The Wind of the Desert swept the entire area for hours until Jrijuru, his soldiers, and Morena decided to leave their hideout and continue their journey. They did that, being aware that there was still a long way until the Field Ātmā, where they intended to meet Fate once again - with no other ones than with the Coal Burners. Nevertheless, before meeting the Coal Burners, they had to face first the fury of the Gines of the Desert, an anger thrown not over them, but over Big Tarther. This one, for the fire he threw over the world, was punished by being swallowed by the moving sand, the one controlled by six souls that seemed to serve evil, but who bowed only in front of Celia and Atlas in fact, those whose love had been destroyed by others’hatred and desire to get revenge.
„A story that even though it is beautiful still makes you shudder inside while listening to it,” Morena whispered after Jrijuru told her the story of the six Gines, whom she didn’t see, but whose power she had still felt during the sand storm. After that, sighing, Morena looked behind, at the beauty and the calmness of the desert, something that seemed like a fairy tale, even though, only hours before, it looked like hell.
„This is still a story that is worth the fear and the shaking inside because… it’s about a love that’s protected by nature’s forces,” said Jrijuru calmly while looking at Morena’s face, which the light of the sunset so beautifully bathed. „Actually, if a love is true, even though those who feel it aren’t able to protect it, nature does this in their place. Yet, nature protects someone’s love only if that one has a pure heart.”
Hearing the words spoken by Jrijuru, with so much calmness inside, Morena looked in amazement at him. „Do you speak so because this is something you have experienced?” She asked him eventually.
Jrijuru smiled. „Actually, you are right this time. Why? Because… this desert also showed me once what love is. It happened when it sent an angel with the name Ameia to meet me that day.” Morena looked at him, confused this time. She didn’t remember having heard that name while being at the palace. She also didn’t dare to ask Jrijuru who Ameia was. She considered that something reckless because he was a stranger to her eventually. Yes, Jrijuru was the King of Alshamals, a great man, someone who protected her with his own body a few hours ago. Even so, he was still a stranger to Morena.
Thinking too much about this, Morena didn’t feel that strange silence that fell over them. A silence that Jrijuru cut off eventually when he said, „I pay a penny for your thoughts, woman.”
Morena smiled. „Only one?”
„It’s what the people from the West say, right?”
„Yes, you are right because… people generally ask such questions. Yet, the thoughts I have aren’t for selling.”
„Why?” Jrijuru asked her, confused. „Is it because you think about the Mago of the Black Stones?” Morena shook her head. „Then?”
„Actually, I was thinking about you and your love, the one that is named Ameia. A name that I don’t remember having heard before.”
Morena’s words suddenly brought sadness in the heart of the man who rode the horse next to her. Sadness, which Morena saw like tears in his eyes, soon after this. Yet, those tears hadn’t been shed eventually. They remained behind the mirror of Jrijuru’s glance, making it strangely shine in the light of the sunset, as though it had amplified the mirage of the Desert Nisyan. That desert was so calm and splendid at that moment when a man and a woman rode their horses, side by side, two souls that even though weren’t lovers, still felt love in their own way. Thus, longing for happiness, each of them in his own way, they got to feel compassion for each other and not want to see the bird with the name Sadness flapping its big wings in the sky from their glance. Seeing it at that moment, in Jrijuru's eyes, Morena felt strange and rushed to say eventually, „I just said what I think. No need for an answer, King. At the same time, I ask for forgiveness if I made old wounds bleed in your heart.”
Jrijuru looked at her. He did that kindly, somehow grateful that time because he met only a few wise women in his life. At the same time, he understood that so few of those wise women he met in his life didn’t want to be his queen and stay on the throne by his side. One of those women who didn’t dream of power was Morena, a woman he got to admire that day and whom he told eventually, „Actually, the wounds we wear inside, in our hearts, are pleasant sometimes, even though they hurt us so much as when they were fresh. Even so, even though these wounds brought us to our knees so many times before, we hadn’t ever been capable of getting rid of them.”
„How were we supposed to do that?” Morena asked, looking at the ground while shyly smiling. „They are part of our past. At least this happens in my case because… this is a past that blessed me with my daughter.”
„I feel the same, you know?! I’m also grateful for my past because it gave me two handsome sons and beautiful memories. Even if… I have only one son and memories now,” the king said, looking in front this time. After that, he kept silent. Jrijuru said nothing for a long time. He only looked at the mirage of the Desert Nisyan, seeing only one image at that moment - the image of Ameia, the young woman, who carried a bucket full of water on her shoulders while heading toward him and smiled. That Ameia, from the mirage, even waved at him and happily shouted, „Do you see me, my love? I’m here!” After that, tightly holding the bucket so as not to spill the water, she ran toward the twenty-year-old Jrijuru, who waited for her with his arms wide open.
Instead of love, Jrijuru held the air to his chest eventually, air that fell as pure sand at his feet in the end, bathing his arms and soles in pure gold that evening. Actually, in that mirage, Jrijuru saw himself surrounded by sand from everywhere, just as it happened in reality while being beside his soldiers. And, to his left, looking at him with compassion and understanding, there was another woman. Yes, there was a beautiful woman, in whose eyes he could have lost himself forever, but who wasn’t his woman, in the end.
Because of this, Jrijuru sighed eventually, whispering shortly after this, „This is actually the story of the wanderer and of his journey: not to rest ever and always long for more happiness and silence.”
„Someone’s happiness is in his heart most of the time,” said Morena, also looking at the desert. „Yet, we are often blind and don’t see that we need so few for happiness.”
„That’s still a happiness that I think one meets only one time in his life: when he has a pure heart and his soul is free to love.”
„I don’t see what keeps you away from loving at this time too.”
„The regrets, Morena! The regrets and the past that always flaps its wings beside us, even above this desert of love as many think the Desert Nisyan is, because… a heart that longs for the past cannot be happy at the present.”
„Then… maybe it’s time to open the gates of your heart widely, chase sadness away, and receive the happiness to your chest, don’t you think so?”
„If I do this, it means to betray the Alshamal that lives inside me, one that won’t ever open the gates of his palace even though there are only ruins and ash there.”
Saying this, Jrijuru spurred the horse, which started to gallop toward the western horizon, the one bathed by fire and shadows. Toward the same horizon, Morena looked at that moment too. There, she saw a single image: the one of the king of the Alshamals riding his black horse and heading toward triumph. „Or… is he heading toward other ruins maybe?!” Morena whispered eventually. After that, when she felt that it was time, she also spurred the horse and followed Jrijuru, trying to catch up with him and show him that happiness could be found in small things too, that happiness could be found among friends or, maybe, it was waiting for them at the next crossroad.
Behind her, the army of the Alshamals also quickened its pace. Those who rode a horse spurred their stallion too, making him run when they walked at a slow step by then. However, even though they spurred their horses too or quickened their pace, none of the soldiers started to gallop behind the black point seen at the horizon… their king. A king that was followed by a beautiful queen of the mirage, one that was riding a white horse at that moment, a queen that wore the soft velvet of the desert, and the golden of the sun. The soldiers did that understanding that their king needed a moment of solitude next to that wise woman, who wasn’t meant to be his one day. Yet, he could find happiness by her side for a short time in the sweet embracement of the Desert Nisyan.
***
With his eyes closed, on the western field of Paṉi Makkal, the one known as Eḷiya Viti or the Field of Fate, the panther Accam Kuṉṟu was listening to the surroundings. Yet, there was nothing heard all around. It was too quiet at that moment. Even so, Accam Kuṉṟu knew that all of this was only an illusion. The panther was sure that the surroundings could be deceiving because, not only once in his long life, that horizon and the surroundings from that part of the world led his footsteps toward death. Yes, the horizon and that field seemed to be against the world, but by the side of the Master of the Underworld, no one other than Maranam.
Thus, with his eyes closed and listening to the silence before the storm and the calmness of the night, Accam Kuṉṟu could finally hear the noise of Vakkurti’s hooves, the one who galloped toward victory, that victory that Maranam wished the most. It was a too easy victory in Maranam’s opinion even though the whole world was against him. Yet, if Maranam galloped toward that place, Accam Kuṉṟu knew that it was because he had a sure plan. Which one? The old panther wasn’t sure because… he heard a lot of theories at the Council of the Elders organized by Inlan Diar. At the same time, Accam Kuṉṟu heard a lot of terror stories from the People of Paṉi Makkal and the Siars, who said that Maranam headed straight toward that kingdom because there was a Secret Gate that could have led his footsteps toward victory. Thus, they became a sure threat to Maranam.
Yet, even though all those theories seemed to be real, Accam Kuṉṟu believed none of them. He didn’t believe what others said because he felt that Maranam had other plans for the Kingdom of Ice and not the one the others thought. Yes, the panther was sure that Maranam had a well-made plan, one that he wanted to frustrate because he thought that what Maranam tried to achieve by conquering the Kingdom of Ice was to have control over the Stream of Power. The Stream was deeply hidden in the depths of the Mount of Fear: an impossible dream for others, but still a possible dream for his people. Why did Accam Kuṉṟu consider that the power of that stream should have been only for his family? Because Accam Kuṉṟu had always been the Guardian of the Stream Caktiyiṉ Ātāram. Yes, the Black Panther guarded it for millennia: even with his own body because, when Tikil killed him, he was chasing the same dream - to control the Power of that Stream. And, as he lost once because of his weakness for his children, Accam Kuṉṟu decided not to allow anyone to have that privilege, not even to Tikil, who seemed to be by Maranam’s side at that time.
Finally understanding what Maranam’s plan seemed to be while heading toward the Kingdom of Inlan Diar, the panther turned his head and told Zeal, who wasn’t that far from the Barrier, „Cover your head and don’t look, even for a second, in the eyes of that beast! Did you understand me?”
„Yes, Great-great grandfather! Yet, I consider that…,” Zeal tried to stand against his idea.
The girl kept eventually silent the moment she caught the panther’s glance, one full of reproach, focused on her. Thus, realizing that if Accam Kuṉṟu demanded her to do that it was for a sure reason, even though she wasn’t too eager to listen to his command, Zeal did that. And, right after she put the hood on, she turned only half toward the Barrier to make sure that even if the one who rode Vakkurti would have looked at her, he wouldn’t have had the chance to look straight into her eyes.
Suddenly, Zeal frowned the moment she saw that Accam Kuṉṟu used his power and turned that part of the Barrier that was in front of her into a kind of impassable wall: it was black if looking at the Barrier from the field, but still transparent from Zeal’s side. Yes, it was a perfect mirage to deceive Maranam. Yet, it hadn’t been too smart in Āram’s opinion. She, understanding the old panther’s trick, told him, „You wasted your time and power in vain, Accam Kuṉṟu because… this trick cannot deceive Maranam.”
„Do you think I did that to deceive him?” Accam Kuṉṟu asked, looking to his right, past his shoulder, toward Āram.
The leader of the Uyarvu, without looking at the one who was their enemy at that time while he’d been their protector before that, told him, „Of course, because… only a sentenced to death can do such exaggerated things.”
Accam Kuṉṟu smiled. „Then, if you think this, you learned nothing all that time you stood by my side, Āram. That’s why you have chosen this mistaken path eventually: for you and for all the Virgins Uyarvu! And yes, maybe I used the wrong trick to deceive my rival. Yet, you instead have been wrong in choosing which side you’ll be in this war because you lead the footsteps of all the Virgins who believed in you toward death.”
His words made Āram frown. Then, staring at Accam Kuṉṟu, who was looking in front this time, Āram said, „I’ve never chosen anything led by stupidity, Accam Kuṉṟu! All I did was for justice!”
„For egoism, you want to say, while dreaming about a title and a throne that doesn't belong to you. Something you’ll understand one day when it’s too late.”
Accam Kuṉṟu kept silent the moment the noise of Vakkurti’s hooves had been powerfully heard in the distance. Then, seconds later only, three black points had been seen at the horizon: a big one in the middle, which was the shadow of Vakkurti mixed with the one of Maranam, who stood on his back, and two smaller ones on both sides of the horse - the shadows of the two panthers that madly ran behind Vakkurti: Kurūcim and Koṭumai. Seeing them, Accam Kuṉṟu frowned, murmuring this time, „The one I always feared and I tried to not ever see is about to appear in front of me because I’ve looked for him eventually.”
„It’s not too late, actually,” said Āram, cunningly sketching a smile. „To hide yourself, I mean: in the cold and wet depths of this mountain. Where you belong to, Accam Kuṉṟu!”
The panther smiled when before that he frowned, concerned. Then, closing his eyes again, still smiling, Accam Kuṉṟu said, „Each soul in this world has a place where he belongs, Virgin Uyarvu. I, for example, had my place in the heart of this mountain. You - will pay with blood for your betrayal because the People of Paṉi Makkal have always respected and protected you in times of war. Instead, you paid for their kindness with betrayal when you turned your back to them when they needed you the most. Yet, don’t worry: there is an end and a punishment for everything and for everybody in this world! At the same time, they still have a chance to win this war while you have no other to survive because Fate has decided so: to lead your footsteps only toward Death and never toward victory!”
The panther’s words made Āram shudder this time. Then… she swallowed hard. She had so many thoughts in her mind at that time and so many doubts in her soul. At the same time, she was sure of only one thing: that maybe she had chosen the wrong path eventually when she betrayed those who trusted her for years. Even so: there was no return for her already.
Eventually, when Vakkurti was only a few dozen meters from them, Āram bowed her head and closed her eyes. She was afraid to look into the eyes of the Master of the Underworld even though she swore to be faithful to him and be by his side till the end. Yes, Āram swore this to Helyos, the one whom she gave her body and soul, even though she swore to herself first to be always pure and faithful to herself only. Even so, she deceived her own heart in the end when she believed in her love because Accam Kuṉṟu was right when he said that love led her footsteps toward death. Nevertheless, proud as always, Āram decided not to let the panther know that he had been right. Āram was determined to respect the word she gave to Helyos and be part of the Army of Evil till the end even if she had always sworn to be faithful to the Army of Good.
She stood like this, with her head bowed and her eyes closed until she heard Maranam demanding his horse Vakkurti to stop. Then she heard him descending off the horse’s back and she also heard the accelerated breathing of the horse, which kept puffing through his large nostrils, showing his nervousness after that long ride. Not only Vakkurti was hardly breathing after that run. The same happened to the two panthers, whose sigh Āram heard in the end.
Because of that sigh, Āram opened her eyes and looked at the panthers, on the sly only. Thus, she saw Maranam a few steps from his horse, intensely looking to her left where Accam Kuṉṟu was. None of them said anything: they only looked into each other’s eyes, trying to disarm the other one with his glance, using an equal power eventually because what none of the two enemies knew was that, on the Field Eḷiya Viti, everybody had the same power. Well, only Maranam and his allies didn’t know this. Not the same happened to Accam Kuṉṟu: he not only knew that they had equal power on that Field, but he also wanted to use this against Maranam. At least… he tried to avoid the use of useless tricks from his enemy’s side, whom he knew was capable of such things. And, while Accam Kuṉṟu knew this, he understood that he wasn’t also afraid of Maranam, just as he was sure that the place from where he took his power could have been a grave for Maranam in the end if he had used the right trick to deceive him. That’s why Accam Kuṉṟu told Maranam eventually, „You are here, Maranam, choosing this Path of the Wanderer that leads only to Death when you should have been grateful for what Fate gave you when she brought you into this world!”
Maranam grinned. „Why should I be grateful for less when I can have everything?” He told the panther in a defiant tone.
„Because… those who want more than they can have can end up like victims in the name of Justice.”
Maranam burst into laughter, making the horizon strangely and threateningly resound. He made even Zeal shudder, who was still behind the Barrier. She even covered her mouth with both palms, afraid her sigh would be heard eventually. And, for the first time since the war started, Zeal understood why Inlan Diar and Accam Kuṉṟu had been so worried that Maranam was there: he turned the Balance of the Power upside down, threatening the whole world with destruction.
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Maranam, even though she thought that the sigh hadn’t come out of her throat, still heard that sound. He, suddenly cutting his laughter off, stared toward the Barrier, behind which Zeal was hiding. Maranam felt that there was a huge power hidden behind the Barrier, one he couldn’t see. That’s why he kept frowning, showing his teeth and his frustration of not being capable of seeing through that black wall. Then, understanding who was to blame for his helplessness, he looked at the panther and told him, „Ah, old decrepit creature: you have decided to play a prank on me! Yet, hiding that power from me, she’s still not at the shelter!”
„For the moment she is!” Accam Kuṉṟu calmly replied. „The same happens to the Balance of this Mountain: you haven’t managed to turn it upside down, not yet! That’s why you have given me the chance to avoid you doing this.”
„How? By blowing this mountain up?” Maranam asked in mockery. Then, he looked at the two panthers when he heard them chortling. After that, he told Accam Kuṉṟu, „No, what I think is that you are still dreaming to make us evaporate from this planet, defeated by the hand of Fate, right?”
„Why dream of the impossible when Time is its own Master? At the same time, why ask for the Fate’s help when the three Moirae have already decided your Fate?”
Maranam frowned. „Don’t talk nonsense!” He shouted this time. „Moirae have no power over me because… Moirae can control only those who have been born here!”
„You are wrong this time, Maranam! Why? Because… when Fate and Chaos decided to create Earth and they have given the power to Moirae to decide over the Fate of the earthly creatures, Moirae asked for one more thing: to be able to control the Fate of all of those who were on Earth. This includes also those who haven’t been born here, on earth!”
„You are lying!”
„What do I win by doing this? Nothing! On the contrary: I lose because it means to lie to myself.”
„Yet, you say big words without being completely sure that’s the truth. Why?”
„To make you give up on your reckless idea of conquering Earth. Thus, I also try to save the world and you, who have a role in this world. At the same time, I try to save a soul born from me from death.”
Maranam frowned again, looking into the panther’s eyes. There… he saw Mayar’s face. „It can’t be!” He whispered, shuddering. „One of the twins-shape has your power in her veins.”
„The curse too. A curse that will chase her to the depths of this earth, taking her freedom, if I’m not able to make you give up on your madness. Something I’m still convinced won't ever happen, right?”
„Right because… why should I give up on something when I’m meant to win, old man?” Maranam told the panther, haughty. „I waited for this right for millennia. I bowed my head all this time only to be able to fight against Fate and take back what’s mine. Yes, I’ll fight against that Fate, in front of which you worship till the end, decrepit creature, even if you are sure of your death. Something you can avoid, as you can avoid the falling of Paṉi Makkal if you accept me as your Master.”
Accam Kuṉṟu bitterly smiled this time while he told his enemy, „Ceding this world to the Darkness and denying the right of the Light and Life to lead this world, means death for me, Maranam! Something I won’t ever do: to sentence me to suffering and wandering for eternity!”
„Then… are you ready to start your journey on the famous Path of the Wanderer? That path that leads toward the Kingdom of Samargo, from where you won’t ever turn back?”
„Absolutely,” the panther proudly replied. „Why? Because it’s the same path you’ll walk onto eventually because… what you want to do to this world won’t ever happen. I’m sure of this, Maranam, just as I’m sure that even if I’m meant to die, walking onto the Path of the Wanderer, I’ll do it having my heart pure, aware that I still have a chance to be reborn. However, once you start to walk onto that path, you won’t ever have a chance to turn back because… the one who dreams about destroying this world, won’t ever be its Master!”
Saying this, Accam Kuṉṟu turned his back to Maranam and headed toward the Barrier, behind which Zeal was hiding. He didn’t look back not even when he heard Maranam saying, „If you are so sure of this, old man, fight for your life! It’s your only chance to see my defeat! Instead, you’ll see only ruins and myself on the Throne of the World, that throne which you dreamt of, but which you didn’t have because your blood brought you to your knees!”
„A throne that will be your grave in the end!” The panther whispered right before crossing through the Barrier. Then, he looked at Zeal, who was staring at him, confused because she clearly heard his whisper. Accam Kuṉṟu said nothing about this. He only smiled and told the girl, „Let’s go now, Zeal! Let’s head toward victory!”
„But… I don’t understand what you mean, Great-great-grandfather Accam Kuṉṟu!”
„You’ll see this, with your own eyes, when the moment comes! Just as the rest of the world will be able to look into Fate’s eyes eventually!”
After these words, Accam Kuṉṟu sighed. Then, he’d been the first one to head north, where he knew that there was the entrance to the holy place where the Stream of Power was, a stream whose name was on the lips of everybody, but which only a few souls saw in this world. That Stream, Accam Kuṉṟu wanted to see for one more time in his life because, even if he’d been born from the Stream’s power and even if it was meant for him to die as Maranam predicted, it was still a dear Stream for him, whose Parent and councilor he’d been for so many years.
***
The mountaintop Mēl or the Crown of the Mount of Fear was considered by the entire world the highest of the top mountains from the western kingdom of the Magos. That mountaintop, which most of the year was covered by snow and by the strong currents of air that were seen rotating in perfect and continuous circles, seemed not to be influenced by the external powers. That’s why Inlan Diar and Accam Kuṉṟu had considered this mountaintop their perfect source of power for millennia because, only there, they could find the strength they needed in difficult times. At the same time, they were aware that there was no other place from where they could take such pure power than on the mountaintop Mēl. Because of this, because a lot of people and Magos knew about this source of pure power, many souls had tried to get to Mēl and fill themselves with the same strength. Nevertheless, the power of the mountain allowed only two souls to get to that top: the Queen of Ice and the panther Accam Kuṉṟu.
Toward the same mountaintop, Accam Kuṉṟu and Zeal were heading at that moment, leaving the Field of Fate behind them and walking onto that famous „Path of the Wanderer” as Maranam had predicted. Yet, what the Master of the Underworld didn’t know was that the narrow path that led their footsteps to the Top Mēl was also known as the Path of the Wanderer, a steep and dangerous path at first glance, but which was so easy to walk onto for those whom the Mount of Fear has permitted to walk onto.
„This path looks easy, even though it gives you the feeling that you will die here eventually,” Zeal whispered when they got halfway up the path and the cold air of those places surrounded her from everywhere. Because of this, she wrapped the cloak Veppam around her body because, even if Zeal loved the cold and wet places, she still preferred the water and not the mountain.
„It’s only a front,” replied Accam Kuṉṟu eventually, looking in the same direction as Zeal: down the mountain. There, he saw the houses of Paṉi Makkal, which looked like big gray rocks at that moment. „Rocks” that were placed in perfect rows. And, on the streets formed by those „rocks," no living soul was seen at that moment. This view made the panther sigh and whisper shortly after this, „Inlan Diar is right when says that the soul of the mountain disappeared once this war started.”
„What do you mean, great-great-grandfather?” Zeal asked, stunned while taking a few steps up that path to get beside him.
„I mean the beauty of this place, Zeal! This mountain… which has always been cheerful and beautiful, even though it has often seemed bald and deserted.”
„Maybe you’re right, but… I’m sure the beauty of this mountain hasn’t disappeared forever. It’s only for the moment. Let’s say that it has hidden during these stormy times.”
„If we think so, it would mean to lie to ourselves, don’t you also think so?” Zeal shook her head. „Why?”
„Because… just think about this: this world has always had its secrets, right?”
„Right. Yet, I don’t really understand your point.”
„I was talking about this world, which has both secrets and strategies, even in times of war. Thus, by „hiding” the beauty of the world, it looks „poor” and „devastated,” letting the enemy think that’s „easy prey.” An illusion only because, by doing this, the world has the chance and time to prepare its contra attack and fiercely fight against the enemy. After that, when it wins, this mountain will be proud and beautiful again, looking at the rest of the world from above.”
Accam Kuṉṟu smiled. „You have great ideas, Zeal. Yet, what you say is difficult to prove or believe.”
„Even so, this is still something that fills your soul with hope, don't you think so?” Accam Kuṉṟu looked at her, confused this time. „I mean… Hope dies last, right? At the same time, I mean that while the living creatures are forced to fight and protect their beloved people and belongings, they always wear hope inside even though what they see isn’t that good. And… it’s also said that the Balances are hidden somewhere in this world, correct?”
„Correct! And?”
„If they are hidden here, on earth, it means they found an impressive power here, which protects them. At the same time, if the Balance Themis split into many others, it’s because it was afraid that Evil would control it one day. It’s how this world protects itself, in fact.”
„At the same time, it’s said that Themis has its dark side that equals its light side.”
„Logical, it’s a Balance, right?” Said Zeal, somehow careless. After that, turning her back to the houses seen in the valley, she kept climbing up the mountain, followed by the panther from close. Zeal didn’t keep silent that time, but said, „Actually, I also think that if Themis split up and the Legend of the Hero, who would restore it, appeared after that, it was normal for the war to start.”
„Honestly, I don’t see any logic here. But, if you insist,” Accam Kuṉṟu mumbled.
Zeal paid no attention to what he muttered, but continued her theory, „I mean… the logic consists in small details, as the one that those who will join their power will win the war because… no matter how strong our enemy seems to be, we aren’t also weak.”
Accam Kuṉṟu smiled. „Listening to you talking like that, I have the feeling that you have already planned the entire war, the victory, and the party after that.”
„Why not? What’s wrong with planning things before time?”
„There’s nothing wrong, I agree. Yet, in certain circumstances, it’s better not to make plans. At least, not to plan them so long before this happens. Thus, if you don’t win, you won’t be disappointed.”
„I have a different idea though,” Zeal cut him off suddenly. „If we have plans and dreams we become stronger.”
„Plans like what? If it’s not a secret, of course.”
Zeal smiled this time. Then, somehow ashamed, she said, „To see a copy of me running through the beautiful fields of Paṉi Makkal.” After that, she sighed. „Something I always dreamt of since my mother left because… I always wanted to be a baby that lives his happiness against his mother’s heart. Yet, maybe you are also right and I dream too much.”
Zeal’s words made Accam Kuṉṟu take thoughts. Eventually, the girl was right and he had never thought about this before: about her plans and dreams. What he thought was about the victory and about how to protect the Mount of Fear from external influence and not fall prey to evil. He taught Inlan Diar the same, to whom he always said to teach her kids and grandchildren the same. Yet, he’d been so wrong because… his descendants dreamt about simple things like having a family and happily living ever after, not about power. Dreams they’d been forced to leave for later once war knocked on their door. This made Accam Kuṉṟu sigh in the end.
„What are you thinking about so deeply?” Zeal asked, looking at the panther when she heard his sigh.
„At what you have just said,” replied Accam Kuṉṟu confidently, even though sadness was tormenting him inside. „A thought I wish you fulfill someday and I’ll pray for this.”
„I’m sure it’ll happen for sure because… not for nothing I’ve been born into this world and Father Chaos has allowed me to live. I’m sure I have a meaning in this world, just as I’m sure that my dreams aren’t useless.”
While the girl continued to cheerfully talk and climb the mountain, Accam Kuṉṟu sadly smiled. He also knew about Inlan Diar’s vision, the one she had seen when Anaya visited her, about Zeal’s death on the battlefield. Yet, even if he knew all this, he decided not to talk to the girl about it. It was better for her to keep dreaming that she’d have kids, who’d happily play on the fields of their kingdom, and would be happy along with the man she’d fall in love with. Yes, he let her dream about all this because… they still had time to dream while walking onto that Path of the Wanderer, which all the souls take one day, but almost none of them return.
***
An ice spear, which had a black liquid inside, a poisonous one apparently, suddenly pierced Issaṉdrā’s right shoulder, making her moan in the end. After falling, because she dropped the liana on which she had climbed by then, she rolled on the ground a few meters, painfully hitting the thick trunk of a secular tree. Issaṉdrā felt the hit deep in her bones, something that made her gnash her teeth again and wish to rest a little. Yet, she had to stand up because they were still hunted by Tikil. She clearly heard his footsteps approaching her and she listened to this because of the dried thin branches on which he stepped and the dried leaves that were covering the ground with a thick blanket. Because of this, Issaṉdrā realized that she had no time to waste in vain or complain, but to continue running and save her life.
Trying to stay on her feet, she realized that she couldn’t do that when she felt her right arm numbed. Touching it with her left palm, Issaṉdrā felt the warmth of the blood that drained from the wound and that stained her skin with red marks. Yet, it didn’t last long because, soon after this, the wound suddenly turned black, and the poison from the spear that injured her started to circulate quickly. Because of this, Issaṉdrā saw black veins all over the right arm eventually. „It can’t be,” whispered Issaṉdrā, seeing those black veins on her arm. „Tikil’s curse seems fiercer than I have expected.”
„Even so, we have to run,” she heard Melia’s voice to her left. Looking over there, Issaṉdrā saw Melia and the other nymphs approaching her, still hanging on their lianas. Once they had been not that far from Issaṉdrā, they stopped, but the only one who descended to help her stand up was Melia.
Feeling that she wasn’t able to stay on her feet alone and that it could get worse once the poison was circulating so fast through her veins, Issaṉdrā looked into Melia’s eyes, to whom she said, „I’ll just slow you down! That’s why, I think it’ll be better if I stay here to slow down Tikil too! Thus, you’ll be safe!”
„This isn't up for discussion!” Melia hissed through her teeth. „A nymph, more if she’s hurt, won’t be ever left behind and you know that.”
„Yes, I know that very well. Even so, Melia: it's better to die only one nymph than all of us!”
Issaṉdrā’s words made the other nymphs shudder. Then, they exchanged glances, terrified, looking back after this when they heard Tikil’s moans, who already felt the fatigue after the run behind them. The strange sounds the Titan of Terror left out of his throat made the nymphs shudder again and gnash their teeth.
Suddenly, when Nikkari appeared behind them, all the nymphs winced and were about to scream because of terror. They even pulled back a few meters after descending to the ground and squeezed the handle of the daggers after taking an attack position. Yet, seeing that there was Nikkari and not the enemy, they breathed a sigh of relief and, at Melia’s command, they climbed on their lianas again to be ready to run away in case Tikil suddenly showed up there.
None of the nymphs left that place after that but kept an eye on Nikkari, who knelt by Issaṉdrā, who seemed powerless. Poor Issaṉdrā was as white as a ghost at that moment, even if her right arm was black. Thus, powerless and unable to stay on her feet, Melia helped Issaṉdrā sit and support her back against the thick trunk of the tree. After that, looking at the wound Tikil did to Issaṉdrā, Nikkari said in a sure voice, „I had never expected to see this again: that that demon will use this poison against the nymphs. Yet, he did that!”
„Have you seen this poison before?” Melia asked, frightened.
„Yes, once: a very long time ago. Even so, I can recognize it: this poison belongs to Tetapas.”
Issaṉdrā shuddered. „Tetapas’s venom in my body? Does this mean I’ll die for sure?” Saying this, Issaṉdrā’s eyes filled with tears.
„Not if we get to the mountaintop Mēl.”
„On the mountaintop that’s covered by snow?” Melia asked, confused. „I don’t really get how this can help us. More than that, I don’t think Issaṉdrā will make it until we get there.”
„She’ll be fine while we get there because Tetapas’s venom, even if it seems that it acts quickly, does it very slowly in fact. Thus, as it takes about a day to kill the victim, it gives us enough time to get to that snowy top. There, we’ll have sufficient power to take the venom out of Issaṉdrā’s body.”
„I’m sure you have such power, Nikkari. Yet, it’s impossible to get to that mountain top because… only Inlan Diar and Accam Kuṉṟu have the right to get there.”
„In times of war, everybody has access to the mountaintop Mēl,” said Nikkari confidently, looking straight into Melia’s eyes. The nymph was really confused because she wasn’t able to make the difference between truth and lie. „Actually, who gave us access to that snowy mountain ridge is Maranam. Thus, we’ll fill our bodies with energy to the brim before the final battle with him.”
Issaṉdrā swallowed hard. „Maranam is on the Mount of Fear?”
„Yes, he’s here. And… Accam Kuṉṟu talked to him already. More than that, Accam Kuṉṟu is already heading toward the same snowy ridge. He’s not alone, but with Zeal, and… they have a single destination - the Stream of Power. We’ll have another target - the Mountain Ridge Mēl. There, we have to lure Tikil too. If we do this, Inlan Diar will seal his power in the center of Paṉi Makkal.” After that, helped by Melia, Nikkari made Issaṉdrā stay on her feet. Then, she told the nymph, „Hold me tightly as much as you can. How long you’ll resist, it’ll help all of us to be safe, did you understand me?”
Gnashing her teeth, because of the pain she felt in her arm, Issaṉdrā nodded. Then, barely heard, she said, „I’ll do it no matter what. To be sure we make it, let’s use the lianas.”
„Something I can’t control, actually.”
„I’ll do it,” Issaṉdrā stubbornly replied, raising her left arm up and calling a liana to her. Then, tightly grabbing it around their waists, she looked at Nikkari, to whom she said, „Even with the wound made by that demon, I can feel the power of nature. Something I hope I’ll feel till the end. And now, let’s go! I feel Tikil very close. I even hear his footsteps.”
„Me too,” said Melia, worried, while looking back. Then, when she saw that Nikkari and Issaṉdrā left that place, Melia looked at one of the nymphs to her right, to whom she said, „Let’s leave some tracks behind us, to be easier for that demon to find us.”
„Won't it be dangerous this way?”
„Maybe yes. Still, it’s the only way we can lure him to that snowy mountain ridge, I’m sure of this. That’s why we should take the risk.” After that, taking the dagger from her waist, Melia cut her palm, allowing the blood to drip on the herbs, bushes, or lianas they met on their way. Not only Melia did that. The other nymphs did the same because they finally understood that it was their only chance to get safely to the snowy mountaintop and save their friend.
***
Squatting, next to the place where Issaṉdrā fell after he injured her, Tikil grinned, touching with the top of his fingers a leaf bathed with blood. „They passed by here, I’m sure of this. Just as I’m sure that I’m on the right road. And… Melia’s nymphs aren’t alone, but accompanied by the one whom I always wanted to kill… Nikkari!”
Then, grinning, because the thought of having Nikkari’s power and becoming invincible was something that encouraged him, Tikil stood up. He was really satisfied with the result. What he didn’t know or preferred to ignore deliberately was that everything could be only a trap. He was heading with quick steps toward it and he did that deeply inhaling the scent of blood, something that increased his power and made him madly run behind the nymphs.
He didn’t follow the nymphs alone. Behind him, getting out of his hideout, a bush, Poṟi Ivar appeared. This one, with his eyes madly sparkling because of the flames of anger and controlled by the power of the hatred inside him and by the scent of blood felt around, hit the soil with his right hoof, making a deep hole in the wet soil. He also threw stones, dust, and dead leaves behind him, summoning his brothers, the other wild boars Paṉṟi, to fight. Wild boars that listened to his command right away, also leaving their hideouts: bushes, appearing behind the trunks, or getting out of the hollows, from where they lurked on Tikil. They did that after receiving Nikkari’s order when she passed by there: to follow Tikil from close and not let him turn back. An order that the wild boars were determined to fulfill even if it was meant for them to die. That’s why, when they felt the blood madly boiling in their veins, they started to run through the forest, following a single target - Tikil, who thought that he was a hunting dog without being aware that he was the prey in fact.