Alth collapsed on the riverbank. He had failed to reach the girl in the river, the girl who had saved him from the madness. He lay on the ground, breathing hard. His leg and arm muscles screamed, demanding rest. He had tried desperately to reach her, to save her. He feared that the child was hurt, or worse. So this was his punishment. This was what he got for not obeying the Call. This is what the god did. Did the god think of this as a joke? If so, Alth was not laughing, not laughing at all. It was not right to take the life of another to punish him. The girl couldn't have been more than thirteen or fourteen, with a bright future. She had been quite pretty, with dark red hair, and bright green eyes. She was of slender build, with a growing chest. Alth banged his fists against the ground, shaking it slightly.

"Why?" he cried out angrily. "Why are you doing this? You have no right! No right," he whispered. His hand flew to his throat, where the necklace hung. It was given by the god to his minions, a mark of their following him. It was a small circular ball of a foggy purplish color. It had the words, "THE GOD" imprinted on the ball. He had tried many times to rip the thing from his throat, but it held fast. He tried again, and the madness and pain came back. He screamed once before being knocked out by the pain.