Patreon LogoYour support makes Blue Moon possible (Patreon)

The Coming Storm (Zaila & Alvis)

Elrane was quiet a moment.
"I don't know. Not for certain. You will remain with the army for the duration of the campaign. I cannot see the general surrendering you when you have obvious value. Whe we have our victory, you, and likely myself, will be sent back to the capital, Coral, to face the Lord of Panron. He will decide your fate. He is not a stupid man, so I do not think he would squander you. Likely you will become attatched to the court, and see your truths for him. The life he would provide you would be better than many. That is the most likely outcome." He told her. He crouched, and pulled the cloth cover back up over Dragon Fire.
 
She glanced up when he spoke, listening to what was soon going to be her fate. Being sent to the capital caused her chest to tighten, especially when she heard she'd be brought to an audience with the Lord of Panron. If the soldiers were this cutthroat she couldn't help but wonder what the -Lord- would be like. He had to put all the men to shame in so many avenues of battle in order to earn that title.

"I see...Will you still be my guardian when we go there?" It didn't matter that she'd be living a great life. The wealthiest of people were never happy with their luxuries because they were nothing but ornately covered prisons. The girls of high society were regulated and ruled by a certain set of customs and etiquette which kept them in a boxed in little world which was practically impossible to step out of. In essence, a cage, however gilded, was still a cage. All she could hope was that Elrane stayed with her and she didn't end up with a more cruel charge.
 
Elrane hesitated another moment.
"Also an unknown. I am a soldier Ananya. My life is freely given to my duties. The Lord may keep me there due to having experience guarding you, or may send me out with another force to seek new foes for the empire." He admitted. he heard the shuffling of feet, and a head poked into his tent.
"Sir! I have news!" The man said quickly. Elrane sighed in irritation.
"Out with it then."
"Scouts reached the wreckage of one of your attacks. Where you acquired the seer. After examining nthe wreckage, we found the burnt equipment from only a single legionairre." Elrane went still.
"Light or heavy?"
"Light sir." Elrane felt his eyes widening. The heavy had survived. Cuttle was still out there, and trhat meant his enemies knew that they had the seer. Things had just gotten more complicated.
 
Ananya nodded. She figured she would get an answer like that, but his mention of him having experience in caring for her seemed like a good enough reason to keep her under his care. After all, if she -was- given to someone else, she might rebel and not be as complacent as she was with Elrane. Surely a man as smart and logical as the Lord of Panron would realize this and take it into consideration.

Lips parted to ask a question only to press shut when someone peeked through the tent. She jumped up from her furs and backed away from the entrance, listening to their conversation. The burned remains of someone had been found where Elrane seized her. Cuttle... Already she could feel her stomach tightening in knots. True Elrane had -said- he was dead, but hearing it made it so final... However, as the conversation continued, her hope rose. Cuttle was definitely not a light man...That meant it was someone else's remains, whose she couldn't be sure, but at least she knew for sure now that Cuttle had survived and wasn't crushed by the building as Elrane had predicted.

A smile curled along her lips as she moved back toward her furs and pulled the Exclesia book back into her lap, hope rising in her chest once more. He was alive and he was coming for her... He'd do whatever he had to to rescue her and wouldn't stop until she was safely back with him.
 
"Inform the general I need to speak with him. Actions need to be taken, and now. Move!' He barked. The soldier scurried off to comply. Elrane began to pace. Cuttle was out there, perhaps even now rallying forces to intercept them. He looked over at Ananya, and saw the growing smile on her lips. His mood rose a little.
"Seer. What kind of man is this soldier? This, Cuttle?" He asked her. His eyes narrowed, and his fist clenched slightly.

The Exclesian warrior attacked again, that huge sword whipping out far faster than it had any right to, but the big man managed to roll across the ground under it, and swuing hard, everything he had in the swing. Sparks flew as the steel of his sword crashed into teh flint blade, but didn't so much as chip the stone weapon. He lunged forward, this time managed to connect, all his bulk crashing into the walking corpse. The warrior didn't so much as flinch, it simply pushed it's arms out, throwing Cuttle aside as if he was a child. he managed to keep his feet, but the stone bladed sword slashed out, ripping through his armour, and sending him sprawling, blood leaking from his chest.
 
It was a delight to hear how this news had unsettled her protector. That meant he knew that Cuttle was a man to be feared and perhaps because he was much like Elrane in the respect of his duties. Cuttle would stop at nothing to come and retrieve her and Elrane realized that, knowing the man wouldn't let emotion rule him as he cut through people on his rescue mission. She had no idea how close he was, but considering Elrane was already ordering actions to be taken, he probably anticipated him to be close and...not alone.

Her smile widened, back stiffening as she heard the captain's words directed toward her. She glanced up, the smile still there, more of a knowing smirk by this point as she shrugged her shoulders a bit. "A soldier, like yourself." Oh, however vague that answer sounded, she had just basically told him he'd be fighting his ultimate match, himself. "Are you prepared to fight him?" she asked softly, a light chuckle escaping her. She was being very disobedient and rude at the moment, but she had hope now and...since she knew she had a chance of being rescued she wasn't going to be play the subordinate little girl anymore.
 
Elrane slowly lowered his hand to his hip, and considered what to do from here. He might not have the luxury of playing nicely with her any more. He grit his teeth, when the flaps of the tent were pulled apart. Elrane straightened.
"General. I requested an audience with you." He said, bowing his head.
"And you would have had to drag the Seer through the camp, drawing more attention. I am here. I understand you are worried about a survivor from your raid." The general said calmly.
"Yes sir, he struck me as a stubborn one, and would know of the Seer. He would not allow such a tool to remain in our care."
"Well, we will accelerate our plans then. I plan to send a splinter of the army off. They will move to flank any relief forces that come when we lay siege to the next city in our path. They require a skilled leader." Elrane smiled, and looked up. Now was his moment. His return to command. "As you are occupied, who would you recommend?" Elrane felt his heart plummet. It would have been his greatest moment. He might have been able to distinguish himself enough to earn a promotion to a mroe prestigious position. But no. He was bound to the Seer.
"Sherilad, of the Urdomen. He would be an effective leader."
"I thought so as well. When you are able, perhaps you will gain the chance to shine more militarily. Until then Captain." The general left ehn, the tent flap closing. Elrane closed his eyes. All his years of service, all leading to this moment. And he was unable to make use of it, as he was assigned to protect the Seer. He turned around, so very, very slowly, to finally rest his gaze on Ananya. The source of all of his current trouble. His eyes blazed with unthinking anger.
 
Seeing the flaps open, her gaze shifted over to see who was visiting now, surprised to see the general until she recalled him having asked the soldier to fetch him. She shrank back a bit since the general still unnerved her, and his aura was thicker than she'd seen it last which meant he'd killed a lot more men since she had done the allegiance tests. Now she could only listen as they spoke about Cuttle and what they planned to do about him, but she stiffened when the general mentioned the splinter of army needing a skilled leader. No...He was going to assign Elrane... That meant she would have a different guardian.

However, hearing that the general made note to him being occupied and to recommend someone, relief washed over her as he named someone else. She would still have Elrane which meant she'd at least stay pure though...a new fear crept into her now. One that accompanied the back peddles she took as she watched Elrane's figure turn very, very slowly toward her. He was seething with rage...She could see his aura and it looked like flames dancing along his skin. Now she had a choice...She could either run from the tent and risk being captured or stay here and face whatever his mind was contemplating on delivering. "Elrane...I"m sorry you didn't get the position...but...it's not my fault..." Her voice shook as her chest tightened, a frightened gulp sliding down her throat.
 
"Isn't it? Twenty years, Seer. Twenty Panron damned years I laboured for this oopportunity, only to have it snatched from me by the presence of a girl. You. And you alone." He spoke very quietly, his tone deathly quiet. He advanced very slowly. His teeth were bared, grinding together as he spoke. He took a quick step, closing rapidly with her, snapping a hand out to sieze her wrist, his powerful fingers gripping the wrist that didn't have a sheathe on it. The dagger would be impossible to draw without a free hand. "And all for what? To see my career destroyed by your presence? And gain nothing from it? Now Seer, you learn well the price of defiance." His other hadn ripped the wrist sheathe away, along with most of the dress sleeve, befoer twisting, his arm extending, launching her through the air, to land face down on his bed. Between her and the door, he advanced on her.
 
Ananya could feel fear start to creep into her skin, pricking sensations running along her arms and travelling down the expanse of her body as he spoke. The tone he used was much, much worse than if he'd been screaming at the top of his lungs. It was the tone of pure anger, of so much rage that he could barely make his voice higher than a whisper. All she could do was wait to see what would happen, eyes widening as he started advancing on her. It was slow...teasing, taunting. Each step made her heart skip a beat and her throat get a little more dryer until he took that final step. The snatch of her wrist was so quick it took her a moment to get her bearings, fright-filled, milky eyes flicking up towards his expressionless visage as she tried to pry his fingers from her wrist with her other hand. "No...it wasn't... I'm sorry..." Hearing that she would learn the price of defiance stayed her attempts to try and loose his fingers from her slender wrist, her heart pounding in her chest painfully as he tore the sheathe from her other wrist, making her defenseless.

The twist of his arm and the extension was enough force to send her careening through the air and land her face down on the bed, fingers pushing into the comfortor once she landed, pushing herself back up before he had a chance to pin her down. Quickly, she scrambled from the bed, moving to the other side of the tent and watching his movements carefully. Unfortunately...She had no where to go. She was stuck in here with him because chancing a run outside could possibly land her in the hands of William or Anaster. Both of them no longer cared about upsetting the general...They just wanted her. "Elrane...I'm sorry...I didn't do anything...It's the general you should be mad at. He-He's that took the position away from you." She wasn't near any weapons and, even so, she couldn't attack him... He was the only one she trusted, but she knew there was little hope of calming him from this anger spell.
 
"And why did he do such a thing? Because his newest tool needed to be looked after. I would be leading an army right now, if I had let you die in that village. If I had let Anaster take you. If I had let William take you. But no, I am bound here now. And now, from my retraint, I am gifted with the seeds of your defienace. And that will no longer do." He said, in that ever so quiet tone. His hands came forward, in front of him, hooked into claw like forms, ready to sieze anything he could get a hold of.

Cuttle crawled back, his blood leaking steadily away. The warrior advanced, and stood beside him, raising the great flint sword high for a killing blow. Cuttle put everything he had into a shiled swing, the edge hitting the bone of the lower leg, this time managing to break it. Te warrior toppled to the ground, and Cuttle scambled to his feet, wincing at the pain in his chest. The rest of the host looked on at him.
 
She just continued to stare as he spoke, grimacing when he said the world "tool" since, not only was it insulting, but the tone in which he said it made it that much more hurtful. It was like comparing her to an inanimate object. A piece of property that existed for no other reason outside of serving the general. Her eyes watered and she closed them to try and fight back the tears before opening them again, just in time to see his hands reaching for her. She squealed in fright and darted away from the line of his grasp, just out of reach from his hands.

"You won't do this... I know you won't... Something about me reminds you of something. You can't look me straight in the eyes without looking away and you always get distant afterward. Also, despite it being your duty, you wouldn't have fought so hard to keep those men from getting to me. Something inside you has compassion for either me or someone that I remind you of... Just please think about that. Think about how that person would feel were they in my place right now."
 
"Compassion? If only you really saw." His back rippled again, but this time he held onto the feeling. "Any scrap of compassion I once felt was burned from me when they cast me into the fire." The thought of the eyes though...that caught his memory. Those eyes...the terrible feeling that accompanied them. Seeing less and so much more than his own. Those eyes, burning into his mind, seeing all of him at once. He shuddered, a violent reaction that stopped him cold. She wasn't that strong. yet. In time, she would likely gain such strength. He turned away, his back still rippling with half remembered pain. His breath was shaky, recalling both moments, so close to one another.
 
A brow arched in confusion as to what he meant by her "really" seeing his compassion. Was he referring to scars he'd endured from said compassion, both internal and external? A ripple in his aura occurred which caused her to tense up again, thinking it was a ripple of anger and unaware it was nothing but a remembrance result. Sympathy panged through her when he spoke of a fire, not knowing whether it was metaphorical or literal, but it was clear either way it had effectually destroyed some part of his former self. She shivered a bit and rubbed her hands up her arms, never letting her eyes drop from his form.

Seeing him shudder suddenly, as she had, caused the confusion to return, her expression questioning. What was even more strange was the fact that after the shudder was performed he seemed to just stop advancing. As if he'd hit an invisible wall and couldn't penetrate it, yet...his body language told of something different. His aura stopped flaring and became constricted which only happened when someone's body tensed up voluntarily and was usually due to some traumatic connection. It was a result of what she'd brought up which made her even more curious...Someone with eyes like hers had managed to make this man so terrified he froze?

Maybe she could use that...but how? She had no idea what powers the other person possessed. She could lie...After all, he'd only seen her use her aural abilities. How was he to know if she had more? The sound of his shaking breath broke her from her inner contemplations, feet slowly shuffling forward, stopping once she was only a couple feet away from him. "What happened?" Despite what the situation had been prior to this moment, she had to put that aside. He was now a human, an innocent, scared male that needed comfort, ironically from a similar person to who caused the pain in the first place.
 
"I was told to kill a traitor to the Panron. I did so without hesitiation, it was his due. But then, as an example, I was told to kill his family as well. His wife. His twin daughters, barely seven years old. I refused. To do so would be...wrong. My compassion for them stilled my hand. I was sent to the Lord of Panron himself for judgement. Within his throne room, was the pillar of Panron, a flame nearly twenty feet high, and for my crimes, I was cast into it. Tempered in it. Forged. Compassion yields me nothing now. Duty. Honour. These will see a man through his life." Elrane said quietly. His back still throbbed with the memory of flames. It felt hot. The mind might push it back, try and forget it, but the body remembered.
 
The beginning of the story didn't surprise her really since traitors were rarely ever kept alive. If they were, it was usually because they possessed some sort of skill and were enslaved and used as a tool for the same group they betrayed. It was similar to Ananya's situation, but she wasn't a traitor at least. Inwardly she was...She absolutely hated everyone here and was still trying to figure out a way to escape, not caring who she had to take out in order to achieve that.

The rest of his story was something she wasn't expecting, however, the news of having to kill the family causing her eyes to widen. She silently prayed within her mind that he hadn't harmed the young girls, breathing out in relief when he said he hadn't. Still, the staying of his hand would have to be dealt with since he'd violated a direct order, but she never suspected the punishment to be for him to be thrown into a fire. The immense pain and agony that must have caused was surely enough to snap and break whatever compassion the man had prior to it happening. She felt her chest tighten, eyes glistening with tears before the liquid slid down her cheeks and along her throat, stopping at the collar of her dress.

"I'm sorry that happened to you..." she said softly, backing up a little again. Right now he was in a fragile state and saying the wrong thing could easily send him over the edge so she had to be careful.
 
Elrane laughed dryly.
"Sorry? For your captor, your jailor? Such sentiments do not befit you Seer. When we both know you would push into the fires all over again, if would give you a chance of escape. After all, if you did not know exactly who would end up with you, you'd likely think to try something of an escape. No, you are not sorry for my past. And you will gain no sympathy from me for pretending." He replied, shaking his head. In his mind, he was reeling. He had lost his control, and in doing so had almost dishonoured the uniform he wore, one of the only not defiled. Such lapses would be catastrophic. While the general condoned what he had almost done, he himself would not stand for it.
 
Ananya -was- genuinely sorry for him, but his words rang true... In the beginning, Elrane had been nice and respectful toward her wishes, allowing her to hold onto the purity and innocence she still clinged to. Recently, however, his demeanor had changed, became more unpredictable which meant she was no longer confident in Elrane holding to his ideals she thought they'd established when this little duo was created. It was because of this that, yes, she would throw him into the fire given the chance because, in doing so, she might actually traumatize him enough to return him to normal. In an insane way, that actually made sense.

"You're right," she agreed, nodding softly. "But, I -am- sorry for your past. No one should have to endure that great a pain just because they had a heart and refused to take the lives of two innocent little girls. Orders defied or not, I don't believe it was a just punishment at all and it makes me see the general as even more of a monster than I thought him previously to be." She watched his aura. It was all over the place... One minute it was calm and fiery, the next constricted and tense, and then it was half and half, which she'd never seen before now. Part of her sympathized with the man since it was clear he had many, many inner tribulations constantly plaguing him. She was glad that the only thing she had to mull over was how to escape this place and avoid being sent to the Lord. All she could hope was that Cuttle rescued her in time to stop that from happening.
 
"Keep away from me now Seer." Elrane wanred coldly. His anger had changed. It had cooled, annealed into something all together different. It had burned hot before, and had used him. Now, it had finished it's course, and was cold, letting him use it. He looked down at a half clenched hand. Panron's Eyes, had he really become so weak as to let this girl get to him? He straigtened. No more. Not ever again. He turned to face her again. "Instructions will be given to you. And you will comply with them, instantly, and without complaint, or you will feel the brunt of my punishment. And I will deal with defiance severely Seer." In his own eyes, she was fading from a scared person, and bcoming more of the simple tool that the general saw her as. A flawed, imperfect tool, but a tolo nonetheless.

He was off of the ground, chains holding his arms out, his feet hanging a few inches from the ground. William darted his eyes around, looking at the Seerdominae around him. They were calmly going about their preparations. Slender knives, so thin they were almost invisible when looking at them edge on, where being treated. They were sterilized in flames, heating them, and then left to cool, before being slid into a bucket filled with ice. When they removed them, the cold was intense enough that you could feel it from several inches. William felt his breath getting more shallow as one of them approach him, knife in hand.
"Please..." He said quietly. The Seerdominae's expression was unreadable through his full face helm, but if he felt any compassion or sympathy, his body did not show it. He placed a hand on William's chest, steadying the man as he brought the knife close. William started to quiver as the blade came close.
 
The tone in Elrane's voice stayed her steps, a gulp sliding down her throat as she nodded softly. "Alright..." She moved back toward the other side of the tent, backward steps so that she could keep her gaze upon Elrane the entire time. Something had changed in him...His aura was no longer all over the place; it was calmer, but she knew that didn't exactly mean he was no longer angry and his tone alluded to the fact that his mood had changed into something else entirely. Seeing him turn, she stiffened, attention entirely on him and what he was going to say to her.

The stiffness increased as she heard both his words and the intonation in which they were delivered. It was back to business with them, straight business, only it was going to be more strict this time around. Tugging at his compassion had worked, but she knew that at some point it was going to fizzle out, just...she hadn't expected it so soon. Hearing him speak of punishment was strange since, within the few weeks they'd been together, that aspect hadn't been incorporated. Her throat went dry as she nodded, her muscles tensing when he spoke of dealing with her severely. She wouldn't dare ask a question as to what severely meant, but after seeing his masterful skill with Discipline, she could only imagine.

This brought about a new fear as well. Not new to her, really, but new to the situation since she'd only worried about it happening with Anaster and William. Elrane had paused in his attempt to take her, her words swaying him efficiently, but...with this new found personality and demeanor, she wasn't sure what to expect. After falling into the mindset of how Elrane was and how to keep him from getting angry, she had no idea how to adapt herself to the new person that had emerged from him. Woodenly, she moved over towards the furs again and settled on them, reaching an arm out for the leather sheathe he'd given her, granted she wasn't stopped she'd pluck it from the ground and fasten it around her wrist once more.
 
Elrane ignored her reacquisition of the dagger. It'd do her now good against him anyway. But it might help her against a less skilled attacker. A part of him still rankled at giving her that particular knife, but it was one he trusted. The tent flap opened, and a soldier poked his head in.
"Captain, we're beginning to pack for the march. The general would like you and the Seer in his command palanquin. But her presence is requested to be kept covert." The man sais quietly. Elrane glanced around, before settling his gaze on something that would facilitate this.
"I will be there momentarily soldier. Dismissed." He said casually. The man nodded, and withdrew. Elrane lifted a large bag used for storing gear, and tossed it to her. "Get in the bag." She hesitated, as if wondering if he was in fact serious. His patience exhausted, he stepped to her, and grabbed a fisstful of hair on the top of her head, jamming her uncerimoniously into the bag, flipping her up so she all but fell into it. He hoisted the bag roughly, and pulled the drawstrings.
"Scream Seer, adn I will drop you onto the bed, and show you Discipline." He warned, and then set off for the palanquin.
 
Ananya was relieved when Elrane ignored her reacquisition of the dagger. She knew it wouldn't work against him by basic deducing of her own accord. After all, why would he give her a weapon that could be used against him? He probably had some kind of charm over him that made him impervious to the weapon. Perhaps he had it on -all- his weapons...It would make sense since, in case of a break in to his tent, he wouldn't want the embarrassment or humiliation of being killed with his own weapon. Seeing the tent flap open, she lifted from the furs again and backed up toward the south side of the tent, not wanting to interrupt the conversation between Elrane and the soldier, but it was also a way of feigning fear of any authority figure that came into the tent. However, given Elrane's new mood, she wasn't sure how much longer that would be fake and not a true feeling.

Her spine tightened when she heard the general requested her and her protector's presence in his palanquin. The general scared her more than anyone else she'd encountered during this ordeal and now she was going to be mere feet from him unable to escape? Her chest tensed making her breathing shallow and her heart-rate pick up rapidly in a matter of seconds. Not only that, but the soldier had mentioned keeping her covert which meant she'd need to be hidden... The tossing of the bag revealed just -how- this would be accomplished. She just let the thing fall, staring down at it and shaking her head, backing away from the gear bag, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I don't...want to," she said softly, the weakness in her voice betraying just how much of a mistake saying those words were. When he ordered her to get into the sack, she shook her head, backing up a couple more steps and watching in horror as he came bounding towards her. His fingers sought purchase in her hair, gained it, and used that as a vessel to lift her from her feet and stuff her into the sack. Before he could draw the strings, she tried to climb back up, but he flipped it so she fell into the bottom of the bag, the sides pushing in tightly and making it difficult to move. She pushed against the sides, lips parting to let out an earth-shattering scream, but it was immediately ceased, before becoming vocal, by his warning. He'd threatened to use Discipline... Whimpering softly, she settled and crossed her arms over herself, pulling her knees up to her chest, closing her eyes and allowing tears to spill down her cheeks in silence as they made their way to the palanquin.
 
Elrane carried her to the palaquin, seing it was only now being lifted to it's place on the top of four trained elephants. A set of stairs led up to it, and he climbed, his bundle staying mostly still. He was glad of that. The gneral was on his throne, not seeming to care about how the floor was shifting at that moment while the palaquin was set onto it's harness. Elrane swung the bag around, adn dropped it with a thud.
"I brought you the Seer, as you asked, sir." Elrane said simply, opening the strings of the bag, allowing Ananya to exit.
"Well done Captain. once we are underway, the two of you will jion me nad my companions for a meal. And some minor entertainments. Are you able to maintain control of your charge?" The general asked.
"Yes sir. Without doubt."
"It may take some effort though?"
"Perhaps." The gneral chuckled.
"Perhaps That will add to the entertainment. Seer, stand before me now."
 
She stayed silent the entire journey, save for a couple whimpers and crying sounds betraying the fact that she was bawling within the confines of the sack. She sniffed and wiped her eyes when she felt Elrane stop, knowing he'd arrived at the palanquin and they'd be stepping into it within seconds, inadvertently trapping Ananya inside. The bag was dropped, unceremoniously, her fingers immediately moving to the opening to pry it open while Elrane pulled from his side allowing her exit from the bag. She crawled out and settled in the corner away from both Elrane and the General, her eyes averted toward the ground where she glared at the patterning of the rug on the floor. Fingers picked at it as they spoke, teeth grinding in anger towards the manner in which they were speaking. It was like she was nothing but a sack of coal. She didn't even feel human when they were speaking about her.

Eyes widened in pure fear when she heard the general address her, muscles tensing in terror for a few moments before she managed to gain enough control back to tentatively push herself up from the ground. Wooden steps brought her before the general, her body frozen with fear, fingers nervously fumbling with each other in front of her waist. Those milky hues were turned down, not only because she didn't want to risk incurring the wrath of the general, but also because she hated his aura. It was like thick black fire and that only represented one thing, evil. There was absolutely nothing good left in this man anymore, only maliciousness, malevolence, and darkness. "Yes Sir?" she asked softly, her voice barely above a whisper.
 
"Are you afraid of me Seer?" He asked her casually. His left hand toyed idly with a slender rod. The item was made of iron, but had gold inset all along it, capped on either end with ivory, and studded with beautiful gemstones. Sitting beside him was a beautifully wrought broadsword, the blade starting very narrow from the hilt, but flaring out until it was nearly a palm wide, before starting a long taper to it's point. The hilt was simple, save for three long clawlike lengths that reached up to touch the blade just above the widest point. A single word was on it. Diamondfire. It shone lightly, similarly to the great sword Elrane had shown earlier. The palanquin was sarting to move, showing that the army was on the march once more.
 
Back
Top Bottom