The Young woman struggled to pull her merchants cart across the long distance between the sea and the inland village of Rether. Small village, home to only five families one tavern and a diners hall. The families were very nice and always eager to buy some of the many things she had woven or created. The young woman's cart was filled a little bit more this time around for it was nearing a special holiday at the village. The one hundredth birthday of the village elder was to be celebrated and many of the women and young girls had commissioned the young woman's abilities to make dresses, hats and even tablecloths for the grand feast that was to be held near the end of the festivities.  It was a weekly journey that she made once a month to the village, but she had decided to leave slightly early since the grand maiden, the wife of the eldest elder had invited her to stay for the entire event. She loved this village dearly and was so happy that they had accepted her much more easily than many people would have. The young lady always thanked her lucky stars she was not a mixed breed of two species like the many creatures that were hunted down for what the elder called “mutt making.” The youth was of a smaller sin. A cross between a Dor and a Roth human she was never hunted down for she was still only one species, just slightly ignored.<br/><br/>Excitement filled her as the day came to an end, three days into her travels and she remembered that tonight was a full moon. She enjoyed listening to the howls of the wolves as they greeted their greatest love. The Young woman set up camp which only consisted of her sleeping on top of her wares with a thin blanket and her fur coat atop of her. The youth stared at the moon and like a good night whisper she sang softly a sweet melody as if to lull herself to sleep.<br/><br/>“Saeva?”<br/><br/>A soft voice repeated in Saeva’s dreams, “hmmmm”<br/><br/>“Saeva!”<br/><br/>Quickly Saeva awoke from her slumber and jolted from her bundled sleeping position on her cart. She glanced around to find where the voice had come from, but no one was in her line of sight.<br/><br/>“SAEVA!!” the voice came from behind, startling Saeva. It was a small child who was the daughter to a family north of where she lived. The family also traveled to do wares in the small village inland called Rether.<br/><br/>“Char! oh heavens, you scared me! Where is Ma and Pa? You should not be leaving their sight so early in the morning lest you give them worry!”<br/><br/>“Ma and Pa are still sleeping and I saw your cart, so I thought I would say hello. come come, have breakfast with us this morning, maybe we can travel together to the festival!”<br/><br/>Saeva smiled and rose from her comfortable bed positioned on top of the cart.  She then grabbed her favorite sheer cloth and tied it around her head loosely to cover her eyes as she stared at the moon still in the morning sky. This family already knew that she was a mixed human, her eyes being the only thing that really differentiated her from all the Rosh humans and her slightly more tanned skinned. Even though they knew and accepted her, she felt more comfortable with her eyes hidden from the gaze of others. Saeva slowly began to dress herself appropriately for a family's meal. Covering her breasts with a hand woven bralette that she herself was quite proud of, then tying a jingling sash across her waist hiding her undergarments. She then quickly pulled her fur coat around her waist and tied it securely. With one swift movement Saeva jumped off the cart and began to tie her sandals before she grabbed the handles of her cart and lifted it up, making ready herself  to follow char to the parents campsite.<br/><br/>As Saeva neared she realized to herself. How did i miss this? They were so close nearby, so close I could have left my cart! no maybe not that close...hmm.<br/><br/>“Saeva darling! We stopped for camp in the middle of the night and did not notice your cart till the eve of morning! sleeping here in the plains can be dangerous without a campfire, but it is good to see you here, you seem to be making you travels early?” said pa snapping Saeva out of her thoughts as she neared the camp site.<br/><br/>“Papa! I thought you and mama were still sleeping!”<br/>“we awoke when you left the camp, we were worried but we saw Saeva’s cart and our worries disappeared darling”<br/><br/>“Char said both you and Ma were still in slumber, but I suppose it is a parent's instinct to notice when their child goes far from them.”<br/>“haha indeed! Ma woke with a fright and woke me from my slumber too, but when we noticed she had left to greet you we decided to start making breakfast instead lest you be hungry, no? Especially since you are traveling so early this month?”<br/><br/>Saeva changed the subject flowing into the topic of festivities. “Ha ha, but indeed, I just could not help myself from being excitement but only feed it! The women of the village had ordered many dresses to be made and I want to see their delighted faces as I bring them early so I could make proper adjustments if needed.”<br/><br/>“Really, you finished all six already?! wooooow!” Char gazed at Saeva watching her as she pulled her cart up to the campsite and set it down gently by the parents tent,  parked next to a mule and another cart much larger than her own.<br/><br/>“Hello mule, it has been a while since I last saw you” Saeva started to pet the mule and it nuzzled sweetly against her chest.<br/><br/>“And yes Char I finished all of them, of course I left a few seams open in case I need to make any major adjustments. I heard the women were fattening themselves up for the festival in hopes of finding husbands.” Saeva giggled at her comment but Char looked displeased.<br/><br/>“Ew, all the boys of that village are ugly anyway, I would never want to marry any of them!”<br/><br/>“Now now, I would not let those boys marry my daughter anyhow!” Char’s father said this half jokingly and grabbed Char by the shirt and started tickling her.<br/><br/>“Noooo, hahaha!” Char giggled<br/><br/>“Pa where is ma?” Saeva asked watching the two, amused by this sight she felt the need to go help with breakfast.<br/><br/>“Oh, she is in the tent preparing, which reminds me I should probably go find some wood for the fire.” Pa grunted as he struggled with Char in his arms.<br/><br/>“Wood? Pa we are in the plains, there are no trees for miles, ah but wait I brought tree roots with me in case I needed to start a fire on my own, here take some.” Saeva walked over to her cart and fetch half of the dried tree roots she had prepared for her journey and walked over to Pa where he sat his daughter on his lap.<br/><br/>“Thank you Saeva, now run along and help Ma with breakfast.”<br/><br/>Saeva smiled and walked over to the tent that served as the preparations tent for the food and meat. Designed to keep flies out and the like, it was quite stuffy and opening the tent flap brought notice to the woman inside. Saeva entered  and she saw Ma cutting vegetables into a big bowl with a basin of water next to her.<br/><br/>“Saeva!” Ma noticed her right away and ran to embrace her.  “Here to help?”<br/>“Of course! your husband is tending to the fire with char. You know she called the men of the village ugly!” Saeva gossiped.<br/>“Ha ha! sounds just like her, of course she has a small crush on one of the boys, she was so excited to dance with him she even sewed her own dress to impress him; of course, I helped but one of her friends confided that she liked the same boy too! It was hilarious, but that gave her the inspiration to make her dress even more grand, It was adorable.”<br/><br/>The morning continued filled with cheer. almost as if Saeva was part of the family, sometimes she would wonder if this feeling was what being part of a family was really like, but the sun had risen too high and they had to continue their journey. Saeva helped the family pack up their campsite and as they moved along she let Char ride in her cart, allowing the youth to bead necklaces from the shells Saeva brought from her home on the beach west of the Moriy Mountains.<br/>“Saeva?”<br/>“Yes Char my darling?”<br/>there was a soft pause and Saeva looked behind her to glance back at the girl who was now in silence.<br/>“Char?” The girl sat there looking  up at something in the distance.<br/>“Char?” the girl looked down at Saeva and finally answered her.<br/>“Those mountains, the villagers at Rether say priests live there, the Moriy Mountains.”<br/>“oh yes, they are more like monks to me. they say all the priests there can talk to God.”<br/>“i wonder what God’s voice sounds like.”<br/>“He is the whisper in the grass that cuddles your chin. or the warmth from the sun that hugs your body.”<br/>“wow.” Char in awe, continued to bead her necklace and ended the conversation by humming a soft tune. Saeva smiled and continued on passing the time by gossiping with Ma who was riding on her mule with Pa walking next to her.<br/><br/>Time passed quickly and soon the family and Saeva found themselves in the village, the week long journey made them weary and they planned to rest in the village inn, but as they entered the town before they reached their destination, there was all sorts of noises as decorations were being put up in preparation for the festival which was the days long with the ending feast on the third.<br/><br/>The next morning the family and Saeva walked to the square in the middle of the village and set up their shops. Saeva brought an extra tent and body length mirror so she could have a private space to fit the dresses she had made for the women of the village. Once finished with set up Saeva grabbed her bell which she had placed on her hand made counter and began to ring it signaling the shop was open.<br/>*************<br/>Three days later: Feast Night.<br/><br/>The cheer was loud and the party was merry. many of the adults were already drunk and letting their oldest's sons and daughters have their first sips of alcohol. Saeva was not too keen on drinking but did allow herself to enjoy it when the time was right, but only in moderation.<br/><br/>Saeva was enjoying a good conversation with one of the older sons of the Morima family, his name Gerald<br/>“beautiful night is it not?”<br/>“yes indeed Gerald, I wish the moon glistened this beautiful every night, but it must be the alcohol!”<br/>“Maybe, but in my opinion the moon could never shine as beautiful as you”<br/>Saeva looked at the boy and thought to herself, he is way too young for me, barely nineteen! sill a child! but maybe in a few years time? just by thinking of the word time Saeva remember that she had not payed homage to the moon this night.<br/>“oh! I almost forgot!” Saeva stood up slowly just in case she might of fell over.<br/>“whats wrong?”<br/>“I almost forgot to pray homage to the moon and the stars my sweet Gerald.” oh gosh, the alcohol really is speaking. the moon was high and she walked over to the edge of town with Gerald trailing behind her.<br/>“Are you going to sing?”<br/>“No, maybe not tonight sweetie” Saeva was actually embarrassed to sing in front of other people so she only whispered the lyrics to her melody to the moon in hopes the moon spirit would understand her embarrassment.<br/><br/>Saeva found a quiet open space and kneeled. she kowtowed then slowly rising up she put her hands together and whispered a prayer. Gerald was in a drunken awe, but even sober he would have been stuck by the beauty of her dedication.<br/><br/>As Saeva finished her small homage her and Gerald walked back to the feast together. As they neared Gerald grabbed Saeva’s waist and pulled her in close for a hug.<br/>“Saeva, you do realize I am in love with you.”<br/>Saeva looked slightly bashful and hid her face in his chest.<br/>“I know, but you are so young!”<br/>“only three years! if you wait for me would you say yes to my proposal?”<br/>Saeva looked up at Gerald and almost mouthed the words of answer to his question when the  Elders wife called for silence.<br/><br/>“here ye! listen all!”<br/><br/>The crowd grew silent and all eyes turned to the woman everyone called Gran, her full name was Elisha eldest daughter of Horace wife to Malcolm. Saeva and Gerald separated from their embrace and seated themselves at the edge of a nearby table.<br/><br/>“My beloved husband is celebrating his one hundredth birthday, and as all ye know he is wwwaaaayyyy too old!” A round of laughter escaped from the crowd as well as her own lips. “Yes he is old but I love him dearly, and he I.” She looked down at her husband who was unable to stand up and she took his hand with a soft smile on her face.<br/>“We have guests! They come from far and wish to give homage to an old friend, please welcome the Priests who reside in the Moriy Mountains!”<br/><br/>There was a soft applause, no one had ever seen the Priests who resided in the mountains. They were known very well here as the elder was once one himself but very few of the village folk had ever seen them. It was tradition that the eldest child of the next generation go to the the mountains to become Priests or Priestess to the mountains. Four men stepped into the lighting, the eldest seemed unfamiliar and cold, adorned with high priest jewelry he looked to be the high teacher of the order. The other three men were of familiar faces to the village them being from the three generations who had left the village to fulfill<div style="text-align: center;"></div>their duty as priests of the mountains.<br/><br/>They greeted their families and the eldest priest greeted Malcolm the elder. Once greetings were shared the Elder spoke up, his voice barely louder than a whisper.<br/>“This is an old friend. We grew up in the mountains, he introduced me to my wife and now he has something to tell the village. Listen well for only a few heart strings shall be plucked tonight”<br/><br/>Saeva was curious to hear these words that were to be said. She did not know in the slightest what could possibly be said or what to expect. The eldest Priest stood on a chair given to him so that his voice may carry towards the farthest group of people in the crowd.<br/><br/><div style="text-align: center;">Shadows creep from night on low.<br/>Darkness seeks a home beneath.<br/>The stars will shine no more.<br/><br/>Yamirah will weep tears of blood.<br/>Ash will coat her skin. <br/>Pain will fill her voice as she cries out.<br/><br/>Death will sweep in wave.<br/>Yet hope be not all lost.<br/>It takes but nine to make it whole.<br/><br/>Nine seals hidden like the secret gems of Yamirah’s necklace.<br/>Nine seals hidden inside her.<br/>Rise up and seek, that which was hid.<br/>To light thy way and end a war, yet not undone</div><br/><br/>“This is the prophecy of old, carried on from generation to generation, we are but weary travelers who have left the mountain and have carried on these words of old. But do not fret, people these words may be of serious thought but tonight is made of magic as we celebrate another year added to Malcolm's life! Be cheery and let us continue in the merry making!”<br/><br/>The feast continued but Saeva felt something twist in her stomach.<br/>“I am going to go talk to the priest, Gerald”<br/>Gerald looked surprised but nodded in understanding, turned and started a conversation with one of the other villagers.<br/><br/>The words seemed to float in the air around her. She did not deny it, she was curious and wished to hear more. Saeva walked to the high priest whom now had sat down at the head table next to Malcolm in conversation reminiscing nostalgically about the past.<br/><br/>“Priest! Tell me more!”<br/>The priest looked at Saeva then looked to Malcolm.<br/>“Who is this child?”<br/>“Oh, that is Saeva. She is a merchant who as you can seen created the beautiful dress my wife is wearing today as well as many others.”<br/>“But her eyes! they are covered, is she not blind?”<br/>Saeva winced at this hoping he would not ask to see her eyes.<br/>“Indeed her eyes are covered but do not make light of her skills.”<br/>The priest looked at Saeva and sighed slightly.<br/>“Fine. Listen well child I will not tell you a second time.”<br/>***********<br/>Saeva awoke early morning to wash her laundry in a nearby creek. She had left the comfort of her home and the comforting presence of her friends at the inland village about a month ago, now resided on the outskirts of ashmore to the west in hopes she would be able to find the Valiant soldiers the high priest had spoken about. Her hopes were high but she dared not let her expectations rise lest they be crushed if she did.<br/>tomorrow I will go into town with my wares and set up shop. Hopefully I can ask around; maybe, I will hear something about the Valiant Soldiers wearabouts.<br/><br/>It was at dawn when she heard the sound of screaming. A gut wrenching voice filled the air forcing Saeva awake. Sleepily Saeva sluggishly rose to a sitting position. confused she wiped her eyes with her hands and slowly rose to her feet. She stood their for a moment, something on the edge of her memory, just sitting there for her to be remembered, with this thought nagging at her mind Saeva walks outside her tent.<br/><br/>Mist. She was barraged by a wall of mist. impossible to see even a few centimeters in front of her. Shocked Saeva turned around and felt for the opening of her tent, hoping to find her lantern for help. She had not walked more than a foot in front of her tent yet she could no longer feel the familiar texture of the hand woven cloth. Fear stricken Saeva began to walk slowly, on foot at a time, but as she continued her blind walk Saeva noticed the alarming sound of silence.<br/><br/>“Was i not awoken by a scream?” Saeva continued to walk forward, a memory on the tip of her mind.  something wrapped itself around Saeva’s ankle  pulling  her down, Saeva’s face slammed into the dirt while simultaneously letting out a blood curdling scream. “FFuuAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH”  Saeva was dragged farther and farther into the mist, so thick it had became that if you were to put your hand infront of your face you would not be able to see it. Saeva’s screams of terror turned into sobs of horror and realization.<br/><br/>“HELP HHEEALLPPP” she screeched, being slammed into rocks and what felt like concrete walls as she was dragged. The pain was too much for her, she began to drift in and out of consciousness, it was then when voices began to whisper.<br/><br/>“Noisy”<br/>“no one can hear her.”<br/>“should we kill her?”<br/>“i want to watch her kill herself”<br/>Cruel cold words ravaged her mind<br/><br/>Saeva felt a tree root slide underneath her back, quickly as if fully awoken again she turned on her stomach, twisting her leg in a painful way she grabbed the branch with her arms and wrapped herself around it. The death grip on her ankle loosened, whatever had dragged her away was gone. Saeva began to sob uncontrollably. Curling into a small ball around the tree root a whisper blew into her ear.<br/><br/>“Wake up.”<br/><br/>Saeva opened her eyes and sat up right back in her tent. the blankets still warm from her presence.<br/>“A nightmare?” Saeva sat there questioning her mind. She was remembering the scream that had seemed to awoken her in ever so vivid dream *…so detailed*. Saeva remembered the scream she had given out wondering if she had done so in her sleep. Then it clicked… the scream that awoke her was the same scream she had given. Saeva sat in horror.<br/><br/>a voice whispered in her ear.   “Run”<br/>Saeva jolted up and briskly walked out of her tent.<br/>The mist was wasn’t a dream..<br/>“RUN”<br/>Saeva jolted forward running as fast as she could. The rocks in the dirt cut into her barefeet, unfeeling, fear controlled Saeva now.<br/>“LEFT”<br/>Saeva jolted left, hitting what felt like a concrete wall, she ran her hand against it hoping not to slam into the next one if their was any.<br/>“RIGHT”<br/>Saeva turned right. the wall had ended and saeva slowed down her speed.<br/>“RUN RUN RUN”<br/>The voice’s urgency made Saeva pick up pace, the silence was a deffening reminder that something was wrong. Her heart sped up so fast it felt as if it would rip out of her chest.<br/>“FASTER FASTER RUN”<br/>Saeva ran so fast she could feel the rocks rip into her feet. But at the last turn Saeva ran out of the mist. in front of her was a calvary of men and horses. People running around packing up their tents.<br/>“HELP MEEE” Saeva screamed. No one seemed to noticed.<br/>Time slowed. *Thump...Thump* the sound of paws hitting the ground echoed behind her. Saeva turned her head to see the cause of the thumping sound and saw *it**. It bellowed a scream, Saeva gave one to match. It  leaped and grabbed Saeva by the knees, the claws dragging down her legs still the massive paws had a death grip on her ankles. It began to drag her back towards the direction of the mist just a few feet away.<br/>Saeva gave out a another ear piercing  scream filled with pain and absolute terror. Turned on her back Saeva locked eyes with the creature.<br/><br/>in slow motion Saeva saw her life run before her. *I’m going to die* tears welled up in her eyes as a mixture of sobbing, vicious crying and screaming escaped from her mouth.<br/>The sound of a drawn bow unreachable to her ears snapped forward, and arrow in release. Saeva did not even notice an arrow striking the creature dragging her into the mist until the blood of the impact hit her face.<br/>The monster Howled in pain, it let her go jumping up in pain as it held its paws to its wounded eye.<br/><br/>“I WILL KILL YOU” the creature screamed. or Saeva thought it screamed, its mouth did not move. it did not make sound. yet she heard growling and howling and threatening words. in fear Saeva dragged herself away from the monster as fast as she could bruising her elbows and scraping her arms.. She couldn’t move her legs at first, but streaked with blood Saeva’s adrenaline began to fade away. Still full of fear Saeva forced herself up, no matter the pain in her legs, she turned and Ran toward the area the arrow had come from. toward the Calvary of men.