The days after his mother's death were a blur of grief, and Saamu drifted through them like a ghost. He spent hours at the edge of the village, staring out at the horizon where the hills met the sky, as though waiting for some miracle to bring his father back. His heart, heavy with sorrow, could not comprehend the absence of both his parents. The village around him seemed to mourn with him, its people quiet, their movements slow, as if they, too, were waiting for something to break the stillness.
But nothing changed. His father was gone, and so was his mother. The world moved on, indifferent to his pain.
It was in the dead of night, three weeks after his mother's death, when the village was awakened by the sounds of hooves, the clash of swords, and the distant cries of battle. The air grew tense, and Saamu's pulse quickened as a deep fear settled in his chest. He knew something was wrong.
A loud bang echoed through the village as the gates were slammed open. Saamu, unable to stop his feet from moving, ran to the village center. He saw smoke rising in the distance, a fiery glow that illuminated the night sky. The invaders were here.
The village warlords had always kept the land safe, but now, with the disappearance of Saamu's father and the weakening of their defenses, the enemies saw an opportunity to claim what they wanted. War had come to their doorstep.
Saamu reached the center of the village, where he saw the elders gathering, their faces grim as they shouted orders and tried to rally the remaining warriors. But it was too late. The invaders poured into the village with the force of a storm, their war cries filling the night air.
"Saamu!" a voice called. It was old Chief Tarek, one of the few who had survived the last battle alongside his father. His face was lined with concern as he grabbed the boy by the shoulders. "Get to the back of the village. There's a hidden passage that leads to the forest. Go now!"
Saamu hesitated, his eyes scanning the chaos unfolding around him. The invaders were everywhere brutal, relentless, and unstoppable. But his feet refused to move. He couldn't run. His mother had just died. His father was gone. His whole life was crumbling before him, and yet, he was still here, trapped in the wreckage of a shattered world.
"Go, Saamu!" Chief Tarek urged, shaking him. "You must survive. You must carry your father's legacy. You can't stay here and die with us. Go!"
Something within Saamu stirred, a mixture of grief and rage bubbling up from the depths of his soul. He turned away from the chief, refusing to obey, his feet carrying him toward the invaders instead. His body burned with an inexplicable fire. He wasn't ready to die, No not like this.
As Saamu moved forward, the river goddess within him began to awaken. It was as if his grief had called to her, pulling her to the surface. The air around him thickened, and he felt a strange power surging inside his chest, filling him with strength beyond what he had ever known. The earth seemed to tremble beneath his feet, and he could hear the sounds of the river, though there was no river in sight whispering in his mind.
"You are my heir," the voice of the goddess murmured in his mind. "You are my chosen. The world will bow to you."
Saamu's pulse quickened, his fingers tightening around the pendant his mother had given him. He had no understanding of the power that was awakening inside him, but he could feel it coursing through his veins very wild, untamed, and full of potential.
The invaders saw him then, a small boy standing in the middle of the chaos, his eyes burning with an unfamiliar intensity. They laughed at him, their laughter mocking and full of arrogance.
One of them, a hulking brute with a scar running down his cheek stepped forward, raising his sword high.
"Another child to kill," the brute sneered.
But before he could strike, Saamu raised his hand, and a violent surge of energy burst forth from his body, knocking the brute off his feet. The air around him seemed to ripple as the ground beneath him cracked. The invader's sword flew from his hand, and the brute crashed to the ground with a sickening thud.
The other invaders froze, eyes wide in disbelief. They had never seen anything like this before.
Saamu stood tall, feeling the power surging within him. His father's strength, his mother's legacy, and the river goddess's blessing had awakened in him something far beyond mortal comprehension.
The invaders, now on edge, regrouped, ready to strike. But Saamu wasn't done. He raised both hands, and a torrent of water, the fierce and unrelenting erupted from the earth, sweeping the invaders off their feet. The river goddess's magic flowed through him, answering his call.
The invaders, stunned and disoriented, stumbled back as the water surged around them, but Saamu's power was too much. He felt the beast within him awakening, an ancient, primal force that he had no control over. His hands glowed with an ethereal light, and the world seemed to bend around him.
His eyes, once filled with grief, now blazed with an unholy fury. The invaders attempted to retreat, but Saamu was faster, stronger, and more powerful than any of them could comprehend.
As they fled, Saamu stood in the center of the battlefield, breathing heavily. His power had changed the tides of the battle but at what cost? His heart was still heavy with loss, and he knew that this was only the beginning.
The village was lost, but Saamu had discovered something far more dangerous than he could have ever imagined: the strength within him, the power of the river goddess, and the burning desire to avenge all that he had lost.
The Lord of All Beasts had awakened.