Sneaking behind the trunks of the trees, through bushes savagely grown, or crossing open glades, much bent in front where it was necessary not to be seen, Boor, Samaya, and Bestla kept following Yĕn. Doing this, they felt afraid because they didn’t know what to expect from the forest or from the tarantula. However, even though they thought all this, their fear was unnatural because, since they started to follow her, the tarantula didn’t look back not even for a second. Something weird in Samaya’s opinion, who knew very well that both Yĕn and her mother, Visam, weren’t deaf. At the same time, they weren’t stupid. That’s why, being followed without them being aware of this or at least suspecting that someone was behind them, seemed damn suspicious to the she-wolf.

Even so, even though Samaya and the others thought that something weird was happening there, none of them gave up, for, if they had done this, they would have lost the chance to find the Glade of Shadows. At one moment, when Yĕn slowed down her movement, Samaya thought that the tarantula did this in trying to get rid of them. Yet, it wasn’t true because Yĕn kept slowly walking without looking around or showing others that she was aware of something. Actually, it looked as though Yĕn didn’t care at all if someone was following her or not. All that mattered to her at that moment was to walk slowly and enjoy the view seen around her.

„Still, it’s strange,” murmured Samaya, frowning.

„What exactly?” Asked Boor, who was stopped to the girl’s left while Bestla was to Samaya’s right.

„Her calmness. Too quiet in my opinion.”

„I also think so,” murmured Bestla, cooking her nose. „When Samaya attacked her with stones, she was running like a mad soul through the forest, looking for the attacker. She even spat venom around her so that the poor trees had been scorched on their trunks. Now, however, she is slowly walking as if the whole world is hers.”

„Why not do that?” Replied Boor ironically. „Eventually, this forest is hers.”

„No, it’s not this,” murmured Samaya, something that amazed her companions a lot. „This isn’t Yĕn’s forest. At least this was so at the beginning. She came to this forest when Fenrir and I were still children. It had been then when Father told us that Yĕn was born in the Forest of the Wanderer.”

„The Forest of the Siars,” whispered Boor, something that made the girls wince. Yet, even though he saw that they winced, Boor didn’t look at them, but in front, thoughtfully, behind Yĕn, which kept slowly walking. „Interesting, why exactly there?”

„I don’t know this,” said Samaya. „Yet, this is a sure thing that she came into this forest for something. Because someone told her this, to be that one’s ears and eyes in the Forest of the Magic Wolves. That's why she has been sent here. I know this very well, but this still amazes me a lot. Do you know why? Because, strangely, none of the trees cried when her venom touched their trunks. Don’t you think so too?”

„Now that you mention this, I also think that is strange.”

„Father, what do you think, why is it so?”

„Honestly, I don’t know sweetheart. Yet… Samaya, you said that this place seemed familiar to you. What about this path? The one we are walking on right now. Does it also seem familiar to you?”

The she-wolf said nothing. She only carefully looked around, trying to understand if that place was familiar to her or not. Yet, it wasn’t familiar to her. At least she thought so at first because of that symbol சவ seen on one of the trees’bark. After that, the memories took over her and Samaya remembered that day when, still a child, she had walked on that path, amazed by the beauty seen around her. Later, she also remembered that she got to the Glade of Shadows and that she had that fight with Mayar. That’s why she suddenly murmured, somehow scared, „The fox!”

„The fox? Do you mean Mayar?” Asked Bestla, feisty. Why was Bestla so angry? Because she felt that Mayar started to bother her, at least lately, and this was because all their talks started and ended about the fox and they were seeing Mayar wherever they were going. That’s why she felt at a moment that she was ready to rip off the fox’s skin one day.

„Yes, I talk about her and about… huh, where did they go?” Wondered Samaya, confused. Then, looking around, she saw those symbols சவ everywhere. Symbols that vanished seconds later as though someone took a sponge and erased them.

„Where have they gone? Who?” Boor asked, also looking around.

„The symbols. Those which bring death,” stuttered Samaya. Then, as though she was in a trance, she drew சவ in the air, something that reminded Boor about their last meeting with Mayar, who also drew that symbol in the air. „It’s strange and I feel preoccupied not seeing them. Why? More than that, why did Yĕn bring us here?”

„Maybe because this is that famous place of shadows,” mumbled Bestla, cooking her nose as she was doing each time she disliked something. Then, she frowned when she spotted that the light faded more and more with each step they were taking in front. „More than a place of shadows, it seems to me a place of desert and death. If you don’t believe me, just look around us!”

Listening to Bestla’s words, Boor and Samaya looked around. They didn't understand what the girl meant. Thus, they saw the darkness sneaking around them and the light fading, being almost blind because of that dark sky that was stretching to the horizon. Seeing this, Samaya whispered, „It happens again. Just as it had been that day when I was little and I came here. Then… the light also faded while the sadness and the fear sneaked into my soul and…”

She kept silent the moment Boor grabbed her by the arm. He did that letting her and Bestla know that it was the right moment to stop. Why? The girls couldn’t figure it out right from the beginning. That’s why they stared at Boor, asking him by a glance what was going on. Boor, however, didn’t look at them. He looked only in the distance, at the glade that was stretching from their feet further in the distance, the glade that was full of flowers of Geminaria and Phalaenopsis. There, through the flowers, he also saw green blades of grass, tall up to their knees, and small violet flowers that were filling the air with a pleasant aroma.

Well, that pleasant aroma has been felt only at first. Then, despite the fact that the beauty of the glade was the same, not the same happened to the smell, which, so suddenly, became… poisonous and difficult to breathe in. That’s why the three travelers started to cough and covered their mouths and noses with their sleeves, trying to protect themselves from that unpleasant smell.

Bestla even mumbled later, „To be damn! How can it be possible for something pleasant to turn so suddenly into something poisonous? Even my eyes itch from so much coughing.”

„More than your eyes, I’m interested to know what she’s doing here,” hissed Boor through his teeth, pointing with his hand in front.

Looking over there, Bestla froze. Even the cough that was about to get out of her mouth stopped halfway through her throat. Why? There, right in the middle of that glade, was Yĕn. At first, Bestla saw the tarantula staying with her back to them. Then, seconds later only, Yĕn slowly turned and looked at them.

However, even though she was staring straight toward the place where they were, Yĕn didn’t see them because the three were in the shelter of a shadowed thicket. Unlike the tarantula who saw nothing, the three were clearly seeing her. Thus, they saw how Yĕn’s fur had different shades while a strange light suddenly surrounded her, a light that was bathing the tarantula and was coming from the sky under the form of a bunch of rays that pierced that thick cloth of clouds.

Seeing that light, Bestla shook her head. „Extremely weird,” she suddenly mumbled. „More than that, what is she doing there because there is…”

Suddenly, Bestla kept silent and threw herself to the ground, just as her father and Samaya did when Yĕn started to head toward them. There, however, they didn’t stay hidden, but started to spy on Yĕn, raising a little their heads and looking at the tarantula’s walk that was clearly seen through those tall blades of grass. Thus, they saw her slowly walking through that grass, a walk that frightened many insects and butterflies, which suddenly raised in the air and started to fly in bunches above it. A flight that didn’t bother Yĕn too much. She just kept swinging from one side to another while walking as though she was listening to pleasant music that was singing only for her.

Seeing that weird walk of the tarantula, Bestla remembered a game she used to play with the twins when they were still children. More than the game, she remembered the sentence they used to say to the others when the game started, „Who isn’t yet ready, I’ll eat him first.” A sentence that made Bestla frown and murmur eventually, barely heard, „Damn cobra, she enjoys playing with us as the cat with the mouse.” Then, she tried to move back.

She stopped eventually when she felt Boor’s palm touching her back. Then, when she saw him shaking his head in denial, she understood that it wasn’t a good idea. Not the same thought Samaya had because while Boor tried to convince his daughter to stay there quiet, the young she-wolf sneaked next to those tall herbs, trying to surround Yĕn and take her by surprise. A movement of the she-wolf that made Bestla frown again and tell her father, „You told me to stay quiet. What about her?”

Boor, however, listening to Bestla’s mumble, frowned and told her reproachfully, „If I hadn’t kept an eye on you, I would have kept an eye on her too.”

„Now it’s my fault?” Replied Bestla, feisty.

„Absolutely. Do you know why? Because, if you had stayed quiet in your hideout, Yĕn wouldn’t have noticed you. At the same time, if she hadn’t spotted you, she wouldn’t have felt that we were following her and she wouldn't have brought us here after she felt us after her. In this place, where it seems that she wants to eat us.”

Bestla grinned, „If this happens, I will allow her to eat you first. Thus, as you are so big, she’ll need some time to digest you and give us some time to make a plan and escape too.”

The girl’s remark made Boor smile even though he should have felt upset. Then, looking at Samaya and seeing that Yĕn started to head left just as the she-wolf was doing, Boor murmured, „Better than thinking how to allow this troll to eat others first, you should think how to save your friend, Bestla.”

„If you say so! Anyway, I don’t think there is too much to do here. She seems pretty convinced to eat somebody today, at any cost. That’s why I thought that you are perfect for her first victim. So, if it’s necessary for some of us to suffer, at least to be the one who lived more.”

„Are you calling me old?”

„Only… experienced, and… let’s try something else than arguing! Something useful to help Samaya and chase that furry beast away from her because if the tarantula sees her, not even her thick fur will help her to survive when Yĕn’s teeth will taste it.”

She winced eventually, just as Boor did, when they heard Samaya’s whisper in their heads, „The wind! Bring Vintai (weirdness) here!”

„Damn it,” hissed Bestla through her teeth. „This she-wolf seems to know more tricks than we know.”

Boor, however, already used to his daughter’s weirdness and mumbling, only frowned, scolding himself this way for not thinking before about what Samaya suggested. More than that, he was sure that Samaya was right: Vintai was perfect for such games. More than that, he loved such games with the tarantula, for he wasn’t afraid of Yĕn’s venom. Yet, even though the tarantula had tried to poison him, it wouldn’t have helped her too much. It would have only enraged Vintai more because, being a teenager and still not balanced inside; it would have been like gasoline thrown on the fire. He was also rebellious, an intelligent one, who simply adored such games.

„More than loving the games, he’s perfect to make Yĕn regret her decision of coming here!” Murmured Boor. Then, putting his hand on his waist, God touched Imagus. He didn’t take the horn from its place, for if he had done this, it would have had an adverse effect than the one Boor wanted. Why? Because of Imagus’s sound, which was so loud that would have brought their enemies there, turning them into easy prey, something that he didn’t want at all.

Boor’s touch made Imagus pleasantly resound around, a sound similar to a whistle. Even so, it wasn’t clear what kind of whistle it was or where someone could have heard it. Nevertheless, it was a sound that the air seemed to love and nature too because, right after listening to it, the flowers suddenly raised their heads and looked in amazement around, trying to see who was the „guilty one” for so much pleasure for their ears. The same happened to the grass, which stretched its blades up, also trying to see the one who was whistling. Yet, what they saw was the trees'swinging, which was similar to a dance while listening to the pleasant voice of Imagus, a so pleasant and adored voice by everyone.

That voice, however, not only enchanted nature around it. The same happened to Yĕn, who, listening to that beautiful melody, stopped. Then, raising two of her front legs up, she started to „sniff” the horizon with their help. By doing this, she transformed those legs into a kind of antenna that was attracting the sounds toward it, a movement that made her nervous soon after this.

Her nervosity made Boor smile. Then, extremely happy, he murmured, „Vintai never disappoints me.”

„Something impossible in his case because you know very well what that naughty boy is capable of,” said Bestla. After that, moving a little further from her father, she headed in the opposite direction of the place where Yĕn and Samaya were.

Samaya, paying no attention to her companions, but to that melody, seemed confused because she knew the melody Imagus was making, but she still couldn’t understand the trick Boor and Bestla used or why that music was heard. Yet, feeling the wind so cold around her and, more, when she heard a cheerful neigh somewhere in the distance, behind Yĕn, the she-wolf smiled. „Now I understand, they have summoned Vintai thus. Well, Yĕn, I’m sorry for you, but it seems to me that you are in trouble today and that you’ll feel how his hooves caress your skin.” After that, she withdrew, intending to get next to Boor again.

While withdrawing, Samaya kept staring at Yĕn. Thus, she tried to make sure that the tarantula wouldn’t change her mind and follow her eventually. Yĕn, however, kept standing in the same place, at all aware that Samaya moved from where she was. Then, as though feeling something strange approaching her, the tarantula turned and looked behind her, in the same direction where she heard that cheerful neigh.

Looking over there, Yĕn, just like her three „enemies,” saw a beautiful white pony, freely roaming through that glade that was so beautifully washed by a strange light. A view that didn’t impress the tarantula, but enraged her. She even snarled eventually and a deaf sound had been heard coming out of her throat when she understood that she would have some problems with Vintai, the pony, that day.

Her anger, however, made Samaya smile. Then, the she-wolf told Boor when she got next to him, „It seems to me that these two know each other very well.”

„You are actually right. I can see it from the game he’s playing. He seems confident in his movements. At the same time, that happy neigh… it has been for sure because of this furry creature whom he has met and not only once it seems to me.”

„What seems interesting to me is why I hear your whispers so well. As though I’m staying next to you,” they heard Bestla’s voice. Looking to their right, they saw her about fifty meters from them. That’s why they frowned, finally understanding the message of her words: from the place where she was, it was impossible to hear their whispers so well.

Seconds later, as though he finally understood the reason, Boor smiled, „It’s because of that naughty boy. He has the bad habit of making things seem different from what they are. That’s why I think that’s a good idea to look for shelter while he teaches Yĕn some manners. After his lesson, she will know for sure that it's a bad idea to trust your instincts and will leave us alone.”

He winced eventually when he heard Bestla’s voice right into his right ear, „Who has to leave her alone, it should be us. We followed her here, remember?” Listening to his daughter’s sermons, Boor frowned and looked askance at her. Yet, seeing her right next to him when he knew her a few meters away, Boor widely opened his eyes and swallowed hard. Bestla, however, seeing her father so confused, smiled and said, „Yeah, yeah, I know, it’s weird that you didn’t feel anything. That's why I think you are getting old already.”

„What I think is that you made a pact with the devil. That’s why you are able to sneak around without being felt by others, right?” Snarled Boor through his teeth.

In reply to his question, Bestla only comically shrugged. After that, she made a sign to Samaya, letting her know that it was the perfect moment to look for a shelter. Yet, she couldn’t resist smiling again when she saw her father frowning while mumbling barely heard, „She never learns!” Thus, convinced to have some fun with him at any cost, she approached his ear again and whispered to him, „Just as you never learn that it's a bad habit to be upset all the time.” After that, cheerful, she turned her back to him and, along with Samaya, they headed toward a thick trunk, seen not that far from them.

Boor, reproachfully shaking his head, told himself in mockery, „Again scolded in others’place. Well, Boor, it’s what you deserve for having another child while being old already.”

„I still hear you, if you forgot this,” he heard Bestla’s angry voice. Looking to his right, he saw them in a tree already. He even spotted her sparkling eyes from behind a leafy branch, a hint that she disliked his commentary. That’s why Boor smiled eventually: he got his revenge for all the mockeries he heard from her that day. After that, slowly whistling, he hid behind a tree. Well, as far as possible a man of his stature could hide behind a tree.

***

After another cheerful neigh of the pony, who surrounded Yĕn once again, trying to drive her crazy this way, the laughter of a young man was heard. A burst of laughter that enraged Yĕn even more that she got to spit her venom left and right, trying to be the one who would teach the prankster some manners. Nevertheless, not Vintai suffered because of her madness, but the poor flowers and the grass because the venom got on their fragile bodies and not on the pony, who was now here and then there. Like the wind that blows from all over, but one’s never aware of where it blows from.

Thus, still moving around her and seeing her madly looking for him all over, Vintai, the pony, got to finally see that Yĕn’s eyes started to move in circles, a hint she was dizzy. Seeing her this way, Vintai laughed again. After that, when a „Hopa!” was heard from above, Vintai touched the soil with both soles after the pony lifted on his rear legs. Then, happy, the boy said, „Now it’s time for the show!” Saying this, the boy started to laugh with all his heart.

The boy was exactly as Boor described him. He was about seventeen, with long blond hair, just like Arion. The difference between Vintai and Arion consisted in the way they were grabbing their hair. For example, Vintai had a kind of bun on the top of his head while Arion used to wear his hair in a ponytail or on his back. At the same time, Vintai had blue eyes like the clear sky, a glance in which a strange light was so lively shining, something that made them seem like made from glass, so weird they were sparkling sometimes. In contrast with his eyes and his blond hair, he had dark-olive skin. This was because the boy simply loved to spend his time under the blue sky, bathed by the light of the sun. That’s why, because he had that olive skin, his family got to joke this way each time they were seeing him, „Well, Caramel, what’s up? Did you steal the sun again?”

That caramel color of his skin was very pleasant to look at. Just as it was pleasant to look at his tall body, which looked so skinny for his 1.8 meters in height. Yet, he was skinny not because he was tall or because he wasn’t eating anything, but because he was always moving. Vintai was the kind of being that wasn’t ever in a single place. Thus, if someone needed him for something, he couldn’t find Vintai alone. That person should only summon him to come and wait until Vintai showed up, if it was his wish, of course, because he never appeared in a place or in front of a person he disliked.

The only one who could call the boy whenever he needed him was Boor. This was due to the great respect Vintai felt for God and not because he was afraid of the Master of Winds. At the same time, he was coming to Boor each time this one was summoning him to come because, next to God, the boy felt very calm while the rest of the time he was brisk and pranky.

Actually, that cunningness was seen in his glance at that moment too while spying on Yĕn from the place where he was. Especially, he was looking at her belly as though he was counting the times she was deeply inhaling fresh air. At the same time, the boy kept an eye on her movements because even though he knew her well and knew that she could be friendly, the boy also knew that she could be mad if she was out of control. It was generally happening when her eyes were slowly moving in circles, just as they were moving at that moment, observed by Vintai.

He, however, at all bothered by her mad glance, told her in a cheerful voice, „Well, Yĕn, it seems to me that you are that kind of being that never learns from her previous mistakes. Am I right, my dear furry friend?” Then, extremely happy that he could tease her, Vintai smiled. After that, bending a little in front, he looked straight into the tarantula’s eyes and added, „Yes, it’s as I say. Do you know why I think so? Because I remember very well what I told you, the last time I saw you: to be a good girl. Nevertheless, I’ve been wrong in thinking you understood the message.”

„Has he been wrong?! The last time they saw each other?! What the hell is this one planning this time?” Bestla wondered, feisty. She was sitting at that moment on a thick branch, with her arms crossed over her chest while swinging her legs.

Eventually, she looked askance at the place where Boor was hiding when she heard him saying, „Nothing good for sure. For Yĕn I mean, for… as I know him, Yĕn will have a lot of problems with him today.”

„I just hope he won’t chase her away. I don’t actually need her to run away and hide in her den again,” Samaya thoughtfully murmured. Then, feeling Boor and Bestla’s glances focused on her, even though she didn’t look at them at that moment, Samaya added, „I mean that Yĕn must lead us toward the Glade of Shadows today. Yes or yes. Otherwise, we won’t ever find out what kind of danger is after Baradar.”

„Something that won’t happen today,” they heard Vintai’s cheerful voice. „Yĕn won’t see her den again. At least not today and I will take care of this. You, princess wolf, just enjoy the show because it’ll be a damn good one.” Such words managed to amaze the three a lot, because they were convinced that Vintai was too busy with Yĕn to listen to what they were saying. Yet, understanding that they had been wrong, they smiled eventually. More when he added, „Actually, Yĕn and I are old friends. We’ve known each other since we were little children and we were playing with another friend of ours, one that’s furry also.”

„Another furry friend? Who exactly?” Boor asked.

„A red one,” said Vintai, smiling. „The same friend who presented me to Yĕn.”

„Mayar!”

„That’s right, princess wolf! Actually, whose eyes you’ve seen that day, in the Glade of Shadows, have been the eyes of this cunning tarantula. To be more precise, it seems to me that she's been waiting since then to see if the wolf’s meat tastes good. Like the meat of a wind. Yet… ups, my furry friend, I’m sorry for you, but I assure you that you won’t ever have this pleasure.”

„What if she stubs her fangs into you eventually?” Bestla teased the boy.

„Then… she’ll feel how the bones taste,” said Vintai smiling, a hint that he was so skinny. After that, unexpectedly, he throw a small leather rope toward Yĕn, a rope braided in three, which suddenly wrapped around Yĕn’s front legs, forcing the poor soul to kneel eventually and touch the ground with her snoot again. That’s why Yĕn snarled in the end, spitting venom toward Vintai this time. Yet, not even that time, she managed to hurt him because, knowing very well how cunning she could be, the moment Yĕn spat the venom, the boy jerked in the air and the venom dried a flower and the grass around it till black soil was seen. Seeing what Yĕn did, the boy frowned and said in mockery, „No offense, Yĕn! I was just fooling around.”

The fact that he was fooling around hadn’t been something Yĕn liked. That’s why, when she had the chance, she threw a kind of purple net toward the boy, just as Visam used to do with Tenebre, each time Gaea was demanding her to teach the Titanide some manners. That net, however, didn’t trap Vintai inside it, but fell somewhere next to him because, seeing that net spat toward him, he jumped aside. Thus, when the net touched the ground, it burnt everything it touched.

It has been Vintai’s turn to be mad. That’s why, when he made sure that she didn’t hurt him, he looked at the scorched soil and hissed through his teeth, „Was it absolutely necessary to burn that beautiful violet flower only to teach me some manners? Eh, Yĕn, eh! It seems to me that you can’t play fairly. No problem then, I can teach you this! Or… maybe not!” He shouted again, hopping left and right, up and down while trying to avoid being hurt by those venomous threads thrown by Yĕn from her throat.

Nevertheless, his attempt of protecting himself seemed more like a game because, while trying to avoid being hit by Yĕn, he also attacked her with that leather rope. Actually, he hit her each time Yĕn was taking a short time to breathe or form other threads. Thus, when that rope was touching her back, legs, or belly, the fur of the tarantula was turning red because the rope was deeply biting it.

Seeing Vintai’s game, Bestla yawned, bored. After that, she turned toward Samaya, whom she told in a cheerful voice, „What about making this game funnier? I mean… let’s read that beast’s memories.”

„I hope not mine,” said Vintai cheerfully while still „dancing” with Yĕn. „Not the other, but… I have some thoughts I would like to keep only for myself.”

The girl grinned, „Well, I must thank you now.” Vintai frowned, confused. „For reminding me that we are able to read the winds’thoughts too. More than that, I think we can read your memories. Thus, we can find out some secrets we can use against you later… just to be sure you’ll dance as we sing.”

It has been Vintai’s turn to grin. Then, still smiling, he told her, „You have my permission to do that, Princess Bestla, if you want to dance with Yĕn instead of me.” Then, when a poisonous thread, thrown from the tarantula’s throat toward him, passed so close to him, Vintai jumped up and, later, landed on Yĕn’s back.

Feeling him on her back has been something damn unpleasant for the tarantula, who, right away she felt his soles touching the fur of her back, made a deafening sound. A kind of sound that could be confused, with no mistake, with the roar of a beast closed inside a cage. After that, raising on different legs, she started to move so quickly from one side to another while trying to get rid of the burden from her shoulders. A failed attempt in fact because Vintai, who was used to staying firmly on his soles, kept his balance on his new riding horse.

Nevertheless, even though he was happy not to be thrown off the beast’s back, he stopped laughing the moment Yĕn, which managed to rotate her body at 45 degrees, got to bite the top of one of his boots. This enraged Vintai, more when he saw the traces of her teeth on her boot. That’s why he eventually hissed through his teeth, „Damn beast! You have ruined my good boot. Well, now you’ll definitely know what Vintai can do when he is mad.” After that, he threw that rope, which, controlled by his power, suddenly wrapped around Yĕn’s twelve legs. Thus, not being able to keep her balance, Yĕn knelt at first and, because of the inertia caused by the sudden movement of the rope around her legs while she was still moving, Yĕn slipped a few meters in front, pulling some violet flowers and blades of grass from the ground.

Yĕn’s „impudence” drove some plants crazy because, you see, maybe they were only plants and maybe stupid. Nevertheless, they didn’t deserve to be taken out of their roots by a stupid tarantula that couldn’t control her emotions. Thus, because nature felt offended, it sent all its anger toward Yĕn, considering her the main guilty soul there. Vintai hadn't been even touched by nature’s anger because it considered him a simple victim, forced to defend himself too, just as they were doing. Even so, when the entire nature started to whisper strange words, as though those words were part of an old curse or something, the boy started to hear a strange buzz in his ears too, just like Boor and the girls started to feel. That’s why the four got to shake their heads continuously, trying to chase that dizziness and buzz away. They even got to tap their ears with their palms to be sure they won’t lose their minds eventually.

A wise thought in fact because nature’s madness seemed not to end soon. That’s why Vintai furiously looked at Yĕn, hissing through his teeth, „This madness is only because of you.” After that, not to hear those strange whispers anymore, he stuck his pinkies into his ears, trying to make sure he wouldn't hear anything.

Yet, the moment he saw that Yĕn managed, somehow, to take two of her legs out of his trap, Vintai took his pinkies out of his ears and started to form more ropes just to immobilize the tarantula completely. If not, he was sure that that mad soul would teach him what meant to drive her crazy.

Yĕn, however, not even when her free legs had been immobilized again, calmed down. She even started to crawl toward Vintai, spitting venom left and right while trying to turn him into a soft pasta. A failed attempt eventually because, when those ropes completely wrapped around her body and snoot, turning her into a weird troll, the poor Yĕn had to calm down because, you see, she wasn’t that stupid to spit venom on herself.

Seeing her so „calm,” Vintai smiled and said, „Now you seem to be a good girl.” After that, happily hopping around her, he started to yell in mockery, „I got the lion! I got the lion! Who wants him as a gift?”

He’d been forced to calm down eventually when he felt Boor’s glance focused on him. Nevertheless, even though he knew the meaning of Boor’s glance, who was scolding him for being so joyful for nothing, Vintai didn’t seem to care about this too much. All he wanted at that moment was to play. That’s why, sticking one of his pinkies in his left ear again, he suddenly shook it so hard that he started to feel that buzz again. Then, happy, he said, „Someone is saying bad words about me again! Even though I’ve been a good guy today!”

„Are you looking for a reward or maybe to be praised?” Boor told him while approaching the boy.

„Well, not that bad idea in fact. Yet, if there is no chance to get it, then… no problem. I can praise myself.” After that, the boy happily grinned again. Nevertheless, the moment he saw Boor’s sour face, who didn’t taste his joke and the irony, Vintai withdrew, saying in a joke, „It’s all yours, My Lord!” Then, worshiping a little in front of Boor, Vintai pointed with his hand toward Yĕn, which kept digging the ground with the single leg she still had free.

Yet, the moment he heard Bestla shouting, „Out of my way!” the boy winced. Then, looking at her, he widely opened his eyes. The reason? While moving toward him, Bestla seemed like a spinning top - so fast she was walking. However, even though he saw that she was angry, Vintai didn’t move from his place. Not even a millimeter. He even looked askance at Bestla because, even though they loved and respected each other as brothers, he couldn’t understand her madness sometimes. More than that, as any other brother, Vintai loved to compete with her, and, staying in the same place, he could show her that he wasn’t afraid. Nevertheless, the moment he saw her sparkling eyes, the boy raised his hands up, a hint that he gave up. Moreover, when he heard her saying, „If you don’t want us to read your secrets and not the ones of your furry friend, I suggest you move out of my way.” After that, grinning, Vintai raised in the air, still keeping his eyes on Bestla, who kept advancing toward the tarantula. At one moment, when she looked for a moment behind, to see where the she-wolf was, Bestla spotted Vintai sweetly yawning, a hint that he was bored. Yet, she said nothing. She only looked at Boor when she and Vintai saw him reproachfully shaking his head.

„What now? What did I do wrong this time?” Asked Vintai. „I’m just… having my rest after a long working day. A hard day actually.”

„Not that hard anyway while you fooled around like any other kid,” Bestla teased him. Samaya, listening to her friend’s bold words, smiled, a smile that made Bestla frown eventually, „Did I say something comic?”

„Comic not. Yet, judging by your words, it seems to me that you are envious of Vintai.”

„I? Envy? On a brainless boy?”

„Actually, I hear you!”

„And? I said nothing wrong. Thus, if you hear me, be healthy, my boy! And now, hit the pike and don’t disturb us because the night is close and I don’t intend to spend it in the warm hug of your furry friend.”

Vintai grinned again, taking Bestla by surprise. Moreover, she’d been amazed hearing his telepathic question, „May I know whose hug will you prefer instead of my furry friend's one? Of a…”

„What about keeping your mouth shut?” Bestla yelled at him. She was furious because she couldn’t understand where Vintai knew about her feelings for Arion.

The boy, however, at all bothered by her anger, only comically shrugged. After that, yawning, he made two paddles appear in his hands, and, using them, he started to „row” the air. Thus, he headed toward the same tree in which Bestla and Samaya had stood while he played his game with the tarantula. Later, already comfortably sitting on that thick branch, he closed his eyes and allowed himself to „sleep.” He was sleeping with one eye open because he was also curious to find out what those two „crazy soul sisters,” as he used to call Bestla and Samaya, were planning. A sweet nickname in his opinion because, even though he was younger than them, he knew very well all the weird things they had done together.

Thus, keeping an eye on the two, he saw Bestla and Samaya, face to face, on both sides of Yĕn, staring at each other and telepathically talking to each other. This made him frown because he would have liked to listen to what they were talking about. Nevertheless, understanding that it wouldn’t ever happen, he gave up on his attempt to spy on them. He preferred to stick his back to that trunk eventually and sweetly yawn again.

Even so, he still thought about the fact that the two friends seemed to have an argument about something. Something true actually because Samaya suddenly told Bestla in a feisty tone, „Yet, I don’t understand why you are so curious to read the memories of this beast.” After that, playing with that cube for reflections, she started joggling with it.

The tone of the she-wolf’s voice irritated Bestla. That’s why, while she surrounded that place with mirrors, she told Samaya in an angry voice, „The truth! That’s why I don’t understand why you are mad at me. I’m doing this not only for me.”

„Did I say something else?”

„Yeah, absolutely! You are always against me! Especially lately! Why? Are you looking to turn me into your enemy?”

Their argument made Boor slap his forehead. After that, looking at Yĕn, he told her in a joke, „Does their friendship seem weird to you too?” Yĕn, however, only stared at him, not understanding a word of what he said. That’s why Boor turned his back on them eventually and moved away because, just like Vintai, he was also afraid that the girls would read his memories instead of Yĕn's. Well, what he wanted to keep secret in fact was the moment Bestla appeared in that world. That’s why he moved away from them.

Not that further anyway because he stopped under the same tree in which Vintai was at that moment. There, under that tree, God lay on the ground, with his hands under his head, and closed his eyes, convinced to have some time of peace. A short time of relaxation he wanted because he was sure he would have it because each time Samaya and Bestla had an argument it was taking a lot of time until they stopped it. Actually, the two friends could have an argument for many days if nobody was trying to convince them to reconcile. However, even though he knew this, Boor decided that he was bored enough to fulfill that role that day. That’s why he told himself that was better to relax than enter the cage of the lion because, if he had intervened in their fight, he would have been for sure the punished one.

He winced eventually when he heard Vintai’s question, „Are you sure that’s a good idea to let them alone with Yĕn?”

Boor smiled, „Why? Do you think the tarantula will eat them?”

„No,” the boy replied confidently. „I’m afraid that they can eat Yĕn. Not the other, but… even though my furry friend is weird, I still love her. That’s why I’m preoccupied: not to see her only in memories after today.”

„At least this way you’ll have a reason to ask me a favor,” he heard Bestla’s answer, something that amazed the two men because they thought that the girls didn’t listen to their talk because of the argument. A wrong idea in fact because the girls, listening to part of their conversation, considered it interesting and, magically, decided to end their „argument.” They did well, actually because they heard what their companions thought about them, a thought that made Bestla frown. Then, staring at Samaya and reproachfully shaking her head, Bestla said, „There is only one soul here capable of eating her… another furry beast actually. I, for example, hate the tarantula’s meat.”

„And… who told you that the wolves love it?” Samaya asked, frowning.

„The wind whispered it to me,” said Bestla, randomly.

Listening to the word „wind,” Vintai became very attentive. Then, looking askance toward the place where the girls were, he hissed through his teeth, „I never said that.” Yet, he right away forgot about his „upset” when he spotted the beauty of nature reflected in Bestla’s mirrors. That’s why he widely opened his eyes. Even his mouth was wide open because it was something he had never seen even though he had wandered that forest everywhere. Yet, there wasn’t anything like that in any other part of the forest because, in those mirrors, the colors of nature seemed vivid and magical.

What amazed him more than the reflections of nature in those mirrors were the images seen there. Something unclear at first, but still something that made him attentive. Especially, what made him pay attention to what was happening there were the whispers of the trees that started to be heard so soon. Whispers he was sure he had heard before. Yet, he couldn’t remember where he heard them.

However, even though all that amazed him so much, he forgot about this when he saw, so clearly reflected in the mirrors, Yĕn’s memories. In those memories, Vintai saw part of the tarantula’s daily routine while she was living in the trees. Then he saw her slowly climbing and descending on the trunks or lazily moving on her web, in which he generally caught innocent victims. Yet, those victims were necessary for her because they assured her survival.

Something more interesting than this had been for Vintai to see himself, the seven-year-old boy, running from Yĕn on the same path on which Samaya, Boor, and Bestla met the tarantula that day. The boy, however, wasn’t running off Yĕn because he was afraid, but because he was playing with her. He even happily laughed at those memories, something that denoted the fact that they were intimate friends and that run was a kind of childish tomfoolery or a way for them to show their love to each other.

Seeing this, the boy murmured, confused, „It can’t be!” A murmur that made the girls look carefully at him. Vintai, however, didn’t look at them, but at those images, fragments that were taken from his past ten, the one he lived years ago. After that, still frowning, the boy said, „I can’t believe that a beast like Yĕn can have memories. More than that, it’s unbelievable that I’m part of her memories. I… don’t understand all this. Why?”

His whispers and the fact that Vintai seemed confused made Boor attentive eventually. That’s why he sat and looked at the mirrors too. Thus, he saw the same thing as Vintai. In addition, Boor saw how Yĕn turned and looked around when she heard someone’s whisper, something that seemed a command to her. Then, they all saw the tarantula running while descending the tree where she had her home, to follow Baradar and Shiver Sun later when they passed by there.

„Now I understand what Yĕn’s role in this forest is,” said Boor, standing up. „She has been sent here to spy on Baradar.”

„It seems so,” murmured Samaya thoughtfully. „Yet, more than that, I’m interested in that image.” Looking to their right, where Samaya was pointing with her hand, they saw Mayar, the nine-year-old girl, caressing Yĕn’s head as though caressing a pet.

Seeing that image, Bestla hissed through her teeth, „I said already that that fox is weird. More than a fox, she’s a cobra. Otherwise, I can’t understand how she can caress a… tarantula. Not a usual one, but a tarantula like Yĕn.”

„Maybe she has been just courageous, don’t you also think so?” Asked Boor randomly. A remark that made Bestla frown again.

Then, disappointed, the girl said, „Well, I must accept this too: that she’s courageous. Nevertheless, I would have liked Yĕn to eat her and not to be after us. Thus, we would have had a problem less.”

„Two problems less!” Whispered Samaya, something that amazed her friends a lot.

„Two? What do you mean?” Asked Bestla, confused.

„I mean that if Mayar had disappeared that day, the same would have happened to me. We are twin-shapes, remember?”

Bestla frowned again. „Maybe you are right, but… I’m sure that if evil dies, not the same happens to Good. Or… am I wrong now?”

„Yes, Bestla, you are wrong now,” replied Boor. „Why? Because the twin-shapes have been brought into this world to complete each other. Thus, if one of them dies, the same happens to the other one.”

„Then, who’s my soulmate?” Asked Vintai, extremely confused.

„Probably a wind from the Underworld. I don’t know this, honestly,” replied Boor in a kind voice, caressing the boy’s head, who was already standing next to him. Boor, however, only made a joke by saying what he said because he didn’t know whose soulmate Vintai was. Yet, he was sure that Vintai’s soulmate wasn’t evil because… the boy was an angel for him, and angels never had shadows.

That caress, however, made Vintai feel awkward because it was reminding him of a little child when he was big already. Nevertheless, he didn’t run away because it was so pleasant, that touch. That’s why he allowed Boor to caress his head for longer. Thus, for the first time in his life, Vintai understood that he had been alone since he was born, a loneliness that bothered him so much, even though he never showed this to anyone.

***

It was already night when Yĕn finally stood on all her twelve legs. Then, turning her back to the woods, she headed in the same direction she was heading the moment she met Vintai and had that „game” with him. Yet, even though she didn’t feel anyone’s presence there, she wasn’t alone in that place. There were also Boor, Bestla, and Samaya, hidden through the branches and spying on Yĕn, convinced that she’d lead them toward that secret place where she headed before that.

The only one who wasn’t seen there was Vintai. This happened because he was a vivid spirit that was getting bored quickly if staying in a single place. That’s why, five minutes after they decided to hide and spy on Yĕn, giving the tarantula some time to calm down, the boy sent a thought to the others, „This is already too much for me. Too boring.” After that, without waiting for their answer, he vanished.

However, Vintai didn’t vanish unnoticed. Boor saw him, even if he was also looking at Yĕn carefully, just as the girls were doing at that moment. God saw the boy leaving in the form of the pony or better to say he only heard the noise of the pony’s hooves, running toward the camp of the Rophions. Nevertheless, he said nothing about this. He didn’t even wonder why the boy went exactly there. Boor only preferred to look at Yĕn, asking her to calm down as soon as possible, in his mind only. Why? Because he felt it was already time to move further because, just like Vintai, Boor was also a Spirit that was getting bored fast if staying in a single place.

Suddenly he winced, just as Bestla did, when Samaya asked loudly, even though she wanted to do it telepathically, „How is this possible?”

„What exactly?” Asked Bestla.

„That I didn’t realize that day that I’m followed. Fourteen years ago, I mean when I headed, unwillingly, toward the Glade of Shadows. Yĕn followed me that day. You also saw it, in her memories. Yet, I didn’t feel her that day. Why? Have I been so blind?”

„No, Samaya! It’s not because you’ve been blind. It’s because of the evil that hid Yĕn from you. Actually, I don’t think that that event has been random, just like your meeting with the fox, there.”

„Maybe it is as you say, God Boor. Nevertheless, I didn’t remember all this: how I got to that place or the moment the darkness took over the surroundings.”

„Maybe it’s just a game of your mind.”

„What do you mean, Bestla? That I tried to forget it?”

„Yes, because… let’s not forget that we generally tend to forget painful events. For example, at that time, your mother’s death made you so vulnerable, just like everything that happened to you at that time because you couldn’t hear or speak.”

„I think Bestla is right, Samaya. Eventually, willingly or not, our psychic controls us. At the same time, it does everything just to protect us and not allow us to fall. That’s why we forget things. If not, we will fall before getting to see our old age.”

„You are both probably right. Yet… It seems too much to me that I forgot such an important moment in my life. The most important thing I can say, because, that day, I started to hear and talk.”

„It was planned that way, Samaya,” insisted Boor. „Just like the Universe planned everything, down to the last detail. For example, It planned you to meet Yĕn that day and it was also because of the Universe we met her today again. And… let’s follow her until it’s not too late! She’s far away already and I don’t think we can afford to lose sight of her now.”

„Yes, you are right,” said Samaya reluctantly. After that, also descending from that tree, she followed Boor and Bestla. Then, the three, sneaking around, followed Yĕn, which entered the forest already, on the other side of the glade.

Behind them, right after they entered the forest, the glade where they had been by then, started to lament. The glade did it slowly, barely heard, as though trying to hide their pain from somebody. Yet, the moment they felt a pleasant touch of the wind on their blades, barks, petals, and leaves, nature calmed down and allowed that wind to rock them slowly. A wind that was controlled by Vintai’s power, who understood that the anxiety from one’s soul can be chased away with caresses. That’s why he decided to caress nature’s body, to give it some comfort, at least how he could.

***

Still looking at her fireball, Mayar finally saw the end of the road. That’s why she stopped and looked around. There, she saw nature surrounded by darkness, a nature that seemed asleep and too quiet for Mayar’s taste. More than that, the girl disliked the fact that she was seeing the shadows of that night, shadows that were surrounding that place as though being creatures from flesh and bones, beings who still thought they were alive and capable of controlling something or someone’s soul.

Yet, even though it was strange, that place seemed usual to Mayar. A simple glade, surrounded by darkness and greenery. Nothing more. A view that didn’t deceive the girl. She only looked at Parca, who was behind her, when the Titanide told her in a calm tone, „A camouflage.”

„You are right. This is the famous Glade of Shadows.” After that, Mayar threw that fireball in the air. The ball, however, didn’t fall after that but got bigger and kept floating in the air as though it was a big lamp illuminating the surroundings.

„It’s still a place I don’t remember having been like this,” said Para, frowning.

Mayar, amazed, turned completely toward Parca and stared at her. „Didn’t you remember this place like this? What do you mean: that you’ve been here before?”

„That’s right: I’ve been here. A long time ago. Following Tarther.”

„Tarther? Wait a minute: what are you talking about? Tarther is a legend.”

„It’s what everybody thinks he is. Why? Because only a few souls in this world know that there are two Tarther in this world: a Big one and a Small one. Two Tarther tied by Fate.”

„So, if I got it correctly: the Big Tarther is asleep, somewhere, while the small one keeps wandering the world without nobody being aware of this.” Parca nodded yes. „Still remains the question: who is the small Tarther?”

„No one else than Baradar,” replied Parca smiling. A remark that made Mayar stare at the Titanide with wide-open eyes. „Honestly, even though they are tied by Fate, the two Tarther are different. For example, Big Tarther has been created from Eris’s hatred and thoughts, which has turned him into a real demon. Thus, she made sure the Noears would fall. Something that actually happened. Seven thousand years ago. Nevertheless, it happened because of the small Tarther and not because of the big one. That day, when the People of Noear fell, the small Tarther appeared into this world.”

What Parca said made Mayar feel confused. That’s why she suddenly shook her head, trying to clear her mind. Then, she said, „I still have the feeling that Baradar doesn’t know all this. Why?”

„I don’t know this answer either. Only his guardian knows it.”

„His Guardian? Who? The Log?”

„Yes. Actually, they are also heading here right now.”

This news made Mayar smile. „Something strange in fact. That Baradar comes here. I thought that Fate will play a prank on me and will make me look for him all over. Like the cat looking for the mouse.” After that, she looked askance at Parca when she spotted that one also looking at her this way. „What now?”

„Nothing out of the ordinary. I was just wondering why you are looking for Baradar when your purpose is to release Mannar.”

„My purpose?” Mayar asked, laughing. „Since when? I mean, why did you think that I wanted to release Mannar? On the contrary: I’m not interested in him. Only in the minikin.”

„Why? Because Baradar has something you need?”

„Yes,” Mayar replied. After that, she looked around.

She right away looked at Parca, amazed, when she saw that the Titanide started to walk around her. Parca even seemed thoughtful. She was also frowning often, something that made Mayar confused. Moreover, when she heard Parca’s whisper, „What an old minikin can have, to be something absolutely necessary for a young fox? Power? I don’t think so because your power is equal or maybe bigger than his. A secret? Less probably, because Baradar remembers very few from his previous life and he doesn’t know that he’s the small Tarther. Then? What can he have to be important to you?" After that, Parca stopped and looked straight into Mayar’s eyes.

The young girl, however, at all bothered by Para’s glance, which she couldn’t understand actually, confidently replied, „Just… something I need from him. Something you’ll find out very soon. That’s why I suggest you not rush to find it out before the time. You’ll find out all this at the same time with others. Otherwise, the Balance of Time can be turned upside down.”

Parca winced. Then she murmured, confused, „The Balance! Something strange and interesting at the same time. Yet… something useless for you because you aren’t able to control it and you won’t ever be able to control it.”

„Why? Don’t you think I’m capable of this?” Mayar ironically asked.

„That’s right. The reason? A very simple one: a Balance can’t be ever controlled by a single power. Only by a Balance.”

„Light and Darkness.”

„Exactly. Thus, as you are the Darkness, to control the Balance of Time, you also need Light.”

„Do you mean the she-wolf?”

„That’s right. Actually, Mayar, I’ll give you a piece of advice, even if you don’t ask for it and I’m sure that you won’t follow it: if you want to achieve something, always listen to what nature and the Universe around you tells you. You’ll be able to find out its secrets only this way. At the same time, you’ll be able to control something only when you accept that there can’t be anything in this world without an equilibrium.” Yet, not Parca told all this to Mayar, but Patavi told her this. Something that amazed the girl a lot. Then, before Mayar could say something, Patavi vanished. More than that, Parca wasn’t there either.

„What was that?” Wondered Mayar, confused. „Parca giving me advice about how to control the world? She? The one who dreams about staying on the famous throne? More than that: where did she go?” She kept silent eventually, listening to someone’s footsteps approaching her. Yet, looking around, Mayar saw only shadows. Something that amazed her a lot, for she was sure that she wasn’t alone in that glade.

She was actually right in thinking so because, far behind her, the wolf Dike and the transparent body of Life were watching her from the shadows. The wolf even told Vāḻkkai eventually, telepathically, „Finally, we are here, where everything started.”

„You are right. Even so, what scares you the most will happen very soon.”

„What scares me? Do you mean Samaya’s death?”

Vāḻkkai, without looking at the wolf but at Mayar, said, „You are right. At the same time, you are right in thinking that this world hides secrets from you, Dike. It hides things from me too. Even so, I’m sure that it will end very soon.”

„Why? I mean: why are you so sure?”

„Because I know that Maranam will do everything to hide his big secret from this world and not allow it to subdue him. Yet, I also know that Themis controls him too, just as it controls us all.”

„Themis? The Supreme Balance?”

„That’s right! Actually, if you carefully look around you, you’ll see the shadows, those who are surrounding Mayar. Shadows that aren’t here because they are mean or trying to hurt her. They are here to protect her.”

„Maybe they are here because she created them?”

„No, Dike, the fox doesn’t have such power. Not even Samaya can do that. Yet, how we don’t know who influences these shadows, we can only guess what will happen. And… shhh, look!”

Looking in front, where Vāḻkkai showed him to look, Dike saw Yĕn approaching that glade. Then, at a slow step, the tarantula headed toward Mayar. The girl, seeing Yĕn, didn’t move from her place or looked scared. On the contrary, it seemed that she summoned Yĕn there. Yet, not this amazed Dike the most, but the fact that he saw Boor, Samaya, and Bestla sneaking behind Yĕn. That’s why he asked eventually, confused, „Why are they here? I told them to stay away from this place.”

„It’s because it has been planned that way, Dike. For them to be here. That’s why I repeat this: nobody is capable of impeding Fate do what it is planning.” After that, in a protective way, Vāḻkkai touched the wolf’s back, slowly caressing his fur. „It’s Time’s decision and we must respect it. At the same time, we can only wait to see what will eventually happen.” Saying this, Vāḻkkai turned her back to that place and moved away.

Dike remained in the same place, looking at Mayar, who kept caressing the tarantula’s head, talking to her in a sweet voice, „You came, my dear friend! I’m glad because I missed you so much all this time. You know, when we left this place that day, I thought that I wouldn’t see you again. Nevertheless, it seems that I’ve been wrong because… Fate brought us together again. It means we have one destiny to fulfill.” Then, sticking her head on the furry one of the tarantula, Mayar closed her eyes, trying to fill herself with her friend’s love and energy.

Seeing her doing this, Dike and the rest had been amazed a lot. That’s why they looked at each other, confused. Nevertheless, none of them said anything, not because they didn’t want to say it, but because they finally understood that Yĕn’s role wasn’t to spy on Baradar, but to bring them there. At the same time, they understood that it was Fate’s plan. Thus, as though telepathically talking to each other, they wondered if it was possible that Fate betrayed them all, the same thought Mayar also had because she finally understood that she wasn’t only with Yĕn there, but with her enemies too.