„Why are you feeling that you are alone, brother? Here, on Earth, you have your heart and your family next to you while I have nobody with me in the Cosmos: only a limitless sky and a void of stars,” Lodur’s words had been heard by Dike, in his head, as if those words were his thoughts. And Dike felt the same as his brother: loneliness and desolation.

„It’s because something evil sneaks around, brother,” Dike answered while watching the sky. „And … she has the same power as you have. Samaya can also see and hear Chaos.”

Suddenly, Lodur’s projection appeared in front of Dike, who was in the Valley of Silence, and the gusts of wind, which were quivering the blades of grass, making them bent to the ground, snuck around them as if the evil itself was trying to listen to their sacral spoke. And, after that, only a gust of silence has been felt again.

Actually, the Valley of Silence had been named like that not only because someone liked the name and he decided to give it to the valley. It has been named like that because of the vastity and of the loneliness which felt there like home and this was also making that valley seem as if it was of a blinding beauty: the blades of green grass, which were covering the harshness of the soil with a soft coat, were warming the soul of the ground in harsh times this way when the cold wind and the deep nights were even colder than the breath of the North Pole.

Here and there, big rocks, grey and black, were on guard, defending the surroundings and waiting for immortality. Above - a clear blue sky of the approaching dusk. Around - the silence of the valley and only on the right side, losing itself in the sight - the Rophion Forest could be seen.

And the thicket of the forest had something mystical in its power. If watching carefully at all the beauty of the forest, it seemed to be very calm, Magic even, and surrounded by a kind of unique splendor. But that secular forest also had its own secrets, its proper hidden traditions, and a huge own force.

And that fairy-like story of the Woods was told to the strangers like warning stories through the shivering of the leaves, through the moving lianas, through the wolves' burning eyes who were on guard at the edge of that Magical and Strange Woods.

But those stories weren't warning Dike, who was sitting on a big black rock, right in the middle of the valley. And... his sitting position, his closed eyes, and his half-lifted hands were recalling a Buddhist monk’s posture while he was completely immersed in prayer.

And... to be honest, there wasn't anything strange at the titan. If watching him carefully he looked like any other normal person: a man about 40, with long hair, powdered with grey flakes, 1.8 meters tall, athletic body, and olive dark skin. His garments were also simple - something between the clothes worn by the Egyptian and those of the European rich society of the first centuries of human civilization.

On his feet, soft shoes were seen, made from dried blades of grass, fixed with young branches of lianas at his ankles, lianas which were so gently surrounding the ankles as if they were the arms of a lover around his beloved woman’s body.

The trousers were also tailored from a dark brown cloth, perfectly covering the lower part of the body while on his right shoulder and on his well-made body was slightly falling a black-white robe and, at his girdle, he had a thick, wide belt which was squeezing the robe like a ring, even if it seemed loose enough.

Next to him, carefully put on the rock, Ionas could be seen - the sword of the Titans. On its metallic handle and on its sheath, it had symbols and moments beautifully and skillfully engraved, reminding the world about the First War. Also, the material used for making Ionas was the Mithril, or the precious and saint metal, taken from the deep underground tunnels, hidden in the Olimp Mount.

Also, the sword wasn’t beautiful only on the outside. It was hardened in the fire of the Cyclops, on Inetha Island, in the Lamar Smith, and Shiman himself, the king of Cyclops, blew the energy of the old times over the sword, making the blade shine in dark nights as if the Saint Fire of their ancestors was illuminating the surroundings and those who had Ionas in their power were protected, surrounded by a magical bubble which could be seen only by those with a pure heart.

Actually, Samaya saw that bubble once - one night when Dike left his children sweetly sleeping next to Atar, the holy fire, and he went to meet Lodur in the Valley of Silence. That night, Samaya awoke, hearing a kind of strange breath around, and, looking all over, she couldn't see her father.

Being afraid, she stood up and took a few steps in front. But even so, she couldn’t see Dike, and, soon, after she understood that they had been left alone there, in the Glade of Mannar, she shuddered, seeing Atar’s flames moving in a strange way, even if there wasn’t felt any gust of wind around.

That's why she tried to yell, but no sound came out of her throat. Then, she tried to run, but she understood that she can’t move as if something unseen kept her in place and she felt that something or somebody, whom she couldn’t see, could hurt her and she also felt him sneaking around.

Then, the flames of Atar started to rise up, and the blowing of a strange power was heard puffing around them with each millimeter that unseen creature was getting closer to the fire. However, not only the power of Atar was feeling that unseen evil so well. Also, Samaya felt it so deeply in her body and this made her fur, fluffy and warm till that moment, suddenly raise and, very soon, she showed her fangs to the world. And it was a kind of strange situation there because even if she wasn't seeing that evil, she was showing her fangs to him, snarling at him, while the strange creature, unseen by her or by the world was also snarling at her, like mirroring into the other's body.

And was something else weird there: the fog that became thicker and thicker with each breath of the little she-wolf. But even so, she tried to calm down, but something was awakening inside her - it was her wild instinct that made her nails, till then hidden inside her paws, be sharp, long, and strong, and she sharpened her nails also because she was trying to protect herself and to protect Fenrir, who kept sleeping. And she was capable of everything at that moment - she could even kill, if necessary because her wild instinct made her feel strange, as if a kind of peel covered the light of her eyes, making them be of a dark red, savage, and gloomy.

This was making the world, calm and green till that moment, a world surrounded by peace in which Samaya was living, suddenly change, a transformation of the surroundings the little she-wolf disliked, and she started to blame that unseen evil for that because it dared to get closer to them, and she started to want to break that evil into pieces, even if she wasn't seeing it, even if she wasn't completely aware why she felt like that.

But, deep-deep in her soul, that feeling of anxiety was somehow known - as if her breath had felt it once, in the First War when Eris and Chaos fought for supremacy while she was only a pure thought of the world then. However, even if Samaya was only a thought then when she felt that feeling, she still could remember the fear each star around her had felt in the First War, and she also felt it then, feeling it awakening in her soul again, at that moment when she was a little cub, feeling it increasing inside her, and making her want to fight against it one more time because it was threatening with the destruction of the world.

However, even if Samaya was ready for the fight, when Atar rose about 3 meters in height, something unseen till that moment happened - a magical bubble, something colored in pink… in red… in black… in white and yellow and with green strips, surrounded them, and something warm and pleasant sneaked inside of Samaya’s soul then, calming her down, and her fur became again fluffy, the shining of her black eyes recovered its usual light, the heartbeats, which till that moment madly hit her chest, regained their natural blow and Samaya understood that she was safe again.

And that magical wave from which the bubble was formed was projected by Ionas. The sword, left next to Atar, protected the children and it was somehow related to Atar’s blowing when their power became one. The waves of their magic joined and they sent a message to the world: „nobody can hurt us, only if we allow it,” and the message had been received: the unseen evil withdrew into the entrails of the dark and of thick forest, where nobody ever entered and where a cold breath was felt, too, while two eyes of fire were watching the world, waiting for what was coming, waiting for the right moment to change the world into their battlefield.

Soon, when the last trace of evil completely withdrew into its den, Samaya turned back to her place and lay down next to Fenrir, who was still asleep, and, sticking her body of his, she laid her head on his shoulder and the calm breath of the boy soon became hers too and the two kids fell again asleep under Atar’s guard.

But Atar was still preoccupied and it sent its blowing in the distance, and the wave of its energy crossed time and space till it found Dike, and it right away whispered in the titan's ear about what happened in Mannar's Glade that night and, since that moment, Dike had never left his children alone again, for he was the only one who knew well what the evil was capable of and he was also so afraid of that.

Lodur's voice suddenly awoke Dike from his daydream: „Are you again afraid, Dike?” Lodur said while his projection was slowly walking toward his brother, and, very soon, he sat down by Dike. „You know that Father Chaos never does something if he’s not sure about this. If Father Chaos chose Samaya to send a message to the world it means she has a mission here, on Earth.”

„I know, brother, but this doesn’t mean that I’m not afraid. She’s too young yet. She just recovered her human body. She just talked to me, for the first time, even if she did it in her own way. I can’t allow her to suffer.”

„Sufferance is something we carry on inside us and you know this, brother,” and, Lodur put his palm on Dike’s shoulder, and both brothers look into each other’s eyes, carefully looking at what was mirroring into the glance in front of them.

„The Cosmic Wave is changing its rhythm,” Dike said, and Lodur only approved by nodding.

„It’s changing, brother, as the world is changing. Harsh times passed; even harsher times are coming. You'd been sent here to protect the world and now, when the evil increased its power, you also need someone to help you to fulfill your mission here, on Earth.”

„But not her. My daughter is too young for this.”

„Will be she too young if evil decides to attack her? What will you do if that evil, you are so hard trying to hide from them, will hurt them? If you don’t do anything to prepare them to fight, then they’ll be at evil’s mercy. They must know what’s waiting for them. Be wise, Dike! Don’t allow your human heart to kneel you down, to weaken you or you’ll lose.”

Dike bent his head: a kind of remorse and sorrow took over him. For the first time, he didn’t know what to do. For the first time, he had been scolded by his brother, but Dike knew very well that his brother’s heart was pure and that Lodur wanted only his happiness.

„I’ll try to figure out what’s going on around, but you know that my power is limited here. I can only observe and tell others about what I see or what I think. But if there’s something you have to be afraid of, you have to face this alone then,” Lodur said and his hand, in a sign of support, rested again on his brother’s shoulder.

„I know, brother. As I know that I’d been sent here for something, but that something scares me now and not because I’m afraid that something will happen to me, but I’m afraid that the evil will hurt my children,” and Dike looked at the sky.

„Shhh,” Lodur whispered and carefully lurked around, from the corner of his eye. „Something’s approaching. We must be…”

„…careful?!” Fenrir’s voice was heard behind them and Lodur smiled. He knew very well that voice, but, for an unknown reason, he couldn’t see when Fenrir was getting closer and this was happening only with him. Well, this had been only at the beginning when Samaya was only a she-wolf. But when she changed her body into a little girl, she started to also see Lodur, and he understood that he wasn't able to see her too while getting closer to him while she was just a little girl. But he could see her and also could feel her and Fenrir when they were in their wolf shape. And if that happened, if Lodur couldn't feel those children in their human bodies, it meant only one thing: he was also vulnerable. However, he preferred not to tell Dike about that, at least not until he'll figure out what was happening to him or what was happening in that forest.

Getting closer to the two titans, Samaya and Fenrir sat down: the boy sat down next to Dike, and Samaya next to Lodur. She had never seen Lodur before while being a wolf cub only, but being human again, she could see him and this was something mystical in that shadow for her. Maybe it was because it was the first time seeing him, but the first thing she did, after sitting down, was to watch into his eyes.

„They aren’t made from fire. It means that not these eyes I saw before and not this voice I’ve heard in my head,” Samaya said to herself.

Lodur’s kind glance fixed on hers, their minds connected, as their souls did, but the girl didn’t feel it at first.

„He probably doesn’t hear me as my father does, but these eyes are talking to me and they tell me that they won’t hurt us,” Samaya kept thinking while moving her head from one shoulder to another: she loved that movement as she loved the feeling that was sneaking into her soul when her ear was touching the skin of her shoulder and a kind of inner peaceful warmth was felt in her heart - the scent of her human being.

„Of course, I hear you. As I can see you and you can't even imagine how happy I am that you can see me too. This means that from now on we can talk to each other and you’ll tell me about your dreams soon,” Lodur said.

„This means dad told you about what I told him. That’s not very kind of him. It was a secret,” Samaya said and she felt sad and upset because her father dared to tell her secret to a stranger.

„I’m not a stranger. I’m your father’s brother and I’m also the guardian of Māṉsṭar Kēlaksi,” Lodur answered, and this amazed Samaya so much.

„What’s Māṉsṭar Kēlaksi, uncle Lodur?” the little girl asked him while constantly looking into his eyes.

Lodur’s lips slowly moved in a whisper and the girl could read on his lips „the Galaxy of Monsters!” Yet, she didn’t know what was that, but she knew that she’ll find out a very interesting story soon, something that was beyond her limited knowledge of life, and, from that moment, an unseen bond had tied them forever.

„Papa, what are they talking about?” Fenrir asked while lurking on Samaya and Lodur who were talking in an unknown language to him.

„I don’t know, son, but I’m sure that they have a lot of things to say to each other. This is the first time Samaya can talk to him and they have to recover the lost time,” Dike answered in a kind voice. „Don’t be jealous, Fenrir. A brother’s heart must be always kind and open to receive all the love of his blood.”

„But… I’m not jealous. Just curious. You know: oh, or maybe I am, but not because Samaya speaks in a strange language now, a language that I don’t know, but it’s because this is the first time she’s not talking to me, but with someone else,” Fenrir said with sadness in his voice.

Dike slowly laughed. „This means you love her a lot.”

„And not only I love her. She’s my sister. I must protect her. Even from herself.” In Fenrir’s eyes, a strange shadow blinked: for the first time, in his heart, the seed of preoccupation sprouted. For the first time, he felt that something evil was lurking on them, waiting for Samaya to be alone and to hurt her. That’s why the boy decided not to leave her alone ever. And he was convinced to die, if necessary, only for her to be safe.

***

It was already late at night when Lodur stood up from off the rock and moved in the distance, toward the thick and dark forest that was seen on their right, and neither his footsteps left marks on the ground nor did his soles touch the soft blades of grass. But even so, his heading toward that strange forest was something mystical for the two children to watch, especially because they also saw, for the first time, the weird blowing of air that was exiting the forest, surrounding its edges, and covering the surroundings with white and dense fog.

„Will he turn back one day?” Samaya asked in an innocent voice. while sitting on the rock, on her father’s right side while Fenrir was on Dike’s left side, and the three of them were watching Lodur getting closer to the forest, and, in their heart, the preoccupation has been felt.

„He’ll be back,” Dike answered. „He must turn back.”

Then, Dike hugged his both children to his chest as if trying to fill their bodies with all the warmth he felt at that moment in his heart and his love, sent to the children, calmed them down. But that hug didn't calm Dike, who was so preoccupied with them. However, he also knew that Lodur was right: he had to do everything to teach them to fight, for a Big War was coming.