Tuatu's voice

The men transmuted into panthers left the village and headed towards the forest of beasts. But Tuatu's power seemed to have diminished like scarlet flames waning as the black coals turned to whitish ash. The nectar stopped flowing from the bile-colored cloak fragments that fell away from the dark sky.

Three more days covered by dense night passed and the cloak of bile appeared again. More villagers were transmuted until the power of the two violet moons fell apart again.

– If it continues like this we will lose all the men in the village. We will all be transmuted into violet panthers. – Said the chief to the sorcerer.

– You must send the warriors to the forest of the violet panthers. We now know where those terrible creatures came from. They are daughters of Tuatu. We must go after them. Our god turns against us. Or has he never been on our side despite all the flattery he receives? Without knowing it, we hunted and killed their violet panthers. Now his fury falls upon us.

– And what's the point of going against the panthers?

– Doing nothing will not help.

– You did not answer my question.

 – Um... Gather the warriors. Do it. I will go with them. – Saying this, he turned his back and walked away, leaving no room for further questioning from the chief.

The warriors got ready. There were, in total, a hundred of them. The sorcerer cloaked in a bewitched glossy green panther skin poncho led them. They entered the mystical jungle. A putrid smell invaded his nostrils. The exhalations of fear emanating from the dismal trees fell on the men, but Caarô's spells were effective. The warriors were protected. Roars could be heard coming from all sides in the darkness.

– What do you want, wizard? You know we can't kill all these beasts. We will die sooner. And even if we did. What would be the point?

– You are welcome. That's not what we came here for.

– I understand you less and less, Caarô. What do you want from us?

– If we destroy the panthers, Tuatu's wrath will be even worse. Let's prepare a trap.

The sorcerer told the experienced warriors what he wanted. With his skills they managed to corner a large group of violet panthers. With arrows aimed at them and a fire trap ready to be lit, the sorcerer summoned Tuatu. The gall-colored cloak descended and surrounded the men.

– Stop, Tuatu! A transmuted man and the trap of fire and arrows will fall on his children.

The mist of bile billowed around the men as if indecisive. The sorcerer took a deep breath. He wasn't sure he would make it. Tuatu's voice then spoke.

– How dare you challenge me?

– And why wouldn't I dare? We have nothing to lose. Before half of these men have been transmuted, dozens of their children will be dead. We want an agreement.

The gall-colored mist writhed angrily.

– Very good, you got a deal. The panthers must live in this forest and be forgotten. You shouldn't bother them. Every six hundred years, when we appear in the firmament, we wish to find the panthers protected and then we will spare the humans from our wrath, but they must then sacrifice one of their own for transmutation. Otherwise the wrath of Tuatu and his brother will fall on the village.

– We accept the agreement.

– Seven boys were born in those night-covered days in his village; one of them must be exchanged for a panther cub without the parents knowing. The human newborn must be donated to the panthers, just as they will donate one of their own. The panther-child in your village will have descendants and will be a descendant who will promote the donation of the human for transmutation at the end of each cycle of six hundred years to come. He will be the executor of the moons.

The sorcerer agreed again. A panther cub was brought by a male. Caarô caught him. A purple nectar enveloped the cub that transmuted into human form.

– Go wizard. Take it and make the exchange. Your warriors will remain here until you return.

Caarô returned with the human baby and handed it to the panther. The nectar enveloped him and transmuted him into a panther cub.

The wizard's glossy green panther-skin poncho fluttered and fell from his body. He penetrated the dense mist of bile that surrounded the men. The poncho absorbed the bile-colored mantle that had descended from the two moons and acquired the hue and shine of green embers.

– Take sorcerer; Take this mystical poncho the color of ember green. It is formed by the gall of Tuatu and brother. When the panther-child becomes an adult, he must give him the glowing poncho from the mantle of the moons. The panther-man can transmute himself and visit his own in the forest of beasts whenever he wishes, but he must remain anonymous in the village at any cost. That's part of the deal.

– In the same way that we will not bother the panthers in their forest, they should not bother the men in their villages either. – Demanded the wizard.

The voice was silent for some time, but finally it spoke:

– Whatever. From now on the panthers will no longer dwell above the mystical forest, but under it. They must immerse themselves in the roots of the trees next to their trunks and live underground, in the underground city of the panthers, and this forest must be forgotten by men.

As he said this, the panthers that inhabited the forest of beasts jumped into the niches that were made near the tree trunks and penetrated their roots into the ground.