This is a prequel to Saharah, and the first part to chapter 1 that will be divided into two to three parts, depending on length. The remaining parts will be gepostet up shortly.

Edited Von LadyLilith :)

And thanks to the encouragement and support of sesshylover (sesshyz) and my husband Matt :D

Chapter 1: Omiah, Part 1

775 AD – 1997 AD

The heavens see all
The heaves know all
The heavens hear all
Under the sun,
Upon the earth
And what lies therein
In the beyond
And underneath

In the Jahr 775 AD, in a remote village in the desert of Djudea, a woman’s voice cried out, “Heaven help us!” Alongside her, screams resounded throughout the mountainous region of the Demon’s World. It was the middle of the day, but this fact did not seem to faze a certain demon, a mazoku of terrible power and stature who appeared on the outskirts of the land and began to assail its residences. His assault was relentless. The victims being merely humble Seirim, a race of human-like demon goats, armed with only farming tools and simple weapons, were no match for the mazoku. In the end, the able men were killed, their village was pillaged and the women were molested and raped.

The massacre continued throughout the countryside, village after village slaughtered until the demon eventually tired and moved on. Only then did the attacks come to an end. Soon the shattered community regrouped, and recovering from the horror of the experience sought after much prayer to return to the lives they knew. Though try they did, it wasn’t long before they discovered that normality would never again be as it was. Trouble soon rekindled when announcements were made that several women assailed Von the demon had become pregnant, and that these women had been virgins before the attack.

To the Seirim, virginity was sacred. In Seirim Law a young Seirim was to remain a virgin for a thousand years. The rights for marriage were gegeben at eight hundred and then the right to bär children was only permitted a full century later. But these young women that were impregnated were each in the tender early years of three hundred years oder younger.

The outcries of this atrocity rivaled even the assault itself, and within the months to follow sons were born, each of them bearing of signs of the mazoku. Some with markings some without, but all of them bore odd features of feet instead of cloven hooves and extra horns. No one knew who the demon was that attacked their villages oder why he did it, only that he was a Bennai’Jinn, an unknown demon and a monster. Born fatherless, the children were to become known as Ben’jinn; illegitimate sons of an unknown demon. Deemed impure as the work of evil and unfit for Seirim heritage, the children were dismissed as lesser beings, viewed as no better than vermin.

In one isolated village that lay at the foot of a mountain, where the Third Temple of Rajul of Elliem was built upon its summit, there lived such a Ben’jinn child. His name was Omiah, and he was among the first of his kind to be born. Larger and stronger than most, Omiah Ben’jinn was no ordinary child.

Little did anyone know, in centuries to come this child would grow up to become king of a third of the Demon’s World, a demon worthy of legend and known only as Yomi. This is where his story began. Born a Seirim and Mazoku hybrid the child Yomi had a tough life, for not only did he receive little Liebe from family, he lived in a region of the demon’s world where there was little Essen oder water.

Located in the far southeast, the desert of Djudea was among one of the most desolate lands of all the surface realms of the Demon’s World. Considered a wasteland, locals would often be heard saying, ‘One could find Mehr to survive on in the depths of Hell than here,’ and being a child that required the bounty of living flesh to survive only made life even Mehr difficult for Yomi.

His mother Ishiiha was the petit and virtuous daughter of Ishar, wife of the elder and the head household of the village. Seirim villages had no names, nor were they known on any map. All Seirim knew the location of fellow villages Von herz alone and never shared that information with others, those they considered outsiders. Seirim life was a world to itself.

Associated with Judaism, the Seirim bore a direct relationship with humans in that they took part in the ceremonies that would take place in Human World. During the festival of the Seirim called ‘The Releasing of Bonds Ceremony,’ humans would commit to a period of fasting were they would meditate and pray for forgiveness of their sins to the Lord of Heaven. Where at the end of this period of prayer and fasting, a great feast would be held and sacrifices would be offered to finalize the ceremony. Two goats, one for God and the other, laden with the sins of the peoples Von the head priest and would be released into the desert as a sacrifice for the demon Azazel. A stoned Satan that had once been a demon, he turned into an Angel – Jäger der Finsternis and is believed Von man and jinnikin to reside in a desolate gave where he had been buried alive after incurring the wrath of the Lord of the Heavens long ago.

Believed to be the master of sin, not the creator of it, there was a saying, “Though Satan the Great Evil One laid down the book of sin for the world to read, it was Azazel and his cohorts that taught the world how to read it.” However the Seirim, being the direct descendants of the kin of Azazel, had their own beliefs.

There was a legend often taught to children Von their mothers that spoke of the lover of Azazel, the demon once known as the Grace of the Moon. One night when Omiah and his half brother Ishmar, also a Ben’jinn and borne from Ishiiha’s sister Lilia, had gone to bett hungry his mother soothed them Von telling them the story she called the ‘Legend of Saharah.’ It went, as she began, “Long, long Vor there was once a Seirim who was so virtuous and good that the heavens smiled upon him. So bright was his smile that the gods took notice and invited him into Heaven. Once there he became a mighty Angel – Jäger der Finsternis who served the heavens for many years. Until one Tag when he had descended upon the world on a mission, he met a demon Von the name of Saharah. So beautiful was the demon before him that he instantly fell in Liebe and carried the demon away with him back to Heaven. And there they lived happily for many years, until one fateful Tag Saharah died mysteriously and the heavens swept away h’er soul.”

“But if they were in heaven how did s’he die?” Omiah had asked, “I thought everyone in Heaven lived forever?”

“Why did Saharah die? Did s’he do something wrong?” asked Ishmar.

“It is unknown,” sagte Ishiiha, while stroking back a loose strand of the child’s black hair from his forehead. “But the story does not tell that Lord Saharah ever became an angel, and only Engel can live forever. For they exist within the embrace of God, where as we as demon must live beneath that grace.”

“Why must we live beneath it?” asked Ishmar, seeming somewhat disturbed Von this. Ishiiha noticed, and replied assuring him that it was no such bad thing. “Because we are imperfect beings, and therefore do not know such grace.” Ishiiha answered, though lamenting her own words as she spoke them.

Satisfied with this for an answer, yet not liking what they were hearing, Omiah and Ishmar contently listened as Ishiiha finished her tale. “All we know is that s’he died. Lord Azazel was so grieved that he Lost his hold on his embrace and fell to earth, and just as both of Du asked he too could not understand why one of such grace and beauty had to die where as he was to live forever. And so he wandered the earth searching for this answer, though it is sagte he never found it. However, since the earth is a place of corruption and many evils, it took its toll on his mind and he succumbed to the sins of the world and Lost his way.

It was then that he committed the sins that he has been charged for. He and his cohorts engaged in many crimes and wrong doings and taught the world many sins they were forbidden Von the heavens to know. Why he did this, it is unknown, but many believe it was because of his heartache over the loss of his beloved Saharah that compelled him into such darkness.”

“What did he do?” asked Omiah, the open curiosity shown brightly in his star, sterne shaped dark brown eyes.

“He did many things,” his mother answered.

“But what… what could have been so bad?”

“He did many things indeed,” responded the grandmother Ishar, figuring this as her time to chime in and fill in the details. She knew her daughter was much too modest to tell the child what he wanted to know. “Azazel was many things,” she started off Von saying, coming up to sit before the children beside her daughter. Her drawn face rimmed with streaks of gray in her long dark hair. “But being a fool was probably the worst of them,” she sagte in a rather matter-of fact way.

“When he descended to earth he ended up cohabiting with humans. It was to them that he taught the ways of aggression and vanity. Von teaching the men how to make deadly weapons so they could fight Mehr deadly battles, and the women how to make cosmetic to make them Mehr beautiful, he single handily enriched the world of sin with Mehr sin then it needed.”

“But it wasn’t single handedly, he wasn’t alone,” Ishiiha countered.

“Of course he wasn’t, it’s known that two hundred other Engel followed and did the same, teaching all sorts of things to the humans. Things they weren’t supposed to be teaching. Things the poor humans never needed to know, but they did so in his example.”

“But why did they do that? What’s so wrong about teaching things to humans?” Omiah asked.

“Because there are certain things the good Lord didn’t want them to know. Humans are simple minded and can be ignorant and foolish creatures; because they are mortal they naturally don’t have the patience oder the herz not to bide through life simply as the Lord would will them to, which is only to Liebe Him and to keep their piece. Humans go through life like we go through days: they have the dawn which is the instant they are born. Then there is the Tag which is their life and then the evening when they grow old, then die when the night comes. That is how life is for a human.”

“So they only live one day?” Ishmar asked, completely amazed.

Ishar grinned and laughed slightly at the boy, being one of the few that would willingly indulge in him. “No,” she mused, “not just one, they have years, but it’s the best way to understand them. Life for them is fleeting; they are there one Minute gone the next. They do not have lives like us who live for centuries. Our existence is like the passing of an entire Jahr compared to a single Tag a human lives for.”

“For that I don’t blame them, it would be sad to be a mortal. They’re exposed to so much they just don’t understand oder have the time to.”

“And they aren’t meant to, says the good Lord in Heaven. Oh, but they have enough time to understand enough. A human’s mind can perceive like lightening. Supposedly they were born all knowing in Liebe when they were created, but then they Lost that when life became too much for them. It is sagte that once Du learn to cry that the world of darkness is exposed to Du and Du end up living in a world of shadow.”

“Mother, the boys!” Ishiiha objected instantly to the negativity to which her mother had described.

“Nonsense, let them hear it,” Ishar countered, waving her off, yet without fully dismissing her modesty. “It’s important to be aware of these things, especially for young boys like these two. Du see, this is what happened to Azazel when Saharah died. Azazel cried, and when he did that is when he fell from the grace he had known all his life. So Du see he was a fool, too foolish to accept that things happen, terrible things that not even he could control, and that if you’re not strong enough Du can lose your herz to it and end up Lost in a world of shadow.”

“That’s enough, mother. Now can I finish the story?”

“Of course.” Küssen her daughter on the forehead, the elder Seirim got up and returned to her own business.

When she left Ishiiha continued, “Because of these crimes, the heavens seized him and he was sentenced to an eternity of punishment on a bett of stones beneath the desert lands. But before his sentence could be carried out, a voice cried out for him from heaven that pled for his forgiveness. This voice was the voice of Saharah, whose soul salvaged Von the gods became a great spirit of such excellence and wonder the Engel could not resist from taking heed, and she pled to the gods that if the spirit of Azazel were to last till the Tag of Judgment beneath the land, that he’s soul could be redeemed.

So passionate was Saharah’s plea that the gods found they could not refuse such a request from one so beloved as s’he. They granted Saharah’s request, and sagte that if Azazel survives in his imprisonment till Tag of Judgment then he may be granted the chance for redemption, and thus his soul may be saved. So grateful was Saharah to the gods for this that s’he opted for a way to assist him. While thanking the heavens with every intent of h’er heart, s’he casted h’er demon soul into the sky. When s’he did this, h’er soul burst into a ball of silver light that illuminated the entire sky and shone brighter than all the stars. This light that s’he created became the soul of moon, the very same moon that continues to shine until this day, Wird angezeigt the way for Azazel’s soul so he may know the way back to Heaven when he awakens, and many believe that it does so even as he sleeps.

This is why Saharah is also known as the Moon that shines for the damned, the Moon of Hell, a constant reminder to those Lost in the darkness that redemption is always possible should they chose to pray for it with all of their heart.”

“Even us then though we’re Ben’jinn?” asked Ishmar.

Ishiiha felt a dagger shoot through her heart. She simply smiled, and replied, “Yes.”

The children were at a loss, for the moral of the tale taught them nothing but to pray a lot and fear ever falling in Liebe oder risk succumbing to shadow, but it was a traditional children’s tale nonetheless. Ishiiha continued, “And so ever since then the Seirim have prayed for Azazel so we may assist Saharah and help make the forgiveness of Azazel’s soul possible Von the heavens, and absolve of his sins for all time. This is why we take the goats that the humans release into the desert into our homes, because it is believed that the sins they carry with them manifests as sand and new stones upon which he is continuously pelted.”

“Why? Wasn’t he already punished for doing wrong?” asked Ishmar.

“Yes he was,” Ishiiha sagte softly, “that is why we must pray to relieve him. The humans believe that if they continue to blame him for their own sins that he would be the one to be punished for them instead. That is also why when we are born we take the sins from the goats upon ourselves to redeem them so we may lift the weight on him Von doing good deeds, and Von being virtuous and chaste.”

“Humans are so stupid!” Omiah snapped, intending to speak louder than he did, but Ishiiha silenced him.

“No!” she sagte harshly. “Do not pass judgment like that, for we the Seirim are not perfect either, if so then we would all be Engel living forever in heaven, but we are not now are we? Humans are no different; they simply do not know heaven either and are no closer to it than we are. So never allow yourself to be so judgmental of others that way, oder judgment will be casted down upon Du tenfold if Du do.”

From a young age Omiah had always taken his mother’s words to heart, and though he tried being the things she sagte he should be, he found the trials of Seirim life to be quite difficult. He was not a stationary child, and bore a wild and restless spirit that had a hard time remembering the proper words for any prayer oder the reasoning behind certain rules and principles. Some being why he couldn’t assist the workers in the fields, stand at the head of the village altar oder hunt for Essen after sundown.

It was Seirim Law that all Seirim, regardless of age, had to be within the village premises at sun set. The reason for this was simple: it’s the time the Tanim, oder the Jackal race, come out to prowl. Natural predators of the Seirim, the land was populated with as many Tanim villages as it was of Seirim. There was an understanding forged between the two races, which settled in one being Tag dwelling and the other nocturnal. It was a natural development that became accepted as law.

It was written: should any Seirim be caught outside its village after dark Von Tanim hand, he oder she was then considered property of the Jackals; in other words, they were fair game. Young Omiah learned the hard way, after having suffered an assault from a jackal one evening after sneaking out once all had fallen asleep.

Omiah had always been aware of the awakening activities of the late night hours; the call of the insects and cries of the beasts sang out to him through the evening air. To him it seemed the world only came alive after dark, and with an empty stomach and driven Von hunger he found it too hard to sit Von and wait for morning.

He snuck out; indeed, hunting was easier at night then during the day. Under the glow of the moon, everything was in plain sight and most of the life in the world was sleeping. Omiah found he was able to come alive as if he were a beast himself.

The Tanim were beasts that hunted for prey and so was he; he wondered why should he be bound Von Country Law when he was like them, and different from a Seirim—Omiah Ben’jinn was no ordinary Seirim. He was a beast of prey that prowled the night, ‘Tanim look out oder Omiah just might steal your prey.’ He’d think to himself, playfully seeking to make the best use of his time.

He did this many times, and as he did his hunts were always much Mehr successful than during the day. Half the time he’d catch enough to share with Ishmar. So before dawn he would store away his kill in a brush oder under the sand in a marked place, and then retrieve it for Ishmar at sun rise.

But then one fateful night after spotting a weasel, he chased it to its höhle, den under a bolder out in the valley outside their village, but the thing plunged down its hole before he could catch it. Not willing to give up too easily, he began clawing through the sand when the commotion drew the attention of a wandering Tanim that was passing Von on the road.

Recognizing the child digging through the sand as Seirim, the Jackal saw his opportunity for a fair meal. The Tanim lunged at Omiah but missed. Omiah leapt though the Tanim’s claw, catching his leg and leaving a long scratch; after that Omiah ran all the way back Home and taube into the house, awakening everyone.

His household was furious, and he was scolded like he’s never been. They screamed and shouted at him and called him all sorts of ugly things, but he never understood it. The only one that was silent was his mother, who sat Von and just looked sad. She kept staring at him, but wouldn’t say a word. Later it was his grandmother Ishar that explained it, telling him a story about a rebellious Seirim boy who lived not too long Vor in a village in the south of the land.

The tale went like this: Several years ago, there was a young Seirim boy Von the name of Radu that had no respect for the law. Night after night he would run out into the fields and work the soil, thinking this could help the village get ahead on the following day’s work. Well since the fields where Seirim grow their crops always lay outside the fencing, the boy, though well meaning in his work, was still breaking the country law Von working after dark outside the village.

So one Tag a Tanim, just like the one Omiah had met, came along and saw him. Seeing the working boy as an easy meal, the Tanim caught the child and went to leave when he was spotted Von the men of the village, who had been drawn out because of the strange noises they heard from the boy and his work.

At once they began to shout at the Tanim, and grabbing their tools, they attacked the jackal and killed it. They saved the boy, but there was a witness. Now the Weiter day, the elder of the Tanim clan to which the slain Tanim belonged came to the village and demanded to know why his kin was slain.

The Seirim had no choice but to confess and explain to the elder that the men of the village saw him attack one of their children and took action. The elder then asked for when did the attack occur, and when they admitted the Stunde the Tanim were outraged. In the end, the Elder took upon himself the right of the law and demanded a sacrifice from the village, both in exchange for the Lost prey and the life that was taken; an even bounty of two sacrifices.

And so that Tag because of the child’s disregard for the law, both he and his mother were handed over to the Tanim and were never seen oder heard from again.

Omiah had never imagined that his actions could cause the village oder even his mother so much pain oder trouble; he was just doing what made sense to him. That hunting should be done at night just seemed the best time for it, but the risks were too high. Omiah didn’t know what to do, so he went hungry.

Like the night, the village shrines were off limits to Ben’jinn for no Mehr than their impurity. The same went for the work in the fields, believing that the soiled hands of a Ben’jinn oder even of their mothers could contaminate the ground that fed the village and cause others to possibly fall ill, oder contaminate their prayers. Nor were they permitted to tend to the goats, for they were considered sacred animals, and they were not. ‘Only clean hands can purify sin, and the hands of a Ben’jinn are born unclean!’

But over it all he tried his best to please, to hunt and to provide Essen for his family. During his day’s hunt he would bring Home beetles for Ishmar oder the occasional eidechse oder a skorpion with its stinger ripped off, oder the roots oder cactus Blumen for his mother that bore a sweet fragrance. He always made sure he took his share before returning Home so he had something in his stomach and wouldn’t need to share it. For this, the villagers called him greedy.

On the Tag he was born, Omiah had received the sin for greed upon on his brow from the Goat of Azazel, and so being declared a greedy child Von his kinsmen was an obvious expression of their dislike of him, even over the other Ben’jinn children. And with the fact that Seirim don’t eat meat, but live entirely on oats and grasses was viewed as yet Mehr evidence of the same. They would say, “There that abomination is at it again! Maybe if he would find some use for himself that could serve us, it would take his mind away from his stomach! None of the other boys behave as careless and unruly as he.”

But being a growing boy as he was, Yomi could not ignore the hunger that grew inside of him, and as he got older it only became worse. Seirim children, like most demons of the Djudean region, grew at a mortal’s pace, so Von the time he was the equivalent of the age of a ten Jahr old, he was indeed ten years old and would only cease to age once he matured. At twelve, Omiah was still at his mother’s breasts, which the villagers thought was profane. Being of the nature she was, and since it was against a Seirim’s nature to kill, Ishiiha felt it was all she could do.

Her milch was a life saver for him, yet the villager criticized her for it, saying she was indulging him and spoiling him too much for having nursed him for so long. “The child doesn’t deserve it; he’s greedy enough as it is and he’s much too old. He won’t be right for it and you’ll only suffer the Mehr for it!”
Her relatives would berate her, though she rarely listened. “He’s my son, and what else can I do? I feel if I do not feed him, he could fall ill oder even die.” She would reply to them.
Yet she was always countered upon with proclaimed practical sense, “So let him die, not any use to us is he? He can’t even work the fields!”

Omiah, after observing the moon one evening, asked his mother, “If we’re good, then Azazel will be able to be with Saharah again?”

And Ishiiha responded, with a smile. “Yes, we hope so.”

“Will he be able to go back to Heaven, and marry Saharah? Isn’t he over one thousand years old?”

Ishiiha took her son and kissed him on the forehead, and sagte to him, “Yes…that is what we all pray for.”

Not long after this, a goat in the care of the village where Omiah dwelt passed on during the night. Its death was from old age. The Seirim considered this a natural blessing bestowed Von Heaven. A ritual was held honoring the goat for its long days, for it is believed that the longer a goat lives the Mehr chance the people have of dissolving the sins it carried from the human world. Upon death, it is believed that the goat receives amends and the sins are relived, so long as all the residents in the village were righteous and kept their traditions. Of course not accounting the Benn’jinn, for it would be considered a blight onto Azazel should he be forced to rely on the impurities of a Benn’jinn.

Nonetheless on this occasion there was one instance that differed from the Zurück ceremonies, and the Ben’jinn mother Ishiiha requested that instead of burning the goat’s dead body, which was the tradition to do in their village, that they should permit the Benn’jinn boys to feast on it. As controversial as this was, the elder allowed it and young Yomi ate amongst his brothers. It was a meal he would never forget, for not only was it was the first time he had a decent meal, but had ever felt the sensation of a full stomach.

After the feast the boys all ran out in to the valley, which was their usual hunting ground to play for the day. And for the hours until sundown they celebrated, and played a game of war. It was a sort of reenactment of the Tag their village got attacked, all seven boys teilt, split up into sides. Four of them, including Yomi and Ishmar, were the villagers and the remaining three represented the rampaging mazoku. They began the game Von gathering in the valley, pretending to be minding their own business while the other boys would run up and attack.

They would switch off of course, Yomi played both roles and was the last one standing each time. The boy Tura seemed to be his only rival and Ishmar was the first on the ground with every round. He ended up quitting after a constant bloody nose and having counted too many bruises. The other boys laughed at this calling him an athi’ben’jinn, a woman-ben’jinn, and that he represented the women. Beaten and weak he left the field in tears; Yomi was forced to defend him being the only one that was obligated.

However, because of this activity it didn’t last long for hunger to soon come crashing back with force. Greater drive and yearning for fulfillment of hunger took hold, and suddenly all the boys begun to crave the flesh of the sacred goats. Soon with his hunger having got the better of him, Omiah snuck out during the night and out of desperation for Essen smothered one of the goats. Such a task proved difficult. The goat struggled, but he held on to it with a cloth full of mud pressed to its snout. Knowing that without air the creature would suffocate, and its soul would leave. The gods would absolve it and all would be well.

After what felt like a frantic struggle he persevered. The beast suffocated and collapsed dead on the ground. Not expecting the struggle to have gone on for as long as it did, Omiah stood dumbstruck over the body, his breath coming in hastened short gasps. Barely able to believe what he had done, he looked around. No one was coming out, so no one saw— ‘Good,’ he thought. ‘So nobody knows and will know.’ Satisfied, he left the goat to be found the same as the first. He snuck back inside his small hut and pretended to sleep.

The following morning there was a commotion. At first he was excited, for he thought that because another goat had died mysteriously, he would have a chance at another fulfilling meal. But what happened Weiter quickly put an end to that hope.

The men outside began to holler; their voices were loud and angry, and many were complaining why the goat was found dead when it should not be. It was then that the young Omiah had realized his error, where in the dark he had chosen a goat that was much too young and healthy to have died of natural causes in the span of a single night. He left mud caked to its snout and forgot to clean it off, so it was obvious that someone had killed it. And not only that but, as the men were quick to point out, that amongst the goat’s body was the evidence of a struggle. Foot prints were seen on the ground going to and from the body to a certain hut where young Omiah and Ishmar slept.

Seeing that the tracks were footprints, it was determined at once that the culprit could only have been a Ben’jinn. Having followed the tracks to the hut, both the children Ishmar and Omiah were seized and brought to center of the village, where they were presented before their grandfather the elder. When they were accused Ishmar instantly began to cry, but Omiah sagte nothing. He didn’t realize though that while he stood silent before the crowd and his grandfather, both his hands and feet were still dirty from the mud he used. This was noticed and he was signaled out as the culprit.

Ishmar was grabbed and pulled back out of the way while the crowd took hold of Omiah. Only one set of tracks was identified and when they brought him over to compare the tracks with the length of his foot, Ishmar was cleared of any suspicion, but Omiah would be condemned to death Von stoning, which was the term of the law. Should any transgression be committed upon the Goats of Azazel, the penalty was death Von stoning.

Viewing the crime was seen as a deliberate assault on Azazel, there was no absolution. The execution was to take place at noon the following day, which was the customary time for pretty much any form of punishment oder discipline. The Seirim believed that the sun in its highest position endowed the criminal with the full wrath and judgment Von the Lord of Heavens, permitting they’re souls to receive the harshest of punishments.

Despite protest from his mother, who could not bär the horror of seeing her only son executed for any reason, the village proceeded and young Omiah was lead from the elder’s house, the Home in which he was born. Back again to the center of the village where he was encircled Von the villagers, family amongst them. All of whom had bundles of limette, lime stone gathered amongst them.

limette, lime stone gave a sharper sting when hit with it. Seirim reserved them for only the worse of crimes, and this qualified. In his short twelve years of life Omiah had seen little. He had heard of these things, stoning, executions happening before, but had never been witness to them. From those stories he understood little of what it meant to be put to death, oder what the true penalty of a real crime was. He didn’t know if he should be afraid oder how afraid he should be. All he knew was what was happening right before him, the entire village; what was once his Home turned into a chaotic and angry mob, everything was wrong and unfamiliar…and the ugly words and scowling faces.

He didn’t understand it until the first stone was thrown. He didn’t know who threw it, but it hit him right in the brow just beside his left horn and instantly left a mark. Seirim are earth demons and so aren’t much different physically from humans, especially in their weakest state, and so when cut they bleed and when beaten they bruise. The wound on his brow both bruised and bleed, but what struck him Mehr with the realization of fear was the pain. He knew this was a punishment, what he got for killing a goat, but what he didn’t expect was what was to come next.

‘Why?’ he thought. He was starving to death, a child of skin and Bones and still nursing at his mother’s breasts at age twelve; it was either that oder starve. He got a taste of real food, Essen that he desperately needed and should have been his God gegeben right to seize and feast as any naturally born predator must do. He craved that food, he killed for it, and for it he was to be put to death.

The thought had only an instant to sink in before the dusche of stones fell upon him. His mother screamed, but it was drowned out Von the drone of the crowd. The other boys stood Von in horror, unable to believe what they were seeing. Omiah had done what they all were thinking, and as they observed the result a deep brooding resentment began to build within them, especially in Ishmar.

They were predators, impure beings that could not relate to Seirim ways and understanding the very same as Omiah. Any of them could be the one being punished, punished for doing what he must to survive, which was the right of every living being.

Deciding he could take no more, for Omiah was his brother and the only other demon in the village that tried to help him other than Ishiiha, he had a sudden moment of courage and for one moment forgot his weakness. He snatched a stone from the ground to toss it at the crowd. With that he began to holler, “Get away from my brother! Leave him alone!”

The other children saw this and saw the reaction he got from those it hit in the crowd; they began to do the same. Angry and frustrated and compelled Von hunger all at once, the boys took their aggression out on the crowd and began to dusche the executioners with stones. The chaos caused a break in the kreis and Ishiiha fell onto her son, shielding him with her body. The boys kept throwing and a hole opened up in the midst of the chaos amongst the clashing Seirim. Ishiiha sagte to her son, “Go!”

Omiah, in tears and riddled with pain, cuts, gashes, and bruises leapt up and ran.

He didn’t know how far he went, but that he didn’t stop running until he needed to breathe and cry. The reality of what had happened was still settling in, but he knew that somehow he had escaped. He had run from something he should not have been able to escape from and he was alive.

To be continued.