Run!

It repeated in her mind.

Run Lyria!

Over and over again, forcing her legs to keep going, no matter the pain under her feet or the lack of air in her lungs, the trees reached so high and their branches were so dense that they blocked out the moon, barely seeing where she was stepping on. As she maneuvered among the gigantic roots, she was not going to stop, even if it meant running until her feet bled, so be it, without stumbling or falling, never risking what she carried in her arms.

She turned back for a second, still able to see them, torches moved violently between the trees, the gallop of hooves on the ground, and the beasts that her pursuers were riding had difficulty crossing the terrain, it was the reason why she had passed the night there, a single night of rest from the continuous days she had been running, but she underestimated how good their beasts were at tracking and the determination of the pursuers

"¡Kanatea sia!" they yelled one after another, followed by the hideous growls of their mounts.

She had to lose them somehow, get to the crose, there they would lose her scent, but to get there safely she had to distract them. She could see the edge of the forest, she would be easy prey and had to think of something fast.

The ground covered with roots began to feel less rigid, and grass began to cover it, high enough to be able to touch it with her hands without the need to bend down, she looked around, the limit of the forest of giant trees was clear, now what separated her from life and death was an extensive meadow, only tall grass around it and several mounds of dirt like small mountains, the termite mounds were separated by a few meters between them, those could easily cover her, but that would not fool the animals of her previous captors and now with the light of a waning moon, she could better observe her surroundings.

Luckily she didn't have to deceive them, just keep them distracted, a possibility she saw once the peaceful snores coming from the prairie were heard, in the distance she could see their origin, the wind was in her favor, just what she needed.

    Hoping that her plan would work, she crouched in the middle of the grass behind one of the termite mounds, allowing herself to be covered by the thick vegetation, hooves hitting the ground and snorting kept getting closer.

"Subaruki" The rider ordered his mount at the moment of crossing the grove and reaching the meadow, the animal began to sniff the air, and then brought its long snout to the ground, something had caught its attention, and the rider observed it.

Traces of blood on the grass.

"We have her..." he indicated victoriously to his two companions.

"We have never strayed so far from the Bayan" said another, hesitant to continue.

"If we fail, the best thing will be to get as far away as possible, the Tarikaan will not accept that we return empty-handed" added the third.

"Shut it" ordered the leader, he proceeded to advance slowly through the grass, his mount still sniffing blood.

She could hear them clearly and she could see the light of their torches through the leaves, luckily the growls of their beasts and their own voices distracted them, the fire in their hands did not let them see far enough now that the clouds covered the sky. moon and darkness ruled.

They approached little by little, she began to see their silhouettes in the grass, the beasts were insatiable, their enormous jaws full of teeth were trained to tear and the fangs that emerged on each side of their heads reinforced with black armor were capable of slicing her in pieces without much effort. Those Hell Boars always gave her nightmares.

But even they were no match for what she had prepared.

The trail of blood led them into the pasture, the animals sniffed tirelessly, the smell of blood made them salivate eagerly, or so it was until the wind changed direction, straight into the faces of their pursuers, nothing more was needed, the beasts they were riding stopped in their tracks in fear.

"¿He?" the rider reacted, hitting the back of his mount to move forward, which caused the animal to let out a shriek that echoed through the meadow, it was more than enough to wake them up.

It wasn't until they heard the trumpeting of the giants whose sleep they had disturbed that the riders realized the danger they were in, they raised their torches trying to reveal them, but only scared them more, one of the riders was thrown from his mount by being struck by the huge tusks of the giants, another tried to drive them away with his torch, with the idea of ​​setting its short blackish fur on fire, but another member of the herd took the man with its trunk and then slammed him against the ground. The smell of blood began to cover the sire, his beast tried to flee, but was impaled by the tusks of the herd's matriarch, furious at those who dared to put their progeny at risk, the rider who had stayed behind saw horrified the scene.

"¡Āwong!" begged the rider who was thrown into the air, he watched his companion extending a hand as a sign of life while doing his best to crawl on the ground, however, his legs were worn out and immobile, useless, he had hit one of the mounds, breaking his back. The last one standing set out to rescue him, but the matriarch of the pack was not going to allow it, with a primitive fury ran to the dying soldier, waving her ears in threat, then rose on her hind legs bawling loudly to trample the man with the huge pillars she had as legs, when the earth trembled, the cracking of the bones marked the silence.

The last rider was able to observe them as they formed a line with their young behind them, not mammoths, they were too far south, he noted their shorter fur, they were larger than average size and their tusks were straighter than those of the mammoths that traveled the north, did not recognize this species that made the earth tremble with their legs, swung their tusks, colliding with each other and their trunks raised in threat, the herd adopted its defensive form, the boar that he rode roared back, like the war animal that it was, it was trained to face other beasts, but there wouldn't be a chance, luckily they weren't going to attack him unless he or his mount provoked them.

    He tried to understand what had happened, how did the woman get through the herd?

    The answer came when he saw a termite mound behind the giants, he could see the woman watching him, she kept her head down so as not to alert them. She saw him clearly, under the light of her torch she could see how his torso and face were marked with black lines and figures, painted with ash, his light leather armor and beast fur around it would not protect him this time.

    The rider cursed inside, no matter what he did the herd would not take their eyes off him and if he dared to face those animals, it was certain death. He watched his fallen brothers, the pools of blood now feeding the land and the creatures in it.

    He took his spear firmly and then reached for the leather bag that hung at his side, from the bag he extracted an arrowhead-shaped rock, black as coal but with an exposed red core that stood out in the darkness.

    "For the Tarikaan" he whispered as he took the crystal and without hesitation cut himself in the arm that held t spear, at the moment it cut his skin, his muscles had small spasms, his veins stood out, and she could even see a slight red flash in his eyes "Para te Garati!" shouted with all his might as he grabbed the reins of his beast and charged directly towards the woman, only his legs holding to his mount he stood up and threw his spear at her in the hope of being able to put an end to everything, but the weapon ended up buried in the mound of dirt, his last attempt to fulfill his duty, the pack reacted to the clear offense, he tried to change direction at the last minute but was rammed by an assault of giant tusks that felled him and his beast.

    Lyria could only remain motionless before the screams and shouts as the herd trampled what they saw as threats over and over again, she could feel the strength of the mastodon's legs when the earth shook, little time passed until the matriarch gave the order to stop, the herd calmed down little by little, it was her chance, but when she turned around she was surprised by another member of the herd, a young mastodon who was being protected approached Lyria while the rest attacked, he was still taller than her, but nothing compared to his mother, tusks had not yet developed.

    Unable to do more than press her body against the termite mound without making a sound, the calf was looking at her curiously, obviously, it wasn't one of those who attacked the herd, it smelled different and behaved differently.

    The calf was curious about what she was carrying, moved its trunk closer to her arms, to what she had been carrying for days, wrapped in a leather bag, she had barely had time to really check on it, she saw how the calf removed the leather with its trunk, with greater delicacy than she thought such a large animal could have, when unwrapping it, a small pair of hands stretched out towards the trunk, with a curiosity equal to or greater than that of the young mastodon.

    Lyria smiled for the first time in a long time, seeing her son alive and being able to take a short breath, the baby let out a laugh as he played with the animal's trunk in front of them, to which he responded with happy bawls, until the the matriarch's call distracted him, his mother was calling him, that place was no longer safe for them, they had to move.

    She watched the herd leave towards the horizon, just as dawn was breaking, the darkness was losing territory to the sunlight, the dawning brought with it the colors of the earth, the reddish color of the termite mounds standing out on the yellow grass, the bark of the huge trees that covered the forest that gave her shelter for at least one night, green leaves fell around her. Took a deep breath to admire the sky, as darkness and light came into contact.

    Her son's laugh brought her back to reality, she smiled as she embraced him.

    "We'll be alright... I promise" she told him as the sun's rays reached his face, she approached the termite mound where the dead rider's spear was and took it, and then advanced to the crose, he could see it in the distance, it seemed that a lifetime ago it was sent in the opposite direction, now he returned to his lands.

Going back to Ooram.

    The first moment of peace, it didn't matter that she couldn't sleep having to keep the fire burning and her son calm. Maybe she didn't have to worry about being chased by people, but Ooram was not a land that forgave those who trust.

    Using the scraps of leather she was carrying, she managed to make a bag in which to carry her son and to be able to wield the spear that had just been thrown at her, it wasn't much, but it would do, considering that anything else had been crushed by the mastodons.

    Without maps, she had to use all her knowledge to get home, it had been so long since she had set foot on these lands that looking at the forest around, she could barely recognize the trees, each direction looked the same as another, but she knew where to start.

"South..." she whispered to herself, she had seen the sunrise, she located the east, so she knew where the south was, if she kept that direction sooner or later she would arrive home, to fulfill her mission, with her people, the Narthum.

But.

What was her mission?

Lyria watched the little one, she had placed him in a pile of fallen leaves from the trees of the dense forest across the crose, trying to keep him as comfortable as possible, the baby watched the embers of the campfire almost hypnotized, she had just fed him, other infants of four months of life would have already fallen asleep, but he still had his eyes open and his gaze full of curiosity, she couldn't help but smile.

She had been sent to the Bayan for one purpose, but the goddesses clearly had another destiny for her.

He had not been born Narthum, a thought that had never crossed her mind, she didn't care, she loved him.

She looked at the sun that shone above the pine trees, it was already near its highest point in the sky, it was a good time to keep moving forward.

"If we continue south, we can go around the divine peaks and reach Bara'halum by tomorrow, where I can make a raft and let it's current carry us home, what do you think?" she asked the infant, perhaps hoping to get an answer, but the boy kept his eyes on the coals, Lyria couldn't help but laugh.

She took him gently in her arms and placed him in the bag she had made, now he would be more comfortable while she carried him on her back.

"Long road ahead..." she stated before taking a deep breath, picked up the spear, and walked back through the dense forest.

Keeping her bearings was one of the few things she was sure of, every step was keeping intrusive thoughts at bay, forcing herself to think about keeping the sun to her right as time passed was the best way, but every thought echoed in the corners of her mind, the idea of ​​returning to the Narthum became more dangerous.

What would they say about him?

Would they even accept him?

    None of her own answers were good, if she went back, she would have to hide him from his own people, she looked at her hand, remembered her his people told the stories of their origin, born of Shajiilha, their bodies made of the bark of the great tree, then she looked her son, his skin, barely lighter than hers, resembled dark copper when the sun's rays touched it.

    Not to mention what they had been through, still carrying him on her back, Lyria looked at the scar that began on his right shoulder and ended in the center of his chest, just remembering what had happened made her stomach twist in anguish.

    Though those thoughts weren't the only thing that distressed her, as due to her own thoughts she had been distracted enough to ignore something key in her surroundings.

    There was no sound.

The forest was completely silent, with no singing or flapping of birds, the only thing that could be heard was the crunch of the leaves under her feet and the swaying of the branches of the trees, the hair on her neck stood on end and her heart started pounding, she wasn't the only one in that forest.

She held the spear in both hands, the long black metal tip always pointing where her vision went, but she couldn't see a thing, the tree trunks around provided no cover for an ambush.

    There was only one option left.

"Up" she thought, instantly, her gaze pointed to the treetops, the sun's rays that filtered through the branches almost forced her to look away, but she managed to see the creature that was hiding in the foliage, she heard the branches cracking as it pounced at Lyria with claws outstretched in front, she leaped aside, falling face down so as not to hurt her son and dropping the spear as a result, she crawled a few inches to reach for the weapon before turning to see what attacked her.

    The animal had fur with different shades of dark brown covering its elongated body, perfect for hiding in the forest, it was larger than she had thought, it easily reached the height of her hip on four legs, the front ones ending in large curved claws, its wolf-like snout growling and baring its teeth while waving its long, muscular tail in a sign of intimidation, the bursō set out to catch one of Lyria's feet with its huge claws, she managed to kick the nose of the animal stunning it, getting enough time to get up.

    "Go away!" She raised her voice while waving the spear in front of the animal, which combined with the baby's cries should have been enough to intimidate it, but the predator did not back down, loud growls and claws at the tip of the spear showed that it was not going to give up.

Lyria tried to back away bit by bit, but as she moved, so did the bursō, moving from side to side to try and flank her. She wasn't giving him even the smallest window of opportunity, but a thought in her head made her worry even more.

Bursō hunt in groups

    And this was confirmed when the second bursō ran towards her from her right, leaping forward with claws out just like the first, quickly enough Lyria held the spear in front of her and using the animal's own weight, threw it at the other one, stunned and struggling with each other to get up, Lyria knew they weren't the only ones, she didn't stand a chance.

She began to run, she didn't know which direction, but wherever she fled from those beasts, she didn't have the luxury of looking back, but she heard their barks and their loud kicks hitting the ground with each stride as they chased her.

    Crossing between the trees to try to disorient the animals, trying to move where the forest became denser, to get where they would not chase her, thinking was difficult when it seemed that her heart was about to explode and her baby's cries became more intense.

If she kept running there were two possibilities, she would reach the foot of the divine peaks, the ground would begin to steepen and the bursō would quickly catch her, through the trees she observed how the ground rose, to surround them and reach the river she had to move to the east, if he could outwit the beasts long enough, she might get there.

    She looked back for just a second, the bursō following her with great determination, chasing her from the flanks, drool falling from their snouts as they gasped with the effort of chasing their prey.

The forest was starting to get thicker, the trees were changing, the brown bark of the pines was getting darker, Lyria knew where she would end up if she didn't change direction now, it was time.

    She stopped her feet in an instant and slid on the ground, helping herself with the spear to not lose her balance, enough to turn her body and be able to run south again, the heavy bodies of the bursō had a hard time making such changes of direction in full pursuit, one of them even tripped over one of the roots of the trees, she was sure that once they were tired, they would not chase her anymore, they were animals that attacked with ambushes and did not usually maintain long chases.

It was exactly as she thought, they were ambush animals.

    And she had just fallen in one when a third bursō appeared between the trees, cutting distance just as she turned, surely it had followed them and was saving energy for when it was needed.

The animal did not even have to jump, a quick claw to the leg knocked Lyria down, falling again so that her baby would not suffer damage, she tried to get up, but the stabbing pain in her leg did not allow it, the curved claws had caused deep cuts below the knee, even trying to stand up caused immense pain.

    The third bursō, larger in size, with gray fur with black and white tones, was approaching with constant steps, Lyria could no longer escape, with one hand she pulled the bag in which her son was to ensure that she was with him and with the another took hold of the spear and pointed at the animal.

Thrust after thrust frightened the animal, smart enough to know that a poorly planned attack would kill it, but when the rest of the pack appeared, the attack ceased, the three beasts just surrounded Lyria, enjoying the smell of her blood.

    She crawled slowly, getting as far away from them as she could, waving the gun from side to side.

"Get away from me!" yelled loudly, one of the bursō tried to grab one of her legs with its teeth, but only got a cut on the eye, shaking its head forcefully while letting out shrieks of pain.

That desperate blow opened a window for the second animal to pounce on the spear, grabbing it in its teeth and instantly snatching it from Lyria's hands just before snapping it in its jaws.

    Defenseless, now her only option was to crawl and pray to the goddess for her life and that of her son, her back hitting the trunk of a tree, where she would meet her end.

"Anahalum protect us..." pleaded as she closed her eyes and hugged her son tightly, listening to his cries that covered the growls of the beasts.

    But the growls were interrupted by the roar of pain from one of them, Lyria opened her eyes, one of the bursō now writhing on the ground, an arrow stuck in the side of his neck, the other two were shaken by the attack.

Behind them, she could see a figure approaching, running on two legs and from a distance she could see the feathers that decorated its head, the bursō did not take long to see him, they were about to attack him, but a second arrow was shot from his bow, this time claiming one of the large animal's ears, the remaining familiars gave up and fled in the opposite direction.

Lyria watched in disbelief.

Had the goddess responded?

    The stranger came closer, with his bow pointed at the ground, but with an arrow ready to fly, his head was covered with feathers of different colors and lengths, the plume covered his eyes, his torso covered with a black cloak with red edges. and with unknown symbols.

It wasn't Narthum.

Ndezu? No, too far from their land.

Odotan neither, never without his mount.

Lyria couldn't identify if he was a friend or an enemy, under the cloak she could see that he was carrying various objects, herbs, bones, and leather bags.

He was barefoot, without any sign of discomfort.

    When he got close enough, Lyria saw a mask on his face, lines on his cheekbones, nose, and lips noted a clear silhouette.

A skull.

A shiver ran down Lyria's spine, she desperately reached for the half of the spear that had the metal tip and still trembling pointed it at the stranger.

"Don't come closer!" she ordered, the man stopped immediately, without saying a word. "Not one more step," she said with weariness in her voice.

"I'm not a threat" he spoke in a calm and soft voice, almost comforting "You're hurt, so is he" he stated, that last sentence forced Lyria to look to the baby in her arms, but the distraction was enough for an arrow to fly right into her hand, slamming into her weapon and snatching it away.

In desperation, Lyria tried to get up, but her injured leg wouldn't allow it, the effort only caused more blood to flow and she couldn't stand up.

    El extraño se acercaba a ella, ahora desarmada, mientras tomaba varios materiales debajo de su capa, mezclandolos con sus propias manos.

    "Wait!" Lyria begged, but in a blink, the man approached her, extended his hand, and blew on her a yellow powder that covered her face, she could feel it enter her nose, and began to cough hard as it reaches the lungs, vision blurred, arms tingle and the world began to spin, she heard echoes around.

"Ti-uika" said the voices "You will see the Ifa'ad"

"Never forget your mission"

"The goddess will keep you all safe"

Incessant voices in her head, some she knew too well, some she didn't, a war between her upbringing and herself, upholding her duty and her wishes was a conflict that ate at her soul.

"I love you, Lyria of the Narthum"

"If he survives, he will be the one to guide us"

"No!" she yelled as she woke up, sitting up in a second, sweat on her forehead and her vision still blurring, she tried to get up suddenly "Jaren!"

"He's fine" she heard, as her vision cleared, was able see around, she was in a cave, surely at the foot of the divine peaks, she could see the light of day so it was clear an exit was near, there was a fire next to her, and on the other side of the fire, the same man who had saved her, crouched down, practically sitting on his own heels, from close up could confirm her suspicions, the mask on his face was part of a skull, his shoulders covered with feathers of different colors similar to the plume on his head that supported the black mantle "You two are fine"

The man pointed to Lyria's leg, the bleeding had stopped and it had been bandaged by what appeared to be animal skin, she noticed between the knots that a green paste was seeping from below, probably medicinal herbs.

Lyria didn't know what to say, the mistrust of her so-called savior was too much, the truth was she was just trying to find something that would help them escape.

"You speak my language..."

"We speak all the languages ​​of Ooram."

Lyria only felt more mistrust at such an answer, scanning the cave until she found a weapon.

"I told you I'm not a threat to you," he said, turning his gaze to the campfire and feeding the flame with dry leaves.

"Before or after you poisoned me?

"It's not poison, it just causes you to fall asleep, we use it to treat serious injuries" he replied extremely calmly without even looking at her, as if he was sure she wouldn't do anything.

    "...You say we" commented "The Ifa'ad?"

"You ask as if you were talking about a spirit."

"That's what I thought your kin were, just a story so that the children wouldn't go into the forest" she explained. "The stories speak of witches and warlocks..."

"You can call us that if you want."

    Lyria was thoughtful, she looked around, the cave entrance was covered with vines through which the sun's rays filtered, the fire showed signs of having been lit several times, on the walls, she saw paintings of animals, people, mountains, and forests, there were also different clay jars arranged in holes carved in the rock, each one with a unique symbol, it was clear that he had taken them to his abode.

"Why did you save us?"

"The bursō would have killed you"

"People are devoured by beasts every day in these lands and surely you have seen it with your own eyes several times" she demanded "Why did you help us?"

Faced with the insistent question, the man sighed in frustration, then looked at the baby sleeping on a lion's skin.

"I can see what that boy carries," he answered, a lump forming in Lyria's throat "I don't know what it is, but I can sense it, something sinister... hungry."

    Without hesitating twice Lyria got up despite the pain in her leg to place herself between her son and the warlock, he didn't react.

"As I said, I am not a threat to you."

"He's just a baby, he's innocent"

"I know, that's why you can't take him to the Narthum"

"What?"

"Would you let your son become another tool of those who claim to speak for your goddesses?" she asked, taking a step forward, almost challenging Lyria.

"I wouldn't allow it"

"Then don't give them the opportunity, they shouldn't know he exists," he said seriously "Ooram goes from one conflict of power to another with each full moon, he doesn't deserve that fate."

    The stranger's words stabbed into Lyria's heart like daggers, she knew he was right.

"If we can't go back, it'll be the same...Where would we go?" she asked with tears welling up in her eyes "You want me to wander the sea of ​​sand until I die?"

"...There is a place," he said "In the depths of these mountains, a fertile valley, only the Ifa'ad know of its existence, no one has had the courage to enter these mountains, the deceptive terrain, and its inhabitants are a natural barrier" he explained "There you could raise your child in peace"

"I..." she tried to speak. "How could I keep him inside the valley once he grows up?"

The man was silent for a moment, then took several steps back.

"You will have to prepare him for the worst..." he said, suddenly, he extended his arms that until then were partially covered by the black cloak on his back, showing different marks on his skin, similar to scars that showed different figures "Tsusan dakhi mini oin" he pronounced with a deep and powerful voice, an emerald glow emerged from them, green smoke began to pour out of his mouth, swirling in front of him, taking shape, bright scales, long fangs, the feathers that adorned his suit began to bristle as he the snake took shape, it looked at Lyria with black and empty eyes, she couldn't describe what she felt, but it definitely looked straight into her soul.

Smoke billowed out, twisting around her.

"Beasts and men alike" he whispered.

Birds unable to fly but with claws the size of your hand and beaks that could devour your child in one bite.

Giant felines with saber fangs.

Bears with the strength of ten men.

Hyenas with jaws capable of shattering mastodon bones.

And the creatures that don't eat meat, but whose horns, antlers, tusks and need for survival make them enormous threats.

Then there were the tribes of Ooram, conquest, death in the name of their gods and in the name of themselves, the clash of metal and blood.

In the same way that the creatures appeared, the smoke re-entered the man's mouth when he fell silent, and the shine in the marks disappeared in the same way.

"Fear is a powerful tool..."

"How does that make me different from all of them?"

"You are a mother."

Lyria turned to see her son, who even after the scene, was sleeping peacefully, watching like this brought her peace, something they both deserved.

"You... never told me your name"

"Xama" answered the man.

"Thank you, Xama, for saving us," she said as she lifted her baby carefully "My name is Lyria, we owe you... and I'll owe you, even more, when you take us there"

Xama nodded at her words.

"Coincidentally, we call it the Valley of the Lilies"