Jasmin pulls Erold: "Come on, you've been standing like a statue for ten minutes, we're going to miss the start of the festival!"
Erold goes with her while still in a state of shock. Jasmin continues talking to him, but he doesn't respond, his features frozen.
Jasmin screams: "Answer me, you old man! I'm talking to you!"
Erold returns to his senses in the middle of the celebration while Jasmin was holding his hand, moving him with her wherever she went. He stops her and says: "Let's go, your father is looking for us."
But Jasmin doesn't care; she is completely immersed in the festival atmosphere. Erold grabs her gently and carries her under his right arm, saying in a firm tone: "Let's go, little one."
While she was screaming: "Nooo! I want to see more!"
Suddenly, a person sitting quietly caught Jasmin's attention, holding his brush with skill, drawing passers-by with amazing accuracy. She looks at Erold, pleading with eyes full of enthusiasm: "Please, Erold! Let's go to him… that person is truly good at drawing, and he only comes to the Festival of Stars once a year!"
Erold sighed as he looked at the crowd of the festival, then looked at her eager little face: "Fine, little one… we will do it, but ask him to draw us quickly so we can continue our way."
Erold headed toward the painter, who greeted them with a calm smile, saying as he prepared his canvas: "Welcome… please, stay in your places and do not move." Erold placed Jasmin on the ground beside him, and she stood firmly with a smile on her face.
Fifteen minutes of creative silence passed before the painter put his final touch and said happily: "I have finished."
Erold and Jasmin approached to see the result, and Erold was astonished by the accuracy of the details. Erold said with admiration: "You are truly good at drawing…" Erold took out some money to pay for the painting, but the painter raised his hand in a polite apology, saying: "There is no need for this, sir… His Majesty the King is the one covering my fee today to please the festival visitors."
Jasmin jumped with joy and thanked the painter, then took off running through the festival aisles. Erold sighed and caught up with her to carry her again under his arm with ease, then headed with steady steps toward Ali.
Erold returned to Ali, who said to them: "Where were you? I have been looking for you for five minutes. The Chief of Sorcerers has agreed to meet you."
Erold: "Fine, let's go."
Erold headed to the shrine. From the outside, the shrine looked like an ancient temple, topped by dozens of massive carved pillars, covered in a faint green moss that suggested age and awe.
Upon entering through the stone gate, a completely different world reveals itself: a magical garden spreading throughout the place, with glowing flowers and water fountains. A faint sound resembling chants reached his ears, the sound of ancient singing in a language unlike what he was used to, and a light fragrance resembling musk and mint.
Strange trees were glowing, while groups of students passed by wearing robes engraved with magical symbols. One of the students stopped and said with admiration: "Excuse me, are you Erold?"
Erold wondered and asked: "And how do you know my name?"
The student: "The Chief described you to us: a man four cubits tall, with long hair and sharp grey eyes, and everything he said applies to you. Please, the Chief is waiting for you."
Jasmin (mockingly): "Hehehe, it seems you must get used to stardom, Erold."
Erold ignored her lightly and stole a potion from the pocket of one of the students without him noticing, (in a low voice): "I still have the talent… I wonder, are you still alive, King of Thieves?"
Jasmin screamed behind him: "Don't ignore meeee!"
Erold followed the student and said to Jasmin and Ali: "Entry is forbidden for anyone but me." Then he added: "Don't worry, I won't be long."
Ali to Jasmin: "Go play in the shrine garden if you want."
Jasmin screamed with enthusiasm: "Let's goooo!"
But she collided with someone. She fell to the ground and looked up to find a man looking at her with disgust and arrogance.
Jasmin said: "What's wrong with you, looking at me like that?"
The man grew angry and kicked her, saying: "How dare you, you rude girl, address me in this manner? I was going to honor you with forgiveness, but now you deserve punishment! I am Zaid Ashur, one of the nobles of Babylon!"
Ali went toward her as she writhed in pain, clenched his fist heading toward Zaid, and looked at the ground trying to control his anger, then calmly: "You dare to strike a little girl, then boast that you are from the nobility?"
Zaid (spitefully): "Haah? Who do you think you are, you…"
But before he could finish, Ali landed a swift, powerful punch that broke his jaw. The students screamed, calling the guards: "Someone has struck a noble!"
Meanwhile, Erold reached the inside of the shrine.
He passed through a curtain of silver threads that vibrated as if they were breathing, then entered a wide room where aromatic steam was rising, centered by a pool of water that sparkled like moon mirrors, with sounds of ancient chants echoing in the air.
An old Chief sat on a woven cushion; his hair was black turning to white but thick, and his beard was long and white, resembling winter clouds.
Chief of Sorcerers: "Welcome, Erold. The stars have told me much about you."
Erold (calmly): "And what have they told you?"
Chief of Sorcerers: "Everything… the past, the present… but your future? It is mysterious… the stars cannot see your end."
Erold laughed and said: "Then there was no need for my coming."
But suddenly, the Chief of Sorcerers surrounded the place with a magical aura, and the temperature of the room changed, (in a firm voice): "You will not leave here without asking your question. Do you wish to insult me?"
Erold: "An old man with dignity… fine. My question: Where should I go, when, and why?"
The Chief of Sorcerers replied, with the stars glowing behind him: "Answer, O stars…"
Suddenly, the room went silent. The old man held his head in pain, stood up from his place suddenly, and said: "Head to the North… there you will find happiness. When? Now. And why?… So that what happened in the Kingdom of Egypt in the past does not repeat itself."
The old Chief screamed, holding his head in pain: "The stars are weeping for your fate!"
He was in intense pain until he fell to his knees, his tears flowing, then he said (in a voice choked with crying): "What a sad future awaits you, my little one…"
Erold wondered: "This is a woman's voice! Who is this? Is she one of the stars?"
Chief of Sorcerers (in a sorrowful, overlapping voice that was gentle and transparent): "I have been watching you since your birth, my little one, but you do not deserve this future."
Then the Chief of Sorcerers fell to the ground and said: "You may go now… my aura has faded…"
Erold rushed out, muttering: "I must say goodbye to Ali and Jasmin… I thank them for their hospitality and my beautiful days with them."
He approached the shrine gate, which was filled with light. He came out smiling, but his features began to change gradually when he saw Jasmin crying beside Ali, whose both hands had been severed, his face pale. He was surrounded by guards as he addressed Jasmin: "My little girl… I am sorry because I am leaving you alone. I promised your mother to take care of you, but I have broken my promise…"
He raised his head toward the sky and said: "My dear… how will I face you when we meet?"
Ali's vision was flickering, and his eyes were fading. Then Erold appeared amidst the fog, and everything but him disappeared. He approached and placed the healing potion beside Ali, but to no avail… the bleeding was severe and the wounds were fatal.
Ali said as he breathed his last breath, with Jasmin holding him and crying: "Erold… please… take care of Jasmin, no one but you can do that."
Erold replied in a faint voice, with sad and cold features: "I will take care of her."
Ali smiled, looked toward the sky, and said: "I didn't expect our second meeting to be so soon, my dear…"
Then he went silent… he died smiling.
A moment of painful silence. Jasmin's screams, and Erold's face grew darker. Zaid Ashur said, after using a healing potion, boastfully: "This is what happens when a nobody dares to strike one of the nobles!"
Erold carried Jasmin and whispered to her: "You must watch this."
He lowered her gently, then turned toward Zaid and said in a calm, sharp voice: "Do not think that revenge dies because she is a child."
He gripped his sword, his sharp eyes unblinking. The distance between them was about 16 cubits. He began walking toward him slowly, his steps as if waking the earth.
Jasmin saw his features illuminated by sunlight, resembling hope, then suddenly… a head flies in the air. Time slows in Jasmin's eyes as she hears Erold saying: "I am here… to reclaim her revenge." And she realizes that head is Zaid Ashur's head.
Erold returns his sword to its sheath and says calmly: "Let's go, little one."
The guards surrounded them, but the voice of the Chief of Sorcerers broke through the atmosphere: "Do not approach! The stars warn you… whoever cares for his life, let him not approach him!"
One of the guards said in protest: "But he killed one of the nobles!"
Chief of Sorcerers: "The stars forgive him. Do you think the fate of that rascal is higher than the fate of the stars?"
Everyone went silent and lined up to open the way for them.
Erold carried Ali's body and said to Jasmin: "We will bury him beside your mother, don't worry."
Jasmin cried and said in a voice broken from the intensity of crying: "Thank you…"
Ali was buried beside his wife. Erold stood afterward, extended his hand toward Jasmin, and said: "Come with me… you have nothing left here in Babylon."
Jasmin tilted her head silently, with tears in her eyes… she had lost the one who illuminated her world and gave it meaning.
Erold held Jasmin's hand and headed toward the kingdom's gate. There, he found an old man who looked tired from much travel, his face carved with the wrinkles of time.
Erold said to him in a firm voice: "I am looking for a caravan heading to the far North."
The old man laughed mockingly and said: "And what pushes an entire caravan to that dangerous place? Forget it, boy… no one goes to the North."
Erold replied firmly, gently lifting Jasmin onto his shoulders: "Then, all I need is a horse. I will go alone."
The old man looked at him sideways and said: "You will find it there." He pointed to a small stable at the end of the road, then added in a warning tone: "If you want death, that is your business… but what is the fault of the child with you?"
Erold ignored him without responding and headed toward the stable. The stable was modest, built of stones and mud, smelling of wood, leather, and horse manure. The sounds in it were faint; you could only hear the rustle of straw under feet and the sound of hooves hitting the ground quietly.
Inside, there was a man cleaning a horseshoe while muttering to himself: "Where is this person? I am about to close…"
Before he finished his sentence, he glimpsed Erold entering the place. The man raised his
gaze to him, then pointed to a horse standing in the corner and said: "I have prepared it for you."
Erold was surprised and asked him: "And how did you know what I wanted?"
The man answered simply: "A student from the Shrine of Knowledge told me about you, and they paid its price. Take it and go."
Erold looked at the horse. It stood firmly, its dark black color like a curtain of night, and its eyes shining with intelligence unlike other horses. Its black mane hung like a crown on its raised neck. It seemed as if the earth acknowledged its sovereignty… not an ordinary horse, but from a rare lineage, walking with pride toward Erold, as if it were a king that accepts only those worthy of riding him.
Erold said as he approached it: "I don't think I can afford your cost, boy… but we must thank the Shrine of Knowledge for this generosity."
The horse looked at him with a sharp look, as if in disapproval, or rather as if it didn't want Erold to touch it.
Jasmin approached and extended her hand lightly toward the horse's head; it lowered its head to her gently and brought its forehead near her, as if asking her to touch it.
Jasmin said with a light smile cracking through her sadness: "I think humans and animals don't take a liking to you, man."
Erold laughed at her words and said mockingly: "Shut up, you rude girl."