I am Jinn

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     Have you ever been the underdog in any situation? There is just something absolutely optimistic about an underdog situation. You know that all odds point towards the favorite, yet you can't help but have hope and cheer for the underdog.  I have felt that way my entire years of dormancy. Zeus was the alpha of our family and I wasn't even close to being omega. Here was my brother, the pride and joy of Cronos and Rhea, a jinni already powerful enough to sit and listen to the Council of Elders and on the other end of the spectrum was I, a jinni who had spent a good majority of his life in his brother's shadow. Zeus was powerful and he knew it. However, he was never full of pride in my early years of dormancy.

     Even though every jinni I had ever met praised Zeus, it was Zeus who believed in the underdog initially. He believed in me. That was sort of strange coming from someone who could shape shift, fly, and even control some aspects of the weather. He was a member of the elite in our community and I was part of the dregs, the bottom of the barrel. He was kind to me when I entered my dormancy period. He would take time out of his day to stop by the house and check on me. He would encourage me to find my powers within and then work on them before the erupted into their full forms after my awakening. He was kind and then something changed. 

     I remember it vividly. Zeus was a jinni who had voluntarily stayed home when he could have traveled the world and made his own life elsewhere. It was only natural for him to have many friends, but there was one friend who was closer to him than the others. His name was Ityan and he was nearly as powerful as my brother. I say nearly because Zeus was gifted, but Ityan became who he was by pure determination. They were polar opposites when they first met. Ityan was proud and weak by the jinn standards. Zeus was humble, yet powerful, by any standards. It was perpetually strange to see them bond so quick and become best friends in practically a few years. Ityan had the power to generate fire. He boasted about the ability to anyone that would listen since that ability was very rare amongst us jinn. 

     I never liked Ityan. His pride was something I could not stomach. Even in my dormancy phase, I knew that there was an evil that rested inside Ityan that would one day erupt and leave our community in shambles. Zeus would invite Ityan over for meals and the very way he spoke about our rules and our elders would leave me feeling unnerved. It was widely known that Ityan considered humans to be inferior to us. My mother and father didn't agree, but since it was one of the rules upheld by our elders to speak freely, they listened to Ityan's drivel.  He seemed to hold humans at a level equivalent to insects. I had always admired humans and their tenacity to prevail, thus I was always at odds with Ityan. 

     One day, Zeus came into our home with Ityan and his sister in tow. There seemed to be something wrong with their demeanor as Ityan paced around the room. 

"What's wrong?" I asked in my innocence as Zeus rushed past me. 

"Later, Zrous. I don't have time for you right now," Zeus whispered angrily as he pushed me away from him. 

I collided with a shelf behind me and rubbed my back as Zeus called out for our father. 

"What is it, Zeus?" Cronos asked as he entered the room in a hurry. 

"Something bad has happened-," Zeus began, but was cut off by Ityan.

"It was an accident, Cronos! I never meant to-," Ityan stammered only to be silenced by Zeus's look.

"What was an accident?" Rhea asked as she now entered the room after hearing the commotion.

"We were in the valley, watching the human village below," Zeus began, but bared his teeth as Ityan's sister now interrupeted. 

"He meant no harm, Cronos. Ityan isn't a violent sort," the woman began hysterically.

"Shut up, Hera. I'm dealing with it," Zeus growled and then looked at our father.

"What did Ityan do, Zeus?" Cronos asked seriously.

"He was playing with the humans, out of range of course. He struck a branch with fire and the humans huddled to it, praising their gods," Zeus began.

"You know that human interaction is forbidden! Why would you test our laws like that?" Rhea asked in anger.

"If it's that much, I may be able to to get the Council to forgive your blunder," Cronos shook his head.

"Humans are stupid, father. They are ignorant about the simplest of things. Instead of watching from afar, they came to worship the fire. The fire Ityan created, father," Zeus continued. 

"Humans are curious. Why do you think we live in secluded areas? So they do not become overly curious about us, Zeus. Why are you weeping, Hera?" Rhea asked the younger woman.

"There's something else, isn't there?" Cronos asked in suspicion. 

"The humans began feeding the fire to make it grow, so it would not burn out. It was a sign from their gods," Zeus smirked before returning to the scowl on his face.

"What happened then?" Cronos asked irately.

"They were hurt, weren't they?" I asked softly as I put two and two together.

"What do you mean? Is Zrous right? Did you hurt the humans?" Cronos asked in disbelief.

"The fire spread from the branch to the underbrush. It lit the village within an hour," Zeus whispered. 

"Humans are made of clay, Zeus. They can't be so close to fire. What if one of them were sleeping?" I asked innocently.

The look on Zeus's face confirmed my suspicions as he pushed me violently and roared,

"Why do you care for them? Who cares if one or two humans die? Ityan will be executed because of the humans' stupidity! Are you jinn or man?!" 

Cronos's face was expressionless as he whispered, 

"You killed them?"

"It was an accident, Cronos!" Ityan wept as he threw himself at my father's feet. He grasped my father's legs desperately before wailing,

"Please don't let them execute me!"