I am Jinn

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     When I was younger, I was naive. I was filled with bright ideas and optimistic beliefs of what the world beyond my village must look like. My utopia was quite simple, the jinn would follow the rules of life that were given to us by our Creator and the humans would follow the rules and doctrine give to them by our Creator. Now, as I stared at the woman who welcomed me into her home, I couldn't believe how stupid I had been.

     "You've made quite a name for yourself, Zrous," the female jinni smiled.

     "Well, that's not fair. You know my name and I don't know yours," I pointed out. 

     "Hazia," the woman began, "Hazia, daughter of Yeifal and Roeca." 

     "Hazia, thank you for saving me. I was certain that I was to meet my Creator soon. I do not know your parents' names unfortunately," I explained. I glanced towards where Olympus had been and realized that it was merely a speck in the distance. 

     "Not surprising, since you don't even know the Olympians," Hazia smirked. 

     "Olympians?" I asked in confusion. Was she talking about the jinn that lived on Olympus? Was she talking about my brother and his family?

     "The twelve Olympic gods. The ones that just tried to kill you. Really? You know so little about our world. No wonder you're fearless when it comes to challenging them. Where did you come from, Zrous?" Hazia asked before leading me towards the mouth of the cave.

     "Mother, you're not really bringing him into our home, are you?" Denit asked in disbelief. 

     "He is our guest. I didn't ask you to find him, much less save his life,  for nothing, Denit," Hazia replied. 

     "The Olympians want him dead. They haven't found us yet, but what will they do when they don't see him crushed against the base of Olympus, Mother?" Denit asked angrily. "They'll look for him!"

     "I can leave," I volunteered. "I don't want to put your community at risk for anything."

     Hazia sighed and grasped Denit by his neck before forcing him to look at me. The younger jinni fought against his mother's grips before exclaiming,

     "Okay! I get it! His fire is special! I just don't want our community to pay for his actions."

     "Come, Zrous. Let me introduce you to our village," Hazia smiled before leading me into the cave. 

      "Hazia! You've brought an outsider into our homes!" An angry male jinni called out before I could be given a tour. 

     "Relax, Xayran. I have found him, the one called Zrous. Look at his fire," Hazia explained. 

      "It s true then. You are the one challenging the Olympians?" Xayran asked in awe. 

     "I'm not challenging them. I'm correcting their wrongs. They are not gods, but simply of the jinn," I corrected. 

     "I have not heard that word in centuries," Xayran whispered. He was the oldest amongst the cave dwelling jinn, I noted, and commanded a great deal of respect from his peers. 

     "Then you know their words are nothing but lies?" I asked in confusion. The elder jinni nodded causing me to angrily add, "Then why not stop them from embarking on the path to damnation?"

     "Have you seen them, Zrous? They were given abilities we could only dream of.  We're not worried about their damnation, that path has already been set. What we're worried about is the corruption of future generations," Xayran whispered.