As the small group entered the village, several of

the children ran out to greet them. They ran through

the streets shouting and laughing as the visitors

from so far away came back to them. They were so

full of mirth that it rubbed off on the weary three as

they made their way toward the center of the village.

There was a hut that stood out from among the

rest. It was taller and larger than its neighbors. As

the group went inside, the large brown skinned man

stood up with a surprised look on his face. “My

guests, you are back?!”

The Akuntsu leader was as broad as if two men

stood shoulder to shoulder. It was said he was a

formidable fighter in his youth, but he like the

children of the tribe wore a broad smile on his face.

“Your journey was a fine one then? Come tell me all

about it!”

The three weary as they were followed the leader

into his tent. They sat around a fire that was

smouldering in a hollowed section of the floor. The

shade of the hut provided a much needed respite

from the sun that was beating down upon them.

They nearly collapsed as they let their packs fall

to the ground. The leader looked mildly surprised,

but laughed a deep laugh that originated from his

belly. “Ho, ho, hooooo. My word my friends, it

appears as if you have quite a story to tell me! I see

that your journey was long and tiring. Come! Get

our guests refreshments now!” The leader clapped

his hands. Two of the men standing to his side

quickly brought out hollowed out gourds of water.

As soon as they were set in their hands the

travellers they were brought up to their mouths with

lightning speed.

The hut was silent except for the sounds of frantic

gulping and the snapping of the fire. After repeating

this process several more times the travellers leaned

back against their packs. The Akuntsu leader had a

grin on his face the entire time. “Now. You have

rested, and drank until your bellies are full. Tell me

of your travels. Did you find it?”

Both Odell and Jacob turned toward Kasey, who

had become fixated on the fire. Several moments

passed until Kasey looked up to the leader. “Did

you find what I had asked for?” The tribe leader had

a gleam in his eye. “Show me the piece, and I will

tell you what I know. Come, Kasey this is not how

we do business. I am a trusting man, especially to

be letting you outsiders into our village in the first

place.”

Kasey shook his head. “I know how you do

business. That’s why I am making sure I get what I

asked for first. Now, I need to know. Do you know if

the book is here and who has it?”

The chief batted at the air, almost as if a fly was

annoying him. “Of course I know. You are never

one for playing around are you Kasey. You take life

too seriously, you need to laugh and enjoy it once in

a while!”

Kasey stared at the chief. When it looked like he

wasn’t going to get any head way he started to roll

back his sleeve. “Let’s see...ah, have you heard the

story of Wepwawet?” Kasey brought the index

finger of his opposite hand up, and began to trace

the symbol of a boat that looked as if the flesh had

been raised around it.

The guards immediately brought their spears up

and pointed them toward the three travelers.

“Whoa! Whoa whoa whoa whoa! Wait just a bloody

moment. Kasey! Kase stop tha righ nou!” Jacob

had both of his hands held high in the air. The chief

spoke a soft word, the guards slightly moved their

head to the side and began to lower their weapons.

“Please Kasey, do not make this a difficult

situation for either of us. It is dishonorable to slay a

guest in one’s own home. Do not make me do such

a thing here.”

Kasey continued to glower at the chief. “Then tell

me what I came to know. I went and fetched the

damn thing out of the middle of the Amazon for you.

Almost got burned alive getting it out of there! I

need some reassurances that this isn’t going to be

like the three other things you had me do before

this!”

The chief looked as if he had swallowed

something sour. “Now who is being dishonorable.

The last two things were for the both of us, and you

know it. The first time was to test you and see if you

were who you actually said you were. People come

out of the jungle saying anything that comes to mind.

They think us timid and meek, being so few. We are

proud, and are learning more of the outside world

every day. You outsiders are a crafty lot, we must

constantly be vigilant. This last test has made the

bank? I don’t know, you have sayings that make no

sense to me. Yes I know of the book and the man

that held it last.

An outsider, much like you three came to us years

and years ago. He had heard of the story of the

cavaliers from his ...​avó? Mother’s mother.

Anyway, he came because he had heard of the

Akuntsu and knew that we were of the old ways. He

wanted to know if there was a stone working of the

story. One he could show the world, or so he said.

The chief at that time told this man that he did not

know of anything that the man was looking for. The

man was undeterred however. He came back for

days and nights, asking everyone of the village. It

was finally that the chief had had enough.

The chief was crafty, he made a plan to trap this

man. So one day while most of the village was

empty this man came back. He found a young man

that he had not talked to yet. This was becoming

more and more rare because he had spoken to most

of the village by this point.

He asked the young man, ‘My dear boy! I have

tried talking to everyone else in this village but no

one can seem to tell me about an ancient story.

One that a young man such as yourself would have

interest in I’m sure. It’s the story of the cavaliers,

and their journey to free the maiden. You being

such a brave and strong man must know about this

story. Can you tell me do your people know about

it? Can you show me where it is kept? I would oh

so love to see it!’

The young man looked at the outsider for a while

before speaking to him. ‘I know where this is at, but

why should I want to tell you. You are an outsider!

Your ways are not our ways!’

The outsider looked at the young man in the eyes.

He held his gaze there, ‘Because young man I can

do great things with a story like that. Great things

that can help you. Do you want to stay in this

village? Do you want to run this village? With that

story, I can help you do this.’

The young man looked around and gestured

toward the outsider. The outsider had a hungry look

in his eyes, and of course followed the young man.

They walked until the sun began to sink into the

afternoon sky, but the outsider said nothing.

Eventually they came to a clearing. It was at this

point that the sun had set fully. The young man

stopped, and the outsider did as well. ‘Is this it? Are

we close?!’ The young man turned around to face

the outsider. All of a sudden the clearing was lit up.

The outsider had to shield his eyes as torches were

carried into the clearing by the chief, and the

villagers.

The outsider looked around like a wild animal.

‘What is going on?!’ The chief stepped forward.

‘You have been asking too many questions about

the cavaliers. You are interfering with our way of

life. We as a tribe have come together to stop this at

once. Who are you and how do you know about the

tablet?’

The man paled visibly being surrounded by the

villagers. His fanaticism had finally caught up with

him and he was walking upon a blade’s edge. ‘My

name is Inácio Liberato, and I’m here to procure this

stone tablet. I know it’s not intact, but I still need to

gather what I can in the hopes of reassembling it.’

The chief just looked at Inácio for a moment. As if

he was trying to discover if the man was really who

he said he was, I cannot know for sure. Eventually

our chief spoke, ‘What would you be doing with this

tablet if you were able to get it?’

Inácio starred at the chief for a moment. ‘Why I

am going to use it. To show the world about our

culture! It is a pivotal aspect to the origin of our

nation and it must be treasured!’

Inácio’s look became more and more ravenous as

he stood there debating with the chief. The chief

had finally had enough. With the barest twitch of his

hand the entire tribe’s warriors brought their

weapons to bear. ‘You will leave this place and

never return Inácio Liberato. I am merciful in that

your life will be spared. Forget this place existed

and return where you came from.’

Inácio looked around like a wild animal. ‘I will not

be treated this way!’ With that he pulled a book from

his travel sack. He flipped it open to a page and the

entire clearing was filled with a tremendous light.

The entire tribe covered their eyes and cried out.

When we looked around Inácio was gone. It was

only when someone shouted while pointing up that

we saw a figure that looked like a man but with bat

wings fading into the night sky.”

Everyone was transfixed on the chief. When

eventually a log snapped it broke the spell he wove.

Both Odell and Jacob looked to Kasey who was

staring at the fire and the sparks that were being

cast off into the air. “They were here then.” The

chief looked to Kasey. “They? Who are they? Why

can they do the things that you do my friend?”

With that Kasey’s eyes shot up. “They don’t do

what I do! They’re nothing like me!” The chief

looked genuinely alarmed by this, his guards were

grasping at their spears. “Calm down my friend! I

meant no disrespect by this!”

Kasey stood up. The guards began to pull back

their weapons when the chief belted out a

command. They both hesitated for a moment then

lowered the spears again. Both Odell and Jacob

sighed relief. “Kase knock it off. If you don’t these

guys are going to give us new holes to breath out

of.” Odell gestured toward the two guardsmen.

Kasey came to a stop and looked toward the

chief. He then looked up to the two guards. They

both stiffened immediately while their hands went to

their weapons. “Kasey sit the hell down now!”

Odell’s voice snapped. Everyone in the room

jumped at the whip like tone she took on.

After another moment Kasey sat back down on

the ground. When Kasey hit the floor it felt as if all

of the air in the room had been let out. Kasey began

to fidget with his bag. The sounds of the fire filled

the room along with the tinking of metal. Eventually

Kasey pulled forth the piece wrapped in fabric.

The chief’s eyes became wide, “Is this it?” Kasey

nodded. The chief let free another laugh that sent

his belly quivering. “Ho hoooooo, Kasey my friend

you were not joking when you told me you could

retrieve this!”

He slowly began to remove the fabric until Kasey

placed his hand on the chief’s. Both of the guards

shouted out and brought their spears up, but the

chief gestured for them to lower it. “Kasey my friend,

you tread dangerous ground here. It is good that I

like you so much, otherwise you would be a hand

shorter now. What is going on my friend.”

Kasey stared at the chief. “You know our deal,

bring them out.” Both men gazed into each others

eyes until the chief clicked his tongue in defeat. He

said a few words his native speech, and eventually

two other tablets were brought forth. They were set

down beside the other one and the runners slowly

backed out of the hut warily looking at the outsiders.

Everyone in the hut looked down at the fragments

as they were placed on the ground. Three

fragments of a very old tablet sat in front of Kasey

and the chief. “These have not been in the same

room for years upon years Kasey. Do you

understand what you have done? You have brought

this knowledge back to us. For doing that you will

have my eternal thanks.”

Kasey traced his finger along the cracks that

separated the pieces. He began to whisper and the

stones began to glow. A light blueish tinge

appeared around the cracks. Kasey slowly began to

raise his voice. A rhythmic chanting that filled the

hut. The look of confusion everyone wore, for Kasey

was speaking a language that very few had ever

heard. The glowing intensified, and Kasey slowly

began to push the stones toward each other. When

they touched there was a slight flash and the crack

had vanished. He proceeded to do that two more

times, until there was a solid stone tablet laying on

the floor.

The chief looked wide eyed at Kasey, “How were

you able to accomplish this?! This had been broken

and kept apart! It was supposed to be irreparable!”

Kasey looked over to the chief. “A story isn’t a story

unless it’s the whole story. I have ways of being

able to repair it. I just have to bring out some of

what makes it special...special.”

“What do you mean Kasey?” Kasey sighed.

“Your people know the ways of the story. Not what

you tell your children before they go to sleep, or

what you share around a campfire. A story, the

purest form. That which has been handed down

untarnished for generations upon generations. The

only difference with these stories however is that

they gain magic over time. They gain power. I took

some of that to make the tablet whole again. These

pieces wanted to be reunited. I just helped them

with that.”

The chief could only blink after Kasey’s

explanation. “The previous chief I think knew more

about this, but he never told me. If he had I might

have been more trusting of you from the start my

friend.”

Kasey sighed, “It’s alright. I just have to stop this

Inácio Liberato. Who he works for, they’re bad.

They want something I just don’t know what. We’ve

been trying to figure that out since they first sprang

up. When I found out that he had been here, I had

to come and see what he wanted.”

The chief looked down to the tablet. “Since this is

fixed now won’t he be able to find it? He knew about

it being broken in the first place. Why would he want

such a story?”

Kasey shook his head, “I don’t think he will be

able to find it. He’ll know that its been fixed yes, but

otherwise that will be all that he can get from it. I’ll

need you to hide it. Not in the same places they

came from. I’m sure that someone will have found

what happened and told someone. I just need to

read this first, like we agreed.”

The chief became anxious, “How do I know that

you do not keep the same company as this man?

You come and retrieve these pieces, but yet I have

not seen anything to tell me otherwise. You made

this story whole again, but you tell me that you drew

upon the magic of the story itself.”

Kasey looked deadpan at the chief. “I’m nothing

like them. Don’t compare me to them. I’m of the

organization Conservatio. We don’t do what they

do. We make sure the story is preserved when we

read it. When we use a piece of it. They force the

story. They pry out its secrets and keep it. Doing

that forever destroys the basic fabric of the story.”

The chief barely blinked during that time. When

Kasey was finished he looked down to the story.

“Show me then my friend, show me what is so

different.” Kasey nodded and looked down to the

tablet.

He pulled his shirt off all the way. His body had

bare patches of skin in places, but the rest were

tattoos or something of the sort. Images, characters,

letters, it was a motley assortment. The chief looked

at the different markings appraisingly. “You have

made quite a collection there. These are all how

you do what you do?” Kasey nodded.

He found a patch of skin that was free of markings

and placed his finger there. With his other hand he

placed it on the stone tablet, and with his forefinger

began to trace the outlines of the first part of the

story. “I need to make a connection to the story and

myself. Reading it aloud helps, but a physical

connection is what is truly needed.”

Kasey began to repeat the words that he was

tracing. “There was a woman who bore four

children. Three of the children were the most

beautiful women of the land. Their beauty was

coveted by all, both men and women alike but for

different reasons. First and foremost among them

was a fairy from a nearby castle.

This fairy was not ordinary, but rather full of

wickedness and spite. She long to have the beauty

that age had robbed her of so long ago. So one

day, she concocted an idea. While the girls were

out working in the fields the fairy called forth a storm

so fierce that they had to find shelter under a tree.

The tree provided no cover, but the girls had no

where else to turn to.

In between the gusts they heard the friendly cries

of someone shouting to them. It was close, so they

looked around the tree only to find a hole that led

into the trunk. Rather than stay outside they climbed

down the hole. It was worth a few tears in their

dresses to be safe from the fierce storm that raged

up top. When they got in there was a table with a

candle lit. On the table there was a note. ‘Down

each of these paths are your truest desires. Tread

them only alone for if you ever saw your sister’s

desire it would quickly become your own.’

The sisters looked at each other and took a path.

Down, and down they crawled but they still

continued. The light from the center area quickly

faded, but still they crawled. They crawled until they

could see nothing in front of them or behind, but it

was too late. They all heard the sound of a string

being drawn. The walls that they were crawling

upon soon felt like rough cloth.

They felt their world slip and slide around them as

they were picked up. The fairy knew that the only

thing that could truly secure the sisters were magic

bags. The bags would start to steal the beauty of

the sisters and allow the fairy to take it for herself.

The only thing that could break the magic of the

bags was for them to be burned from a fire built from

magic wood.

When the mother found out she cried. She tore at

her hair, gnashed her teeth and screamed at the

castle for days and nights. When it became too

much the fairy came down to her. ‘Your daughters

lives are mine now, go away you old crone lest your

cries threaten their safety!’ The mother cursed the

fairy but relented, and went to her home.

With her daughters being stolen from her the

mother’s heart grew oh so very dark. She longed for

her children so. While she was sleeping the

darkness in her heart took shape. It sprang from her

chest and began to run around the room. The

mother jumped up, frightened that the fairy had

come to attack her out of malice but found no one in

her home.

‘Who’s there?!’ She cried out. ‘It’s me mother!’

The woman looked around, but could see only

darkness. ‘The fairy has come to play tricks on me,

oh cruel devil you take my children now you try to

take my sanity?!’ The woman sprung from the bed

and made it to the doorway before the voice cried

out. ‘No mother stop! I’m your son! I came from

inside you!’

The woman stopped to turn around, ‘I don’t have

a son!’ A figure that looked like a young boy

stepped into the light. Nothing could be made of his

features, he was completely shrouded in black. ‘But

that’s not true mother I am your son! Your love for

my sisters and the darkness you kept inside you

gave me life!’

The woman fell backward and started to crawl

away. ‘That’s not true! You can’t be!’ The boy

merely stepped into the darkness and when the

mother blinked he had placed his hand on her

shoulder behind her. ‘It is though, I am your son.

You bore me in your heart for a long time. I watched

you cry every night and I felt so bad I had to come

out and comfort you.’ With that he gave his mother

a hug, who could do nothing but begin weeping.

Days turned into weeks, and weeks into months.

Life with her shadow son soon became normal for

the mother. While the boy shrouded in black

searched high and low in the area around their

home, but could not find any magic wood with which

to make a fire from. The months became years, and

with it the woman slowly stooped more and more.

The years took her strength, and even though her

son was made from the darkness of her heart she

could not forget all of it. The years had made her

bitter, and even though her son was always happy

or joyful she could not always be so.

The now old woman took to her morning chores

like she had for so many years before that.

Cleaning, sweeping, preparing the food. When she

went to the basin she saw that it was empty and

took the clay jug upon her head down to the stream.

It was a very big jug, and it took quite a while to fill.

When the jug could hold no more the old woman

pulled it ashore. She tried to move it back toward

their home, but discovered that she could not. She

called for her son, but even with his help they could

not move the stone jug.

At that time there were three men on horseback

that were riding by. She told her son to go ask for

their help. As her son when up, it startled the men

but they had seen things like this before. ‘Please

you have to help me and my mother! We are trying

to get our stone jug back up to our house and we

cannot do it by ourselves!’

The men looked with pity on the two, the leader

spoke to the boy. ‘I’m sorry but we cannot help. We

have to be on our way as we have important

business to attend to.’ The old woman who was in

ear shot began to curse the riders. The leader

looked back as he rode past, but said nothing as

they continued on past the little house.

The men had been on a journey for quite some

time. They were about to spend another night

among the stars when they rounded a bend and

found a castle down the road. As they rode into the

courtyard they were greeted by a young beautiful

woman.

The leader came forward, “We are simple

cavaliers looking for lodgings for the night. We were

about to settle for the night when we saw your

magnificent castle! Would it trouble you too much to

spare three rooms for us?” The young woman

gestured to the castle, “There are rooms for plenty,

you are welcome travellers.” The cavaliers smiled to

each other and let the young woman lead the way.

There were three rooms in a row down a hallway

in the castle. The young woman led the cavaliers to

each room. In each room she placed a candle, and

with that she wished the cavaliers a good night.

After the cavaliers wished the young woman

goodnight they blew out their candles. For they had

come specifically to this land to look for such a

castle as this. The tales they had heard were what

drew them here. Tales of an evil fairy trapping

young women, and using her powers to catch

unwary travellers.

One such trick was if the candle was lit when the

guest went to sleep the flame would start to dance

and change. It would grow and burn brighter with

each second until it appeared as if the room had

caught fire. The traveler would then have to flee the

room, but that would be when the fairy would catch

them in her magic bags. The cavaliers had heard of

the story and came to rescue all those that had been

trapped by the fairy.

Their journey so far had left them without much in

the way of supplies though and so they had to flee.

They gathered the sacks that were sitting in the

stalls, and each cavalier took one and put it over

their horse. They rode into the night to escape the

fairy’s wrath which would be great indeed.

They rode and rode until the woods became a bit

more strange than they were used to. As they

continued to ride their panic increased. They were

about to turn around when they found a shop at a

crossroads. They sighed in relief and proceeded to

go inside.

There were various tinctures and assortments

sitting on the shelves of the very old store. When

they entered there was a slight chime that rang out

from nowhere and everywhere at once. They were

quickly greet by a sprightly young woman. She sang

when she walked and gave off a feeling of calm. So

much so that the cavaliers quickly relaxed their

posture.

“Oh my guests! We don’t get many guests of your

type out here I’m afraid, but what can I do for you?!”

As she spoke in her sing song way the cavaliers

couldn’t help but smile. The leader stepped forward,

“Do you own this fine establishment young lady?”

The shopkeeper chuckled, “Oh I’m not as young

as you would think, but yes I do own this place.”

The leader nodded, “Well then, we are in need of

supplies. We just escaped from the evil fairy’s castle

down the path and we need to resupply for when

she seeks her revenge!”

The shopkeeper looked very serious. The room

almost seemed to darken with it, the gaze was so

intense. “You came from the evil fairy’s castle?

How did you escape? Very few ever see the light of

day again after she has lured them there.” With

which the leader replied, “We are cavaliers! No such

simple tricks would be able to stop us!”

The shopkeeper’s eyes peered at each of the

cavaliers. “Yes, yes you are. Well then, for what

you have done this day I will give you supplies. I

feel that you will be needing them very soon indeed.”

She spun around and went to several shelves

looking at each one, and nodding or shaking her

head. Eventually she pulled off three jars and

brought them to the cavaliers.

To the leader she gave a jar that was the purest

dark and warm to the touch. ‘This is ash that was

taken from the oldest volcano in the world. With it, it

will cover the sun and make it the time of night.’ The

next jar she gave to the second cavalier was of salt.

‘This is a jar of salt from a lake that became an

ocean. It will make an ocean where it is thrown.’

The last jar she gave to the final cavalier. It was

filled with what looked like needles. ‘This jar hold

the pins from the great trees of our forests. If you

use it a briar will sprout from the ground, a thorny

briar that bars all but the worthy.’

The cavaliers looked at their jars with reverence.

The leader looked up to the shopkeeper, ‘May I ask

who you are?’ The shopkeeper smiled, and a

delightful music filled the air. ‘I am but a simple

merchant who is tired of others giving our people a

bad name. What I have given you today is a gift in

the hopes that you will stop her.’

The leader nodded and stepped back, ‘If you

could direct us back to the right path please madam

we would greatly appreciate it.’ The shopkeeper

chuckled and gave them directions. With that the

cavaliers continued on the crossroads and

eventually came back into woods that looked more

familiar to them.

As they exited the woods into a clearing they

found they were terribly hungry. It was almost as if

they had spent days on that road, but it appeared as

if it was still evening. They soon smelled food in the

air and followed it to a house. The house however

was owned by the old woman and her son made

from shade.

‘Mother look!’ The son pointed. ‘The riders have

returned!’ The old woman looked to the riders and

scowled. A dark rage filled her heart from being

ignored earlier. She found some stones by the fire

and placed them into her apron. When she was

done she turned around and began to march on the

cavaliers.

The cavaliers soon saw the little old woman

coming toward them and could see what had truly

happened to her. The evil fairy had cast a spell that

allowed her to infest her heart. It was like a worm

eating away at an apple. The fairy must have done

it when she took the woman’s daughters, for taking

something precious to someone is the easiest way

to allow evil to fester.

The woman was furious, she had never in all of

her life been so scorned and she was set on proving

to respect one’s elders. She started moving toward

the cavaliers, but stopped after a short distance.

She stooped low to the ground and began to pick up

stones and place them in her apron. The cavaliers

knew that if they were hit by those stones they would

be taken back to the castle immediately and would

never be able to escape again.

The leader pulled out his jar, he prayed it would

help deter the woman and her rage while they tried

to explain their quest. He threw it at her, and a

darkness most intense poured forth from the

shattered remains of the jar and covered the air. It

became night in an instant. Any hopes of holding

the old woman at bay however disappeared as they

could hear her cry out in rage as she stomped

through the darkness.

The next cavalier felt terrible but he knew that if

the woman was able to get in range and throw the

stones that he and his companions would be

finished, so he asked for forgiveness and threw his

jar. The forest went quiet, but was soon replaced

with the roaring sound of the ocean as it filled the

land they were standing on. Still the woman was

undeterred and the cavaliers could hear her

frantically swimming with one arm cursing the

cavaliers the entire time.

The final cavalier hoped that his jar would stop the

old woman from making a mistake that she would

regret. He wished for her happiness and threw his

jar. The jar shattered and the ground began to

rumble. The ocean was drained away as the

creaking and cracking could be heard of a mighty

hedge rising from the ground. It formed a wall

between the cavaliers and the woman, but still

onward she came.

Everyone forgot about the boy shrouded in black.

Now a man grown he knew that to drive out the evil

in his mother’s heart he would have to stop her from

doing something she would regret. To make sure

that no one was hit with any of the stones that she

was carrying he dove into the hedge. He began

breaking and pulling the hedge apart. The more he

pulled the more his hands were cut. He bled on the

wood he had gathered but he didn’t care he needed

to stop his mother. When he had enough he ran

back to where she was slowly making her way

toward the cavaliers. Since he was born of shadow,

he had no problem finding his way.

When he got far enough ahead of his mother he

piled the wood high and started a fire. Even though

it was as dark as night outside, the fire illuminated

the surrounding area. Everyone shielded their eyes

except for the son. ‘Mother! Please stop this! If you

do this you’ll regret it!’

The mother spat back, ‘Move out of the way fool

son of mine! These men are too self important to

help an old woman like me. A woman who has

nothing left, just needed kindness in the world and

those men couldn’t lift a finger! Move son of mine

your darkness is blocking my view! Move...what?!’

The old woman became startled. Her son who she

could barely see started to glow. The darkness was

shrinking back, and his features were becoming

visible.

The son looked down to his hands, ‘What?! What

is going on?!’ While the mother and son were

speaking the cavaliers were distracted. The bags

that they had taken from the castle started shaking,

muffled cries could be heard. The cavaliers looked

back and forth to each other but could not get any

idea of what was happening. Everytime they moved

to touch the bags though their hands became

covered in frost.

The leader motioned to the fire, ‘Let’s place them

on the fire for just a moment and maybe this will get

rid of the cursed cold that falls onto our hands. The

cavaliers rode forward with the bags flopping on

their horses. The sidled up to the fire and pushed

the bags on top as they hopped down.

The old woman fell to her knees holding her

chest. She began to scream as a black smoke

poured out of her mouth. It took the shape of a fairy

that pointed toward the cavaliers and shrieked. The

old woman on her knees looked toward the fire and

gasped.

Everyone looked toward the fire and saw that the

bags were not catching alight, but rather a white

steam seemed to be escaping from them. The bags

grew to double their size and the ends opened into a

hole the size of a doorway. Out of the three bags

came the three daughters that the old woman had

lost so long ago.

‘My daughters?! My daughters you have come

back to me!’ The old woman seemed to grow

slightly younger at the sight of her children returned.

Her back became a little less bent and her nose was

no longer so crooked. She had a spring in her step

as she ran toward her daughters. She was soon

stopped however by the shade of the fairy. It

appeared between her and her daughters. ‘They

are no longer yours! They belong to me!’

The fairy was starting to take shape when she let

out a hideous scream. She looked down to see that

the boy had taken a log from the magical fire and

started the cloud that was the fairy on fire. She

screamed and clawed at the air. She reached her

hands out toward the daughters, but could not reach

them. She tried to swipe at the boy but the fire

prevented her from being able to hit him.

The fire devoured the smoke, the screams slowly

died out as the fairy was consumed. The old woman

cried out, ‘My son! Are you alright?’ He coughed,

and eventually came out of the darkness. He was

no longer covered in shadow, but instead had

become pure white. He smiled, ‘I’m alright mother!

When the fairy burned away it burned away the

darkness in your heart! Since that is where I came

from I was able to shine forth!’

The family had been reunited, and the old woman

could not be happier. She turned to the cavaliers,

and bowed her head. ‘I am truly sorry for how I have

been. I have had nothing but sorrow festering inside

of me for years. I have you to thank for bringing my

daughters back to me.’

That is how black became white.” Kasey finished

and looked up. The chieftain had a tear in his eye.

“That is a story our people haven’t heard in many

lives. Thank you Kasey for putting it back together

and sharing it with me.” Kasey had just finished

drinking from a canteen, and was wiping his mouth.

He nodded to the chief.

“Now, I’ve primed the story. Will you allow me to

use it? I’m not going to forcibly harvest it, I’m going

to borrow it’s power for my own. You can watch the

entire time, and you’ll be able to see that I’m not

harming the story in anyway.

The chief nodded, “Of course! You have proven

yourself a friend of the Akuntsu, more so now than

ever! After you are done, you and your companions

will be added as official tribesmen.” The chief

shouted something to his guard who jumped slightly.

He turned around and ran out of the door bellowing

as soon as he got outside.

When the echoes faded away Kasey placed his

finger in the center of the stone tablet. It began to

glow a light blue that radiated outward to cover it

entirely. It slowly started to pulse as Kasey drew his

finger back. With his other hand he began to bring it

up to his body. He found a patch of skin that was

bare and placed his finger on it. It started to sizzle

and sear almost immediately as if something hot had

been placed against it.

Kasey bit his lip and stifled a scream as his skin

became a bright red, blistered and began to peel

away. The chieftain sat with his mouth agape at the

display but did nothing. Odell turned away and

grimaced while Jacob stared at the fire. They had

seen this quite a few times already and had had

enough.

Kasey groaned as an image on the blank space

began to take shape. It was a the outline of a horse

that soon began to fill in. The edges were filled in

first then the center as it eventually became fully

black. The horse was rearing up, but as far as

features it was indistinguishable. The glowing slowly

subsided, as well as the sound of the flesh burning

away. Kasey huffed as he sat back but said nothing.

Eventually the glowing subsided and Kasey let out a

sigh. “It’s done, you have my thanks.”

The chief looked between the stone tablet and

Kasey. “My friend, are you alright? Why did it do

that?” Kasey nodded, “I’m fine. It did that because

these stories have power. They hold all of the

energy that they’ve gathered over the years and

store it inside of them. We take the pain as a

reminder that these stories are giving themselves to

us willingly. That’s the difference between us and

Toto cognitio. They forcibly take the story’s power

and don’t even try to make a sacrifice. We’re more

fragile than a story.”

The chief gazed at Kasey, his eyes took on a new

focus as he hadn’t seen this man in such a light

before. He averted his eyes when he finally realized

what Kasey had truly been doing. “I am sorry to

have acted in such a way. Kasey truly please

accept my apology.”

Kasey waved him away, “Nonsense. You were

doing what you thought was the right thing for you

and your people. You’re not the first, and you

probably won’t be the last. I’m sorry I was more

hostile than I needed to be. We thought that maybe

you were working with Liberato. These people are

everywhere that we’re not, and there’s not a lot of

us.”

The chief nodded, “I understand.” It was at this

moment that the guard came back into the room.

He nodded toward the chief who clapped his hands

together. Both Odell and Jacob jumped and

whipped their heads around. Jacob was tense and

had his hands pressed firmly into the ground, ready

to flee at a moment’s notice.

“My friends! Tonight we are going to induct you

into our tribe! You have done us a great deed in

getting us this story, and you have moved my heart

for your sacrifices. Tonight we feast!” Cheering

erupted from outside the hut as the three looked

back and forth to each other confused. Kasey was

the first to stand as the chief directed them outside.

Tribes people had gathered themselves up and

were standing around the chieftain’s hut. The look

of surprise washed over the group as they were

walked forward the villagers began to cheer. The

chieftain came up behind them and placed his

massive arms around the three of them and pulled

them close. “Tonight we shall feast and celebrate

our newest members!”