Mortuus-fintisva

Drums sounded all around the town as people drank and ate. Over by the Mystic, an open cooking area was laid out as countless pots were put over many open fires and with the older women of the town mending them. Sisilana looked happy as the women chatted away with some husbands holding their beer in hand trying to act normal while they slowly crept closer to where the women were so to hear what they were talking about.

They knew that in that cooking area, the younger women were getting advice on how to treat their boyfriends and husbands. Over the years, they would always come back home as changed women for at least the first months of the year and it was usually hell for them. They ran away like dogs being chased away from a plate of food when they saw Sisilana taking a frying pan. She smiled after seeing them scatter as she was having fun.

Not that far from the cooking area a big fire was lit and almost every adventurer was there. By the fire, a girl danced over the beat of the drum as he hips swung from side to side in a sexy seductive way as with each swing of her hips she teased the drum to beat again. Her long silk-like hair floated up in the air like it was being carried by the wind. The flames made her skin look breathtaking as her dance satiated her sexy posture.

Her stomach, exposed by the loose white Off-Shoulder flare crop top she wore that night made every man looking at her gulp. As the jewel on her belly button moved as she moved to make her dance mesmerizing all the girls took notes with none of them feeling jealous or envious. Her top looked like it could fall off at any second as it looked like her full but average breaths would fail to hold on to it. This made her move in every beat she took, together with her long white silk dress seem like the word seductive had become a person. The silk silver cloth teasingly covering her face made you want to see who was behind it even though everyone knew.

"Gulp."

That sound was the sound of a kid falling in love.

"Apophis... I know you want grandchildren. If you turn my body back to my real age right now, I promise you will get as many as you want. Father.... please!"

That was the first time he called him 'Father' and did not question himself after calling him that.

"Gulp."

Sheyken looked like he would run out of saliva pretty soon by the way he was shaving it down his throat.

Salina, who had turned into a seductive goddess had looked at him. Thinking of how the silly seven-year boys had teased her twice already with him even trying to flex his muscles in front of her and Alati the other day she had a plan to get back at him.

Slowly as the drumbeat got more intense and with it her dance, she went closer to Sheyken. Seeing her coming by the crowd and having a tradition the men had only come up with two years ago when she came of age, each and every one of them took out a ring as all of the men kneeled down.

A beat down occurred not that far away from Lasore who did not notice that it was Salina who was the dancing goddess in front of him. A woman was beating up her boyfriend like he was a thief that had stolen her life away. He too had taken out a ring and kneeled down as in the course of the dance he had fallen in love with the seductive goddess.

His girlfriend had heard rumors that he was going to propose to her that night but seeing him act like that, as reasonable as it was since she too would propose to Salina if given the chance, she thought to beat the love for her back into her boyfriend there and then.

Sheyken was surprised to see such actions by every single man present. They made their way while holding their rings up to her as she walked through them. Seeing her coming in his direction, he panicked. She came right in front of him as the beat stopped. He looked at her eyes as her soft but instruments of distraction hand seductively gestured him to get up and dance with her. Sheyken stood up, looked down, and ran for dear life.

The men seeing this gulped.

"Idiot!"

Falgur said as he watched his brother being a coward.

"Hahaha, got you, you silly chilled. Let's hope you play with those your age from now on."

Salina said as she smiled.

"The legend is real! He lives among us!"

One adventurer said as the men stood up.

"Legend, legend, legend!"

The men had thought that him running away meant he did not want her hand, and hand no other man there could resist. The beat changed tune and played a deferent ridimik sound inviting everyone to dance.

Salina, who was closer to Lasore at that moment took his hand for a dance as she did not want to send the wrong signal to any of the adventurers. Lasore who still could not tell who it was under the silk cloth danced like a wiggly worm standing upright making Salina laugh. She enjoyed herself but something was eating at her mind.

Falgur who was dancing like a smooth criminal, stealing Sali's smile got a small stone thrown at him that landed on his back. When he tried to find out who had thrown it, he saw Esiyana frowning and crossing her arms. He turned to look at Sali and to his luck saw that she was now dancing with Sazi. He went to Esiyana but instead of dancing, she took his hand and ran with him out of the crowded area. They ran until they came across a tree that was not far from where the big fire was. They sat down as Esiyana let go of his hand. She looked at the Trial Forest.

"Mortuus-fintisva."

She finally spoke, breaking her silent treatment of him.

"What?"

Falgur asked as he stopped looking at her and looked at the Trial Forest too.

"Mortuus-finstisva. It means happy new year and may the hunt live on."

"Sounds like a good saying. Mortuus-finstisva to you too."

He said with a smile.

"When the Trial Forest took my father, everything changed."

She said in a gloomy tone.

"I never thanked you for risking your life and saving my mother. I am sorry for that. Thank you."

The words made Falgur smile awkwardly as he did not want her to cry since he did not know what he would do if she did.

"I do not know what to do. It looks like the event changed my mother. She does not treat me the same, she lives me alone in the tents and when she comes back at late hours, she does not speak to me. It is like she is a different person. I am starting to think she hates me."

After those words, Esiyana started crying, making Falgur go into panic mode. He remembered when Ningal came by his house crying and the steps his father took to comfort her after offering her a shoulder to cry on. He got closer to Esiyana and put her head on his chest while stroking her hair in a caring way.

"It will get better. She is trying to cope after living through such a traumatic experience in her life. Please, just give her time. She will be back to the mother you have always known in no time. I think the tents are just a constant reminder of what happened there."

Falgur remembered her being and looking fine when she came to talk to him and Sheyken on that day, but also thought just like Ningal would do, she was trying to hide the pain that she felt from the world but was not strong enough to bear it.

"Awe may, awe may."

The two heard a voice of a child coming from behind them. Falgur almost panicked when he saw it was Sazi, but calmed himself after noticing that Sali was not with her.

"I see I am disturbing you two."

Sazi said with a face full of accusation and her arms folded.

"It is not what you think it is."

Falgur said like a guilty man. His situation would be a classic soap opera at that moment.

"Owe, well I am sure Sali would think otherwise."

Sazi said as she turned around to walk away.

"Salina asked me to come and get you. Meet us by the Mystic's entrance."

She left after those words with a spring in her step. Esiyana wiped her tears and stood up.

"Please ask Sheyken to check on her. Maybe he can find a solution to what is wrong with her. You can go back to your friend Sali now!"

She said as she ran away in the tent's direction. Falgur just scratched the back of his head not knowing how this situation come about.

Lasore who had been having the time of his life after dancing with whom the townsfolks called the princess of Senjira was laying down on the ground near the fire hugging his wine bottle after one of his drinking friends told him he was dancing with Salina. His skin felt itchier as the trauma from that day came fleshing back. He still drank his wine with his hands shaking and him sobbing while telling himself it was the last time he drank.

"Falgur, there you are. Have you seen, Alati? I have not seen her for two days now."

Salina asked Falgur as he met both her and Sazi by the Mystic entrance door.

"No, we haven't seen her for... four days now."

He answered while thinking but looking at Sazi who had her cheeks blown out and acting angry.

"Do you think Sheyken might have seen her?"

"Nah, I was with that idiot ever since the last day we saw her."

Salina thought for a second then remembered something. Alati had told her not long ago that Lariote had been making moves on her and she could not stop talking about him.

"Have you seen Lariote?"

Sazi and Falgur thought for a second then answered.

"No."

"No, but I know where he lives. I deliver his wine now and then."

Sazi answered.

"Ok, good, I will need you to show me where he lives."

Salina said as she and Sazi started walking.

"I will come with you."

Falgur said as he went to walk next to Sazi, implying that he was not taking 'No' for an answer. Salina did not mind.

On their way, before they could pass the cooking area, Seduralto stopped them as She had joined the 'war on husbands and boyfriends' intervention' being led by Sisilana. She joined them after hearing where they were going and Salina telling her she was going to look for Alati in Lariote house. She could not miss the chance to bring back juicy gossip to the all-important gathering.

As they walked, Salina told her that she had not seen her for two days straight which never happened when she was not cultivating. She had been to her house but did not find her and even if she was with Lariote, she would not miss her dance. Lariote would also not risk her wrath for keeping her to himself on a special day like that day.

She explained that she had a bad feeling that something was wrong. This made Seduralto uneasy as Salina's hunches were usually never wrong. Falgur was praising the man for catching such a hottie who was beautiful both inside and outside, but he laughed in his mind after remembering Sheyken raining away from just a dance.

They reached the house that was on the outskirts of the town from the direction the boys had come from when they first set foot in Senjira.

The man who seemed to stay to himself so as to allow the people to enjoy themselves walked on the roof of the guild's building. Everyone except got 5 people in the town felt uneasy being around him so he would not show himself to them except if necessary. He reached out his hands to the sky and concentrated.

A large dragon formed in the sky that made the music stop and everyone to stop what they were doing and look up in awe. The dragon which was made up of small lights flew around for some seconds then it was joined by something that looked like a devil with its horns and tail representing a classic-looking devil-like creature. After a few seconds passed, they were joined by something that looked like a weathered corpse with hate written all over its face.

"A Vengeful spirit."

Someone said in the crowd. The three began to fight between themselves but after some seconds were separated by a tree sprouting up from the middle of where they were fighting. It grew larger and larger as the crowd saw its roots separating the three and holding them in place. As the tree grew larger and with branches and leaves being formed, an empty throne was seen in the center of its branches.

Thereafter small explosions sounded out in the sky as the large image exploded little by little releasing colorful sparkles.

"MORTUUS-FINSTISVA!!!!!!"

Everyone said out loud as the people rejoiced and the drums and music sounded again. The man looked pleased with his gift to them this year as the image seemed to be more polished this time around.

"Beautiful as always, father. Thank you."

Selduralto said.

The four knocked on Lariote's door after looking at the image as it started to explode. Not hearing anyone coming to the door they spread out to look through the windows as Salina edged them sensing that something was wrong. Unable to see anything from outside the windows, Salina was getting ready to knock the door down, but Seduralto calmed her down. Falgur knocked with forceful bangs on the door and they heard someone coming.

Seduralto just thought they were disturbing an interment moment until she saw Lariote's face as the light from the image exploding revealed his face. Salina seeing this pushed him aside and got in the house. She looked around as she called out Alati's name with no answer. When she reached the bedroom, she looked on in horror at the scene laid out to her.

Alati was lying on the bed with something in her head that looked to have pierced her forehead. Her skin was pale and the entry wound on her head and eyes had turned black.

"No! no, no, no! It can't be."

Salina said as she looked at her best friend while kneeling next to the bed afraid to touch her lifeless body. The rest of the group entered the bedroom with Lariote. As soon as Salina saw him, her eyes turned instantly red and a violent whirlwind started to form around her lifting her hair up. She at that point looked like the goddess of destruction.