text: Elstrath von Graves ran as fast as his little legs could go. The guards who had given him a twenty metre head start ran him down with ease, even dressed in full fighting leathers. "Nice effort, young master." Oh, how frustrating it was to be a boy of eight when everyone he was surrounded by was a full grown adult. Time was cruel and unfair. When would he grow up and be able to outrun his minders? "Leonidas, next time you must wait a little longer," Elstrath commanded the Captain of his guard. "It just isn't fair that I have such little legs." "You'll have your growth spurts when you become a teenager," Leonidas said. "Do not rush the days of youth." Elstrath harrumphed and continued onwards towards the market. He never realised how big everything was until he was surrounded by it. The desert streets of Kyo baked beneath the mid morning sun. The citizens appeared pleased to be up and about, raising fabric awnings on the front of their sandstone houses. Men, women and children waved at the group of foreigners, not afraid of their pale skin. Elstrath grumpily ignored or sneered at them all, disregarding his father’s sound advice to be kind and welcoming while in foreign lands. Why should he be nice when he had been dragged halfway around the world against his best wishes? "Elstrath, control yourself," Leonidas said patiently, squeezing Elstrath’s shoulder and guiding him away from a group of children who were staring wide mouthed at them. "They’re just fascinated. Let them be." "I hate kids," Elstrath growled. "Look at them. They’re awful." Leonidas laughed and then hid it with a cough as Elstrath glared at him. "You are a child too, you know." "Don’t remind me." They moved as a rhythmic unit, ten men surrounding Elstrath, weapons on their hips but ready in an instant to attack at the first sign of danger. The streets grew busier and louder until they were suddenly in the thick of things, the market building up around them. Elstrath had never seen something so alive, so loud. Hundreds of people crowded the streets either setting up market stalls outside of their houses or gathering in crowds to purview and purchase food and wares. The most popular stall was a fish vendor somehow with the freshest catch this far from any sources of water. Everywhere there were people of all nationalities and races, as diverse a place as you could possibly find. Even Elstrath and his guards wouldn’t stand out in this crowd. "This is unbelievable," Elstrath remarked to Leonidas at his side, feeling quite terrified by all of the strangers. "How does something like this build up out of nothing?" "We have places like this back home too," Leonidas remarked. "Probably not as fast building or as full of action, but there are daily markets everywhere you go." "You’ll have to show me when we get home. How much did Father give you for me to spend today? Am I just looking or can I buy something as a reminder of our time here?" Leonidas hefted a pouch, jingling their stash of foreign currency. "We have more than enough for a trinket or two." Elstrath turned a slow circle in the middle of the market. How had he found himself so deep in the thrumming street already? The crowd was almost shoulder to shoulder with every stall busy with haggling pedestrians. He couldn’t see the sunshine through the trees. Where did he even begin in such a place? How would he find his way to the front of any stalls, let alone one worth visiting? "Would you like help, young master?" Leonidas asked. "I can disperse this crowd in an instant." "No, Leonidas, give me a moment and I’ll figure this out." Elstrath closed his eyes and listened. There were so many voices overlapping that it was almost impossible to focus on one alone. It was like drowning in an ocean, being pushed under by the rolling waves, unable to find a way to breathe. He gasped and swallowed a heavy breath, fighting off panic. He was braver than this. He wasn’t afraid or concerned by people. *Elstrath.* The whispered voice carried on the wind, burrowing into his brain. He whipped his head back and forth, opening his eyes and seeing nothing but backs. The thronging crowd was too dense to see anything else. *Elstrath.* There it was again, just out of reach. He could feel it coming from somewhere close by. He just had to fight his way through, pushing much larger adults aside and grab a hold of whoever was calling out to him. He pointed in the general direction and commanded, "Leonidas, make a path that way." Leonidas deftly carved a path through the crowd with Elstrath attached to his boot heels. He bid their way through with apologies and niceties and they came to stand before a crowded stall. The owner was shouting back and forth with an onyx skinned woman, haggling over some kind of trinket. Elstrath’s attention was immediately drawn to a row of red clay pots aligned at the back of the stall. *Elstrath.* The voice came from right there. He had found the correct place, but no one was speaking. "Do you hear that?" Elstrath asked, staring at the pots, taking in the strange symbols carved around their centre. "Hear what?" Leonidas asked. "The shrill barking of those two?" "No. Somebody is calling out to me. Can you see anyone we know?" "There’s nobody around who would know you. All of your guards wouldn’t be able to call out to you from throughout the market. Are you sure you’re hearing right?" "I swear." Elstrath crouched down so that he was at eye level with the wares. The intricate details on the pots were immaculate, but one of the five stood out to him more than any of the others. *Elstrath.* Was something inside that pot speaking to him? How could that be possible? "Hello?" Elstrath said uncertainly. "Can you hear me?" Elstrath reached out ever so slowly, hesitant but sure of his actions. "Oi, boyo!" The owner barked and flew over, slapping Elstrath’s hands away. "No touchie." "Sorry. I... How much is this?" "Too much for you, I’m betting. Take your grabby hands and find someone else to throw your foreign money at." Elstrath signalled to Leonidas and he handed him the money pouch. He tipped a third of it into his hand and glared at the stall owner. "Is this enough of your money to get you to haggle?" "Oho, my apologies, boyo. Which one of these fine goods caught your eye?" Elstrath took a gamble and said, "the set of pots." Elstrath didn’t know the value of the foreign currency so he allowed Leonidas to step in and barter back and forth with the owner. Eventually they reached a bargain and Elstrath departed with all five pots safely stowed in a crate packed with straw. He held them firmly to his chest as he barged his way to one end of the market. Before he could find a way free he stumbled into an alleyway between two houses and he followed it down and around a corner into a secret garden with a single tree. "Stand guard at the corner," he ordered, seeing that all of his guards had successfully followed him into the alley. Leonidas checked that there were no other exits and then stood with his back barely visible at the corner. "Alright," Elstrath said. "Let’s see what you are." He placed the crate beneath the tree and pulled out one pot at random. Looking it over he could tell that it wasn’t the one that had drawn his attention. As he went through and eventually picked up the fourth pot he heard it again: *Elstrath.* This was the one. The pot that was calling out to him. He set it on the sand and took a deep breath. Before he could convince himself otherwise he pulled the string tied around the seal and plucked the cork out. A powerful tornado of wind slammed Elstrath backwards, whiplashing his head into the ground. He practically bounced into the air from the impact and the breath was knocked out of him. "Elstrath," someone yelled. Elstrath was too disoriented to know who was speaking and he couldn’t seem to move without wanting to be sick. "Elstrath!" A second booming voice said from directly above him. Through swimming vision Elstrath looked up at a sight he could not believe. There was a being, ten times larger than a man with blue skin, a long wispy trail of smoke instead of legs and rippling muscles. "A Djinn?" Elstrath whispered. "Elstrath," the Djinn said, smiling with crossed arms. "You followed my call." Elstrath struggled up onto his elbows as ten men and women made a tight semicircle behind him and the Djinn. No one knew what it was or where it had come from. Only Elstrath knew that he had found the magic pot. "What do you want from me, Djinn?" Elstrath finally started to feel better and he rushed to his feet, feeling Leonidas pushing up towards his side. "Be careful, young master," Leonidas said, drawing his sword and adopting a defensive stance. "These creatures are dangerous and manipulative. Do not fall for its deceptions." "I want nothing from you, Elstrath," the Djinn said. "It is you who may ask things of me. Ask and I shall fulfil three of your dearest held desires." "Wait," Elstrath demanded. "Why were you calling out to me? That’s not how it happens in the stories I’ve read." "You’ve read fables meant for children. Djinn seek out their targets as much as we are sought out. You interest me, Elstrath. Now ask and I shall give." Elstrath had no idea what he wanted. No idea what to ask the Djinn for. Should he ask for endless fortune? For good health and a long life? To be whisked home, across the Endless Sea? "I... I don’t know, Djinn," he muttered. "I don’t know the limit of your power. What kinds of things could I ask for?" "I cannot guide your desires, Elstrath. You must come to the decision yourself." "I want to be brave," Elstrath quickly decided. "I want to see danger and be able to charge into it. I don’t want to be afraid anymore." "Your wish is my command," the Djinn said. Elstrath didn’t feel any changes, but then again he wasn’t particularly afraid of the Djinn or of being surrounded by his personal guard. He thought about running back into the crowded market to see how he felt being around people much bigger and stronger than him. But he decided to complete his wishes before seeing how effective they were. Maybe his newly provided bravery was leading his desires as he cleared his throat and stared at the Djinn. "I want my father to say yes to my next request. No matter what I ask for." "Oh, Elstrath, what are you planning?" Leonidas questioned as the Djinn accepted the wish. Elstrath glanced over his shoulder at the man who had been the only thing that made him feel safe until only moments earlier. Now he seemed like just another soldier, not specifically placed to keep him alive, but only there to alleviate his father’s concerns. He turned nonchalantly back to face the Djinn and spoke his last desire. "I want to be the greatest swordsman the world has ever seen," Elstrath said. "Your wish is granted," the Djinn proclaimed. "Goodbye, Elstrath." A heavy wind knocked Elstrath backwards a half step as the Djinn turned into dust and whisked back into the pot. The seal reappeared out of thin air, closing the pot until somebody else found it and summoned the Djinn. The guards all murmured and started to discuss the possibility of opening the pot for themselves, making Elstrath jump forwards and turn around with his arms held wide. "None of you will call out the Djinn," he said bravely. "Step away unless you want to challenge my newly acquired skill with the sword." There was a half sword attached to his belt, a weapon he had never used in a real fight before, but he didn’t doubt for a moment that the Djinn had given him untold skill. "No one is going to challenge you, young master," Leonidas said, holding his hands up above his shoulders. "Isn’t that right?" Every single one of the guards lifted their hands away from their weapons and nodded eagerly. "What will you do with the pots?" Leonidas continued. "How will you keep them safe?" "I will take them with me," Elstrath said. "No one will speak with the Djinn until I deem them worthy." "And what is it that you intend to ask your father? That was not a wish I ever imagined." "I will ask him to forget about me. It is time that I make my own path." "Young master? What do you mean? Do you intend to give up your family?" "I’m tired of being my father’s puppet, Leonidas. When I walk away from my father will you come with me? I promise to take you home, across the Endless Sea. This place does not hold any answers for you and me." "I am beholden to your-" "Just say that you’re too afraid to follow a boy," Elstrath interrupted. "I understand how hard it must be to have to protect me, but now you never have to draw your sword in my defence again. I am more than capable and brave enough to protect myself. I do not ask for your company as a soldier, but as a friend. So, forget about my father and make the decision for you. Will you come home with me?" Leonidas scratched his thickly bearded chin for a moment and then shook his head. "No, Elstrath. I must stay to protect your father. I swore an oath to protect his family and if you truly decide to leave that means I must protect him." Elstrath turned and collected the small crate from beneath the tree, packing the Djinn’s pot away safely. He hefted it and turned to face his former protector. "That’s fine," he said. "I guess the last thing you can do for me is see me safely to my father. My hands are a bit full to test my newly acquired sword skills." "That I can do, young master. That I can do." Elstrath fell into the centre of his guard as they forged a way back through the dying market. Many eyes fell on the young boy and his prize, but none of them knew what he had attained that day. Not one person knew that he held in his hands the key to unlock their greatest dreams. He would have to be careful where he kept the pots. If the Djinn fell into the wrong hands, who knew what disastrous outcomes would come to life. He had told Leonidas that only those worthy would get the chance to speak with the Djinn, but if he could have his way no one would ever break the seal. He pulled the crate tight against his chest and glared at everyone who looked his way. Let them try and steal his treasure. They would find that he would not let it go easily. The Djinn was his.