The terrible storm had blown all day but at nightfall abated. In the shielding rain and gusting wind they were unable to do anything but find shelter and wait. They were fortunate enough to be able to land safely and find a cave to rest in while the storm settled. They could not sleep even though they were weary. Their minds were uneasy. They were restless and anxious.

Luqman and Erzurum stepped out of their cave once they saw the first light of dawn. Outside the sky was gray and the ground soggy; muddy puddles had filled in the gaps and craters. The land about them was terribly barren of any vegetation. Forlorn and bleak was the land, with only mountains looming against the gray sky. The silence was ominous and discouraging.

Now that the storm was over, with their immediate safety ensured for the time being and the darkness of the night fading, they focused their attention to their most primary concern, their friends. �Where do we begin?� Luqman asked Erzurum.

�I think we should start in this mountainous land. I will fly low. In case we should find any signs that would lead us to them.� Erzurum replied.

Luqman nodded, �I hope they are well.�

All morning they searched for any little sign of Jem and Qinan. They searched extensively, calling out the names of their missing friends, without rest. They passed by the barren land and soon flew over a sub-tropical grassland with trees dispersed throughout. The morning faded and the afternoon came on which was just as gray. The sky began to drizzle but it did not turn into a down pour. Yet, they found no sign. Finally, unable to go any further, Erzurum lay down in a grassy meadow, tired. Luqman stood beside him looking around in the faint hope he would catch any sign of Jem and Qinan.

�They are not here Luqman.� Erzurum said gloomily.

Luqman sighed and approached Erzurum. �We must search elsewhere then.�

�We should go back to the place where we were last all together.� Erzurum suggested.

Luqman agreed. Erzurum rested for a little while more before departing again. They flew slowly all the while calling for their friends. But yet again, there was no response and their hope was beginning to ebb. It was now dusk. The sun, whose light appeared for the first time in the day, was setting and it would soon be dark, making the search difficult. They did not waste any time but continued searching in the waning light.

Erzurum stopped again exhausted, when darkness at last set upon them. They had searched relentlessly all day with little rest. Now they felt the pangs of hunger and only now both realised that they had not eaten for almost two days. They rested beside a small stream and quenched their thirst. Luqman looked around for food while Erzurum rested and grazed on the grass. He came back to Erzurum empty-handed and sat down beside him disheartened.

�What now?� Erzurum asked. �We have searched and searched but found no sign.�

Luqman said nothing but stared at the ground. He did not know what to do.

Erzurum remained silent for a while but then spoke when a thought came to his mind. �Do you think they both reached the Kingdom of Double Horns safely?�

�They would have searched for us if they are safe or sent others to search for us if they are home.� Luqman replied.

�But it is possible that we could have missed each other�s paths.� Erzurum said hoping.

Luqman shook his head sceptically.

�Luqman I am going to take you home.� Erzurum offered.

�No. I cannot go home until I find Jem. How am I to face Elyasa. He charged his beloved brother under my care and I failed him.� Luqman said full of shame.

�You did not fail him. It was not in your hands to control.� Erzurum said trying to console him.

Luqman sat silent and thought for a while. He thought about Jem. His heart sank. How he wished he knew what happened to that young cheerful soul. How sad Elyasa would be if he returned without Jem. There was no way he could even dare go to Elyasa without Jem. He shook his head �I cannot.� he said more to himself than to Erzurum.

�Maybe Qinan took him home. It is possible.� Erzurum reasoned with him trying to lift Luqman�s spirits.

Luqman looked unconvinced. �What if he is not there?�

�If he�s not there, I will fly to my Kingdom and see if they are there.� Erzurum said.

�If they are not,� He continued his voice trailing. ��then I and the Animals of the Ark will continue the search for them.�

Luqman finally reluctantly agreed after thinking for a while. It seemed like the most reasonable thing to do. Without another moment wasted, Luqman mounted Erzurum and they set off to the Kingdom of Double Horns.

Darkened skies, flailing waves, pelting rain drops filled Jem�s nightmares. Drowning friends, the earth splitting asunder, falling into an abyss, jolted him from his sleep. He coughed violently. The taste of salt was at the back of his throat. His sinuses burned. His vision was hazy. His head throbbed. His body ached. His stomach churned. His teeth chattered.

It took him a few moments to remember what happened to him. �Qinan� he said to himself. He remembered plunging into the sea and Qinan calling after him but after that everything was dark. Where was Qinan? He wondered. He started up but had to lie back down because his body protested any movement. Someone had covered him with a thick wool cloak and had placed him on a straw mattress. He heard the crackle of a fire. He looked about and found that he was inside what looked like a cavern. A bright light from the fire flickered on the dark ceiling and a huge shadow of a person loomed on the wall. Jem made himself turn around painfully to look over at the source of the shadow. What he saw stunned him. It was not a person. Jem bit his lip and forced himself to sit up.

The thing looked up and faced him. It was some sort of beast with long thick hair. So long and thick that Jem could not distinguish its front from its back. �Who or what are you?� Jem said his voice faltering with fear. He felt for his sword by his waist and rested his hand upon his hilt.

�I am the Jassasa.� It said in a low raspy voice.

�What is the Jassasa?� Jem asked still afraid.

�Go down to the monastery; he eagerly awaits you.� Was all the Jassasa said. It grabbed a torch on the wall and stood by a flight of stairs that led downward.

�Who is he?� Jem asked. But the Jassasa did not answer. Jem wondered. Could it be Qinan, that awaited him. Where was he? Where are Luqman and Erzurum? He slowly started up. It took him an agonisingly long time to stand up. He felt dizzy and nauseous and had to lean on the wall for support. The Jassasa waited patiently by the steps as Jem slowly limped towards him. He followed the Jassasa down a spiralling flight of stairs that led to a large chamber that was lit by many torches on the wall. The room was hot and stuffy and the smell of smoke choked the air. The air quivered. Strange shadows danced on the walls and ceiling. Jem felt as if his eyes were playing tricks on him.

There Jem did not find Qinan. Instead what he saw stunned him even more than the Jassasa. In the monastery awaiting Jem was a ring of fire. In the midst of this ring was seated a tall and well-built man, reddish in complexion. His hair was covered by the hood of his cloak. He looked neither young nor old in age. He had an ageless face. His left eye was shadowed by the hood. But with his other eye he studied Jem intently. His glare was paralyzing. His hands were tied to his neck with iron shackles. He also had iron manacles around his ankles with thick chains running in between them. There was something about this man that commanded fear.

�Who are you?� Jem ventured to ask seized with fear.

The man slowly rose to his full height, his shadows filling the walls and ceiling, towering over them. Jem felt surrounded, imprisoned. �You will soon come to know about me, but tell me who you are?� The man said his voice calm, his face expressionless.

Jem hesitated. He did not know whether he should tell him the truth or not. But he feared lying to this man. �I am Jem.� He finally said deciding it was more prudent to tell the truth.

�Prince Jem son of Omarian of the descendants of Double Horns.� The man proclaimed. �Is it not?�

Jem nodded, stunned and shaken. �Who are you?� Jem asked again.

The man eyed Jem intensely, though his face was impassive his eye blazed with a certain fury. It was as if he hated or envied the one who stood before him. Jem could not tell. He felt beads of sweat forming on his forehead and his heart thudding against his chest.

�Tell me Prince Jem, tell me about the spring of the Ark.� The man said paying no heed to Jem�s question.

�What do you wish to know about it?� Jem asked, still terrified of the man, averting his gaze.

�Is there water in it?� The man asked.

�Yes.� Jem replied puzzled. �But why...�

�I think it should soon be dry.� The man interrupted.

Jem gave him a bewildered look.

�Tell me.� The man continued, �Are the markets in your land bustling.�

�Yes� Jem replied again. He felt the perspiration sliding down his back.

�Are your farmers reaping?� he asked his voice rising slightly.

�Yes� Jem replied nervously.

�Are your people prospering?� The man asked each question with more intensity that Jem felt his heart faltering.

�Yes� Jem said trying to conceal his trepidation.

�Prepare for the blotching of skies, the pelting downpour and the mounting waves.� The man said his voice calm again. Yet when Jem ventured to look up at the man again his glare seemed to be raging with a certain satisfaction. Jem thought he read pride in the man�s eye.

Jem was speechless. He did not know what to say or think. He gazed at the man wide-eyed in awe and disbelief.

�Tell me this.� The man went on. �Your brother is king. Is he not?�

�Yes.� Was all Jem could say.

�King Elyasa son of Omarian of the decendants of Double Horns. How do the people deal with him?�

�He has only recently ascended the throne.� Jem replied.

�Do the people trust him?� The man asked.

�I do not see any reason why they should not.� Jem answered.

�I think soon the people will not see him as you do. Even though it is better for them that they should trust him.� The man replied.

�Why do you say that? How do you know all of this?� Jem asked perplexed.

�I shall now inform you about me. You asked who I am, did you not?� the man said.

Jem nodded slowly.

�I am a man of no lineage, of no land. But I am a man assured many followers.� The man finally answered.

Before Jem could open his mouth the man spoke again, �Go now Prince Jem son of Omarian.� He he sat down and closed his eye and the shadows released Jem from his prison of fear.

Jem was utterly confused. All of what the man told him boggled his mind. He had many questions to ask him. The Jassasa now approached Jem to lead him out of the monastery but Jem paid no heed to the creature.

�Wait! I cannot go. I have many questions of my own to ask of you.� Jem said to the man heedless of his anxiety for a moment.

The man spoke without opening his eye. �You will come to know the answers to your questions in time.�

Jem protested, feeling betrayed �But you must listen to my questions. You must. As I have listened and answered yours.�

�Must I?� The man asked amused, this was the first time he showed any expression.

�Yes you must!� Jem said exasperated, forgetting his fear.

�I am sorry Prince Jem son of Omarian, but I cannot. Have patience and you will find all the answers to your questions on your own.� He replied.

�Will you not even hear them?� Jem asked desperately.

�I already know what you seek to ask but I cannot answer them.� The man answered this time anger building in his voice.

�You cannot or will not?� Jem muttered scornfully.

�Both. For reasons of my own. Go now son of Omarian before you regret. Do you know what it is like to regret?� He said as a warning.

The Jassasa now took Jem by the arm to lead him out. Jem relented, realising it was hopeless pressing any further, and followed the Jassasa slowly, contemplative. He led not back to the cavern but further up many flights of stairs. All along the stairs there were torches upon the wall and the light glowed and the flickered as they passed by. When they had reached the last step leading to a stony wall and what seemed to be a dead end, the Jassasa heaved a rock from its place and a grey light poured in and the smell of the salty sea filled the air. The creature stepped outside and bid Jem to follow him. They where outside on a rocky island surrounded by nothing but the sea. The Jassasa walked further down towards a sandy shore and led Jem to a small but sturdy boat tied to a jagged rock.

�Go now.� Was all it said.

�Go where?� Jem asked.

The Jassasa turned around to leave.

�Wait!� Jem called after him �I do not know where I am! Or where to go! What has become of my friends? If you know anything please tell me!� Jem cried after him. But his pleading fell on deaf ears. The Jassasa ignored him and soon disappeared beneath a rock.

Jem kicked the sand angry and frustrated, cursing both the creature and the prisoner. But his anger soon turned to surprise when something caught his eye. He knelt down and put his hand on the footprints of the Jassasa in the sand. �So it was him.� Jem said to himself recalling the footprints and the shadow he saw in the Kingdom of the Ark.