Advancing through the forest, Lodur and Gaea saw many trees knocked to the ground, which suffered because of someone’s mad actions, especially because of those with magic powers that were working for Evil. More than that, they saw many places in that forest that had scorched ground, turning that place into a kind of cemetery - so black was everything around. Those places were those destroyed by Tenebre in the fight she had with the trees of Rophion Forest, in her desperate attempt to catch up with Fenrir and the rest after they had stolen her Palantir.

Nevertheless, even though that view was impressive, it didn’t impact the two Titans. What caught their eyes was the forest’s calmness. A strange silence, so similar to the one felt before a storm. Thus, even if they knew that it was something normal for a magic forest as Rophion Forest was, feeling the influence of evil all over, they were still sure that someone else’s power was felt there. Of someone strange. Whose exactly? They didn’t know, but they were going to find this out as soon as possible. That’s why they kept advancing, in slow steps, relentlessly.

Yet, the moment they met a thick tree on their way, which was knocked down across the main road, the two stopped. They didn’t get closer to it eventually. They only looked at it from the place they were, about fifty meters from it, carefully analyzing it as they felt that the tree had a great story behind it. „Like a soldier fallen on the battlefield,” thought Lodur. „Yet, this is a magic one. Damn interesting. That’s why you feel the necessity to stay for hours by its side, watching it in silence and carefully checking its beautiful bark.”

Lodur’s words made Gaea smile eventually. Yet, she said nothing. She only looked at the beauty of the tree, starting from its thick roots, half in the ground, which didn’t allow it to dry even if he was lying on the soil for a long time already. Not the same happened to the roots: they were dried in places, where the air could circulate on their surface, unlike the water that couldn’t wet them. That’s why they looked so weird, as though they were the claws of a mystic creature, from the horror stories told to the children by the elders to keep them away from dangerous and unknown places. Yet, even if it was strange, the „scary” form of the roots wasn’t anything else than the clumsy way of the old tree to defend itself from enemies. At the same time, they were sending to their enemies a certain message that only those who had lived a life in nature’s lap could understand, „If you get too close to me, with malice, I’ll bite you.” Yet, the poor tree couldn’t bite anybody at that moment, lacking power and desire to fight already.

And the poor tree fell despite the fact that it was so tall and thick that six sturdy men would have barely surrounded it, grabbed by the hands. Thus, fallen to the ground, the tree allowed the green moss to cover its trunk more than half. Then, there where the grass still didn’t get to, a bright smooth bark was seen, with a strange drawing on it, something that gave that tree a special beauty. A similar beauty to the one given by the green soft moss that was covering the knots seen on the bark with a thick blanket meant to protect it during bad times or weather.

Actually, the moss’s decision to cover only part of the bark could be considered „wise,” as though it understood the importance of that painting on the bark. Nothing strange for nature, but so unknown to many creatures. Why? Because those knots served as marks to calculate the age of the tree. Thus, one could find out how many centuries that tree proudly towered toward the sky, shadowing the soil under its huge crown - four hundred centuries in the case of the fallen one. At the same time, those knots were part of nature’s beauty, placed on the trunk in zigzag, at equal intervals from each other, but all over the bark.

Yet, this was not the most impressive about the old soldier. What impressed the two Titans was to see that the birds had built nests on those knots while others, which had been eaten by the wormholes and the wormholes by the woodpeckers, created hollows thus, in which tiny creatures hid.

„A perfect, but at the same time strange law of nature,” as Gaea named it in a whisper.

„What exactly do you mean?” Lodur asked her, confused.

„I am talking about this tree. It’s perfect, in its way, even if it looks so clumsy. At the same time, it has a big wooden heart if it’d been able to shelter so many souls around it, protecting them this way.”

„It may be that it didn’t have a choice but to do it,” responded Lodur, smiling. „Eventually, it’d been knocked down by time. Thus, once on the ground, all it could do was to accept nature and the world’s laws, the same which controlled it for years.”

„What if it isn’t as you think?” Inquired Gaea in a serious tone. A tone of her voice, which made Lodur stare at her eventually. Not the same Gaea did. She only kept looking at the base of the tree, somewhere under it, where, half in the ground, the den of a small badger was seen. A strange house that seemed so small because of the exit door. A perfect illusion that door, in fact, just to keep the enemies away from it - the foxes, which had the bad habit of sticking their noses in his house and profaning it. There, barely seen, Gaea spotted the black wet nose of the badger, something that made her continue her thought eventually, „I mean… trees are generally magnanimous. At the same time, they simply love to be surrounded by life. Especially by the small creatures that not only keep them company but also make them feel important. Just as that little badger does, that one, whose black nose is only seen from his house, but which fully enjoys the protection of the tree, a protection which he would have missed if the tree had still towered to the sky.”

„That badger would have been more than protected by the tree’s roots in that case,” insisted Lodur.

„No, Lodur. It wouldn’t have been the case. Why? Because, hidden under those roots when the badgers simply adore digging the ground, he would have knocked the tree down eventually. More than that, the badgers also adore the warm and clean places. Much underground, where it’s very wet, it would have been uncomfortable for him. Here, however, under this fallen tree, it’s perfect - he’s protected and enjoys the generosity of the tree.”

„Still, what will happen to this little badger when the tree vanishes eventually?”

Gaea smiled, „He’ll look for another shelter. Something I doubt. Just as I doubt that this badger will be still alive when the tree vanishes off the earth’s surface.”

Gaea’s response confused Lodur. „Why?” He suddenly asked.

„Because that trunk won’t vanish so soon, Lodur. It still needs decades or maybe centuries to die and… maybe it looks so deplorable, but it still keeps the glory of the old times inside it. Something that will keep him alive for longer.”

Lodur smiled. „If it had worked with others too.” A remark that confused Gaea this time. Lodur, seeing her staring at him, confused, smiled and said, „I mean people and the other creatures. If they had had the same generosity and love in their hearts, for everything that's around us, then we'd have had a better world too, one that would have lacked pain and death.”

„Something impossible, Lodur. Eventually, everything needs a balance in this world. For example, there can’t be only sun or everything will dry. Darkness 24/24? Well, something bad too because nothing grows surrounded by darkness, just as everything rots when it’s too much water. The same happens to one’s soul: if it shelters only evil inside, sooner or later it’ll die.” Saying this, Gaea sighed and kept looking at the trunk across the road, which kept so much kindness inside it even if the same world which it still protected knocked it down.

She smiled in the end, listening to a mysterious calling from inside a hollow - some nestlings kept calling their mother from inside that trunk. There, inside that hollow, a not-that-big nest was hidden. And, through the small opening from the entrance of the hollow, seven small beaks were seen widely open, desperately begging for food.

„Now I understand,” said Lodur suddenly. Gaea looked at him, confused. „I mean… you’re always so beautiful and forget about bad things while being on nature’s lap. So different from the time when you’re among humans. Then… you’re always irritated and mean.”

Gaea smiled again, „If you have flowers inside, you can share flowers with others too. Yet, if your soul is hardened, then… the only thing you can share with others are stones.”

„What about those nestlings? They don’t look like orphans. Yet, I feel the nostalgia inside you.”

„They are so small, Lodur,” responded the Titanide unhesitatingly. „So helpless.”

„But not alone. At this, you should have thought at first, seeing them. Not at the fear of them being hungry.”

„A fear that it’s impossible not to exist in the soul of a mother, Titan Lodur. Something that’s actually always been in my heart. Fear that the entire world will starve in the end,” she added, melancholically while suddenly looking around at the trees that seemed asleep, gray, somehow lacking life after being touched by the magic of evil.

She winced eventually and looked at the fallen trunk again when she saw, right under that trunk, another black nose. Then… two black eyes appeared, vividly and cunningly blinking, but in which no trace of malice was seen. A glance that made Gaea smile again. After that, she squatted, still carefully looking at two fluffy gray ears this time that exited the den before the nose and the eyes. Then, gray fur followed those fluffy ears, ending with a small fluffy tail of the same shade.

More than the rabbit’s tenderness, his watery eyes impressed Lodur. „As though he has cried for an entire night for a carrot,” he thought, smiling. Yet, he’d been even more surprised hearing Gaea’s answer in his head:

„You’re actually right. His eyes are crying because of hunger and because his gums hurt him all night long. Actually, it’s because of this that he has those two front teeth so big: to be able to chew everything he meets in his way.” This time, Gaea’s voice was playful and not sad. Yet, not this amazed Lodur, but the fact that she talked to him telepathically. He understood very soon that she did that trying not to scare the small gray fluffy ball.

After that, in silence and curiously looking at those fluffy ears, followed by the same fluffy tail, they decided to wait to see what the rabbit would do eventually. However, the rabbit wasn’t stupid at all, even if innocence was so vividly sparkling in his eyes. More than intelligent, that rabbit seemed experienced, and that he’d passed through something similar before. That’s why, before leaving his house, he carefully looked around: to be sure that the queen fox wasn’t around there, waiting for him to get out of his house and eat him. Yet, seeing nobody around his house, he started to hop toward the forest.

After a few meters of hopping, when the white oval of his long ears caught up a noise, the rabbit stopped. It happened because he heard the weak peep of the nestlings that were continuously begging for food. That weak calling made the rabbit curious. That’s why he suddenly turned to the right and started to hop on his four paws with white fluff at his soles, toward the tree again. Yet, he wasn’t turning back home, but somehow further from it, toward that place where a thick root was seen and which could be used as a stair to climb that trunk.

Exactly what the rabbit did once next to that root: he hopped on it first, then… slowly-slowly, he started to hop up the trunk. On the top of the trunk, the rabbit stopped. Then he lowered his small black nose, smelling the green moss, which was so pleasantly smelling like dew and hazelnut, probably after a squirrel dropped one from her paws while passing by there in a rush. Yet, finding nothing good to chew there, he decided that it was finally the time to see what the deal with that peeping hollow was. Thus, joyful, he started to hop to his left, further on that green soft moss carpet, toward the hollow.

Next to the hollow, the long-eared stopped again. Then, flattening his ears a little, he bent his head and stuck his nose into the hollow to smell the strange scent that was coming out of it. The moment the stinky scent got to his nose, the rabbit sneezed because that scent of hatched, despite the fact that the hollow was opened and the air could circulate, was something he disliked. Moreover, that deafening peep of the nestlings bothered him when the sound had gotten to the white oval of his long ears.

Seconds later, the gray fur of the long-eared winced. After that, he stretched his ears up and carefully listened to the sound that was heard not that far from him. The sound of a flapping of wings, something that made the rabbit squeak and hop further from the hollow. Just in time. If he had stood for a few seconds more next to that hollow, two big black wings, of the mother of those nestlings, which was madly flapping them and letting a deafening growling come out of her throat, would have thrown him off the trunk. Something that didn’t happen eventually, but still something that enraged the bird more, which started to shout even louder, somehow weirdly, due to the worm she had in her beak, a worm that impeded her to hurt the poor rabbit by knocking his head with her sharp beak. At the same time, it seemed that she wasn’t also eager to throw that worm away because she still heard the screams of her nestlings that were always hungry.

Nevertheless, even if the bird seemed eager to taste sweet rabbit meat that day, she had been unlucky. The reason? Well, the fear because, when the fluffy scared ball felt his heart madly beating in his chest, moreover when he understood that staying in place it’d bring his end closer, he started to hop back toward that root on which he climbed on the trunk, intending to run away. He didn’t go away from there alone, however. The bird, mad and looking as if she wasn’t hearing or seeing anything at that moment, followed him. She did that because she intended to punish the „intruder” that tried to poke his nose in her house. That’s why, seeing him running away, she followed him, also hopping on that trunk because, flapping her wings, she was unable to walk normally. Not even the poor animal’s fear stopped her. On the contrary, it seemed that his intention of running away drove her crazy even more than she already was.

Halfway, however, the bird, which was a common buzzard, flew away. This happened when two white arms took the poor rabbit from off the trunk and held him to their owner’s chest, caressing the rabbit’s fur. After that, seeing that the buzzard kept pouncing on the rabbit, intending to grab him into its strong claws and punish him for his daring, Gaea looked at the bird, scolding it with her kind voice, „Yes, of course, I understood. You’re afraid for your nestlings. Yet, he did nothing wrong to your kids. So, stop agitating so much. More than that… I don’t understand why you’re so nervous when it has been only an innocent adventure.”

Not the same thought the buzzard had because, right after sitting on the trunk again and feeding his nestlings with that worm, it turned toward the Titanide, making strange sounds. As though the bird was scolding Mother Earth for interfering in their argument with the rabbit. More than that, it seemed offended that it couldn’t punish the rabbit.

Looking at the buzzard, Gaea told him in a kind voice, „You’re absolutely right. The long-eared scared your nestlings. That’s why I’ll be the one scolding him for his „brave adventure.” Meanwhile… you should take care of your nestlings, which are hungry and scared because of two long gray ears that have caressed their wide open beaks.”

Gaea’s words calmed the buzzard down a little. Then, after screaming its dissatisfaction a little bit more, it turned to its nest. Nevertheless, it didn’t keep silent: while heading toward its nest, the buzzard kept flapping its wings, letting strange sounds come out of its throat, a secret message for the enemies, letting them understand that it wasn’t safe for them to poke their nose into its house or they could lose their heads.

The argument between Gaea and the buzzard made Lodur smile eventually. Later, when the buzzard was already in the nest, calming its nestlings down, he approached Gaea, who was sitting on the trunk already, caressing the long-eared to calm it down because she felt the mad beatings of its heart. Actually, the rabbit’s heart was beating so fast that Gaea got to feel strange pulsations on her hand as though someone tapped it over and over again with something soft.

She also smiled eventually when Lodur stopped in front of her and told her, „I didn’t know you can be both mother and arbitrator on the battlefield.”

„Isn’t this the role of a mother? To arbitrate the fight of her children?”

„Hmm… maybe you’re right. I’ve never been a mother and neither have I had experience with children,” responded Lodur, smiling.

„Something I actually doubt.” Lodur looked at her, confused. „I mean… even if you don’t have children, you still know someone who simply loves arguing.”

„Aaaa, you’re absolutely right! The twins! I forgot about them. Actually, to be honest, I think that has been a long while since I didn’t hear them arguing. I missed this a lot.”

„Why do I feel you’re lying? That you've missed their fights I mean,” said Gaea, smiling. Then, leaving the gray fluffy ball on the ground to go home, she told him, „Go and hide for a while. At least until the crazy mother calms down. If not, your gray fur turns red for sure. And… stay away from others’houses and stop poking your little wet nose wherever you find something curious! Did you understand me?”

The rabbit, well… like any other rabbit didn’t understand too much from what the Titanide said. Yet, feeling the ground under his soles and, more, when he realized that he wasn’t that far from his den, he quickly darted out of Gaea’s soft trap and hid in his house. Not even his little nose, black and wet, wasn’t seen anymore. Many minutes after this actually.

Not the same happened to Gaea. She suddenly shook her head, reproachfully, and not because the rabbit seemed not to have listened to her words, but because of the noise still heard from inside the hollow. „It seems that the crazy one hasn’t calmed down yet,” said the Titanide in a reproachful tone.

„Or maybe she’s scolding her nestlings for being scared, don’t you think so? Or maybe she’s furious with you because you protected her „enemy” and not her…”

The Titanide scolded him with a glance. Then, feisty, she drily told him, „You are so insufferable sometimes! Now, let’s go! I think we’ve wasted too much time fighting each other. Now it’s time to see how to solve our problems.” After that, she turned her back to him and, quickening her pace, she left that place.

Seeing her so „upset," Lodur smiled. „Worse than a child if someone shows her that she’s been wrong in something.”

„Actually, I hear you. And… It hasn't been my fault. I just tried to be… fair.”

„A failed attempt in fact,” said Lodur thoughtfully. „I think the rabbit was the guilty one for that argument, right? He poked his nose in the buzzard’s house.”

„Yeah, maybe, but he did that with no mean intention.”

„Something the buzzard didn’t have where to know from. For him, all those who stick their noses in his house are his enemies. More than that, what surprises me so much is that the buzzard built his nest there, on the fallen trunk. As far as I know, the buzzards live in the trees.”

„You are actually right. Nevertheless, there can be exceptions, like this buzzard, which is faithful. To be more precise, I’ll tell you this: while that tree was still touching the sky with its crown, the buzzard was nestling in its mother’s house. There, through the tree’s branches. Thus, the buzzard started to love the tree and, when it became a mother, she decided to raise them in the same tree where it grew up: hiding them in one of the tree's hollows, and not through the branches this time.”

„In one of them? Do you mean that there are more creatures living in the other hollows?”

„Mmm, there lived other creatures before: a woodpecker in the hollow next to the house of the buzzard and another badger. Yet, they left because of this crazy buzzard. Only the rabbit and the badger are still there.”

„Something that makes you feel so melancholic, right?”

Gaea sadly smiled. „You don’t even know how much, Lodur. This tree makes me feel so sad. Moreover, I feel my heart breaking into pieces while seeing it on the ground when I know him since it has been a small acorn. I saw him proudly towering to the sky, becoming a father for the birds and for the other creatures that looked for shelter through its branches or hollows. At the same time, it was the tree where the most famous musicians of this forest lived in the past, filling the horizon with their melody. Now… there’s none of them next to this tree. Only a rabbit and a badger.”

„The same happens among humans and Titans, Gaea. There’s actually an end to everything in this world. More than that, if we think more about this, we realize that friends surround one only when he’s useful to those friends. Then, when he’s useless and has given them everything he could have given them… he becomes useless and remains alone. Just as it happened to this tree.”

„Maybe you’re right, Lodur. Yet, it still hurts me to see a tree knocked to the ground, to hear its heavy sigh while it waits for its end on the ground, knelt, and not touching the sky with its wooden forehead as it should be. At the same time, it hurts me so much to see so much pain around us.”

„Something you can’t fight against. At the same time, you can’t stay on your knees in front of someone, asking for mercy. Not even in front of death.”

Gaea smiled again, „For a Titan that will live forever, I see you know a lot about death. Where from?”

„I learned it while observing nature in my short visits to Earth. When I visited my brother and my nephews.”

The Titanide looked at him somehow confused, „Did you pass by here with Dike?”

„That’s right. With Dike and with the twins. Also alone. And, honestly, I still don’t know why I feel so connected to this place. Yet, I feel as though my heart is longing for living on Earth.”

„Maybe that’s because Fate plans for you something new. Like living here, in the future.”

„You’re probably right. Or not. Well, we’ll see… what Chaos and Fate will decide for me.”

„What’s true is true. Eventually, we live as the Universe has decided and not like we want to live.” After that, kindly smiling, still feeling the heartbeats of the rabbit on her palm even if he wasn’t there anymore, the two entered deeper and deeper into the forest, looking for Fate.

***

Lying next to the trunk of a huge tree, Pakai was turning to the left and to the right continuously. Yet, each time he was doing this, he was moaning because a sharp pain was crossing his body when doing this. A pain he should have thank Arion because the horse was who kicked him so badly that he got to curse his days. That’s why he kept gnashing his teeth and cursing the horse too, accusing him of being responsible for his suffering. More than that, he was furious with Fenrir too, the wolf that had the shame to attack him. Thus, still shaking inside because of anger and pain, Pakai hissed through his teeth, „Damn, idiot! I really can’t understand how a horse can protect a wolf. As far as I know, the horses are killed by wolves, right?” Yet, not receiving an answer to his question, he moved in pain again, touching his wounds with his fingers and moaning.

His moans, however, got to drive Tenebre crazy. She, while Pakai lay next to that trunk, moved up and down in front of him, thinking about how to take Ahi and the Palantir back. Yet, she understood that she wouldn’t be able to think clearly if Pakai had kept moaning next to her. That’s why she shouted at one moment, furious, „Stop complaining so much! Those wounds don’t look that bad to complain so much because of them. You look more like a broken record right now, that keeps complaining so much and doesn’t let me think!”

Hearing her talking like that, Pakai growled, „If you had been the one whom the horse kicked his back, you would have complained worse than I do, hiding hell knows in what hole right now.”

His remark, however, didn’t make Tenebre give up on her attempt to make him keep silent. That’s why she furiously told him after this, „Something you actually looked for, honestly. So, you should stop complaining because you’re the only guilty one for your pain. And for the revenge of the horse because I’m pretty sure that he did this because you hurt that young wolf, who didn’t do anything to you if I remember this correctly.”

„Yeah, you remember this correctly, but I did it for our cause,” Pakai told her feisty. Yet, Tenebre didn’t stay to listen to him complaining. She continued her chaotic walk, chewing her nails, and gnashing her teeth often, a hint that she wasn’t able to find a solution to her problems. Pakai, however, not paying attention to what she was doing or saying, replied to her nervously shortly after that, „If I hadn’t done this, the ones attacked would have been us for sure.”

His mumbling made Tenebre suddenly stop. Then, turning toward Pakai, she stared at him, angry, hissing through her teeth, „A stupid decision in fact because, if you hadn’t attacked them, I wouldn’t have been stripped of my Palantir, which they took because they needed it to turn that boy back to life. Now, however, without the Palantir, we can only dream about releasing Mannar.”

„Now it’s my fault?” Asked Pakai, feisty, squinting at her.

„Not mine. If it had been me taking that decision, we would have followed the plan. You instead… you always act foolishly without thinking about the consequences. Just as it happened when you separated Ahi from Mayar. If she had been with us, we would have been able to use her for our plans. Now… look for her if you can find her.”

„As though it would have helped you if you had had that Mayar. As far as I remember, she never listened to you. More than that: you always bothered her… like a fish bone stuck in the throat.”

„As if you know how a fish bone tastes… the one who feeds himself with rot.”

„Keep your mouth shut, Tenebre!” Pakai hissed through his teeth, bothered by her words.

„Of course not. The one who should keep his mouth shut and the mind working is you, Pakai. More than that, I don’t understand why we are arguing right now. Instead, we should make a damn good plan to take back what’s ours and then yes, to act as we’ve planned already.”

„And… don’t you think that I’ve tried to figure it out? Yes, I thought about this. Actually, it’s the only thing I've been doing since we came here and not just twisting and turning while complaining,” Pakai said, lying to her.

Nevertheless, his words didn’t deceive Tenebre. She, understanding that he was lying to her, told him feisty, „Those who lie are always selling their soul to the devil, Pakai. It seems that you’re the only one that’s not aware of this.”

Pakai, instead of feeling remorse, burst into laughter. After that, ironically, he told her, „We sold it already, remember?” A bad joke for Tenebre, who, suddenly, formed a black ball in her right hand, intending to blow the jackal up. Yet, when she remembered that she still needed him, she changed her mind and let that ball slip into her pocket. Her decision had been for Pakai, a kind of „I gave up! I can’t bear up with you.” That’s why he also decided to tell her whatever was crossing his mind. However, halfway through the words through his throat, he changed his mind and kindly told her, „What about being mean while recovering the Palantir, huh?”

„What are you planning this time?” The Titanide asked.

„A bait,” murmured Pakai, cunningly smiling. „You said we need the twins-shape to open the Gate of Mannar’s cell, right?”

„Yes, so? I don’t see how this will help us or how to have the Rophions’girl instead of Mayar. This is what you meant, right?”

„Right! About how to put our paws on the she-wolf: simple! We can lure her outside the camp. Thus, we can also catch the fox.” Tenebre frowned. Pakai smiled instead, „They hate each other, right? Thus, if we give the fox a chance to take revenge on her eternal rival, we have a chance to succeed. More than that, we can have both of them.”

„You know that they are useless without the Palantir, right?”

„Yeah, I have this in mind already, but… if we have the she-wolf, we can have the Palantir too. How? Simple: we can exchange her for the Palantir.”

Tenebre took thoughts. After that, she said, „I think you’re right now. Yet, still remains Mayar, who’s the main problem. Even if we also lure her and we have the Palantir thanks to the other one, the question which remains is if Mayar accepts to help us. Not now when Parca controls her.”

Pakai smiled again, „Allow me to disagree.”

„Do you know something I don’t know?”

„That’s right. Actually, I didn’t only find this out, but I’m sure about this. Just as I’m sure that Parca isn’t in this forest anymore.” After that, he stared into Tenebre’s eyes, trying to make her submissive.

What he managed by acting like this was to enrage Tenebre more because, hearing that Parca wasn’t in the Rophion Forest anymore, she felt that the entire world was against her. That’s why she suddenly yelled, „What do you mean by she’s not in this forest anymore? Did she run away? After she managed to ruin my plans? Damn Titanide of Fate!” Yet, she calmed down quickly when she realized that she was talking nonsense. After that, furiously staring at Pakai, as though he was the one to blame for Parca’s run, she asked, „What about the fox? Where is she?”

Pakai showed his teeth. „You ask too many questions at the same time, don’t you also think so? You should ask one at a time because I have only one mouth to answer it.”

„As though you'd have been able to answer them all at the time if you had had more mouths,” Tenebre responded, feisty. „You better answer this one: how to bring Mayar back to this forest?”

„Why bring her back if she’s still here?”

Tenebre stared thunderstruck at him, „Parca left Mayar here?”

„It’s better to say that she’s never controlled the girl. Well, maybe for a short time, yes. Mayar, however, is free of that weird curse now. Thus… she can decide her own fate. More than that, I think she plans something right now.”

„Something like?”

„Honestly… I’m not sure. Yet, I feel that’s something damn useful and important because… she managed to lure Baradar to the Glade of Shadows.”

„Did Mayar manage to deceive Baradar? How? As far as I know, the minikin can’t be deceived so easily.”

„Well, the fox did that. How? I don’t know! What I know is that they are now in that strange glade. Not alone, but surrounded by many shadows and other weird things. That’s why, if we don’t want to be left behind in this fight, we should go there. Only this way can we have her.”

„Easier said than done, Pakai. Let’s not forget that the fox is stronger than us. Thus, even if we are there, it’s not sure that we’ll be able to catch her.”

„I think it’s better to think about this at the right time. Now… the important thing is to get there. At least, we should get there before those stinky dogs because if they catch the fox and the minikin before us, then… we definitely should forget about our plans.” After that, he turned his back to Tenebre and headed toward the forest.

Tenebre, not totally convinced that his plan was the right one, followed him eventually. Even so, while following the jackal, she was constantly sighing, thoughtful because she was really furious with Fenrir and the boys, who managed to deceive her. More than that, she was enraged because they took her Palantir, the one she never left behind her by then.

Thus, thoughtful, Tenebre didn’t notice Lodur and Gaea spying on them, just as Pakai didn’t see them. They, however, not only spied on them but heard everything they said, hidden in a kind of twilling world. A conversation that seemed weird to the Titans, just as it seemed weird to them to see their relationship because it was really strange that alliance between Pakai and Tenebre, who looked more like the cat and the mouse, who were forced to work together. Even so, they seemed to be a damn good team while working together and hurting others, a thought that made Gaea say eventually, „Should we also tell others about these two’s plans? At least we should tell Dike about this.”

„No, Gaea. I think that’s better to see what they plan to do with Mayar. Eventually, if it’s necessary, we’ll set the alarm in the camp too. Meanwhile, let’s not lose sight of them.” After that, Lodur followed Pakai and Tenebre.

Gaea followed him shortly after this. Yet, she, like Tenebre, wasn’t convinced that they did well not telling others about the danger in which Samaya was because of Pakai and Tenebre's plan. Even so, aware that Lodur was a wise Titan, she decided to listen to his advice. Eventually, if it’s definitely necessary, they’ll find a solution to the problems that will come. Just as they always did since they started to work together.

***

„Oh, I hate this noise!” Murmured Palar, closing his eyes by covering them with eyelids in the form of small clouds. He was nervous and this was due to the children of Rophions that were playing around him for a long time already. A normal game for the children because they didn’t see a cloud in the yard of their camp every day. Nevertheless, this was something unusual to Palar, who was used only to the madness of the sky but never to the one of the Earth. That’s why he kept mumbling while listening to that noise around him, the only thing he could do at that moment while complaining about his unpleasant feeling.

Eventually, Palar cooked his nose and opened his eyes when he heard Arion telling him, „As insufferable as always, Palar… mumbling and mumbling nonstop. And, as always, you’re unsatisfied because of something.”

„As though I can feel differently with this madness around me. Something that gives me an infernal headache.” After that, to show Soan that it was as he said, he let a few thunder lights pierce his body, involuntarily. Something that made children suddenly withdraw.

The children’s fear made Arion smile. Moreover, when he saw Palar widening his eyes because he never thought that by doing this he could make the children keep silent: throwing only a few thunder lights around. Even so, even if he saw that it was quiet around him again, Palar wasn’t sure that it had been a good idea. Arion, however, understanding his thought, said jokily, „A headache you wouldn’t have had if you had stood in the sky actually.”

„It hadn’t been my choice and you know that. Actually, I tried to rise in the sky again when those mad clouds calmed down, but… I couldn’t because of the Rophions’Barrier. Something that presses on my soul right now.”

„This happened because you tried your magic power on the Barrier,” said Arion, cunningly winking. „If you had normally been floating in the air, like any other normal cloud, the Barrier would have left you to pass through it.”

„It’s good to know that you know everything,” Palar told Arion feistily. After that, he suddenly „turned” his back to Arion by changing the position of his eyes on his body. Then, seeing Nathaniel in front of his eyes, he frowned, even if poor Nathaniel didn’t do anything to him. He was only sitting by the trunk of a thick tree, very thoughtful. Thus, seeing Nathaniel so thoughtful, Palar asked Arion, „And… what happened to this one that looks so wilted, like a flower that didn’t drink for so long? Did he have a fit of the blue or what?”

„It seems so. A heart problem actually.” After that, Arion winked. Yet, Palar didn’t understand his joke and, suddenly, another thick thunder light pierced his body, a hint that he was furious again. Nevertheless, this didn’t stop Arion from joking again because he said right away, „I don’t really understand your anger, Palar. It wasn’t about you.” Then, he sat by Nathaniel.

Palar, in the humor for fighting, told Arion feistily, „You always do that, Soan: when you see that you can't explain something, you just change the subject of the conversation. Something unfair, honestly, because, after that, I’m the only one to blame for everything that happens.”

„Not really for everything, but… if you set fire to the forest then the Rophions, led by Sephir, will definitely blow you up.”

„If you say so,” said the cloud, turning his back to Soan again while small thunder lights continued to pierce his body, letting others know that he was really furious.

„Worse than a child,” murmured Arion while shaking his head. „You never understand a good joke.”

„Maybe you should learn better jokes, huh?” Said Nathaniel, making Arion look at him, seeing the young man sadly smiling.

„I didn’t know you were on the cloud’s side,” joked Arion.

„I’m only on my side and of justice, of course. And… the one who’s right this time is Palar because… not every normal cloud can descend on earth and stay on his hips in someone else’s yard.”

„Maybe you’re right, but… Hei, Palar, don’t take it personally. I just… tried to make the air easier to breathe.”

„Yeah, yeah, as always,” mumbled the cloud without looking at the two young men.

His answer made Arion shake his head. „Well, yes, I have definitely forgotten that you are really mean when you’re angry. Moreover, no one is able to comfort you when you’re acting like that, but… let’s turn back to earthly things,” Arion said, looking at Nathaniel, whom he told in a whisper, „What this time? Is it because of Samaya?”

„Not only because of her. I’m also preoccupied with Yellen.”

„Yellen? Why? She’s safe, right?”

„Yes, she’s safe while she’s still protected by the Barrier. Even so, I don’t like that she changes so fast. She’s maturing too fast. In one single night in fact.”

„And? Isn’t this a good idea? That’s she’s maturing?”

„Honestly, I’m not sure. Maybe it is. Yet, Yellen’s different. I feel that while she’s maturing, her power grows too. At the same time, I feel her anxiety. Especially, because of Tenebre’s Palantir and that axis she received from Gaea after the ritual of fire. I even have the feeling that it’s the axis that changes her, as though controlling her. What makes me think so is the fact that I see her too often touching it lately.”

„Now that you mention this, I think you’re right. I have also noticed it even if I don’t understand why.”

„It’s because of the force of the three elements,” said Palar. His words made the two men look at him. Arion was especially surprised because he didn’t expect that Palar was listening to their conversation.

Yet, chasing that amazement away, shortly after this, he asked, „What do you try to say by the force of the three elements?”

„Accu, Picācu, and Kōḷam.” Replied Palar, sadly smiling.

„These are?” Asked Nathaniel, confused.

„The axis Yellen wears wrapped around her wrist. She also has the magnifying glass, and Kōḷam is Tenebre’s Palantir in fact. Actually, a long time ago, when Oḷi, the last leader of the Yātrīkars, was still alive, she was the owner of the three elements, which were a whole then. They were known as Maṉatiṉ Kaṇ or the Eye of Mind, something that had an impressive power. Yet, for an unknown reason, Oḷi decided to split them and nobody knows until nowadays why she did that, just as nobody had been able to join their power again.”

„Oḷi! Light!” Arion murmured. „Why do I think that I know this name?”

„Because you know it. Oḷi was the mother of the nowadays Yātrīkars’leader. At the same time, Oḷi was the mother of the Yātrīkar into which Karina had transformed after leaving Purgatorium. Yet, nobody knows what has happened to Oḷi or where she’s now.”

„What about you, Palar? How do you know all this? Did you live in that period?”

„Of course, no, Soan. I’m not as old as this world. Yet, even if the clouds seem to be only a mix of fog and smoke in the sky, we also have our legends. Actually, I found out about Oḷi’s story because of a legend told me by the old clouds. They said that Oḷi disappeared one day in a very mysterious way. Right in the middle of the fight with the Diges. How or where she disappeared after that fight, nobody knows. Just as nobody knows where the clouds heard this legend.”

„Something strange in fact,” murmured Nathaniel, thoughtful. „Yet, I have the feeling that it's a true legend. Like a warning for us for what’s coming.”

„A warning? For what?”

„To see if the three elements join their power again, Palar. More than that, I have the feeling that Yellen is the one to show us the real meaning of the legends of the clouds,” said Nathaniel, somehow confused. After that, suddenly, he lay on the grass, with his hands under his head. Thus, he could see the sky, through the branches of that secular tree under which they were at that moment, something that gave him the feeling that the crown of the tree was „patched up.”

Nathaniel’s lying position made Arion smile. After that, also lying on the grass, he looked at the sky. Yet, unlike Nathaniel, he didn’t put his hands under his head but touched the grass, feeling its soft touch deep inside his soul. Something that made him close his eyes eventually, happy to feel so much pleasure inside. At the same time, the touch of the grass made him feel calmer because, even if he tried to tease Nathaniel that he was sad because he missed Samaya, Arion felt the same - he was preoccupied knowing that Bestla was outside the camp, in the depths of the forest where the danger was lurking on them.

The only one who continued calm was Palar. He, sitting on his soft pillows, with small clouds instead of eyes, smiled eventually. Palar probably did that while dreaming about the limitless blue sky, the one that existed once, but which vanished because of Maranam’s madness.

***

Being only Mai and her in Yamu’s wooden house, Yellen was sitting on her hips, a few millimeters above the floor. She had her eyes closed at that moment and the elbows touching her body while, above her wide-open palms, was floating Tenebre’s Palantir.

Yet, the Palantir wasn’t randomly floating, but it was somehow influenced by Accu, whose top Yellen unified with the Palantir. She did that to be sure that she’d be able to bring Kkuṟai back to his senses, who was lying in his bedding, with wide-open eyes, staring at the Palantir that suddenly got above him. Then, when she felt that it was the time, Yellen murmured, barely heard, „Vāḻkkaip pātaiyil tirumpu, Kkuṟai!” (Turn back to Life’s path, Kkuṟai!) She said these words also not randomly, but firmly as though demanding the boy do that.

Seeing that Kkuṟai didn’t react after her command, Yellen kept whispering, „Pūmiyil ceyya iṉṉum niṟaiya viṣayaṅkaḷ uḷḷaṉa. Maṟṟa ulakiṉ muṟukku curaṅkaṅkaḷ vaḻiyāka vīṇaṭikka nēram illai.” (There are still so many things to do on earth. It’s not the right time to keep hiding in those sinuous Tunnels of the Underworld.” After that, feeling that she should do that, Yellen kept silent. She still had her eyes closed while her palms were on both sides of the Palantir without touching it.

Suddenly, in the room, total silence took over them. Only Mai’s murmur, who was praying at that moment, was barely heard from time to time. A prayer whispered into an ancient language, unknown to the girl. Even so, Yellen was sure that Mai was praying for her son, to bring him back to Life’s path, safely.

Nevertheless, Mai’s prayer seemed not to help them too much because nothing happened, not even minutes after Yellen kept silent. Only the Palantir started to illuminate into a strange light, as though the flames were burning dried wood inside it, surrounding its whole interior. Thus, when she felt that something warm touched her wrist, Yellen opened her eyes. She saw, thus, that Accu, which she was always wearing wrapped around her wrist, started to send a kind of blue light to the Palantir. And the Palantir, which always seemed hungry for energy, „cracked” its inner cloth, allowing that blue light to enter deep inside it, a light that didn’t color red as those flames seen there but became black in contact with the red light.

Then, when the Palantir had swallowed enough blue light, the flames inside it split up. Only horizontally at first. Then, seconds later, a vertical light started to be seen forming between those flames, outlining a blue corridor. And, on that corridor, Yellen finally saw Kkuṟai.

The boy was slowly advancing at that moment, overwhelmed by fears as it seemed to be because he was shaking with all his body while looking around. His glance gave the impression that he was looking for someone. Yet, Yellen wasn’t sure whom the boy was looking for. At least she didn’t understand this at first. However, when she finally understood, she murmured, frightened, „The Fears!” After that, she looked at Mai, whom she asked, „What’s Kkuṟai’s biggest fear, Mai?”

Her question made Mai keep silent. Then, looking at Yellen, confused, she asked, „Fears? I don’t know if my child is afraid of something so much because… oh, no, wait! I remembered! I don’t know why, but he got to be scared by the thought that we’ll abandon him someday.”

„Did someone talk to him about this?”

„I don’t think so. Yet, when he was three, he started to have nightmares.”

„Nightmares? What kind of nightmares?”

„That he was followed by someone and that he’d been left on the cold ground later. He was only a baby in that dream, but he still heard the barks of the dogs that were chasing him.”

Yellen suddenly winced. „My memories. But… why? Is Kkuṟai also adopted?”

Mai looked at the girl, more confused than before. Yet, seeing that Yellen was confused too, she also shook her head to clear her mind. After that, she said, „He saw your memories?! Yet, it can’t be because my boy has never experienced something similar. He’s my boy. Mine and of Yamu. I don’t understand how it can be possible for you two to have the same nightmare.”

The girl shook her head. „I didn’t dream of it,” she said. „I also didn’t remember it before. Only after the ritual did I remembered this.”

„Yet, you don’t seem surprised hearing this. Why?”

„Because Samaya and Bestla told me about my memories. They have the gift of reflecting someone’s memories on the mirrors created by the Princess of Ice while Samaya is Jar.”

„I know this. I saw that soul inside her when she’d been born.”

Yellen insistently looked at Mai. „Something you didn’t tell Samaya’s parents. Why?”

„Because I wasn’t sure that what I saw was the truth or only something that would happen later. And… It wasn't the right moment either.”

„Anyway, whether it has been one or another, we’ll figure it out later. Now… let’s take Kkuṟai out of there.”

„To take him out of there? How?”

„Try to call his name. And… while doing this, use all the softness of your heart. All, Mai, all! Only this way, you can defeat the monster of those places and take Kkuṟai out of its claws.”

Even if Yellen’s words were clear, Mai didn’t understand what exactly she was talking about or what monster she meant. Yet, she nodded in the end, closed her eyes, and calmed down her heartbeats. After that, when she felt that she was ready, she softly said, „Kkuṟai, son, do you hear me?”

Looking at the Palantir, Yellen saw no changes. That’s why she made a sign to Mai to continue to call the boy’s name. Something that Mai did right away, „Kkuṟai, my baby! My little cub, listen to your mother’s voice and turn back! It is not your place there. You have to be among us, those who love you.”

„I’ve been abandoned by you!” Kkuṟai, the one from inside the Palantir, said. Words that have been eventually heard coming out of the real Kkuṟai’s throat, the one that was lying under the Palantir and whose lips barely moved.

„Abandoned? No, never!” Said Mai confidently. „You have never been abandoned by us. And… what you see, it’s only what that monster wants to show you. That’s why, you should return home, there where you are loved, my boy.”

„But, Mother, I’m so scared! So scared I am and… I hear whispers… everywhere. They surround me, they devour me inside, and make me shake with all my body!” After that, Kkuṟai from inside the Palantir crouched, covering his ears with his palms, and hiding his glance with his knees.

Mai, understanding that simple words won’t help them, started to sing:

„On the road where I’m now, I see no light, no star,

No clear sky, no blue, through which the sun rises.

I feel no fresh air around and neither I can see the flowers,

I hear no song at dawn, sung by you, kind beings.

And you, Mother, my sweet mother, whose hair I caress now,

Only in my dream that makes me miss you, just as I miss your kiss,

This makes me think I’ll live forever in a world of shadows and clouds,

Yet, it’s only in my dream, and I still hope to hear your song again… at dawn…”

While Mai sang her song, Yellen noticed that Kkuṟai, the one from inside the Palantir, raised his glance and looked around, looking for his mother in that place. Yet, he saw only someone’s hand stretched in front and heard Yellen’s sweet voice later, telling him, „Come on, Kkuṟai, don’t be shy: grab my hand, and let’s go home!”

Yet, that hand wasn’t the hand of the real Yellen, but of a child, of a three years old girl that suddenly appeared on that black Palantir. Thus, spurred by the smile of that girl and by her bright dark eyes, Kkuṟai grabbed her hand and, so soon, the place of terror had been left behind, and the real Kkuṟai finally opened his eyes.

Seeing his bright clear eyes, Mai suddenly shouted, „Kkuṟai! You are back! Finally!” The boy, however, as though the light bothered him, closed his eyes again. Later, slowly-slowly, he sank into a deep sleep and only his rhythmic breath was still heard around.

The fact that the boy said nothing, preoccupied Mai because she thought that once he’d open his eyes, he’d hug her. Nevertheless, it didn’t happen. That’s why she was confused and preoccupied. However, when Yellen told her, smiling, „He’s just sleeping!” Mai calmed down a little. Moreover, when Yellen added, „He needs this sleep because it has been a really long way back home! That’s why, let him have the rest he deserves now.” After that, the girl detached Accu’s top from the Palantir, which suddenly turned black again.

Later, hiding the Palantir in her large sleeve, Yellen stood up and intended to go. She stopped, however, the moment Mai grabbed her hand. And, looking at Mai, she listened to her words with a smile on her lips, „I hope you’ll be very happy in this life, Yellen! You deserve it because not everybody can bring happiness to the heart of two parents that suffer for their child. This makes me think that Sky will hear my prayer and will return your kindness tenfold.”

„I hope so, Mai! Nevertheless, I didn’t do a great thing! It’s Kkuṟai who did that because he wanted to turn back home.” Then, slowly bending in front of Mai, Yellen got out of the house. Yet, while leaving, she didn’t close the door, but let it open because there was no danger anymore lurking in that house. At the same time, by leaving the door open, she announced to everybody that the boy was safe and that he returned from the world of the dead ones.

Seeing the open door of Mai and Yamu’s house, the Rophions shouted their joy. Shortly after that, the drums started to be played rhythmically by the young wolves, something that made Yamu very happy because he could finally leave sadness behind and fully enjoy the happiness of knowing that his boy was safe.

Inside that house remained only Mai. She stood there for a long while, next to her boy, who shook like hell all those days while he’d been unconscious. Something that definitely remained behind when she saw him sweetly smiling in his sleep while holding her hand, something that allowed Mai to see his future. And, when she was sure of what she saw, Mai said in a sweet voice, „It seems to me that from today you aren’t only our boy, Kkuṟai. You are a real wolf starting today because your heart finally found his bride. Yet, until I hear this from your mouth, I swear to you that I won’t tell anyone. So, be sure my boy that you’ll be the only one to take the final decision.”

After that, slowly bending over him, Mai kissed her son’s forehead. Then, when Kkuṟai approached her chest, looking for her warmth as he did when he was still a little boy, Mai also lay on that floor and held him to her chest while her palm was slowly tapping his back, just as she always did when he had nightmares, in his childhood. Actually, he passed through a nightmare all those days, a long one from which his mother couldn’t protect him. Yet, the Bride of his heart had been there, protecting him from monsters and pain. That’s why Mai decided to be always grateful to Yellen for bringing her boy back home.