Night came on Nalan and Khalid as they are still on their first mission, searching for the two people in the mirrors whom they have not been able to distinguish which one is real and which one is not. Time passes quickly and they do not know when this mission will end. Nalan and Khalid stand up to look at the mirrors again and work hard to finish this mission. Nalan said to Khalid, "What is my fault in entering a war I only knew about yesterday? What is my fault in fighting and suffering because your father was the reason for killing my older sister, causing my father to become angry and declare this war that will last in our tribe for eight hundred years?"
Khalid replied, "You know nothing about this war except what you learned yesterday. The reason for the war was that your father was the reason for killing your older sister. I am the first to know that the reason for the war was the killing of your sister, but which one is the truth, what my father told me or what your father told you? But you are the son of the seer who knows about this war, so why didn't he inform you and prepare you for the war years ago?"
Nalan said, "I have been trained in the art of war for years, but like any knight, I only trained to protect my country from any external attack. But my father did not tell me that there was a war caused by my personal situation until yesterday. I have to win this war and become the victorious knight of our tribe as revenge for what your grandfather did when he killed my older sister without any guilt."
Suddenly, as they exchanged words, they heard a voice saying, "There is no time for entertainment or rest. You must finish this mission before 2 a.m. If neither of you wins this mission, it will be recorded as a tie with a black mark for each of you, and you will start the second mission, which is even harder. You must win seven missions, and the winner will be the victorious one who his tribe will celebrate for a hundred years. Now, do not waste time and start searching."
They both stopped talking and started looking for the person who was their copy but real. Khalid and Nalan looked closely at every mirror until they were sure whether the person they saw in the mirror was a reflection of themselves or not. They looked carefully until they looked at a hundred mirrors, and both of them got tired. In a moment of exhaustion, Khalid put his hand on his knee and the other on the mirror. Suddenly, he found that his hand had entered the mirror, and he realized that it was not a mirror but the one they were looking for. He stood up straight, looked at himself in the mirror, and looked into the eyes of the person. He blinked several times to make sure, and suddenly he closed and opened his eyes, but the person had closed his eyes. Khalid confirmed that he found him and placed his hand on the mirror to bring him out, but suddenly, the mirror became solid and he couldn't put his hand in.
He realized it was a trick, but he was sure that the person was not a reflection of him. He had to break the mirror to get him out, so he looked for something with him and found his sword. He started hitting the mirror repeatedly until he broke it and got the person out.
The fight began between them, and suddenly Nalan also reached the other person, broke the mirror, and started fighting too. They were both strong, and the fight with them was difficult. They began to fight with their hands and swords, and a fierce war broke out between them. Suddenly, Nalan was hit by a blow from the person he was fighting, but he had to win and continue the fight.
Khalid was still standing strong in the fight, as he was well trained in sword fighting. He had to win and end this mission, but suddenly he found that the ground was starting to release water and blood, and standing on it became extremely difficult. How could they fight when they could not stand on the ground, as they slipped every minute? Nalan began to fight with difficulty and began to weaken from the blow.
Khalid felt sad suddenly and decided to give him some of the water he had with him so that he could heal and fight strongly. Nalan couldn't believe Khalid's good manners and that he didn't take advantage of this opportunity that could have made it easy for him to win. When Khalid did that, and Nalan drank some water, his strength suddenly returned. Suddenly, the water and blood from the ground stopped, and the two men disappeared.
The person who appeared to be a jinn with his strange appearance left, immortal and Nalan thanked Khalid for what he did with him, saving his life from death. The first mission ended, and Khalid and Nalan found themselves in the battlefield, and Tayam the seer was waiting for them, eager to know who won the first mission. He approached them and asked, "Who won?"
Nalan replied, "Khalid won because winning this mission was about ethics, not war. Khalid preferred to save my life over thinking about winning. When this happened in the middle of the war, everything disappeared, and everyone fighting us disappeared. Then, a man appeared and declared Khalid the winner because he conquered his ego and preferred others over himself. Thus, Khalid won, and the first mission ended. We have to wait until tomorrow and return to the battlefield at 5 p.m. to know the next mission."
The seer was annoyed after he learned that Khalid won the first mission and got three points while Nalan got nothing. He said to Khalid, "Congratulations on winning the first mission, but there are still seven other missions to see who will win in the end. You have to go to the hospitality house now to rest until tomorrow." Khalid left with Nalan, and the seer went to his palace without talking to Nalan or blaming him. He was puzzled when he realized that the win scale was not expected to be like this, as he did not know that the laws established by the jinn king were based on this. Now he did not know what the scale for winning the second mission was or for what. But he had to wait until Khalid and Nalan started and finished the next mission,
and he saw what the winning scale would be in the second mission.
The night passed, and Tiam was still puzzled and worried that the victory in the first law belonged to Khalid and that the Salmani son would win over him for the second time. The seer still had hatred and anger towards the Salmani clan, and he still wanted revenge.
The night passed and the second day began, and the time approached five o'clock. Khaled and Nalan prepared their equipment, and Khaled did the same thing he did the first time; he approached the obelisk and spoke the phrase. Three times he repeated it until he found himself on the battlefield. Tiam and Nalan were waiting for him there. Each of them took their book and began to open it, and the words began to appear to them.
"The time has come for your second task. Both of you, chosen ones, should hold each other's hand, close your eyes, and strike the ground three times with your feet." Khalid and Nalan did as they were instructed, holding each other's hand, closing their eyes, and striking the ground with their feet. Suddenly, they found themselves in a maze, not knowing where they were or what was required of them. They heard a voice telling them to open the book and read the following instructions. Khalid and Nalan opened the book, and the words began to appear:
"This is a maze. Each of you must find the door to the exit. During the maze, you will encounter wild beasts and creatures that you must fight to be able to move through the maze and find the door. However, be careful not to enter a false door. Whoever finds the false door and enters it will lose the challenge and the task. The victory will belong to the other challenger."
"You will find the door, but you must be careful not to enter through a fake door. Whoever finds the fake door and enters it will lose the challenge and the task, and the win will be for the other opponent. Khalid and Nalan closed the book and each began searching for the exit. They separated in the maze, and each searched for a path in the hope of reaching the exit before the other. But every time one of them left a path, they found a huge monster standing at the entrance, and they had to fight it in order to continue on their way.
Khalid found himself facing a monster with the head of a lion, the body of a dragon, and a type of monster he did not recognize. However, the monster fought with all its might, hitting Khalid with its tail with great force and sometimes scratching him with its hooves. The battle between him and that monster was intense. Sometimes he faced it, and when he found himself tired, he would hide behind a distant wall to regain his strength and then return to fight it again.
Nalan, on the other hand, encountered a monster with the head of a giant snake, a long tongue, two wings, and a tail resembling that of a crocodile. Its length was twenty meters, and he did not know how to defeat it as the fight was difficult. Every time he fought it, it would hit him with its tail, fly around him, and wrap around him, almost squeezing him. However, he managed to cut off its tail with his sword and free himself from it, escaping to hide behind a distant wall.
The task was harder than the first one, and the animals were very powerful, making the fight difficult."
Khalid and Nalan decided to change their route and go from another place, hoping to find another way. Khalid approached a road where a group of soldiers were guarding it, preventing anyone from passing. They declared war on him to prevent him from using the road.
Khalid fought them, one against five soldiers. He fought with all his might and skills in combat and won against two, but there were still three soldiers left. The more the fighting increased, the more fierce and powerful the soldiers became. Khalid managed to overcome another soldier, leaving him with two soldiers that he had to defeat in order to pass through this road.
He succeeded in killing all of them and passed through the road to another one to continue his search for a way out. Nalan, on the other hand, was still stuck and searching for a way out. He approached a road where he found a huge gorilla holding a massive weapon that ended with swords, scissors, and stones that it used to fight. However, Nalan was skilled in overcoming these types of attacks as he was well-trained in this type of combat. He managed to deceive the gorilla and make it look away from him, then ran at lightning speed until he left that road.
Khaled and Nalan met on the same road after both overcame the difficulties in their way. They greeted each other and started searching for a way out of the maze. They approached a path that seemed like an exit, but it led them to a beautiful girl carrying a sword. Behind her was a door with "Exit" written on it. Khalid approached the girl and lifted his sword to fight, while Nalan stopped and didn't come closer. Khalid fought and defeated the girl and entered the door alone, forgetting about Nalan. However, the real exit was behind Nalan, and he found himself outside the maze. The person who announced the winner declared that Nalan won the second task and his memory helped him remember the warning, while Khalid lost as he forgot about it. The score is now tied between Khalid and Nalan, where Nalan earned three points in this task.
His hand was ready with a sword to fight, and suddenly Nalan stopped and didn't approach. Khalid approached and began fighting with the girl until he defeated her and entered. He had to enter, but when he looked behind him, he found Nalan standing there and not approaching. He thought that he wanted him to win, and Khalid found himself approaching the fake door that they were warned about. Khalid entered it and found the real exit from the maze. He found himself outside the maze, and the person who announced the winner declared that Nalan had won the second task and his memory had allowed him to remember the warning, but Khalid lost because his memory failed him. Now the score was tied between Khalid and Nalan, with Nalan getting three points in this task.
The announcer for both of them said, "The second task has ended, and there are five more tasks left until we announce the winner and the victory according to the first law. Now you must take the book and return to the battlefield. The third task will be after seven hours from now." Khalid and Nalan found themselves back on the battlefield.
Tiam was waiting for them to know who won this time. Khalid told him, "Nalan won this time, his memory helped him to win this task. Now we are tied, and we have to return to the battlefield after seven hours from now to start the third task." The seer was happy to hear that Nalan had won this time, and that now they were tied. So there was a chance for Nalan to win this law.
Khalid, Nalan, and the diviner left the battlefield. Khalid headed towards the guesthouse, but the diviner told him that he was invited to the palace for lunch. There, he would meet Nalan's brothers and then rest and prepare for the mission. Khalid accepted the invitation and went with them to the palace. They were greeted by Hatun, who had a questioning look in her eyes, wanting to know who had won the battle. Before she could ask, Tiyam answered that Nalan had won, and she was overjoyed and congratulated her son. She then noticed Khalid and asked who he was and why he was in the palace instead of the guesthouse. Tiyam interrupted her thoughts and explained that Khalid was invited to the palace for lunch and to meet Nalan's brothers, as well as to celebrate Nalan's victory.
Nalan was instructed to take Khalid to his room while lunch was being prepared, and they would be called when it was ready. Khalid was amazed by Nalan's room, which was luxurious in every way. The furniture was very expensive, the bed was large and comfortable with many pillows, and there was a massive library filled with books. Khalid didn't know that Nalan loved reading and knowledge, which was why he won so easily since his memory was always present.
Nalan asked Khalid who he was, where he was from, and about his country. Khalid answered that he was Khalid bin Qasim, the son of the great Salman tribe, and he was the heir. He had trained extensively in the art of war but didn't know that his fate would lead him to a war with people from a country he had never heard of, with laws that he must win under. These laws were written for him and his descendants, and the seal on his leg with the face of the tiger was his father's way of marking his lineage, which would enforce these laws.
So you too are my heir and will be the ruler of your country after your father. The servant knocked on the door to ask Nalan for permission to let Khalid join them for lunch. Nalan stopped talking and took Khalid to the dining room where the table was filled with the most delicious food of every color. Khalid and Nalan sat down, and Tiam Hatoun ordered for Wahaj and Yasmina to join them for lunch.
Hatoun called her children, and Wahaj and Yasmina entered the dining room, each taking a seat. Yasmina's seat was facing Khalid, and when he looked at her, he felt his heart beat faster as she was extremely beautiful. He remembered seeing her face before in his dream on the first day he entered the city of Washandi. Yasmina looked at him and blushed, and her heart also beat faster. Wahaj was not interested in anything except food, and he did not even notice that there was a guest at the table with them. Tiam told Wahaj to calm down as he never got full from food, even though he ate a lot, and he never gained weight. After lunch, Tiam told Nalan to take Khalid to the palace garden to relax in the midst of the trees and flowers, and she would send them
herbal tea.
Nalan followed his father's instructions and took Khaled to the garden where they sat and drank herbal tea, relaxing and preparing for the third mission. Khaled's mind and heart were still preoccupied with Yasminah, and he believed he had fallen in love with the daughter of his enemy. It seemed like he wanted to rewrite history once again, and that the reason for his predicament was due to the love that destroyed his father's and his own life, which was a grudge against him and his tribe.
© Doaa Khaled
Washindi laws