There are powers the eye cannot see… yet they subdue all who enter their reach without a single sword being raised.
The hours passed slowly,39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡst5Mn0Vyvo
as if time itself had paused to watch them,39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi3QIJQDcM3
hesitating before allowing the next step to be born.
Aram and those with him remained folded within the mountains,39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQra7WZlyCH
moving only as caution demanded,39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmqjShTp7QT
waiting for two pieces of news that would decide the fate of everything that remained:39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD3fn8KUHlk
Seraph…39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnY2zzxb25k
and Siyar.
The waiting was heavier than any clash.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbiV9xa5HTM
In battle, you know where to strike.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwiNJDh5xWc
Here…39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4vaIaAd9nH
the blow could come from nothing.
Yet no one sat idle.
Each person reviewed their tools,39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz66Ds77e74
their skills,39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGpfahNa6fV
their limits.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnia81IlYUu
Because the smallest detail39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzIuI8GHNzN
could mean the difference between salvation and massacre.
Aram sat with Nehram and Ghaylas leader of the freed Ghouls39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIz1HV48FU1
in the shadow of a broad rock,39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTyKrWZHPq7
speaking in low voices,39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEtXMLinDG8
neither softening the danger39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeQlY740CNw
nor disguising its edge.
Nehram said in a tone Aram was not used to hearing from him:39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY9fSbPeu3W
“Do not underestimate Ronen…39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUad5AitSj0
nor Naher.”
He paused,39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6uXgcPHBb6
then added, as though placing a stone at the heart of the matter:39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡouhWE7KUsk
“Naher is no ordinary djinn.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgmYvQZ5AmF
He is the bearer of the Aura.”
Aram lifted his head at once.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLnL20LwH40
“The Aura?”
Nehram answered slowly:39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8PlbEWoAwC
“Naher can create a field around himself…39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxXJSxQdP6U
a wide aura.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrpSQnyqGfj
Any djinn who enters it39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJVkwanMyhw
loses their will.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡclLTmrPwf1
They cannot harm him,39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5C3bMYQcxq
nor disobey a command he issues.”
A heavy silence followed.
Ghaylas spoke in his rough voice:39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuzO1xoeVH2
“Even we…39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1HOrcbscGa
must be careful.”
Only then did Aram understand that the coming confrontation39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTAKpJaX28r
would not be merely a clash of blades,39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA32fFcYeGP
nor the breaking of sigils,39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjuEeZEaBSm
but a war of wills.
And whoever broke first… would lose.
After a brief arrangement,39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcoSeqjWGzV
they decided to move closer to Saba,39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡitvAFnn18A
without entering it.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnVuvmaeiAN
Close enough to see,39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGcAgjGddE2
far enough to stay alive.
Leading them was that strange creature39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ665akS4Wz6
that had not left them since the Valley of Fire.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAWCmqQ6e2s
Its form resembled a dog,39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLhzbNMyVY6
but in its eyes lived an awareness the soul could not mistake.
Aram watched it and said:39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUMyeTgsSBm
“It cannot remain without a name.”
The creature approached,39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7TSU5aVue3
touched the ground with its claws,39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx9Nvkm0pKM
and released a low sound like a whisper.
Nehram said:39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFqzxkkkoyZ
“From the lineage of the ancient guides…39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfouTqhWEWT
its name is Rakkan.”
And from that moment,39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxK1eiGvBeJ
it was Rakkan.
Rakkan led them to a mountain position39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZxUmSN1cVG
overlooking the palace39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVA5y6ripA7
and the sacrificial square,39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz4p2y0XPNg
while rocks and dense trees39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzbdQOizL2f
shielded them from every eye.
Nehram pointed to one of the ten elite djinn.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPPqyKuAIIk
His name was Azmir.
“Seal the area.”
Azmir closed his eyes39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe2Sc2MephU
and slowly extended his hands.
Within moments,39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNOCIupRY10
everyone felt the air change.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbpXLCwsRIb
It grew heavier…39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeyBbJC3pKp
then calmer.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB0fyBq4aS7
As if the mountain itself had held its breath.
A silent aura.
Any approach,39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOz57kbLjVx
any hostile intent,39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnsmC88H5M6
would be sensed before it could become action.
They waited until evening.
With the first thread of darkness,39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6B072vRFPS
Siyar returned.
He stood before Aram,39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLFAPZp38Vt
the borrowed voice fading away,39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJfeI9rFzpG
his true voice returning.
He said only one sentence:39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIS5899T3hG
“It is done.”
Then he recounted everything.
He told Ronen and Naher39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ41ti3qlRWd
that Aram alone had survived,39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHrelq3kpB3
that his companions had scattered,39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg50ElN1wrL
and that the threat was over.
Ronen laughed according to Siyar39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4X3EwEvktY
and grew complacent.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp1mu8neFXP
He immediately began preparing the altar.
The caravan…39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJTPNcxJXFk
was close.
Less than an hour later,39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGRaCqv0mAj
Seraph returned from the opposite direction.
His face was tense,39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyAE7fhdWQW
his eyes carrying no easy news.
“The king is alive,” he said.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU9o32kz4XZ
“But the guard has been reinforced.”
Then he added:39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6FxNljq2GB
“A deep cell.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTBeFqAvIzv
A single gate.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjPBgO5FCtB
Guarded by Naher’s strongest sentinels.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpPZ7k4GJYO
No human,39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcvHTmcvvST
no djinn,39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrUKiOZFthG
reaches it without his consent.”
Aram looked at the faces around him.
He saw no hesitation.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQsBQomIsce
No fear.
He spoke calmly, decisively,39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnHoHbRVMTT
drawing two lines in the dirt:
“Then… we split the path.”
He pointed to the first line:39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS0Mr6zaQs0
“A path to the cell.”
Then to the second:39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiynckGvykY
“And a path to the caravan.”
He raised his head and added:39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYHfVqEvnRz
“If either fails…39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrFaQJm3K9I
everything falls.”
A heavy silence followed.
But no one stepped back.
In that moment,39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAEDlNIWRsS
the true plan began to take shape.
One single night39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNIlTtb9JBy
stood between them39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeK6dcXRIw7
and the most dangerous gamble they had ever made.
And Saba …39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDqbJs0QTxg
was holding its breath,39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8i0mSWKWGX
waiting for the scene39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO9RevVPMmB
that would rewrite its history.
and then Add to home screen.