ZALVA (29) is a witch that lives just outside of Vevenuran village. She steals resources from the villagers who discriminate her for her use of magic, to get by. During one of her hauls, a band of thieves take all the rest she was to take. They appear to follow her code, not attacking children to get what they desire. With a poor looting, Zalva stalks them to their camp. She doesn’t make it a confrontation but some thieves do. Their leader, CHEO (37) quells them. Cheo makes an offer to Zalva, who takes a fancy to his ruggedly handsome appearance. She must win a fight against him to achieve most of their haul and she’ll be allowed to leave. In addition, they’ll never target Vevenuran again, leaving their supplies all for her taking. If she doesn’t accept, the two sides will risk battling for their future lootings and if she loses the fight, she will have to work alongside them to earn her loot back. She refuses the offer, leaving because the band overall. A couple of months pass. Zalva and thieves come face to face at the village. Cheo rescues Zalva from an attack. There, she falls head over heels for him. Cheo apologises for his group’s behaviour and states he’s set them straight. Zalva wishes to see so before asking to join them. All the group minus RABON (25) and the outcast of the band, his half-brother JAVI (16) have changed their mindset, so she chooses to travel with them.

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On the journey to their thief’s guild headquarters, Zalva tries to win over Cheo’s affection, but it seems like she doesn’t need to because he is a tease. The two brothers believe something fishy is going on with Cheo. When they arrive, Cheo invites Zalva to sleep in his room, meanwhile the rest of the band drink at the tavern. Zalva wakes in the night to suffer through Cheo taking advantage of her. Cheo muffles her screams but Javi hears Zalva’s suffering. He as a boy still going through puberty understands he isn’t strong enough to fend off Cheo. Javi prays that Rabon comes back from the tavern with the rest of the thieves. Javi helps Zalva by stealing her staff whilst Cheo is out and returning it to her. He also helps her escape the thief’s guild headquarters and head back home on a horse. Zalva is frightened that he will chase after her. Javi ensures he’ll sadly do the same to another woman, so she needn’t be worried. Zalva wants to the have the courage to stop that, but her fear of Cheo prevents her from doing so. Zalva rides away to her home.

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Cheo confronts the band and demands to know who let Zalva leave. Scared of Cheo, most of the band rat out Javi for going back from the tavern early. Cheo takes out his dagger. Javi runs. Rabon holds Cheo back, begging for a duel that if he loses, he accepts his life as forfeit instead of his half-brother’s. Cheo accepts. Rabo dies in a dagger struggle. With Rabon gone, Cheo sets his sights to kill Javi, but Javi is gone. Cheo yells at his men for not keeping watch. Javi rides out on a stolen horse in tears to Vevenuran. Once there, he asks around about ‘the witch’. They all speak horribly of her but state she lives two miles away at the top of the cliff. Javi defends Zalva and steals a bunch of supplies for her. He happens upon her watch tower home. He enters; she shrieks. Zalva demands he leave because Cheo will have tailed him. Javi offers to take her away somewhere far from Vevenuran, so she can start anew. Zalva sees no point. She tries to end her life using her own magic, but Javi skews her staff and takes the hit to his leg. Zalva goes to patch him up. Him saying she’d have to kill him before killing herself makes her value him as someone worth living for. Javi adds that Rabon duelled Cheo and died to try ensure his and hers safety, so he wishes she values the sacrifice his half-brother made. Zalva takes Javi upstairs and hides him in a wooden chest. She states she’ll fight Cheo and his men herself. Javi tries to dispute but his leg fails him. When Zalva goes back downstairs, grabbing her staff, Cheo breaks the door down. His men plunder Vevenuran in the meanwhile. Cheo tries to utilise the trauma of her prior night to wear her down mentally, so he can make her his prize forever to keep. The fight goes upstairs. Javi springs out from the wooden chest, pulling Cheo over. Zalva gets the kill on Cheo just before his dagger pokes Javi’s eye out. The two friends ride away on horseback to a new place where they can live together as joint outcasts.