With the moonlight coming through his windows, Sami could see plenty enough to prepare his bags. His heart grew heavy as he did so. He was abandoning him, leaving his father alone to pursue people he had barely met. The guilt was eating him, he would be easy to stay, forget he ever had that conversation or seen their sigil the night before, but could he survive this one? Something deep in him forced him to follow them. Even with all the hurt it caused his father, he knew it was the right choice, he couldn’t leave them like this. His heart skipped a beat as he heard his bedroom door open.

“No goodbye then?”

Sami slowly turned around. His father was standing in the doorway, his arm crossed and a pained look in his eyes. The teenager stood up in a flash.

“I’m sorry I-”

“It’s okay,” said Marwan. “It had to happen one day or the other.”

The adult cû laid his rectangular pupils on his son’s belongings.

“You should prepare warmer clothes, nights will be very cold and windy where you’re going.”

Sami nodded and did as his father told him.

“I’m leaving with the elves.” he let out, hoping it wouldn’t make his father angry.

The man looked more pained than anything.

“You can’t trust elves.” he simply said.

“I know, but it’s not them I trust.”

“So you trust the fools who did?”

Sami looked at his dad. He wasn’t wrong, far from it. Marwan sighed and kneeled next to his son.

“You have a big heart Sami, but you need to learn to keep it out of the way. Risking yourself for people you barely know is not worth it.”

Sami couldn’t look him in the eyes. His father laid his hand lovingly yet firmly on his shoulder.

“Promise-me you’ll think about yourself and do the things that truly bring you joy.”

“I promise,” he answered in a low voice.

Marwan let a small smile stretch his lips before he embraced his son. He didn’t do it often and now he wished he had done it more. The cû took a hold of himself before he cried on his son’s shoulder.

“Sleep for the rest of the night, I’ll wake you up when they’ll be up too.”

Sami nodded and finished packing his bag while his father walked away and closed the door behind him. The next morning, Marwan did as he told his son. He woke him up as soon as he heard the elves getting ready. He then went to the elves and asked them to take Sami in, at least until Zaka. He told them he was young and he worried for him on the road. He knew guards would be perfect since no one else would depart for another week or so. The elves spoke between themselves, not thrilled at the idea of having a liability in their ranks, until Marwan took out his personal pouch of gold coins out of his secure pocket. Their eyes glowed with greed at the sight of it and once more talked about it. They figured that as long as the mission came to fruition, a few gold coins weren’t going to kill them. One of them turned around and accepted, trying to hide his joy at the sight of the seven gold coins in his hands. He quickly added it to his own pouch and signaled Sami to follow them. The young cû was ecstatic for the first few days. After all, it was his first time away from home. He talked a lot, to Elm and Milo mostly since the elves looked more annoyed of him than anything. Elm looked tired of him by the end of each day so he went over and talked to Milo. When seeing the smile bloom on Milo’s face, Elm couldn’t help but feel a mix of guilt, hurt, and most of all jealousy. That’s probably the smile his brother and mother knew, the one her actions had made sure would never come back. For a moment she was angry at Sami. How dare he come into their business and act like nothing is happening? How dare he do this? Hope hurt her like a knife in her chest, tearing away at whatever was left of it. For the next few days, she talked less and less, she even rode her horse further away from the two of them. She even spent her nights sleeping away from the camp, or at least as far away as the sigils would allow her to. One night, as she looked into the desertic horizon, she heard footsteps in the rocky ground next to her. She knew what his presence felt like by now, so she didn’t react when he sat down next to her.

“Did you know I wasn’t human?” Milo asked.

“I wasn’t sure. Humans don't feel like you and your family did.”

“Ulvarath chose us.”

Elm turned around, shocked by his words.

“Have you had any signs yet?”

“I’ve felt him, and now he’s in most of my dreams.”

Milo looked disturbed, she could see he hated it. Most people would like to be chosen by a god, but being chosen by Ulvarath was less than desirable, it meant a lifetime of fighting and an early death.

“I’m sorry,” she said as she put her hand on his, trying to show her compassion in any way possible.

“Now I truly have to do this.” his voice was shaking and his eyes watering. He turned around to look her in the eyes. “I don’t want to die, Elm.”

Something struck her, like lightning coursing throughout her body. Anger filled her like it never did before. She gripped his hand and wiped away his tears.

“I won’t let that happen, I promise.”

Milo looked into her small brown eyes, barely two weeks earlier he would have been the one to do this, not her. It pleased him that she had come out of her shell, but the cost of it pained him more than anything. It took them a few minutes to calm down before they could go back to sleep. The next morning, Elm was less distant from Milo. Sami was happy about it, he had noticed her slow drift away from her friend, and he could feel how, during their conversations, Milo looked forlornly towards Elm. It took them around another week before they finally arrived in Ghamale. When they finally saw it, some stars came back into Milo’s eyes. In the early noon sun, the city made of light colored clay seemed to light up, like a jewel strung onto the river that coursed through it. Small boats were coming back up the river, fishing boats mainly but also some Saotie merchants, the teenager even recognized some of them from Salnas. The town looked to be bursting with life, he couldn’t even count the different races that were there, but all seemed to have the same beige and reddish hues to it, completely different from the greens, beiges, and blues he saw in Salnas. For a moment he got so excited he turned around to tell Elm but it died down as soon as he saw the look on her face. It was a mix of sadness and determination. He thought that maybe he should have the same one, his happiness might be inappropriate for their situation. This thought got pushed to the back of his mind as he saw Sami’s look, the same he had a moment ago. When the group entered the city, people turned around and gave them a stinky eye, looking at the elves and the two teenagers dressed in elvish clothes like they were bad influences. Milo lowered his head but Elm looked at everyone with a fire in her heart, hoping they would turn their heads in shame but none did. Before long, the elves found an inn willing to accept them. To Sami’s surprise, they only asked for rooms for themselves and Milo and Elm.

“What about the kid?” asked the ttac behind the counter.

“He only tagged along for the road to here.”

“My father asked you to keep me until-”

“Your father couldn’t buy your protection until Zaka from us, not in a million years.”

The elf had spat his words to him, looking at him like he was nothing. Sami lowered his eyes, thinking back to his father’s words.

“Sami-”

“It’s okay,” he said as he looked at Milo and Elm, “I’ll find somewhere to sleep.” he flashed a reassuring smile to both of them. “Don’t worry about me.”

He walked out of the inn, waving goodbye to Milo and Elm and set himself to find food and then a place to sleep. He first asked around the merchants’ stands to see if any could trade his help for food, but after an hour or so, he stopped. He hadn’t seen any orcs to talk to and even the people who seemed nice enough all turned him down. For a moment he worried that he wouldn’t find any food to take, his father having sent him out with the small amount of money he had, he’d rather keep it for emergencies. The young cû walked around the town, trying to find ideas on what to do now. He lost himself in the streets until the houses became sparser and the streets became wider. In the back of the street, he could see something that looked like a brown mass. Out of curiosity, he approached. His eyes widened as he understood it was cattle being huddled away, his heart jumped in his chest as he recognized the sigils on their back legs. Sami almost ran to them, trying to see if the farmer was there, somewhere, hidden behind the large and long horns of the cattle. Suddenly he saw them, their orange skin and black tipped horns appearing from the front of the queue. He followed the cattle for a while, until they went out to their dry field where a small pond gave some life to the dry earth. The farmer was sitting on a stool, carving a piece of wood and patiently looking over his herd of cows. With sweaty hands and a gulp, Sami approached them, unsure of how to start talking to them.

“What do you want?” the demon asked, still focusing on his carving.

“I wanted to know if you knew how to break a cattle spell.”

“Why would I tell you that?” the man lifted an eyebrow, “Who’s to say you won’t steal my cows afterward?”

“I promise I won’t sir”

“Look,” the demon stopped his carving, turning toward the cû. His eyes were of a piercing yellow and wrinkles ran deep around his eyes and on his forehead. “I understand you’re not from here but you can’t ask a farmer that kind of question.”

“I’m sorry sir.” he apologized.

“Why are you asking me that?” he seemed to calm down from his irritated state.

“My friends are under one.” he let out as confidently as he could.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

The demon looked at him for a minute, observing him from head to toe.

“See that calf back there?” he pointed to a small calf by itself trying to drink at the pond. “It’s mom died at birth and no other mom wanted it. If you help it drink from that pond I’ll probably tell you.”

Sami looked at the calf. It was small and looked to be a little underfed, struggling to sneak between the adults’ legs to get a drink. The teen furrowed his brows and put down his bag next to the demon. He confidently walked to the herd, his tail swinging as he walked. The herd moved away, scared of a new person so close to them and their water. Sami lowered himself, changing his direction to come at them in a straight line, walking slowly and stopping as soon as the cows felt anxious. He was patient, waiting for the herd to assess him before making new steps toward them. He let them observe him, smell his scent on the wind, before he walked just as slow towards them. After a while, they learned he was no threat, but still weren’t accustomed to him. Sami kept a close eye on the calf, watching it try to hide but be rejected by the adults. After a few moments, the adults had successfully pushed the young one toward Sami, maybe they meant to send it to escape, maybe they didn’t, but at least he had a hand on it.

“Hello there,” he said in the softest tone he could muster. “You look lonely.” he stated as he sat down, letting the calf slowly grow confident enough to go toward him.

A smile grew on his lips as the calf came up to him. It hesitantly accepted the first pet, but it welcomed the next one and soon asked for the third. A chuckle bubbled up the cû’s throat and soon the calf followed him around. With it at his sides, he confidently yet slowly walked into the herd, leaving a passage for the calf with him to the pond. To his surprise, Sami only had to push gently on the cows for them to move away and leave him a safe passage to the pond. The calf happily drank the water and even seemed to feel safe as long as Sami was there to turn away the adults who were trying to prevent it from drinking. He successfully let the calf drink as long as it needed to and escorted it back out of the herd.

“I did it.” he said as he approached the demon.

“I see that, and you also found a new friend.” he pointed at the happy little calf now following Sami closely.

“How do you break a cattle spell?”

“Well first,” he groaned as he stretched his back. “You’ve got to understand it.”

The cû furrowed his brows and tilted his head.

“Spells aren’t equal, some are easy, others are harder than you could imagine.” the man searched around his bag for a bit. “Fortunately, cattle spells are quite easy to use, even for unmarked people.”

The demon took out a little wooden figure that looked just like the one he had been working on earlier, except this one was old, the edges had turned round and soft, and the wood had cracked.

“This is what I use to anchor my cattle spell.”

The demon looked at Sami and the teen at the anchor. The teenage boy looked focused, determined even. His friends must’ve been in dire need if he was ready to annoy a lone old man for this, he thought, they had a good friend. The demon smiled a little.

“Usually you need to destroy the anchor and the cattle would be free, but when people are under this spell, it could be much harder to do.”

“How do I know if I’ve found it?”

“Marked people usually can feel the magic coming out of it, but for you that would be impossible.”

Sami looked at the demon and thought hard about it. He would need someone’s help to sneak in the guards’ room and search for it. He thought Elm would be the best choice since she looked to be the most determined one of the two. With a smile and a polite bow, the cû thanked the old demon and walked away.

“Wait!” yelled the demon.

Sami stopped dead in his tracks and turned around, seeing the old man sit up from his spot painfully, his muscles aching from being sat too long. The cû walked back to him, helping him to stand up.

“Take this.” he said as he put a figurine in Sami’s hand. “He’ll protect you.”

Sami looked at the wooden figure, it depicted Tomag, the very god his father had seeked the protection of his entire life. His fingers brushed over his cow-like features and the shoes in his right hand and the ladle in his left. He smiled softly at the sight of it.

“Thank you.” he said as he bowed one more time before leaving the old man.

For the rest of the day, the teenager walked around town, picking up small trades for help or knowledge, earning food, or even money from it. He kept an eye out for Milo and Elm, hoping to see them and talk to them about his plan to save them, but he didn’t see them. His trades went so well that he had gained a bed for the night from a nice troll lady, which he respectfully declined, preferring to return to the tavern he knew his friends were staying at. So, in the cold moonlit streets, Sami walked to the tavern, his hair standing straight on his skin from the cold breeze coming in. He stopped at the entry, his heart beating hard from the anticipation as he took his shoes off. He waited for a harsh breeze and opened the door, crouching down and silently and quickly shuffling under the sight of the inn-keep to the bedrooms. He hid in the unlit hallway, waiting for grumbling inn-keep to close the door and go back to their occupations. Sami searched the rooms, quietly opening the doors and looking inside in search of Elm. Once he found her, he was surprised to see she didn’t have her eyes closed. He looked at her for a few seconds before she got out of her bed and walked up to him, carefully closing the door behind her. Sami nodded happily to her inquisitive look. Her heart filled up with light as she fully took in the news.

“The spell has an anchor, we need to find it and destroy it to free you both.” he whispered.

“How do we know what it is?”

“Only people practicing magic can find it.”

Elm furrowed her eyebrows. “None of us do.”

“What?”

“I don’t practice and neither does Milo.”

“Then how are we supposed to find it?”

Sami’s heart was beating hard in his chest, maybe he should’ve asked the old demon if he knew someone who could help him, maybe she should’ve followed his father’s god, maybe-

The door opened silently behind Elm, sending a chill down her back. The door closed just as softly, a blond teen standing behind her.

“I can find it.”

“No you can’t.” almost yelled Elm, worry filling her as she heard Milo’s words. She took a deep breath to be sure she’d stay calm enough to not awaken their guards.

“I just need a moment alone and then I’ll be able to find it.”

Milo was nervous, he wanted his words reassuring and determined but all that seeped through was how utterly terrified he was of the demon god. His tone even alarmed Sami, but Elm replied in his place.

“Are you sure about this?”

She searched for any ounce of reluctance in his eyes but she found none. Milo nodded softly, even smiling to reassure her.

“The end of the hallway should be enough, I don’t know if I’ll be comfortable being actually alone for this.” he softly chuckled, trying to keep in his fear as much as he could.

Slowly but surely, the teen walked to the end of the hallway, sat down with his back against the wall and closed his eyes. He was unsure of how to do this, but he was sure Ulvarath would answer his call. After all, he had placed his mark on his soul, or at least a bet on it. Milo focused on him, the form he took in his dreams, the way he took control of his body and made it his during fights, the way his presence made him fear for his life, even the smell of blood and sweat overpowering any other smells. Before he knew it, he couldn’t feel his own body anymore, as if it had been taken over by something else entirely. Something so powerful that trying to fight it would be doomed to fail.

“What do you need?” a bellowing voice echoed in his ears, the commanding tone made Milo want to run away.

“I-”

“I don’t listen to unprepared sentences, boy.”

“My friend and I are under a cattle spell.”

“And?”

“We need your help to find the anchor and destroy it.”

The god didn’t answer right away, leaving Milo to wonder if he had gone away, finding his request too puny for him.

“Then I’ll need something from you in return.”

“Anything,” Milo answered, knowing that denying anything to a god would bring him trouble bigger than he could ever handle.

“Find my temple in Zaka and fight me there.”

Milo’s surprise froze him.

“Did I stutter, boy?”

“No. I will do as you ask.”

“Perfect.”

Soon enough, Milo felt in control of his body again and opened his eyes. He was no longer sitting but lying on the ground, held in the arms of a worried Elm and Sami trying to check his pulse. Milo nodded before Elm could ask the dreaded question.

“It’s okay, I’ll find it.”

Milo stood up as well as he could, his body still trembling from the encounter. With assured feet he walked back to the bedroom and opened the door just as gently and silently as he had done a few minutes prior. He slipped into the room and went over the guards’ bags, opening each and everyone of them, hoping he could feel the anchor. Before he knew it, it was in his hands. I was a medallion, the style of it screamed forest elf, and with a strength he knew didn’t come from him, he clutched it so hard the metal bent and cracked open. The glow that came off of it flooded the room like sunlight, harshly waking up the guards in the process. A breeze of hope lightened his heart as he felt the sigil on his arm break off like a chain. In a flash, he grabbed his and Elm’s bag and ran out of the room. He barely had time to explain the situation that the guards’ shouts came out of the room like knives, propping the group to flee the fastest they had ever run before in their lives.

“I know a way!” yelled Sami as they were running down the streets.

He swerved left and right, trying to remember where that secluded place he had already lost himself during the day was.After a few swerves, he found it, almost yelling a “here!” to Elm and Milo as he crouched down to hide himself behind the merchants’ crates. Soon enough, they were huddled together in-between them, trying to keep their harsh breathing under control.

“Where are they?!”

After a moment of silence from the guards, sobs broke the air.

“If she knows about it we’ll-”

“Listen,” said the guard who had been leading them this whole time, “We’ve got gold, we can survive out there.”

“But, the prophecy-”

“Fuck the prophecy, it didn’t please me having them on a leash, do you want to run after them and get killed?”

Silence once more.

“Yeah, I didn't think so. I’m gonna make the most of it before these kids fuck it up for all of us.”

Footsteps walked away from the street in which they were hiding, and after a minute of hesitation, the two other guards followed them. The teens waited for a few more minutes to make sure they had left and silently walked away in the other direction. Even without conversing before, they knew which destination was next, Zaka. Maybe there they’d find help, maybe there, they’d be okay. From then on they walked. Elm led them, remembering her way through the Ashaen Mounts, trying her best to stay on the path at their feet. It took days, weeks even to get there, but eventually they reached it, the biggest city a merchant could dream of. Right at the foot of the Ashaen mounts, stood Zaka. The clamor of the vendors sounded like a million birds singing in unison, and could be heard for yards. The walls that defended it were made of stones taken from the mountains, making it blend in with its background. It would have looked almost invisible if it hadn’t been for the sound and the flags flowing from either side of the walled city. Milo stopped in awe. Never had he seen such a big city, it was almost too much for him to comprehend. As they walked through the giant metal doors, Elm couldn’t help but observe the engravings. Humans, orcs, trolls, and elves united under the merchants' greatest symbol, the Golden Scale. No gods were featured, only mortals, which made Elm’s lips stretch into a soft smile. At last, a safe place. Sami followed Elm and Milo through the city as they tried to find a place to eat, his eyes were full of the scenery yet all three of their stomachs were empty. They soon were led to the food block where vendors presented their fresh fishes or their prepared food, most had boiling pots behind them and ingredients laid out. Some vendors had small chairs so their customers could sit during their meals, other sold treats meant to be eaten quickly. Soon enough, they found someone who could sell them food for the few copper pieces they had left in their pockets. They sat on crates in a small alley and ate their food silently. All three of them were too engrossed by their food to be speaking, finally putting their screaming stomach to rest.

“Milo?!”

The teens lifted their eyes from their foods only to meet a pair of yellow eyes looking at them with surprise and horror.