THE priestess broke from her daze and quickly ran behind, grabbed the girl, and fled to the others.

“Spirit of the Forest, I know you to be here! Sever these shackles!” Nakthaḥm shouted into the air.

Now Iḷēhaḥ thought he had at last gone mad, for she could feel no presence about them, but nonetheless she was not keen on releasing the chains over his heart. For to release him in such a state could prove an even worse threat than the Abomination. With such blood loss Nakthaḥm was sure to crave after them. She with forlorn expression looked to her wailing friend and shook her head. In thought she hoped if the Spirit was really there, that they would save him; but the others would not wait for salvation.

Vrihkhaḥ, Feyūnhaḥ and Sanyhaḥmān ran toward the Abomination and attacked it while it clung to Nakthaḥm. The wolf bit onto the Abomination’s arm but let go as soon as its mouth began to burn. The flurry of elements and strikes of the staff could barely scathe it. Lucky they were that the Abomination did not seem to take notice of them. It did not help that they had to keep their distance lest they fall to the same fate.

The claws of the beast dug deeper into Nakthaḥm’s side and he wailed louder in pain. His dark miasma began to leak. He was mustering the last of his power but it was to no avail for the aether could not take shape with his powers still bound by the shackles. And the three of them could do naught but look in horror.

Aiṛth looked to to the Heavens and cried: “Gods, you must save him! Release his chains, and let him be free. Is he not an Agent like all of us and one who is special among his kin? He rests as our servant yet also our friend, so I beseech you to do this! You whom I have prayed for so long and to whom I have ever strove—let him avow himself to you in form!”

“Silence, you fool!” shouted Iḷēhaḥ. “Give no ideas to the child! If his bonds are released it will spell doom to us all. His hunger will surely consume him in form! Will you allow more blood to be spilled for the sake of the accursed? Those idiots do not realize what should become of us even if the Abomination is defeated!”

And standing as like her, in equal, Aiṛth said, “Let him devour me if he must! He came to save me and the girl—let me offer my life as recompense for the trouble I have caused. Even should he be a demon, my gratitude knows no bounds to him and surely the Gods themselves think as much! I have for all this time been little more than a burden. I cannot fight as all of you—so should he turn on us: let him be satiated upon my life!”

Iḷēhaḥ slapped Aiṛth’s face. “Do not think so little of your life! Nakthaḥm has sacrificed himself for it. Let things rest—let it rest. We can do no more to help him. If this Spirit is really there, then we can only hope that she should save him.”

While this was happening Tūmbṃār, in his mind he heard a voice call to him:

Be not hasty child, I shall show my hand soon!

But he would not wait, not even for the gentle voice that pervaded his mind. Disregarding the concerns of all others and in desperation to save his friend, he severed the chains. Upon his face was a sad smile.

The air shook and the skies raged with dark clouds. The aether was surfacing toward the demon who held his arms high. He lifted into the air as the Abomination, now afraid, held onto him. The aether was beckoned to his body and massive wings were wrought into form. Encircled by darkness, his body morphed and grew larger and his friends looked to him with dread.

When the hold of the element was released, there stood a Ranger of the Night in full form: with gnarled armor, a crown of horns and sharp teeth that shone in the darkness. And whether it was illusion or not they could not say, but the space before them warped as all seemed to shrink while Nakthaḥm grew. Standing three times the size of the Abomination, the beast shook and seemed ready to burst. But Nakthaḥm seemed to calm it. He held his hand below and the Abomination gently fell into the palm. And he raised it to his face and spoke:

You pitiful creature; you who have toiled and suffered so long in that infernal sea. Hearing the wails and the screams of the ones to whom you meted punishment. You who have suffered at the hands of the Watchers; ridden as beasts of toil, knowing only a red and black sky, held by the firmament. The red star shined upon you as the bolts of lightning struck you ever on as it pleased. You who are seen as no more than an animal, nay even less than one, by the Lord of the Hells. But he sees all of us as such: unable to control ourselves, wracked so torturously by the pangs of hunger, to be slaves to our desires. I know you to have a mind, and I know you have sought an end to that misery. Let your soul rest and be lifted. You have served your time!

The Abomination cried and wailed upon his palm and prostrated as best it could to the demon. And Nakthaḥm lifting it toward him opened his mouth. His teeth cut off the head of the beast and he plunged what remained of it inside his mouth. He chewed and gnashed with each strike of his teeth resounding through the air. The hideous display horrified the group and they were held by a great fear. When he had gulped three times he descended onto the tree and turned to the others. Blood trickled down the teeth and the self same voice reverberated in their minds:

Ah my friends! Look to me with this grotesque form. A form I had only shown one other time. It truly has saved us, but what is this? You all seem so very delicious and I have grown so weary and hungry. Might perchance you allow me to dine upon you? Ah what need have I to ask? You regardless of choice should enter my stomach; let your form descend into me and become as one with me. Let your souls rest within me, for I alone should be enough to carry out the will of the Dehaḥṃār. Let us ride into the night in union!

His mouth salivated and his wings seems to grow larger. The demon put itself down on all fours and strode like a deranged animals toward them. A force of great magnitude held the members of the group down. And it seemed they had little choice but to be consigned to this doom. He came closer and closer and his mouth continued to enlarge until the entirety of the night had been caught within its grasp. A flash then blinded them all, and the tree began to fall. And the quiet murmurings of the forest turned into shrieks. The branches of the banyan soared on high and struck the demon!

The force that bound the group lifted, and they leaped to safety. With the great banyan felled they could see the sky above them. The clouds had dissipated and the space became one more normal. But above, Nakthaḥm was still held, pierced on every side by the elongated branches. And he cried:

Help me friends! Help me! I can bear this hunger no longer. Feed me!

FEED ME!

His cries were silenced. There in front of him stood a being of light, green and blue in color. She calmed Nakthaḥm and he fell asleep. She moved his body onto the stump of the great banyan. The aether that encased him dissolved and Nakthaḥm had come to his human form. His face was peaceful and to the others looking upon it, they thought he had perished. Aiṛth ran to his side and cried, pleading the being to bring him back.

The being of light then descended to them. She lessened the light of her self and they beheld: skin of light grey spotted with white dots; effulgent eyes that were like emeralds; silk like robes that swayed gently as if in water; and most surprising, antlers of the chital wreathed with many leaves of the banyans. Her form was that of the Mrigūhvha and she spoke:

Fear not, my children, for he has not perished. He merely rests though his breath has ceased for now.

She then held her arms in prayer and continued:

I am the Spirit of this forest, Vūragam: for I am like a wooden doll fashioned by the consort of Īrshevhaḥ. Long have I presided in these moving woods, watching silently over my children. But now I appear to you in form, for I recognize you as you are; sanctioned by the Dehaḥṃār in your quest to acquire the Dvhaḥṣhtro. O Agents of the Gods, to where do you go?

“The surprises just don’t cease do they?” jested Sanyhaḥmān.

“Do not make jokes now, monkey!” said Iḷēhaḥ in a hushed whisper. Her hair had become disheveled and she seemed at her wit’s end having been disregarded one too many times. She looked to Tūmbṃār with a glint of anger but the boy showed no sign of guilt over his actions. It almost seemed as if he had expected this outcome, though the maiden was not one to try fate as much as she desired. She sighed and shook her head.

“Don’t be too angry at him,” said Feyūnhaḥ. “There was no guarantee we would have survived fighting the Abomination without Nakthaḥm. I think at least this one time, Tūmbṃār made the correct choice.”

“That is not the issue,” she said in a whisper. “How long will he continue to keep disregarding our consensus. There will come a time when such an outcome could spell doom for us. Remember, not everything can go his way: he is still but a child. Keep that in mind.”

Feyūnhaḥ relented to that.

Tūmbṃār meanwhile approached Nakthaḥm with Vrihkhaḥ. The wolf whimpered as he nudged the sleeping demon. Tūmbṃār meanwhile swayed his hands up and down and side to side. The shackles of light bound his hands and feet once more. He wiped off the trailing sweat from his forehead and sat beside him. Aiṛth wished to thank him but the oath still held strong. She instead muttered to herself, giving her gratitude to the Gods.

Now they could not keep the Spirit waiting any longer and Iḷēhaḥ stepped forth to talk.

“Salutations, Spirit!” she greeted with hands in prayer. “I am Iḷēhaḥ: for I Adore All that is That One! As a goddess tasked with leading this party on part of the Dehaḥṃār, we seek the domain of the Mrigūhvha, said to dwell in this forest. We seek their aid in the coming invasion of the Yavhaḥṃār of whose kin you have laid upon this stump. But if I may, I wish to know how it is that you calmed him? Not even the Gods are said to be able to act in such a way, unless the demon is devoted to them. And also of what it is that occurred in this forest with the girl’s village; the Abomination we had fought we surmise must have been summoned by them, but to what end we do not know.”

Vūragam smiled and came near to Iḷēhaḥ. She then looked to the others and then to the girl who stood apart from the others. She moved near to her, and gently caressed her cheek. The girl however became afraid and took a few steps back. She tried to speak with her faltered voice and it seemed she could only babble.

Rest child, you have nothing to fear from me.

She then held onto the girl’s hand and brought her to the others. Then she floated into the darkness of the woods beckoning the others to follow her.

I shall tell you all concerning me and this forest. But first let us make our way from here. I shall take it upon myself to lead you to the Mrigūhvha.