange itch on his skin.
„This is Nemirā!” Tikil drily answered. „It seems to me that Kkāṟṟu asked his spies to check the surroundings.”
„He knows already that we’re heading toward the Grotto of that Mago?”
„Probably. I’m not sure of this, honestly. Just as I’m not sure that all the winds are by his side in this war.”
„What makes you think that?”
„The wind we felt only what. It was too strange his caress, too real, something we wouldn’t have felt if he had spied on us.”
„It means we can count on allies we haven't trusted by now,” said Vvokkam confidently, even though he seemed thoughtful.
„If I were you, I wouldn’t have rushed, Vvokkam! In making such conclusions, I mean. Why? Because the winds of Paṉi Makkaḷ are cunning and they’ve lived for so long submissive to others. That’s why I consider it wiser to count only on us and on those we’ve trained for this war. The rest… will join us if necessary. It’s not the time for this, yet. And… let’s go! I don’t really like the air I feel around. It’s too harsh and unsafe!” Then, putting the hood of his black cloak on, Tikil turned his back to Vvokkam, and, quickening his step, he moved up the mountain.
Behind him, Vvokkam stood in the same place for a few moments more. Then, hearing the howl of the wolf again, he frowned because it seemed known to him, that howl. Yet, he was also aware that it could have been only the cunning trick of the mount, that wasn’t on their side. Because of this, he also quickened his pace, understanding this cruel truth for the x time. He was determined to find answers only in sure places for him, like the place toward which they were heading at that moment: the Grotto of the Mago of the Black Stones, the Grotto where Ahi hid secrets as Vvokkam thought, secrets he wanted to find out, as soon as possible.
Heading over there and not looking back even for a second, he also didn’t see Nemirā appearing above that chasm. She was sitting at that moment, on her hips. Her gray hair was falling over her knees in waves, knees that were also covered by the thin cloth of the pants she was wearing at the moment, a cloth that had the color of transparent ice. And, right above her palms gathered together, she had a sphere, floating in the air. A sphere made from the same material as the spears Īṭṭikaḷ, on which she clearly saw Tikil’s face while this one was heading toward the grotto. In that sphere, she saw the bravery in his eyes, the determination to bring everybody to his knees, a bravery that had been also felt in her voice when she said, „Ah, great Tikil, you still feel me around you! Is it a good sign or… a bad one?! We’ll find this out eventually when we’ll stay face to face again, after ten thousand years!” Then, suddenly changing the color of her eyes, from dark coal to the blue of the ice, like the color of the sphere from her hand, Nemirā vanished. Only a cold breeze swept that mountain road, one on which many left their sins while climbing the mountain, sins that others took over their shoulders when they descended the mountain. Actually, Nemirā decided to sweep that road of sins because it was so beloved for her, just as the chasm that was opening to the right of the road, from which she took her power, a secret that nobody ever found out.
***
„Hard times are coming,” Melia told her helper Issaṉdrā while both of them were hanging on lianas, at the edge of the forest, staring at the night sky, which was stretching right above the Valley Hamasat or the Valley of Whispers. A Valley that was so close to Nemirā’s chasm, which many people also called the Chasm of the Cold Wind.
„Maybe you’re right, but it’s so calm for the moment,” said Issaṉdrā, looking at the cloudy horizon. „Yet, it’s a silence I don’t like.”
Melia smiled. „It’s because we aren’t used to hearing so much silence. Yet, it’s a silence we must accept. For the moment.”
After that, silence took over both of them. A strange silence, which brought the other nymphs closer to them. And, even though it seemed that the moving lianas made no sound while moving through the forest, Melia felt it because she suddenly turned her head and looked at the nymphs. Thus, she saw the anxiety gleaming in their eyes, anxiety for the day of tomorrow and for the future, a gleaming that made Melia’s heart bleed, feeling a deep pain in her soul because she didn’t know how to protect her friends, family, and those lands.
Suddenly, hearing Argol’s shout from above, all the nymphs winced. They, except Melia and Issaṉdrā, pulled back, intending to run and hide. Yet, they stopped, seeing Nikkari approaching them from the forest. And, while heading toward the place where Melia and Issaṉdrā were, Nikkari told the other nymphs, „It’s only Argol, the eagle of Queen of Ice! He has a message for us, it seems to me.”
„Has the war started?” Asked Issaṉdrā, frightened, because even if she knew that the war was coming, she hoped it not to be true.
Nikkari shook her head. „No, it’s not that! He’s here to bring us some news because… we know already that Tikil and the Coal Burners are in front of the borders of Paṉi Makkaḷ. Along with the Vanamars and Yātrīkars.”
„I think that it’s something more than this,” said Melia, pointing with her head to the left, toward one dark thicket from where she heard a rustling. A noise that made the other nymphs pull back again, squeezing the daggers, which Nikkari gave them as a gift, in their hands, to protect themselves.
Yet, the nymphs didn’t pull back too far. Only a few meters. After that, still with their eyes on that thicket, they breathlessly waited for what was coming because, in those hard times, they really didn’t know what to expect from Fate. At the same time, none of them expected a friend to approach them or bring them good news. Yet, they were all wrong because a friend headed toward them eventually: a big brown cobra, who exited that thicket first, and, winding on that small path, which was seen between the thicket and the part of the forest where the nymphs were, she rushed to approach them.
Seeing the cobra coming, the nymphs touched the soil with their soles and squeezed the daggers even harder in their hands. The same did Melia and Issaṉdrā: they also descended on the ground, understanding that if Zeal took the risk to come there, it meant that something bad happened. Thus, touching the soil with their soles, both of them looked at each other first, then at Nikkari. They saw her staring at the cobra that was halfway the way already. Yet, the moment they heard a flap of wings, right above their heads, they looked over there. Even the cobra winced because of that flap of wings, sticking her body to the ground, afraid to be discovered. Fear that was unfounded because it was Argol’s flap of wings, who touched the ground eventually to keep his balance. And, seeing him there, somehow protecting her not to be seen from the distance, Zeal breathed a sigh of relief and continued her movement.
Melia and the others also breathed a sigh of relief eventually because the sudden coming of the eagle was something that none of them expected. They got scared because of this, because, lately, even the movement of the grass was scaring them. That’s why it wasn’t weird for them to be scared by a magic eagle that suddenly touched the ground with its sharp claws. Yet, the moment Zeal stopped in front of them, taking her usual appearance, the nymphs took their eyes off the eagle and looked at her when she said, „It’s not time to waste! You must follow me!”
„Where exactly?” Inquired Nikkari.
„To a safe place. Here it is too exposed and we can’t take the risk of being seen by the enemy. There… I’ll tell you more and you can also save someone’s life by being there.” After that, suddenly turning her back to them, Zeal took her cobra’s body again and headed toward the same thicket from where she came. Behind her, Melia, Issaṉdrā, and Nikkari quickened their pace not to be left behind. The other nymphs, at Melia’s command, entered the forest to make sure that there weren’t enemy spies there.
***
Staring at the stone throne on which Ahi used to stay Vvokkam frowned. He even gnashed his teeth suddenly because, seeing that place, which seemed to be the throne hall of a great king, all the painful memories took over him. Especially, he remembered the last moments of his father's life, right before the sword of the Mago cut his head, a head that rolled to Jrijuru’s legs eventually, accepting his defeat this way.
A defeat Vvokkam couldn’t accept. Because of this, he did everything to avenge his father. Actions that seemed useless at that moment because, once got to that empty room, the one without memories and power, Fate seemed to laugh into his face, telling him in mockery, „Well, Vvokkam, you deserved this, don’t you? To be defeated and brought to your knees in front of the world! In front of the same world you wanted to bring to its knees, you are worshiping now, accepting not only your defeat but also the fact that you have no soul and no future.”