Darkness.
Boris didn’t remember what happened when he got to the village, only that it got really dark.
He most probably fell unconscious and got saved by someone.
Or at least that's the best explanation his mind could conjure for waking up in a bed that wasn’t his own, inside a house he didn’t recognize.
Boris looked around, inspecting the place. Very quickly, to his surprise, he finds the Grand Shaman watching him from a chair on the side of the bed.
The elder had long, grey hair. His face was riddled with ancient scars and too many wrinkles to count. His back hunched, his white robes falling down and touching the wooden floor.
“Did I pass out?”
“Yes, yes you did.” responded the elder with his gruff voice.
“So… di-did anyone else make it back from the Trial?” his voice breaks, but he manages to ask the thing that weighs most on his mind.
“Two of them made it back alive, though they were in a much better state than you. The rest… *sigh*, they weren’t so lucky.”
His classmates might have been acquaintances at best, and strangers at worst, but he was still deeply disturbed by the news.
The scrawny boy looked down, trying to process everything, but the elder didn't give him enough time to gather his thoughts.
“None of you passed the Trial.” said the old man, his voice containing a hint of pain, as he cut Boris’ scattered thoughts short.
“But we were attacked! The Todtec tribe was interfering, and so… so-”
Boris starts trailing off as he tries to think of something to say, but the elder cuts him off once again.
“I know. But tradition dictates that you will be sacrificed to the Goddess by the end of the month, and it's not like we have the means to feed three more mouths. Not with the Todtec tribe cutting down our hunting zone.” he explained slowly.
“But it's not fair!” shouted Boris, horrified by the prospect of being fed to the Tree of Life.
“I know. But as you very well know, tradition is what allowed our tribe to survive all this time, all the way since the time of the Ancients.” he pauses, looks at Boris, and continues. “But sadly, ever since Shambra broke tradition and angered the Goddess, our ways of life have become rather pointless.”
“What do you mean, Grand elder?” inquired Boris, a bit of hope sneaking its way into his voice.
“We are doomed, is what I mean. And since we are doomed, I think we can allow a few kids to live a few more months. But I would suggest you feed yourself to the Goddess before you get eaten by some beast, or worse, starve to death.” the elder takes a break, as he breaks out into a violent cough.
*cough* *cough* *cough*
But he recovers just as suddenly, continuing as if nothing was wrong, even though Boris knew otherwise.
“The village can no longer feed you, and I doubt you’d be able to do much on your own. Even if all three of you somehow managed to make it through a few more weeks, maybe even months, you’d probably just end up on the wrong side of a spear. So again, although it is up to you, I would suggest going to the Goddess and waiting for us there. We’re all going there soon anyways, you’d just arrive a bit earlier than us.”
Boris, without really thinking nor understanding all this doom and gloom the shaman was spewing, and seeing that there was an opportunity to continue living, he took it.
So what if he has to hunt his own food?
So what if he has to partake in this deadly war?
He didn’t struggle the whole Trial, crawling his way back to the village, just to get eaten by a shity Tree of Life.
‘Oops, that's blasphemy.’
But that’s how he felt about it.
If he had to fight for his life, then he would.
That is what made a great warrior, a true warrior like those in the ancient past. It was their fighting spirit.
Even if he couldn’t really be called a true warrior due to his weak body, he would at least embody the spirit of one.
The elder, seeing the fire of youth ignite inside the scrawny boy’s eyes, nodded his head in approval.
“Alright young man, now get out of my bed, and come have breakfast.”
At the mention of food, Boris’ stomach grumbled, and he quickly got up and started going to the kitchen.
“Let’s go old man!” he shouts, forgetting to show respect to the Grand Shaman, who also happened to be the leader of the village council.
‘Young people nowadays. So impatient.’
*cough* *cough* *cough*
Another coughing fit ensued.
Then, just as quickly as it arrived, it left.
The elder then left the room, going to his kitchen in order to prepare food for the two of them.
“This is the only food you’re getting, so make sure you enjoy it.” said the same gruff voice.
Although it sounded much nicer to Boris’ ears. This was largely due to the food he was being served, as well as the elder’s promise to not feed him to the Tree of Life at the end of the month.
The old man then placed two bowls on the table, which contained the indistinguishable fragrance of meat soup.
This delicacy in the village consisted of meat, vegetables, and water. Yet it was the best food Boris had ever tasted, leagues above the meals he was served at school.
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Over the course of the next hour, of which Boris only used a few minutes to devour his food, the elder talked with him about a few things he should know of before leaving the house.
So Boris learned that he would be joining a hunting squad consisting of him and the other two survivors of the recent Trial, which wasn’t that surprising since that was common practice.
Unlike the previous years, however, the number of members in the squad was quite low, very low in fact. Without any help from the village, hunting with just the three of them, with him being almost useless in direct combat, would really suck.
But at least the house they’d be getting won't be cramped.
Grand elder Greg also learned something from this hour long conversation. That being the fact that Boris was responsible for the recent forest fire.
“How did you know that the Kaliliac bush would turn the imploding mana into flames?”
Boris throws the elder a smug expression before replying.
“Why, I learned it from one of the elders.”
Afterwards, the old man started asking Boris questions about magic and different beasts. What he found out was that the young man was extremely knowledgeable.
Although he didn’t get all the questions right, he did much better than the average warrior, not that those guys ever bother learning magic.
But still, they learned the basics through experience, and there was quite a lot to learn. And yet this boy, who just barely survived his trial, already knew more than them.
Right then and there, to the youth's surprise, the elder took Boris as his apprentice.
He has been meaning to find an apprentice, but has been putting it off for one reason or another. However, with the war that the village now found itself in, he didn't think he had the right to keep putting it off.
If he were to die anyway, he’d at least die without regret. Passing on his knowledge, no matter how pointless it was in the grand scheme of things, was going to make the end at least a bit more bearable.
Of course, this was provided that the youth didn't die any time soon, and that they could hold out long enough for the boy to actually learn something.
‘Better late than never, as Khrono used to tell me.’ a tear finding its way out of his eye at the thought of Khrono.
----------------------------------------
Boris, now in his head thinking about all the possibilities that could come from becoming the student of the Grand Shaman, was promptly smacked in the head by reality.
He went to the house given to his squad by the village, and there he was met by his new teammates. When he saw their faces, reality dawned on him. Getting through to the end of the month, or even the week, wasn't going to be very fun.
This was mainly due to the looks his new teammates, Haptky and Boltana, were throwing at him. They had a very obvious look of disappointment radiating from their gaze.
Haptky was big, skilled, and liked to train from morning ‘till dusk. He was a true warrior, to say the least. Yet his face always bore the look of seriousness, unlike the more inspiring warriors of legend.
Yet the worst part about him, or at least the worst part in Boris’ opinion, was that his words always bore the pain of truth.
And oh boy, was it painful.
“Weakling, do you have any useful survival skills?” asked Haptky, the look of disappointment still evident in his eyes.
He didn’t expect the Weakling to have survived the attack, but if he made it back to the village in one piece, then maybe the scrawny boy wasn’t going to be dead weight.
“I can keep quiet, and I’m pretty knowledgeable about stuff.” replied Boris with his head held low, his confidence shattered in front of Haptky.
After all, Haptky embodied the dream Boris once had of being a great warrior. In front of him, all he could really see were the things he didn't have. The things he could never have, no matter how hard he tried.
Being called a weakling also didn’t help with his confidence.
“Alright, then keep in the back, and signal if you got something important to say while we’re out hunting.” said Haptky, trusting in the knowledge that got Boris out of the forest alive.
‘Although weak, a true warrior must trust his allies’ skills, and protect them. I just hope your knowledge is useful, or else I’d have to take care of both of you, and I don’t know if I’d be able to do that in the middle of a fight.’ thought Haptky as he started making towards the village gates.
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Boltana, on the other hand, kept quiet throughout the whole conversation. This was surprising, especially due to her usual energetic personality. But after thinking about the current situation, Boris managed to figure it out quite quickly.
Voltana was, after all, Boltana's twin sister. They, who were too scared to head into the forest, were urged by Boris to at least try their best to bring back a tribute for the Goddess.
Since only the three of them came back after that day, it’s not hard to guess what happened to Boltana’s sister.
So they walked together, all three of them keeping silent as they marched towards the village gates once more.
Haptky focused on the task ahead.
Boltana was trying to deal with the pain.
And Boris didn’t really know either of them that well, and he wasn’t very good at talking with people his age, so he chose to keep the awkward silence going.
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However, once they reached the gate, Boltana stopped.
The two boys, now technically men after the Trial, also stopped. They looked at her, questioning the abrupt action.
“Do you guys think it's possible to kill a Malakey?”
This was the first thing Boltana had said to the two of them, and it came as quite a shock to the two men.
“Yes, the Grand Elders have killed a few.” calmly informed Haptky.
“Not that. I mean, is it possible for us to kill a Malakey?”
Boris shook his head at her question.
“We are unable to injure it, so killing it is most definitely outside of our scope. Why do you want to kill a Malakey, anyway?” inquired Boris.
“To get my Inking done. The healer said that Malakey blood is best for the Sorcerer tattoo, so I need Malakey blood.”
“Well…” Boris replies. “you’re right. Although you could technically use any abomination’s blood, Malakey blood would make the Sorcerer tattoo stronger.”
“You want to be strong, right?” joins Haptky.
Boltana nods.
Haptky then turns to face Boris.
“All right Weakling, how would we go about killing a Malakey?”
The light inside Boris’ eyes dimmed a little, before it starts burning brighter as he begins explaining.
“In theory, if we had access to sonic attacks, we could destroy its ears. Which would then allow us to attack it from a distance without getting smashed in the process. But a deaf Malakey will probably just run around the place, so we’d need to set up a trap of some kind to keep it locked in place. But even after all that work, I don’t think we’d be able to scratch its skin. So although possible in theory, it would be difficult to pull off.”
“Very knowledgeable.” commended Haptky, before turning back to the red haired girl. “Well Boltana, there you have it. I, too, would like to have my Inking done with the right abomination blood. But I also doubt we’d get it done without dying, at least at our current level. Plus, tattoos are kind of useless without mana. So let’s just focus on surviving for now, and we can go abomination hunting later.”
“Let’s hurry up then.” shot back Boltana, life coming back to her face.
“I just hope we can pay the tribute by the next Feeding.” said Boris, pointing out something the other two forgot about.
They still had to pay taxes, as adults tend to do, which they now technically were.
“Right, let’s get started then!” replied Boltana, her energy coming back to her.
“We also need to buy armour and weapons if we are going to kill an abomination. So, since we have a long way to go, let’s go!” Boris followed, fired up by Boltana's enthusiasm.
Haptky started leading them again, going towards the dead woods. With his back turned to them, he smiles.
“Let’s do it then!” he said.
*bang* *bang*
As soon as they were outside the perimeter surrounding the wall, the warriors stationed at the gates started beating their war drums.
The sound attracting beasts, making the group’s hunting more dangerous, but also more efficient.
*bang* *bang*
----------------------------------------
So they ventured into the forest.
Even though they went there at the first chance they got, it just so happened to already be evening. This was due to Boris having slept for most of the day.
Meaning they had to go in fast, and come back fast.
After all, hunting in the dark was quite dangerous, so they had to use every bit of the day they could, as fast as they could.
Since their squad was smaller than others’ squads, they would also have a harder time scouting for beasts. And their lesser numbers would also slow down fights significantly, especially with Boris being useless during battles.
Although a weight the other two had to carry, he was by no means a dead weight. He did, in fact, help them quite a lot when it came to scouting for beasts, which was very welcomed by the other two.
With his help, they managed to find a beast to hunt. Well, they technically managed to find a lot of beasts before this one, but they weren’t strong enough to fight those.
But this rodent beast, they could most definitely kill, even with just the three of them.
Though, in the end, Haptky did most of the work.
Boltana helped him out, but only barely. She mostly stayed in the back, tasked with protecting Boris.
And Boris, while entrusting his safety to her, was focusing on the surroundings. Although he was useless in a direct fight, he was the best scout among the three, so Haptky made him the Spotter of the team.
His job was to check for anything that got attracted by the noise, and inform them before they got flanked.
At the end of the evening, and with much effort, the three of them managed to hunt a giant rat. A giant grey rat, to be precise, very similar to the one Boris saw trapped in that Kaliliac bush.
They could have probably done better if they didn’t have to take so many breaks due to Boris, who kept running out of breath quite often.
But in the end, they had a successful hunt. And that was a great morale boost for the three of them.
Thankfully they didn’t run into anyone from the Todtec tribe, though they didn't expect to, the possibility still kept them on their edge.
The warriors of Todtec were, after all, busy trying to seal away the cave on the east side of Omoshiro, and the Omoshiro elders were busy trying to stop them.
Though so far it’s just been a very intense staring contents.
The Todtec tribe outnumbered the Omoshiro tribe by 4 to 1, so it wasn’t surprising that the elders chose to just sit and stare, for now at least.
The Omoshiro warriors knew they had to make a move sooner rather than later, they were just waiting for an opportunity.
It was a tense situation, to say the least. But while that was going on in the east, Boris and his squad were hunting in the west, as far away from the frontline as possible.
----------------------------------------
They made it.
They were now back inside the village walls.
Night was now starting to take over, as the clouds in the sky grew darker and darker.
“Alright, we have a house all to ourselves now, so let’s go celebrate our first successful hunt.” said Haptky after arriving at the gates of the village, with the rat hanging off of his right shoulder, his spear being in his left hand.
“I don’t have any objections with that.” agreed Boris.
“Mhm…” nodded Boltana.
And as they were walking towards their house, thinking about eating the beast that they’ve worked so hard to catch, their stomachs all started grumbling.
“Do either of you know how to cook?” asks Boltana, a bit abashed by her lack of culinary skills. Something all the girls were though in class, but she was too busy training, and her sister-
“I can cook it, and I can gut it. But I want a bigger share of the meal for all my work.” said Haptky.
“Can you remove the inedible parts without breaking them?” asked Boris.
“Sure I can, though it would take a bit longer.”
“Please do that. I think I can make something useful out of it, which will probably speed up your- … our crazy plan.”
“What should I do, then?” interjects Boltana, not wanting to appear useless, but mainly afraid of being left with nothing to do.
“Fetch some water, wood, and vegetables.” replied Haptky.
“Okay!”
She then proceeded to run away from the group, intending to get everything by the time the boys got to the house.
“Hey Boris, I got a question for you.”
“Happy to answer.” replied Boris with mirth in his voice, happy that he had proven himself somewhat useful and that Haptky decided to call him by his actual, given name.
“Do you think you could find a way, or ask the Grand Shaman, to have my Inking done with a Belator tattoo.”
“Hmph… I’d have to look into it. But I don’t know what type of blood is needed, or the shape of the tattoo. If you want to have a perfect Belator tattoo, we’d also need to find and hunt a different abomination. I don't even know if we could kill a Malakey.”
“I know. I just don’t want to be a fake warrior mage, no offence to the Sorcerers in the village. But they're not true warrior mages even if they’re strong warriors and strong mages.”
“The Grand Warrior had a Belator tattoo, no?” asks Boris, trying to think of any leads he could use to find the Inking process for the Belator tattoo.
“Yes, but his one got damaged during The Retribution. And when I tried asking him about it, he got all silent, and his aura felt so intense. But then he just left.” a sparkle appeared in Haptky’s eyes. “ Yet that aura was merely a shadow of his former power, and it still felt so intense! That’s when I decided that I NEEDED to get it, in order to become a true warrior. So I would appreciate it if you could help me out.”
‘Well Haptky, I’m happy for you. I too once wished to become a true warrior mage, but the Gods had other plans. But if I can help you achieve your dream, if I can help Boltana achieve her dream, if I-…’ and then he realised, Boris realised something about himself.
He really wanted to help people achieve their dreams, so that nobody else may feel as helpless as he did when he was told that his dreams of becoming a great warrior were just that, dreams. And that there was nothing he, or anyone else, could do about it.
----------------------------------------
This was an intense day, at least for Boris, Haptky and Boltana, who had never hunted before; and also for the warriors having a staring contest in the east.
But night came, and everybody went back home.
The Todtec warriors, the Omoshiro warriors, Boris and his squad, the beasts that were out and about during the day.
Nobody wanted to be outside at night, for that is when the apex predators, both of the beast and abomination flavour, came out to play.
It was time to eat, rest, and try to do their best tomorrow morning.
Although Haptky was probably going to go out to the Pit and train right after their meal instead of resting.
And Boris would be working with rat bones and guts instead of resting.
Unlike Haptky however, Boris chose to do his work inside their shared house, which wasn’t welcomed by Boltana.
Seeing the things the frail youth was doing to the remains of the giant rat, Boltana kicked him outside of the house so as to prevent the smell and sight from disgusting her any further.
The house given to fully fledged warriors was one giant room with a fireplace, a dining table, and beds. It was definitely bigger than their shared rooms when they were in training, and it even had a shed to store things outside, perfect for Boris to now go and set up shop in order to conduct his work.
Sadly, this also meant that the smell was now inside the whole house, and so she had to go outside in order to escape it.
Being outside of the house now, she was left alone with her thoughts. She was thinking, and thinking about stuff could be scary. When she used to get scared, her sister would-
‘I gotta do something.’ thought Boltana to herself.
Quickly choosing between the disgusting Boris who was playing with animal guts in the shed, the smell still staining their new home, and Haptky who was probably training at the Pit, she decided to join Haptky.
Quite an obvious decision on her part, though she struggled with it for a short while. She definitely wasn’t going to hang out with Boris, but she was really curious about what he was doing.
So she plucked her courage, and pinched her nose.
“Boris, what are you doing with that rat?”
“A weapon!”
“What weapon can you make out of beast guts? Maybe you could fashion a short sword out of the spine, but then you don’t need all that yucky stuff.”
“It’s very simple, really. I’m making throwing daggers out of the bones, and I’m using the guts to create a… sort of poison, I guess.”
“Wouldn’t that make anything you hit inedible? And besides, why did you have to do it in the house? It really stinks in there now.”
“Sorry about that, I was just caught up in the creative process.” replied Boris, turning around and trying his best to make an apologetic face. “But to answer your other question, no it wouldn't, at least not this one. It’s a mana syphoning chemical, you see. Harmless to us, who haven’t even gotten our tattoos yet, but able to mess up a beast in the middle of the fight.”
“That would be useful!” exclaimed Boltana, before making her way out of the shed. “I can’t stand the smell, so make sure you clean yourself after you’re done. Good luck with your… ughh… creative process!”
Satiating her curiosity, she then went to the Pit and joined Haptky in training.