The Search For Cassim

by Dragonessa24

Cassim has been caught by some men, and Iago has to save his friend from the kidnappers. Though he gets help from a young sorceress his way through the desert will be long and dangerous. (Chapter 5 added!)

5. Iago's Greatest Fear

Author's note: I'm really sorry that it took me so long to update my story. If I didn't have to translate it, it would have been finished for months, lol. The song Janara sings at the end isn't written by me, it's "May It Be" by Enya. I just had the feeling somebody should sing it to Iago. It's a great song, but since it's not by me, I don't own it.

Rated PG, just to be on the save side...

Well, without further delay... here it is! Enjoy!

Chapter 5: Iago's Greatest Fear

After they had ridden for some days without getting into trouble, Iago and Janara reached a village. Thanks to the hospitality of the inhabitants they received free water and meal. In addition they found out that the kidnappers and Cassim had passed the village one week ago and had continued their journey on the East Road.

Extremely relieved that Cassim was still alive, the sorceress and the parrot rode off as soon as politeness permitted it.

The following evenings at the campfire Janara tried to find out more about Iago's past. The bird talked enthusiastically about his adventures with Cassim and his son Aladdin, but of course he emphasized particularly his own "heroic deeds". Although she didn't take him too seriously at that, it was nevertheless very merry and exciting. Iago was a good storyteller and for the first time in many years Janara realized just how much she had been missing nice company. Since she had lost her family, she had been travelling alone most of the time, having nobody to talk to and to have fun with.

And Iago as well had to admit that Janara was a rather nice girl and a good listener. He had the feeling that she accepted and even liked him. In his life he had already met many evil and dangerous people, but rarely such a friendly person.

In short, the two got on with each other wonderfully and enjoyed the shared journey.

However, there was something that bothered Janara. In all his stories Iago conscientiously avoided speaking about his feelings or older memories, like his childhood. Besides, he never mentioned Jafar, the sorcerer, in whom Janara was particularly interested. She had hoped to get the chance to learn something about him.

But since Iago didn't speak about this subject on his own, one evening Janara decided to just ask him about it.

They had just finished their dinner and were enjoying the warmth of the campfire when Janara said casually:

"You once spoke about a sorcerer with who you've worked together, right?"

"Yeah, Jafar. Why?"

"What did you do together in that time?"

"We travelled around the world for a few years. Jafar was always looking for magical stuff to find treasures or increase his power. That's why we came to Agrabah; he was looking for Genie's Magic Lamp."

"Ah."

Janara hesitated one moment, but Iago wasn't going to continue and so she asked:

"Why did you stay in Agrabah?"

Iago had looked into the flames so far, but now he turned to Janara.

"Why do you want to know about that?", he asked slightly annoyed.

The girl was surprised by Iago's reaction and answered soothingly:

"No reason. You don't have to get upset."

"I'm not upset!", Iago defended himself. Then he looked into the fire again and murmured:

"It's just none of your business."

But the bird's sudden taciturnment made Janara even more curious. She couldn't help but to ask:

"And what was Jafar like?"

That was the last straw. Iago jumped up and yelled:

"Do you have dates in your ears? I said it's not your business! Need me to write it down for you? Oh, I guess you can't read, your parents probably didn't teach you how. They also didn't tell you that you should just leave other people in peace and not bug them with stupid questions!"

For a short moment Janara was shocked by Iago's outburst, but as he began to insult her parents it had become too much for her.

"Oh, pardon. I had no idea that was a sore point for you, Your Sensitivity!", she exclaimed mockingly. And then more seriously:

"For Allah's sake, it can't be that bad! Why don't you just tell me?"

But Iago hadn't had the slightest intention of telling her anything.

"You don't get it, do you? IT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!"

"Oh, but I do think that it's my business. After all it was me who freed you from this cage. It was me who found out what had happened to Cassim. And it's me who is risking my life for you and to help you with this stupid search! I think I earned the right to know a bit more about you!"

"So, that's what you think?", Iago asked angrily. "You know what? I don't care about what you think! And I don't need your compassion!"

With that he turned away from Janara, lay down and closed his eyes, inwardly boiling with rage.

Of course Janara had to have the last word.

"Oh, just do what you want! I don't care!"

Then she turned and tried to sleep as well. But exactly like Iago she kept lying awake for a long time, until the sleep caught up with her.

The next morning Janara and Iago were still angry at each other. They had breakfast silently and didn't even look at each other. Without a word they set off and rode for nearly two hours in absolute silence. The whole time Janara asked herself why she didn't just send Iago away and continue her journey alone again. But deep in her heart she knew that she didn't want to be alone anymore. Actually, she regretted the argument they had had the previous night. She shouldn't have questioned Iago that much, but now she was too stubborn to admit it.

Too proud to apologize also was Iago. He perched stiffly on Janara's shoulder and forced himself not to fly away. They were in the middle of the desert, four days' rides away from the next village, and he would die of thirst if he had no help. In addition, he, too, didn't want to lose a good friend, but even that he didn't admit to himself.

The two were roused from their thoughts when they discovered a strange brown vapour cloud over the dunes, which approached them fast. Iago pointed at it and spoke the first words of the day:

"What's that?"

Before Janara could answer, a gust of wind suddenly pulled at her clothes. Another gust whirled sand up around them, taking away their view. The whistling of the wind changed into roaring, and Janara shouted: "A sandstorm!", while desperately trying to keep her horse under control, which panicked because of the whirling sand. All quarrels were forgotten, mortal danger threatened now.

Because of the sand in her eyes Janara couldn't see anything and the wind pulled her from all directions. Fengari pranced and reared up. It was a perfect chaos. Janara and Iago were now in the middle of the storm and the girl was almost lifted from the saddle. The poor parrot clung in fear to Janara's clothes, but he couldn't resist the raving wind any longer. Janara noticed that and wanted to warn him.

"Hold on, it's almost over!"

But in this moment a particularly strong gust grabbed the light bird and tore him into the air. Janara reached out for him, but it was too late. Iago was whirled higher and higher, and although he flapped his wings desperately, the storm hurled him mercilessly back and forth. The sand penetrated his eyes and his plumage and prickled him everywhere. The deafening roaring of the wind became unbearable and slowly strength left the parrot. This roller-coaster-likejourney seemed to last an eternity and he had lost his sense of time soon. Helpless, how he was, he could only hope he would escape this with his life.

His odyssey came to a sudden end when he was thrown against something very hard, slipped it down and remained lying unconscious.

Some time later Iago regained consciousness again. His whole body hurt and he felt completely drained. After having rubbed the sand out of his eyes and patted it off his feathers, he looked around.

He was in a ghost town. At least that was the first thing he involuntarily had to think from looking at the sight, although he was uneasy about it. Around him there were almost dilapidated houses with broken doors and windows. It was deathly silent and he didn't see a living soul. Half-heartedly Iago called after Janara, but he didn't expect an answer. The storm must have carried him miles away from her.

He thought about what he should do now and finally decided to search the town. Perhaps he would find somebody or something that could help him.

Iago flew through the abandoned streets and peered into every house. When he had found absolutely nothing or nobody after half an hour, he yelled, upset:

"Great! And what am I gonna do now?"

Then he noticed a glitter in one of the houses. It almost looked like... gold. Carefully Iago peeped through a window, but except for the glitter he couldn't see anything.

One moment he hesitated, but then greed triumphed over caution and he flew into the darkness of the building.

When Iago had nearly reached the golden thing, it suddenly went out and absolute darkness surrounded him. He felt a strange cold being in front of him, just where the tempting glitter had been only a few moments ago. Slightly worried the bird turned to the window, the way out, but it had disappeared! Now, he was filled with panic. He hadn't had that in mind! He was completely blind in the dark and the cold started approaching him. It felt dangerous. Evil.

Iago backed away until he bumped into the wall of the house, but there he was trapped. He giggled nervously and asked anxiously:

"What's going on here? You're really frightening me, whatever you are!"

But he fell silent when the cold finally covered him like a veil. Iago began to tremble. Something terrible happened to him but he couldn't move anymore.

Completely helpless he waited for what would happen next.

Then the cold penetrated him. Through every opening in his body, through every single pore the cold flowed and forced its way to Iago's heart. And there, at the most vulnerable place of himself, it tore a hole. A greedy, black hole which swallowed all good feelings and memories and left nothing but pure fear and desperation. All Iago could feel were the cold and the hopelessness. All that existed for him now were the darkness and the certainty not to be able to ever see the bright sunlight again.

In this moment, when Iago thought it couldn't become any worse, a harsh red light lit up in front of him, dazzling him. After it had become faint, the scared, trembling bird opened his eyes.

In front of him stood a figure. It was tall and slim, wore red and black robes and held a golden snake staff in its hand. Iago knew this figure, but it was impossible...

"J-Jafar?"

The sorcerer only laughed. His laughter was cruel and demonic. It reminded Iago of past times, of all the things Jafar had done to him. At that time he had always laughed that way while punishing Iago for some stupid mistake.

Suddenly Jafar grew silent and only grinned. Then he reached for Iago and picked him up. The small bird couldn't resist because he was frozen with terror. Jafar's piercing look penetrated into Iago's heart, into Iago's very soul and revealed the most terrible memories he had locked there for so many years.

Through a haze of images and feelings he heard Jafar's cold voice say menacingly in his mind:

"You know it, don't you? You know, there are things so much worse than death."

A memory manifested itself in front of Iago's mind's eye. He saw his parents, saw the contempt and disappointment in their eyes when they chased him away because he wasn't like them. He felt the fear and despair when he wandered around alone and abandoned, tormented by the feeling of having failed.

Jafar squeezed Iago's body even tighter and the little bird screamed with pain. Through a blur of tears he saw a new vision.

He was in one of Jafar's hideouts, hiding within a closet. This way he didn't have to watch the cruel sorcerer torturing a girl. However, he couldn't escape from her cries. She had something Jafar wanted, but she wouldn't hand it over. Iago wanted to help her, somehow, but he was frozen with terror. What could he do after all? Jafar would kill him, just like the girl, and Iago didn't want to die. He'd better just stay here until everything was over.

The vision faded, but Iago was not released. He felt guilty. He should have done something, no matter if he would have been killed. His whole life he had been a coward. Again and again he had looked away when others were in need. Again and again he had shut his eyes and talked himself into believing that he couldn't hear their cries.

"Oh, Iago", whispered Jafar's voice sympathetically. "What a worthless coward you are. And yet, despite all your faults, you had friends. They offered you a place in their family, they accepted you and felt sympathy. They helped and protected you. More than once they risked their lives to save yours. They cared for you, didn't they?"

Iago nodded weakly and clung to this thought. How could he be so bad, when he had friends? Their friendship proved that he also had a good side, that he was not only a traitor and a coward.

But Jafar shouted:

"What fools they were to be that friendly to you! How stupid they were to trust you, to help you! Did you ever thank them? They would have given their lives for you, but did you ever risk yours for them? No!"

And again a vision hit Iago.

"I never thought you'd sink so low! You traitor!"

That was Aladdin's voice. He, Abu and the carpet were trapped in a cage and were glaring at Iago. Noticing that his tail and right wing had turned to stone, Iago knew where he was and what was happening. He had just brought Abis Mal the Genie trapped in his lamp in return for the antidote of the turn-a-man-to-stone-spell, which was going to kill him. Admittedly, Iago had hesitated to give Genie to Abis Mal at the last moment, but basically Aladdin was right. He was a traitor and he had deserved Aladdin's and Abu's insults. He had sacrificed his friends to save his own, miserable life. How could he?

When the vision disappeared, Aladdin's facial expressionburned into Iago's soul. The eyes of his friend were filled with contempt and hate. Aladdin would never forgive him.

"Yes, Iago", the bird heard Jafar hiss. "Do you finally see the truth? You are nothing but a dirty little traitor. How much suffering did you cause? How many people have you already deceived, betrayed and let down? People who were nice to you. Who trusted you, although you don't deserve it! And that's how you thanked them!"

Another memory appeared in front of Iago, and he couldn't do anything about it.

He found himself in the palace of Agrabah, looking for Aladdin. On Jafar's orders he had to lure his only just gained friend into a trap, so the cruel sorcerer could get his revenge. It was not easy for Iago to carry out the order because Aladdin was the first person who ever had looked out for him. He had saved him and had accepted full responsibility for him, although he actually had not been able to trust Iago. His friendship was something very special for the little bird, who had been lonely his whole life, but for the moment his fear of Jafar was greater than the desire for friendship.

"I can't explain it, Jasmine, but I think we can trust Iago ", Iago heard Aladdin's voice from the next room. These favorable, trustful words broke Iago's heart. He wanted to cry: "No, you can't trust me! I will betray you!", but Jafar would have killed him for that.

The vision blurred briefly, and the next moment he was in the room together with Aladdin and the princess. He had proposed a carpet flight to lure them into Jafar's trap, and they were completely enthusiastic about his "idea". But their confidence tormented Iago. Why did they believe him? Why didn't they distrust him? These kind and friendly people didn't deserve Jafar's revenge, they mustn't be hurt. And nevertheless they were lured into the trap now, they were betrayed. They even were grateful to Iago! And to make things worse, Jasmine bent down to him with a gentle smile and said:

"Iago, this isn't easy for me to say, but I was wrong about you."

She gave him a kiss on the forehead and stroked him briefly. In her eyes Iago saw nothing but confidence and love. He had betrayed her, but she trusted him... loved him...

Iago screamed.

"Stop! Stop it! I can't stand it any longer! Make it stop! Please!"

He writhed and struggled, tears ran down his cheeks and his despair mixed with the pain in his body when Jafar squeezed him tighter.

But suddenly a beam of bright sunlight fell into the darkness of the building. Jafar uttered an inhuman scream and yielded back. He dropped Iago, but the little bird was caught and taken from the staleness of the room out to the bright day. Somebody held him in her arms and ran. Iago didn't really notice it at all. All the cold, the pain and the despair had disappeared, but he still was in shock. While trembling and sobbing he was carried, without knowing who carried him and what had happened. He felt incredibly weak and empty. His soul bled from many wounds and he was unable to think clearly. Everything whirled and blurred in front of his eyes, but a voice finally got into his tormented mind.

It was Janara. She was sitting with Iago in the shadows of a house and held the uncontrollably sobbing bird in her arms. She stroked him and murmured reassuringly:

"Shh, it's okay. You don't have to be afraid anymore. No matter who or what you saw, it wasn't real. Nobody can harm you now. Everything is alright."

Like that the girl continued and rocked Iago gently back and forth.

When she had saved him, she saw how that evil man turned back into a Shar-Kara. She had heard of this demon, which could turn into the greatest fear of its victim, but fortunately she hadn't had the chance to get to know it personally yet. However, she knew that hardly someone survived its torture.

Iago had stopped trembling in the meantime and slowly regained his composure. But with his returning mind a terrible realization struck him.

"Jafar!", he croaked, frightened.

Janara started, but then she realized that the Shar-Kara must have transformed into Jafar in front of Iago. That, however, irritated her.

"You saw Jafar? But... "

How could Jafar be Iago's greatest fear when they had worked together for years? Janara wanted to question Iago again, but she restrained herself. It wasn't the right moment to satisfy her curiosity. First, she had to take care of the terrified bird.

"Don't worry," she murmured gently, "That was not Jafar. It was a demon that had taken on his shape. You have nothing to fear."

She repeated it again and again, until Iago finally realized the meaning of her words and calmed down.

After a while he felt a little better. However, he made no move to free himself from Janara's arms because it was a wonderful feeling to just be held and stroked. He felt safe and protected.

When the setting sun already dyed the sky red and the first stars could be seen, Janara asked quietly:

"How are you, Iago?"

With cracked voice the parrot answered:

"Better." And then "What happened?"

"I followed the sandstorm, which had pulled you away, but I lost sight of it soon. Finally I found this village here and heard your screams. You were in the claws of a Shar-Kara, but since light kills these demons, it left you alone when I opened the door and the daylight streamed in. I snatched you and we escaped."

Iago nodded and asked:

"What is a Shar-Kara?"

"That's a demon which lives on fear and pain. As far as I know it lures its victims into its hideout and then turns into their greatest fear. It's said to have the ability to read minds and to force its victims to experience the worst moments of their lives again, until they finally die."

Iago said nothing, but shivered at the thought of this ordeal. Noticing that, Janara tried to take his mind off it.

"On my way I discovered a little oasis. We should go there before it gets dark. Then I'll make a nice fruit salad."

Iago only murmured "Okay", and let Janara perch him on her shoulder. The girl took the reins of her horse, which she had tied up nearby, and left for the oasis.

After having arrived there, the young sorceress lit a campfire and made the promised fruit salad in the last light of day. Iago ate silently and stayed unusually quiet the whole evening. Janara watched him anxiously and thought about how to help the bird. But she couldn't think of anything that could chase away the horror and agony of a Shar-Kara attack, and so she decided to leave Iago in peace for the time being. Perhaps he would be better, if he slept a while.

After the meal Janara and Iago settled down near the warming fire and tried to fall asleep. But neither of them was particularly successful with it.

Iago was exhausted and tired, but every time he closed his eyes, visions of Jafar and painful memories appeared in his mind and forced him to think about it. Everything he had seen on this day had really happened that way, many years ago. At that time he had actually acted like that, he had actually been that coward and traitor, who he had seen today. After having destroyed Jafar, he had gladly talked himself into believing that he had changed and would be a better bird now, one of the good guys. But again and again things had happened that made Iago doubt himself. And although these events had taken place some years ago, the memories of his past actions had aroused these doubts in Iago again. Had he really changed? Or was he still a cowardly parrot, which, when it really mattered, only thought of himself?

He remembered something that Jafar had once told him: "That's what I like about you; you're so perfectly predictable. A villain through and through."

What if Jafar was right? Would he really be more or less evil for his entire life? One thing was certain; he hadn't really changed after Jafar's death. At least Iago thought so now. How many times did he only watch when his friends nearly died? How many times did the fear for himself grab him, making him rigid with horror? Every time he wanted to help, but every time he hesitated until somebody else intervened and saved them. But what would have happened, if he had been the only one there to save them? Would he just have let them die then?

Iago was afraid of the answer to this question. He opened his eyes brusquely to take his mind off things. In front of him, on the other side of the campfire, lay Janara. Her eyes were closed and she seemed asleep. Her black hair framed her peaceful face, and for the first time Iago realized how young she actually was.

Would I just let her down, too?, Iago wondered. Would I leave her to her fate and only watch when she's in danger? Would I let her die to save myself?

Iago couldn't bear Janara's sight anymore and so he shut his eyes and turned onto his other side.

No! No, I don't want to think about it!

Iago used to simply not allow such awkward thoughts or rejected and forgot them, but that night he didn't manage it. And so the doubts about himself kept him awake for a long time until the exhaustion finally overwhelmed him, making him fall into a restless sleep.

Janara found it just as hard as Iago to find peace. She couldn't get the image of the completely distraught, trembling Iago, who she had saved today, out of her mind. What did he have to go through?, she wondered. What did that demon do to him?

She remembered Iago stammering one word again and again, when she had held him in her arms and had calmed him. Jafar. Was this man Iago's greatest fear? Did the Shar-Kara transform into that man and almost scare the little bird to death? But Iago had always talked completely normally and without fear about the sorcerer, albeit not much. Only last night Iago went mad when she had wanted to get to know more about his past. Did he react that way because he didn't want to remember this part of his life?

Janara now really regretted having pestered him so much. She should have respected his desire not to talk about it. But once again she hadn't been able to control her curiosity and so had hurt a friend.

The girl opened her eyes and watched the red parrot, who had turned his back on her and seemed be sleeping peacefully. The thought that, possibly, Iago had been used and tortured for many years by that sorcerer, just broke her heart.

Poor Iago. What did he have to endure in his life?

Again she thought about the Shar-Kara, which tormented its victims with their worst memories.

What did he see?, Janara wondered again and realized that she wouldn't find an answer to this question that night. However, it led her to another thought. What would she have seen, if she had met the Shar-Kara?

The answer came immediately, so cold and painful as the stab of a knife.

The death of my family.

It was the only thing she could think of that was so horrible that she couldn't bear having to see it again. Sure, the time afterwards, when she had been wandering around lonely and hungry, had to sleep in alleys and to beg for food, was terrible. She had had to live more than one unpleasant experience and it hadn't been easy for her, so young as she was, to manage her life.

But all that was nothing compared to the sight of her dying family. Her father had been the first, then her mother had been killed, and oh, how her little brother Yannis had screamed when the sword...

Janara's eyes filled with tears at this memory and she forced herself to think of something else. She looked into the campfire, which was gradually going out. The young sorceress watched the last flames and dispelled the pictures of her murdered family from her thoughts.

She listened to the noises of the night and stared into the red glowing remains of the fire. A cool breeze made the charred wood light up again and again, almost as rhythmic as a beating heart. A mouse on the search for food rustled somewhere. A lonely cricket chirped and in the distance a coyote howled at the rising moon.

Janara didn't notice it at all when she slowly drifted into a dream...

Fire. Screams. Janara heard screams and saw a village in flames. It was her village, the village in which she had spent twelve happy years surrounded by her beloved family. But now it burned and all her friends were screaming and fleeing from the thieves, who raided the village and burned it down.

Janara saw everything going on like a movie in front of her eyes. And that film she only knew too well, because it was, rather than a dream, a memory of the things which had already happened once in exactly the same way. Just like at that time Janara only sat there, hidden behind a bush on top of a hill, watching everything anxiously and uncomprehendingly. Again she was a small, helpless child, who had to watch the destruction of her home. She saw her best friend Zariah run away screaming from a few men with swords. She saw Farih, a friendly old woman who had always told them stories, begging for her life.

And then she saw her parents and Yannis, her brother. They were dragged out of their house and on the road. Suddenly her father defended his family against the men. These immediately drew their swords and then the sharp blade cut through the air...

Everything whirled in front of Janara's eyes. She heard the screams of her brother, and then only her own screams. She ran, half slipping and tripping again and again, down the dunes into the village. Nobody was there anymore, only the lifeless bodies of her family still lay on the road. Janara's eyes were filled with tears when she took her mother into her arms.

"Oh, mommy, mommy!", she whimpered. "What's going on, what's wrong with you?"

She sobbed these questions, but deep in her heart she already knew the answers. Her parents and her brother would never stand up again because they were dead. But Janara didn't want to admit it, she couldn't. If she allowed herself to accept it, it would become true. Then her family would be dead, and she would be alone.

Suddenly Janara heard a strange noise. It sounded as if it came from far away, and it didn't seem to belong in here. It was a scream, full of terror, and slowly it grew louder. It seemed to get ever more real as everything else around Janara gradually faded...

Janara woke with a start and sat absolutely straight up on her bed. She blinked and looked, confused, around. It seemed to take an eternity for her still from sleep muzzy mind to shake off the dream and concentrate on reality. Actually it took her only the fraction of a second until she realized that it had been Iago's scream which had woken her up from her nightmare. Anxiously she turned to the parrot, afraid something had happened. But then she saw that his eyes were closed. Iago was obviously just dreaming.

Relieved, Janara reached out to release the poor bird from his nightmare. She was almost touching him when she noticed that he seemed to murmur something. The girl hesitated and listened. At first it was hard to understand, but then Iago grew ever louder and Janara could hear the fear in his voice.

"No, don't.... Let me... It wasn't my fault.... I beg you... No! Please don't! Stop! Please stop, JAFAR!"

Iago uttered a scream and opened his eyes. Janara shrank back, surprised by the sudden awaking of her friend. But the shock immediately subsided at the sight of the trembling Iago, who looked around in panic.

"Iago?"

The bird jumped and looked at her with his eyes open wide, as if he hadn't realized yet that he wasn't dreaming anymore.

His breath went fast and unsteady.

"It's alright, Iago", Janara reassured. "You were just dreaming. It was only a bad dream."

"But… Jafar…", Iago stammered.

"Oh, Iago. Come here."

Janara carefully took Iago on her lap and explained quietly:

"You don't have to be afraid. You just had a bad dream. Everything is alright."

When she held Iago in her arms, she could feel his still fast heart-beat and his plumage wet with cold sweat. That reminded her of how she had felt as a little child after waking up from a nightmare. Her mother had always come to her then, had taken her into the arms and comforted her. Only she had been able to make little Janara sleep again.

There was a song. It told from hope and how the light defeated the darkness. When her mother had sung this song, the girl forgot about her nightmare and the fear, and fell asleep peacefully.

This song had helped her so often to overcome a nightmare, perhaps it could help Iago now as well?

Janara closed her eyes and briefly remembered the words. Then she started singing. Her voice was nothing special, certainly there were many people who could sing better than her. But her singing was high and clear, filling the night desert with a wonderful melody.

May it be
An evening star
Shines down
Upon you.

May it be
When darkness falls
Your heart
Will be true.

You walk a lonely road
Oh, how far you are from home.

Mornië utúli
Believe and you
Will find your way.

Mornië alanti
A promise lives
Within you now.

May it be
The shadow's call
Will fly away.

May it be
Your journey on
To light the day.

When the night is overcome
You may rise
To find the sun.

Mornië utúli
Believe and you
Will find your way.

Mornië alanti
A promise lives
Within you now.

A promise lives
Within you
Now.

When the last words died away, a single tear ran down Janara's cheek. She wiped it away and looked down at Iago. He had fallen asleep. With a smile she softly stroke his feathers and then gazed over at the eastern horizon, which slowly turned red and announced the beginning of a new day.