WELCOME TO DREAMLAND

They were helpless, hungry and tired. But most of all LOST. And then, they heard a voice from afar. The four of them had split up, but Joz and mohieazttha were together.

"Farun...afame...alavada..." The voice radiated through the forest.

"Can you hear that?" Joz asked.

"Yeah." It's just a fanme... quite amused, we'd find a fanme in YHÀKADÉI forest."

"What's a fanme?"

"Wow!" Mohieazttha exclaimed. "You have never stepped out of fang peak now have you?"

Joz nodded.

"Well...fanmes are crazy old men that claim to foresee the future."

"Claim, you say?"

Mohieazttha stopped in her tracks and looked at Joz. "A fanme once told me I'd never walk...but look at me still walking."

"Huh." Joz stopped, mulling on her words. He allowed mohieazttha to walk a few steps further.

"Perhaps the fanme wasn't completely wrong, Chi is now bedridden." He thought.

There's a little truth somewhere.

"You coming or what?!"

He picked up the pace.

"So do you think it's a treasure chest?" She asked.

"The note said no key or hinges."

"Oh yeahhhh... could it be an orb then? Or a safe? A bell?"

"You talk too much moheza...why not Keep mute and think about relevant things?"

"You bloody red hair! And it's MOHIEAZTTHA not moheza what's the big deal.

Joz smiled. "MO- HE- EZ- TA?"

"Close enough."

"Don't you have a nickname?"

She nodded, playing with the strands of hair on her face.

"Wow so your loved ones had suffered all these years, mastering such a long name. Can I call you izttha?"

She burst into uncontrollable laughter, her hair falling artfully around her face. It was the first time he'd seen her laugh without the beard disguise, and he couldn't help but admire her beauty. Her eyes sparkled as she laughed, and he found himself captivated by her joy. He couldn't look away, and he knew that he'd never seen anyone more radiant than her in that moment.

"Izttha?" She finally asked, still laughing a bit.

"Yeah, what?" He couldn't help but smile a little, her laughter was contagious.

"Joz that's my dog's name."

"Ooh." He laughed too. How about mohi?"

"Hmm... doesn't sound like me, but I'll take it."

He watched as she fiddled with the ribbon that held her hair in place, a few strands falling artfully around her face. Her hair was full and curly, and he wondered what it would look like if it were allowed to fall free. As if in a trance, Joz reached out and gently untied the ribbon, releasing her hair from its confines. It fell in waves around her shoulders, framing her face in a way that made her look more beautiful than he had ever seen her.

She gaped at him, her eyes wide with surprise. "Hey, what was that for?" she asked. He looked into her eyes, not breaking his gaze, and softly replied, "Leave it like this. You look more beautiful that way."

She couldn't help but blush at his compliment. "But what if we get attacked? How will I fight with my hair getting in my face?" she asked. He grinned and said, "I don't see any enemies nearby

do you?"

She couldn't believe a red was making her smile. They continued walking until they reached a fanme. He had a full white head and beard, a necklace made out of horns, cowries, beads and teeth hung around his neck. And his leather bag full of ancient tools.

"Come children." The fanme croaked, his eyes glittering with malice. "I will tell you what your future holds." His rotten fingernails scraped against his leather bag. "You may not like what I have to say, but it must be told."

Mohieazttha rolled her eyes. "Joz pay no heed to him, we don't have time for such crap." She said beginning to walk faster. The dried leaves crunched underfoot as they walked, a comforting sound that made her feel less on edge. Joz followed her, trying not to listen to the fanme's blabbing. Until he heard him speak in old tongue.

"Farun afame alavada. Joz you have made the right choice. You will succeed your father and rule fang peak!" Joz stopped in his tracks, his heart racing in his chest. He turned and stared at the fanme, his eyes wide with shock. "How do you know my name?!" He demanded. The fanme's ragged grin widened and he leaned forward, as if to impact a great secret. "The secrets of the future are not for you to know. Fanme knows everything. Fanme knows everyone." He said in a low taunting voice.

"Joz, don't fall for it." Mohieazttha said, her voice urgent. "Let's go please." But Joz remained motionless staring at the fanme with a look of wonder on his face. He knew he should turn away, should walk with mohieazttha and put the fanme out of his mind. But his curiosity was too strong and he couldn't bring himself to move.

Mohieazttha tried again to convince him, but it was clear that her efforts were in vain.

With a sigh, she turned and continued on her way. As she walked, she could hear the fanme's voice calling out to Joz. But she knew there was no use trying to pull him away.

"Lies!" Joz shouted, his voice quivering with emotion. "My father hates me more than I hate him. There's no way in hell I could ever succeed him. Not to even talk of ruling fang peak."

The fanme cackled his eyes gleaming with malicious glee. "Why do you lie to yourself child? You are more evil than he is, deep down."

Joz gritted his teeth, but he knew the fanme's words had struck a cord within him.

"Silence!" Joz screamed, his face red with anger. But the fanme kept repeating the same thing over and over again, ignoring Joz's pleas. "You will rule fang peak, you evil red hair!" Joz covered his ears and shut his eyes, the fanme's words continued to torment him.

"Shut up! Keep quiet!" Joz screamed. Finally he couldn't take it anymore. He opened his eyes, they turned red. There was nothing stopping him now. With one swift movement, he unsheathed his sword strapped to his back and in less than a second, he slit the fanme's throat. The fanme fell to the ground, blood oozing out of his neck - a faint smell of rotting flesh in the air.

Joz stood there panting more and more. With a flash of light, fertio appeared in front of Joz. The sudden appearance stunned Joz and he stumbled backwards in surprise.

"Oh my my! Surprised to see me?" Fertio smirked.

Joz returned to normal, only then did he realize what he had done. He let the bloody sword fall to the ground. His entire body shaking.

"Woah!" Fertio exclaimed. "Your fourth kill! Now that's my little red hair and this time you didn't need anyone's help?!"

Joz struggled to find balance both physically and mentally. "No! No!! I didn't!"

"Come on now my young brother, first it was my mother, then the young girl at the riverside, then the beggar and now an actual fanme?! Good kill. Don't hide from it anymore. Your IDENTITY. This is how it starts." Fertio caressed Joz's face and pulled him closer. "First you kill one, then four and then a hundred that's how the circle continues."

Joz screamed. "I'm going mad!"

Where had fertio come from? How had he appeared out of nowhere? What was going on? Was this all part of the test?? A million questions swirled through Joz's mind. He shut his eyes hoping fertio would go away. He thought he was just seeing things. "Open your eyes brother, I'm real as life itself."

Joz kept shaking his head, he fell to his knees sobbing. He was loosing his mind bit by bit.

"Oh! Brother let's not forget how you ruined Chi's life!"

"No!" Joz screamed and opened his red eyes.

He grabbed his sword ready to strike fertio. But as he did so, fertio began to fade away leaving nothing but his voice.

Joz froze, sword in hand. He fell to the ground and began to weep.

"I've lost my mind! No!"

"You ruined Chi's life!" Fertio's voice cackled in the air tormenting Joz more and more every second.