Let me tell you a story, a story of good versus evil, of life-long friendship and venomous hate; yet more importantly, a story of love. Yet this is not a straightforward tale of boy meets girl, it is a story of a love so powerful, so deep and obsessive, that it’s boundaries know no limits. Where should I begin this strange and wonderful tale? Ah yes, at the beginning, at the very beginning…    

    In the dark and ancient past of long ago, before the time of castles and kings, celebrated battles and civilization, lies a wild, untamed land filled with unearthly magic, where the skies are streaked with rivers of vibrant purple, azure blue and hazy mystic pink. It is within the sprawling forests and hills beneath this wondrous sky that our tale begins; as so often tales do, with a girl. Her name is Yasmin of the Jhel and she lives with her tribe in a place known as Dagore, fighting with her kinsmen against predators and the elements for the right to exist in this primitive and treacherous land.

 

    Autumn leaves whispered as the ancient trees swayed softly in the breeze, the air cool and pungent with the taste of dark emerald pine. Jewelled rivulets of moisture glistened on the walls of weather-beaten caves at the heart of the magnificent Blue Mountains, the silent sentries of the ages. Fireflies swarmed like bewitched particles forming a mist, diffusing the gentle light over the evening grass, small forest creatures emerged from their daylight slumbers to forage in the undergrowth. High above, a lone bird soared through the darkening sky calling for it’s young.

     Yasmin gazed wonderingly up into the supreme heavens, the faint stars starting to shine. She bowed her head, a silent prayer to Algiz the god of protection on her lips, asking him to watch over her and her people.
 Tonight was the Festival of Frozen Stars; they would need all the help from the gods to make it through the terrible barren winter ahead.
    Soon they would dance and sing together in an attempt to lighten their spirits before the cruel coldness set in. The summer of golden light and perfect warm evenings was too soon over and autumn was now dropping the very last of its beautiful bronze and red leaves.
Living in the forest made her people very aware of the time passing as they watched the trees growing, dying, and being renewed. Her people had always lived in harmony with the world around them and only took from it what they needed.
    Yasmin went back inside her cave dwelling, the darkness a stark contrast from the fading light outside. Two torches in holders on the wall lit everything with a flickering, warm glow. Yasmin took no notice of the shadows they cast, she had been born in this very cave and to her it was just home, familiar and inviting. Cosy beds of dried grass and leaves, covered with the softest of skins, kept out the worst of the cold; the pots and pans her mother used stacked neatly at the entrance; the fire, which cooked what the hunters killed and warded off any predators seeking their next meal, and her father’s wooden chair at the very back of the cave where it was darkest, where he often sat re-living the past and contemplating the future.
She began to change into her beautiful fur dress. It hugged her slim waist revealing one of her deeply tanned shoulders, the softness of it making her skin feel wonderful. The animal it came from must have been a truly majestic creature.
It had been a precious gift of love from her handsome betrothed, Cane. He had courageously killed the fierce tiger himself to further prove his deep devotion to her.
Dressed, she went back outside to a nearby water pool to look at her reflection. I look… wonderful! She knew she was pretty but in this dress she felt different, not like a pretty girl but a beautiful woman. She ran her slender fingers through her shiny black raven hair, and carefully tied her favourite necklace of pearl white mammals teeth around her elegant neck. Her emerald green eyes sparkled with starlight and shone with the light from her soul. She was so excited! She loved festivals and could not wait to be in the midst of all those she cared for, her friends, her family, her tribe.
    Ready at last, she started the short well-known walk down to the crystal clear lake too join the gathering.
    She had taken but a few steps in the moonlight when to her surprise she saw her best friend Zarren approaching up the earthy path, her thick fiery mane of hair cascading down her petite shoulders. Yasmin thought how she had a kind face and deep deer-brown eyes. She had been such a frail, shy little girl but now she fitted perfectly into her body
“Peace be with you, Yasmin!” She greeted her in a rich, welcoming voice.
“And with you!” Yasmin replied happily repeating the familiar response.
“I’ve been waiting ages for you so I decided to come and fetch you!” Zarren scolded jokingly. Taking Yasmin’s arm she turned around and walked back with her.
“I’m sorr…” but Zarren cut her off.
“No need for that! Almost everyone from the whole tribe has gathered together! Even wise old woman Helteg is there, wrapped up in her big black shawl and you know she never leaves her cave, not since the great storm. But she’s there tonight!” The excitement Yasmin was feeling was nothing compared to the glee that was animating Zarren.
    “Mother never talks to me about the great storm.” Yasmin’s spoke with sadness.
“Aw, I’m sorry Yas! Me and my big mouth.” Zarren looked down uncomfortably.
“Don’t worry about it.” She could not blame her friend for talking about the past, even if it was painful.
    The great storm was legendary, it had happened before either of the girls had been born but the damage it had caused was forever talked about. Ancient torn up trees still lay at the mercy of the elements, uprooted across certain paths, and jagged cracks appeared like great scars across the ground. It was said that the earth itself shook beneath people’s very feet!
    Yasmin’s brother had been one of the many to lose his life that night. A toddler of four, he had stood no chance of survival as a mighty tree was ripped from its roots and landed on him and his father. Despite losing his sight, her father had never forgiven himself for what had happened and would gladly have traded his life for that of his beloved only son.
“My father has never seen what I look like,” Yasmin spoke almost to herself, “And I will never see the older brother I should have had.” It hurt more than anything to lose a family member you never had the chance to know or love, and even more for your father to be so cruelly wounded.
Zarren put a comforting hand on her shoulder to support her.
“I’m ok” she shrugged it off politely. She didn’t need pity. It had happened and she had to deal with it. Growing up, she had been told the facts but it wasn’t until recently the truth of what she had lost really hit home.
“Nature is violent sometimes and there is nothing we can do to change the past.” She sighed resigned
“ I guess all we can do is be happy with the time we have and the people we are lucky enough to share that time with, you’re included in that too!” Yasmin smiled gratefully at Zarren. “You’re my best friend and I would never want to be without you.” Both friends hugged each other lost in a moment where they felt certain that their friendship would never end.        
“ Do you remember what else happened that night?” Yasmin asked breaking the easy silence.
“You mean with him” the tone in her voice altered to be more wary with the mention of ‘him.’
“ Yes, it often creeps into my mind if what they say is true.” Yasmin thought back to the story of that night. She didn’t feel like she could tell even Zarren that the story also fascinated her with a dark curiosity, that would be too hard to explain.

    A male child had been born that terrible day, right in the middle of the storm. It had been very difficult delivering the child.  But worst of all, when at last his mother had managed to give birth to the child a strange mark was noticed on his left cheek. People said it was the devil’s hoof print and feared that he would bring destruction to them all.
    His mother did not live to see another sunrise, her body drained from the agonizingly painful birth. The child’s father, a strong, dark featured man, disappeared that night and was never seen again, no doubt unable to cope with such awful grief.
    Jonas was his name, had been a traveller from a far off land. He was only passing through the settlement when he fell in love. Epinite was an orphan after her parents had both died in a great battle and so the tribe had adopted her. She was very beautiful with long wavy golden hair and the most glistening blue eyes. As a result the single young men of the tribe chased her. He however, the strange traveller from an unknown land, managed to win her heart and married her. Not a thought but love and happiness led them to their cruel fate.
    The feared child was taken from his mother’s dead arms and reluctantly adopted into the tribe only for the mother sake, who was much loved by everyone. But the mark and the circumstances by which he came into the world made people afraid and fear so easily becomes hate. He was shown love only in the first few hours of his life when his mother held him to her heart and his father looked on, loving them both. The tribe’s people treated him with contempt; they even changed his given name to Danan, which means ‘devil’s child.’ He was doomed to grow up in a world where everyone hated and despised him.
    A distant memory pulled vaguely at her heart, before the steadily increasing noise from the gathering crowd snapped her back into the present. Somehow she could not help but feel sorry for the strange, lonely boy.



    The air was thick and warm with the smoke from the countless brightly burning torches that surrounded the lively gathering of the seventy or so strong tribe. The large circular clearing, surrounded by the ever watchful trees, was designated as the proper place for festivals, talking to the gods and when needed holding meetings to discuss issues such as going to war with neighbouring tribes.
Loudly like thunder the beating drums pounded to the chorus of thumping hearts, as many of the members danced rhythmically under the dark sky, ablaze now with shining stars and a moon so big and close you could almost touch it. The fragrance of fresh pine and ash consumed everything. The vivid bright glow of red-hot bonfires created strange obscure shadows lit only by amber burning embers as they fell dying to the ground.
     Yasmin and Zarren entered through the parting in the tall evergreens, both immediately entranced by the intoxicating atmosphere.

“Come on, there’s Jet and Dione dancing! Lets go and join them!” Not waiting for a reply Zarren pulled Yasmin though the crowd towards their friends. Jet was a tall girl with black hair like Yasmin’s, she had a lazy smile and laid back nature. Dione was the complete opposite; She was small with dirty blonde locks, an angular face and a nervous laugh. Both looked pleased to see them.
    Laughing merrily as they joined in the festivities Yasmin looked around her and saw familiar faces that had tirelessly watched her grow up into the young woman she was today; her mother, old now but still very beautiful sitting with her blind father patiently describing everything to him that was going on, smiled at her with pride, seeing in her daughter glimpses of her former youth. Yasmin’s neighbours nodded approvingly at her, Jet and Zarrens parents included, while the younger members of the tribe, little girls like Jenna and Carla, innocently giggled and waved at the woman they wished to one day become.

    Unfortunately these were not the only eyes that looked upon Yasmin with approval. Someone else was also watching.
Danan had arrived like a shadow, darker than those cast by the fire, long flowing hair as black as night contrasting against bone-white skin, a red blazing crescent branding the left fine cheek on his unnervingly handsome face. His body could be compared to that of a wild cat, agile and graceful. He moved without the caution he had once needed. Now he was bold and powerful.
    The mood changed at his presence and he could sense it. Hate and fear were both equally potent. He still struggled to understand why his own people treated him like an outsider, but the result of the fear worked to his advantage at least, it kept them away from him, away from the beatings and open contempt they had dared give him as a child. Now he was a man, albeit a young man of only eighteen, but he could hold his own. He still heard whispers of them wanting to banish him, but not even the leader dared, superstition with the just the smallest amount of evidence could be a useful thing. He should have left a long time ago; no one in his right mind would willingly stay around such hostility. He stayed for one reason, and one reason alone. Her.
    Yasmin, daughter of Rosema, she had everything, from the dark cascading locks of raven hair, green captivating eyes to the sweetness and purity of mind. Her smile could brighten the dullest day and her aura shone as dazzlingly as the glorious sun itself. He looked at her now laughing brightly with her friends and dancing like a fairy dances on the lightest of breezes. He sighed. He stayed for her. His mind wandered back to the first time he knew she was the one.

    He was heartlessly forbidden as a child to play with any of the other children, but he had always watched them, secretly pretending that he was joining in. Mostly he pretended he was normal and loved like the others. But with them in the sunlight, him hiding in the shadows… it was a hard thing for a child to understand. Back then he was not bitter or filled with the hate he carried now. Back then he was just lonely.
     Yasmin had been such a pretty little girl, with her emerald eyes wide, compared to her small impish face; two long plaits braided carefully and a daring nature. It wasn’t hard to see how she could capture a heart.
    He had been ten at the time and she seven, he remembered how it had been such a glorious day in the middle of summer, and the sky had not a single cloud as the warm air wrapped itself around you like a snug blanket. The sent of fresh grass and fragrances from a hundred different flowers and the colours of the petals were like nothing else in the world, bursts of sapphire blues and cerise pinks, flecks of lemons and burnt ambers, colours Damon didn’t even have a name for, it was truly magical.
    He had not changed much since then except then his black hair had been a little more curly and wild, his piercing blue eyes had been softer somehow, more innocent; and his lips sometimes turned up in a smile, but only when no one was watching. The birthmark though had always been the same, a perfect crescent moon blazing brightly in a dark wine red, he had tried desperately to get rid of it many times, painting over it with yellow from the dandeen flowers, burning it with charcoal from a dying fire, rubbing until the skin around it was red raw, but nothing worked it still blazed like a beacon warning people to hate him.
He had watched through the long feathered leaves of a giant fern as Yasmin and the others were happily playing down by the lake, Yasmin was just another girl then, he was more interested in watching the boys fight and pretend that they were warriors.
    The lake was deep; its crystal blue surface glittered with the sunshine. It looked incredibly inviting; it was no surprise when they all decided to go swimming.
    Danan loved to swim, when no one was about late at night he would come down to the lake and swim in the reflection of the moon and stars. He had no worries when he lay back in the water feeling cradled, like a babe in its mother’s arms. Admittingly he would stay in too long and would come out shivering from head to toe but it was worth it, besides he made a good fire so he always warmed up soon enough.
    Stripped down to the bare the group were disobediently diving off the large outcrop that jutted out over the tantalising pool that promised sweet and refreshing relief from the heat. The elders had repeatedly told them how dangerous it was to jump from such a high height, but what child could resist the promise of the enticing water and from a child’s view rules are made to be broken.
    The older boys jumped first yelling and laughing, as they made huge splashes and waves. Yasmin being one of the youngest was decidedly more cautious. She chewed on her bottom lip as it neared her turn to dive. The others cheered her on.
“Come on Yas! You can do it!” they yelled.
Making her decision she mustered all her courage and jumped. Her body arched perfectly as she dived and she hit the water at the perfect angle. The others applauded loudly, but unlike the others she failed to surface. The girls when they realized began to scream and one of the older boys shouted how he was going to fetch help already on his heels running. One of the others, a tall, blond haired muscular boy was starting to frantically swim out to rescue her but quick as he was, Daman was already ahead of him.
 The water was so cold it had caught his breath but he swam like a fish, still fully clothed but nothing weighed him down. He ducked under the water three times before he saw her and then she was in his arms. His mind had dimly noted with panic how she was not breathing, he swam with all his strength and it felt like he reached land in next to no time.
    Hurriedly he laid her limp and lifeless body down gently. To his relief he managed to get her breathing again, her breaths were ragged but she was alive. He held her frightened and fragile body close to his chest, he wrapped her up warm in his tunic and cradled her like a baby in his arms.
“It’s ok, your alright, shh, shh, your safe, don’t be afraid.” He spoke reassuringly, not really sure how to but trying to do his best to calm her. Her pale little face with big green eyes looked up to him, he was her saviour, her hero. That was the moment he knew.
He wanted to always love her and protect her; he wanted to be the one she came to when she scraped her knee or was sad, the one to hold her hand when she was afraid or the one to fight anyone who teased her. He wanted to feel that trusted and loved for the rest of his life as he did in that moment. He had a purpose and a place in the world because of her.
    A commotion of loud voices had awakened him from these pleasant thoughts. The thin boy, who had run for help had returned, joined by seven or more of the tribe. All of who looked anxiously towards Yasmin. She stirred and called out.
    “Mother, I’m ok… Danan…” but before she could say that he had saved her one of the large men had began shouting, his name was Omad and he was not a man to cross.
    “Get away from her Devil!” he lunged forward and snatched the small child from him aggressively.
“I should beat you like the filthy dog that you are!” Danan would have lied if he said that the sudden emptiness of his arms hadn’t shocked him, it was like having a part of you heart torn out. The sudden coldness was unbearable and he felt a tear start to burn.
For a single stupid second he had thought that he was a hero and that the tribe would understand he only wanted to be accepted. But as the vulgar mouth of Omar continued he felt more hated and alone than he had ever been in his life.
    “This is your doing, you bewitched her to jump didn’t you demon, go near her again or any of us and you’ll get worse than a beating I promise…” his mouth became a twisted smile and Danan shuddered. His only consolation was that as they left he saw Yasmin in her mother’s arms, safe. She tried to give him a little wave but her mother smacked her hand down and said something to her that he was too far away to hear. It didn’t matter he knew the meaning. He was dangerous and she had to stay away.
   
    Was it that that was his only memory of happiness? Was it that she was so beautiful? Or maybe it was only because he couldn’t have her? Either way he loved her from that moment on, from the boyish love of a ten year old to the deep desperate love he felt now as he watched her dancing. He stayed for her alone.