“I don’t trust him,” Roderic said as Isgalis stalked the animal. “I don’t get why you do.”

  “Quiet, you’re gonna spook it!” the Guardian scolded him.

  The warning was valid; umpals had excellent hearing, and unless you were very careful, they were really tough to hunt. Even though they were originally from the Fabras Forest, they could be found in other parts of The Continent too. They were creatures similar to wild boars, with spiny, leopard-spotted fur; except that instead of large tusks sticking out of their snouts, they had two prominent horns on their foreheads. Umpal meat was rich in proteins whose main property was to slow down the aging process.

  “Let’s split up,” Isgalis whispered. “Get behind those trees about ninety yards away, and when you’re ready, let the umpal see you. It’s really important you don’t move from your spot!”

  “Are you nuts?!” Roderic protested. “It’s gonna attack me!”

  “That’s the idea,” the Guardian replied.

  Roderic was nervous. When umpals felt threatened, they could be extremely aggressive. Often, a single goring could lead its victims to a certain and painful Voldarg. This was the Ardorian abstract noun for “crossing beyond,” which on Earth would be translated as “death,” although this would be inaccurate, since on Ardoras, an individual who “crossed beyond” wasn’t necessarily dead, but rather lifeless. The curse lying miles underground beneath Galath condemned those who suffered Voldarg to become Necropters, wandering aberrations incapable of rest.

  Stealthily, Roderic approached the trees that Isgalis had pointed out and hid behind one of them. He took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves, and when he was ready, he let the animal see him, just like the girl had instructed.

  Upon spotting him, the umpal immediately went on the defensive and started making hysterical growls. Without wasting time, the beast launched a frantic charge at the young man, determined to attack him with its horns. Roderic didn’t move from his spot, but his legs trembled, and his breathing grew faster and faster. Isgalis showed no signs of life, and the furious animal was just about to reach him. The young man closed his eyes and instinctively covered his head with his arms.

  Suddenly, he heard a moan, and then silence. When he opened his eyes, the umpal was lying at his feet. The animal had a sai buried in its heart.

  “You didn’t think I was going to leave you to your fate, did you?” the Guardian asked, brandishing the other sai in her hand.

  “But how...? How is that possible?” Roderic said, still trembling.

  “Guess I’ve improved my aim,” she replied.

  “Let’s go back to the others,” the young man said, sourly.

  “Not yet,” Isgalis suggested. “Let’s skin the umpal here. I don’t want to offend Nerea.”

  “You won’t offend her,” Roderic countered. “What Teo did with the goldrigs was an act of deliberate cruelty. He was playing with them, torturing them. You could see the sick pleasure in his eyes as he did it. We, on the other hand, are sacrificing this animal to feed ourselves. Nature intended it this way, and Nerea knows it.”

  “Maybe he was wrong, but Teo was just trying to defend us.”

  “With power like his, he could have just scared them off with a wave of his hand, Isgalis!” the young man exclaimed, enraged. “But instead, he decided to make them suffer. He made them roll on the ground and twisted them until their bones almost broke. He’s a Vendalion! He’s no different from the tyrant who sits on the throne of Galath! They’re all the same!”

  “Not all!” the Guardian shouted. “Our Founding Father…”

  “He’s been gone a long time!” the regenerator interrupted her. “He’s gone, and he’s not coming back.”

  “You’re wrong, insolent boy!” Isgalis cried, outraged. “He has returned!”

  “Please! You’re not implying that...?” Roderic said sarcastically. “It must be a joke!”

  “It is not,” the Guardian confirmed with conviction. “I believe in Teo, and I know that others in the village will too.”

  “Even if you were right, he’s a Vendalion and has more power than all of us combined. What will happen the day someone makes him angry? Or the day someone interferes with his plans? Or when he decides that we are somehow harming his interests and he no longer needs us?”

  “That won’t happen,” she replied firmly. “I’m going to train him. I’m going to help him control his kanach and channel it against the Enemy for a just cause.”

  “Please, Isgalis! Don’t be so naive! There are no just causes! Only our ego fighting to impose itself on others, to impose its will on other people’s wills, to surpass itself at all costs! Everything else is just idealism that serves to justify all the atrocities that are committed in its name!”

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “It’s curious, Roderic,” said Isgalis, ironically. “That’s the way of thinking of a Vendalion, and yet it wasn’t from Teo’s mouth but from yours that those words came.”

  “It’s funny that you consider me worthy of such greatness, when I could barely face an umpal without my legs shaking.”

  “If the animal had hit you, your body would have healed,” the Guardian observed.

  “Perhaps, thanks to Nerea’s intercession, my body is strong, but my spirit suffers from the cancer of cowardice.”

  “And yet, you tried to rescue Milena,” the Guardian remarked.

  “Perhaps,” the young man said remorsefully. “But I failed, and she will suffer the worst of fates.”

  “Not if we find her before.”

  “They’re going to take her to Nune!” said Roderic, tears in his eyes. “You know what will happen to her when they get there!”

  Isgalis felt a pang in her chest. Of course, she knew! She just hoped she could reach Nune in time. And not just for Milena.

  “Tell me, Roderic... I need to know,” she whispered. “How did you save Nerea from the Falk Agent, who attacked her months ago?”

  “I don’t know,” the boy said simply.

  “You don’t know?!”

  “All I remember is that, suddenly, that day I needed to get away from the village. Seeing all of you so optimistic about the possibility of reaching Luria made me angry! I always thought you guys saw it as some kind of challenge, a game where you test your own abilities and other people’s! That same stupid, childish sense of omnipotence that makes a kid believe they can reach the moon or that they can eradicate hunger and poverty in the world! I couldn’t stand it! It disgusted me! I had already resigned myself to the fact that I would never see my grandmother again. Because, even if I could make my way through all the dangers and horrors that lie between the village and Luria... He would be there. And He is the beginning and the end of any hope.

  “So, that day I walked away from everyone and went into the forest. I was wandering aimlessly; I just wanted to walk until my feet hurt. And when I got to Ixis Spring, there she was, with her angelic nakedness, bathing on the banks. A fire burned under my skin, and I couldn’t stop staring at her. I spent a long time like that, maybe hours, watching her hidden among the trees. It was then that that thing arrived: a black cloud with hundreds of suffering faces on the surface. It took her by surprise and enveloped her in a whirlwind of souls. Her screams were heartbreaking! I turned pale; my hands trembled, and my heart skipped a beat in my chest. But I took a step forward. It was automatic! I didn’t even think about it! I just did it.

  “Upon seeing me, the Falk Agent released Nerea, who fell to the ground unconscious, and then it turned to me. It wrapped me in the same black shroud as her and plunged me into total darkness. I thought my time for Voldarg had come, but nothing happened. That thing let out a high-pitched screech, like something had hurt it, and fled. As you can tell, I’m not a hero. I’m a lucky fraud.”

  After listening to Roderic’s story, Isgalis was deeply impressed but tried to hide it. She knew for sure that what had happened that day wasn’t just luck.

  “It’s getting late,” she said, changing the subject. “The others must be hungry; let’s load up the umpal and head back to the Spring.”

  When they were back, they lit a fire and roasted the animal. Everyone ate ravenously, as the events of the previous night had exhausted them and they were hungry.

  As Roderic had anticipated, Nerea hadn’t just not been offended by the feast, but she actually approved and celebrated it. However, she didn’t join in; naiads didn’t feed on earthly food, but on the ether or “luminous air,” an incandescent element, purer than air itself, derived from the concentration of nature’s energy in a small portion of space. Generally, it was concentrated in the depths of large springs and rivers. Therefore, naiads inhabited ecosystems where this resource was abundant.

  While the others ate, Nerea swam in the waters of Ixis Spring. Jayden also excused herself, saying she had no appetite, and left. She wanted to avoid it, but she couldn’t; an internal compulsion forced her to do it. There was no point in resisting, because then the anxiety and the craving just got worse.

  She sneaked behind some bushes and spied on her. She felt weird doing it; it was like she was breaking some rule, but the thrill and adrenaline of watching her were stronger than her principles. Seeing her walking around naked with the others bothered her and made her jealous. She had hated that Nerea had hugged Teo with so much affection! But there, away from everyone, she felt Nerea belonged to her. At least for that moment, she was hers. It was an exquisite secret that she didn’t share with anyone and didn’t want to share! Because maybe they wouldn’t understand her!

  Jayden knew that all the boys in the village were in love with her, but she wasn’t in love with any of them. She hadn’t felt such a strong and sweet feeling until she met Nerea. She felt like the nymph’s body was made for her eyes, every inch of it. Her hair, her lips, her hands, her breasts. But they wouldn’t understand her! So, she would enjoy that moment of intimacy!

  Because, even if Nerea ignored her, just being there made her feel less alone. Because although no one could understand her, Nerea was always on her mind. And knowing that they were going to push them away took her breath away! Her blood burned under her skin when she was around Nerea, and even if the ignorance and incomprehension of others separated them, the beats of her heart would fill the air with the echoes of her name, hoping to find her again. At least one more time! Just once!

  “Time to go!” Isgalis announced, raising her voice from a distance. “We’ve got to get back to the village!”

  Minutes later, they said goodbye to Nerea, hoping their paths would cross again in the future. The nymph kissed them and gave each of them a gift.

  “These are Maps of Eros,” she told them. “They’re very special objects: when you love someone deeply and your love is pure, a point on the map will light up, showing you where the person you love is. There are only two exceptions: you won’t be able to see those who are in Luria or those who are under Raen’s control.” The naiad’s voice broke. “I’ve tried, but it’s no use.”

  Teo looked at the map and checked the north of Ardoras: absolutely nothing! No sign of Dante. But when he looked down at the southeastern region, he saw a little golden dot light up in one of the corners of Nune: Steffi! His little sister was okay! Raen hadn’t found her!

  Happiness washed over him. The dense, poisonous fog that had enveloped his heart vanished. He felt renewed hope and strength to undertake the difficult journey across The Continent. What he, nor any of the others, could know was that despite that small victory, a terrible tragedy awaited them at the end of the day.

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