Chapter 4

“This day and age needs more than diplomacy, it needs dominance. An executioner of discipline and fear over all of Plathara. I have tried but failed at many attempts, so I will pass this burden to my son and make it my life’s work to make him better than me.”

-Quote from Kado Atomo

Koden broke free from his frozen state knowing he had to take action. The new stampede of boars were mere seconds away from entering the ambush point. “Everyone get out of here! Flee now!” Koden exclaimed, seeing the Nabi people dying in vain.

Only a few Nabi warriors retreated, the rest choosing to continue their battle fearlessly. Koden disgruntled by the people's foolish insubordinance resumed, viciously fending off the boars. “Fine die, see if I care,” Koden said carelessly.

With all of the traps being used the Nabi had no other means of defense against the beasts. The ambush point was in shambles, even the snake fang trap became inoperable because of the disarray. The situation became increasingly hopeless as Koden looked at the Nabi people throwing their lives away.

Nivra thinking quick on his feet summoned his familiar, Sura. The energy released rapidly manifested into a storm of blue nimora forming a serpent. “Use everything you've got Sura,” Nivra ordered, seconds away from colliding into the ambush point.

Sura let out a piercing hiss as it lunged forward at a passing boar. It sunk its long fangs into the boar's throat quickly freezing the boar's blood, instantly killing it. Nivra darted in between the beasts in search of his brother amidst the chaos. Moments later he caught a glance of Koden in the distance. “Koden, over here!” Nivra shouted.

“It's about time I get help from someone who's not useless!” Koden yelled in frustration, slamming a boar into a tree with a gravity wave.

“What's the plan?” Nivra asked.

“The white boar, that's the plan!” Koden exclaimed, jumping over to Nivra.

“Lets sick our familiars on him and we'll deliver the killing blow,” Nivra suggested.

They both turned to the white boar only to see Bahka mindlessly charging at the beast with a simple bone spear. With ease, the white boar smashed him into the ground with his battle-scarred snout. Bahka didn't stand a chance as the boar began beating him back and forth with his tusks. In a matter of seconds, the rapid pummeling knocked him unconscious making his body limp. The boar dug its tusks into the dirt in hopes to impale him, but in doing so, the tusk got caught on Bahka’s robe. The white boar raised his head and noticed Bahka dangling from its tusk. It bucked a few times trying to unhook Bahka from him, but finding it useless it continued its rampage. “You have got to be kidding me,” Koden angrily said after witnessing the incident.

“Well, there goes our plan,” Nivra remarked.

“I say we just do it anyways and forget about the idiot,” Koden suggested.

“No, think of the reward,” Nivra said, reminding Koden. “I'll have Sura bind him down so you can get that cuck, and I'll be behind you with a finishing blow.”

“Alright, let's do this,” Koden said.

“Sura, hold that white boar down!” Nivra commanded, pointing at the beast.

Sura quickly darted at the boar and began coiling around him, restraining its legs. To submit the boar further the serpent bit into the side of the beast releasing its icy venom. The white boar only taking a few more steps, toppled to the ground. Before the boar could recover Koden jumped over to its snout and unsheathed his sword. He grabbed onto Bahka and slashed his blade upward, severing the fabric of his robe that was caught on the boar's tusk. Upon freeing Bahka from the boar, Koden jumped away from the area. “Now Nivra!” Koden exclaimed, landing on a nearby tree branch.

At a distance, Nivra took a throwing stance with his spear in his hand. Coating the spear head was a thick layer of black nimora energy. Nivra drew the spear back, and with a few leaps forward he hurled the weapon at the boar. As it soared through the air a trail of nimora followed it, just before it met with the boar's left eye. A loud snap sounded out as the spear drilled through the boar's eye, entering his brain. The white boar heavily jerked about only as much as Sura would let him. As blood gushed out of his eye the boar became limp and stopped moving. Sura knew the boar was dead, it began unraveling itself from the corpse.

After Koden witnessed the kill from atop the tree, he scanned the battlefield only to see the boars continue their rampaged, unfazed by their leader's death. “That didn't work! We need to start killing as many as we can!” Koden yelled to Nivra.

“Let's team up and take them out together!” Nivra replied.

Koden jumped from the tree, leaving behind Bahka’s unconscious body. “Layna come!” Koden ordered as he landed next to his brother.

Keeping a visual on the boars became difficult as the night fell. To aide their sight both Koden and Nivra coalesced light orbs from their palms. Upon releasing the orbs they slowly floated upward stopping at the canopy of the forest, illuminating the battlefield below. “Come on Layna!” Koden said lunging forward.

Layna followed him into the warzone with a loud roar that shook the trees surrounding her. Koden released silver nimora energy and coated both of his hands with it. He approached a boar and cocked his hand back getting ready to strike. The boar looked down at Koden and whipped its blocky head down at him, aiming with its tusks. Before the boar could make contact Koden sprung his hand toward the beast, striking its chest with a balled fist. As the contact was made the silver nimora surrounding Koden’s fist dispersed and exploded outward, sending the boar flying into the air with a gaping chunk of flesh missing out of his chest. Before Koden could turn to another boar, he was surprised by another swine with the intent to stampede over him. With a shocked face, he leaped to the side. The boar with its head down and its tusks plowing the way didn't see Koden’s movements. While the boar sped passed him, Koden delivered a forceful punch to the beast's ribs with his left hand, with slightly less power than the first boar. The beast was whipped into the air flailing back and forth with a painful squeal, heading straight for Nivra. “Nivra heads up!” Koden warned.

As Nivra saw the boar flying in his direction, he took his bow and nocked an arrow. Coated in nimora, Nivra shot it towards the boar with a loud thud. The arrow struck the boar making a deafening crack leaving behind a grievous wound. With a pitiful squeal the boar fell to the ground with its blood pouring out, the beast's life rapidly faded to nothing. “Sura, frost field!” Nivra commanded with an icy tone.

Sura let out a loud hiss before rapidly dissolving into icy nimora that rippled out in all directions. The nimora spread out covering everything in the area in a dense layer of ice. As the bitterly cold wall made contact with the boars, frost began covering them dramatically slowing down their movements. One of the boars charged at Nivra seeing him at the center of the frost field in an attempt to kill him and end the frost field. Nivra sneered at the boar rushing at him as he raised his hand condensing mist into an ice spear he flicked his wrist sending the spear hurling through the air. The spear shot into the boar's skull piercing its brain instantly killing it.

The frost continued to spread, restricting the boar’s rampage. In doing so, Koden’s targets became similar to sitting ducks. Taking advantage of the moment Koden yelled to his familiar “Layna, blast them!”

Layna raised her head up from mauling a dying boar and jumped to the group of frosted swine. Mid-air she spread her massive silver wings. In one giant motion, Layna beat her wings forward sending a shower of gravity spikes towards the boars. The beasts tried to dodge the spikes before impact, but the ice rendered them incapable, forcing them to take the brunt of the attack. The spikes struck several of them piercing their thick hides and stabbing through their organs, making them all collapse into the icy forest floor.

With the battlefield quickly becoming clogged with ice and the boar’s numbers dwindling, the moral of the beasts began to plummet. One boar stopped in its tracks seeing his pack being decimated and lost the courage to continue the rampage. It squealed in indignation and fled into the forest, leaving its brethren behind. It only took moments before the remaining boars followed suit. The warzone became eerily quiet following the departure of the boars. As the dust settled, the Nabi people began cheering at their victory. “How can they cheer when so many of them died?” Nivra questioned, standing alone in the middle of the field with his brother.

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“They're celebrating, and they didn't even do anything,” Koden replied.

The remaining villagers came out of the shadows to join the roars of their people. The night took complete grasp of the forest, only the two light orbs Koden and Nivra formed were illuminating the forest. Altogether the Nabi people dropped to their knees and bowed their heads to the ground, beginning their prayer to the night. Koden deeply sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. “By the laws these people are ignorant,” Nivra said shaking his head.

After the prayer was over Rato approached the brothers. By that time the villagers began lighting up the village with torches and fires, seemingly preparing for a celebration. Rato’s clothes were dirty, but he seemed unscathed, almost as if he didn't fight. “That seemed nightmarish for a moment, but it all worked out perfectly,” Rato declared.

“Yeah it worked out, but we took far too many casualties than expected,” Koden said.

“The ones we lost fought for our people, and now they are with the night. I can't imagine how much worse it would've been without the night’s blessing arriving when it did,” Rato said.

“Wait, what? The night had nothing to do with it, my brother and I were the ones that saved you, not the night,” Nivra replied, feeling irritated.

“Yes, you did! But where do you think the power to beat them came from? The night's blessing of course,” Rato informed.

“Well, why didn't the night just bless the Nabi people, so none of them had to die?” Koden bluntly argued.

“The night has a plan for all of us, who are we to question it?” Rato said.

“Alright, that's fine,” Nivra said dismissively.

In the distance Nivra noticed the villagers constructing multiple wooden platforms at the center of their village. They carved symbols into the posts with bone shards and bedded the platform with kindling. “What's going on over there?” Nivra asked.

Rato turned around and saw the platforms, “Those are the funeral pyre’s for the warriors.”

“Oh, you burn your dead?” Koden replied.

“Yes, because the night is formless, and to be embraced by the night we have to become formless as well and destroy our physical being,” Rato said. “And then after that, we celebrate with a feast.”

A moment of silence followed as they watched the pyres being constructed. Rato turned back to the brothers before continuing the conversation. “I also had another thing to discuss with you,” he said.

Both Koden and Nivra attentively looked at Rato to see what he had to say. “These boars that were killed, what materials do you want from them?” Rato questioned.

“We're only interested in the white boar's pelt, everything else is yours,” Nivra answered.

“How many pelts do you want?” Rato said.

“As much as we can carry,” Koden said.

“So be it! I'll have them start working on your pelt immediately,” Rato declared. “Also, feel free to stay here as long as you like, it's the least we can do.”

“Yes thank you, we plan to stay for a few days to recover before we continue our trial,” Nivra said.

Rato walked away, leaving the brothers behind. “Want to go check it out?” Nivra asked.

“I suppose,” Koden reluctantly said.

They approached the pyres in the center of the village and saw the intricate symbols carved into the beams. More villagers approached the structures with small clay urns, decorated with ceremonial carvings and paint. They each climbed up the side of their respective pyre and began dousing the bedding with a red translucent oil that was contained within the urn.

As the villagers stepped off the platforms, a second group of Nabi people approached carrying pallets of the dead. They placed the pallets on the ground and carefully picked the bodies up and placed them on the oil-soaked bedding. The Nabi people all began surrounding the pyres as the setup for the ceremony was coming to a close.

Rato walked out of his balcony in front of his home and looked down on the villagers. “Lay attention to my word,” Rato called out.

As all of the Nabi people looked up to Rato, he continued, “Today was a life-changing battle. Some may call it a pyrrhic, but what it really was is a second chance the night bestowed upon us.”

Rato looked to the bodies lying atop the pyres and bowed his head. “These men with the grace of the night, attributed to that chance. As we light these pyres, their physical form will be submitted to the night. Leaving their souls forever blessed and eternally protected within the domain of the night.”

Rato looked at several torch wielding villagers and raised his hand to them. The multiple fires across the village reflected off of his aged eyes. Shadows sporadically shifted across the contour of his wrinkled face as the flames danced. “Send them,” he sternly commanded.

Following Rato’s command, the torch-wielding Nabi began lighting the bedding on top of the pyres. As the flames met with the oil-soaked kindling, the fire began rapidly spreading. Quickly the bodies became engulfed in flames. Altogether the villagers started singing in a foreign tongue, not recognizable by Koden or Nivra. The grim notes echoed throughout the forest. “Aside from the singing, this isn't too far off from what we do,” Koden leaned in and said to his brother.

Nivra nodded in confirmation as he continued to watch the ceremony. They continued singing for a while longer before coming to a moment of silence. The raging fires have burned away the majority of the bodies. “These brave men are now with the night, we will now celebrate their victory,” Rato proclaimed, followed by a cheering of the villagers.

The Nabi people scattered from the pyres and began the celebration. The villagers brought out several large casks of wine. They suspended chunks of the boars over the multiple fires, slowly roasting them. A band of Nabi people formed near the main fire equipped with small drums and flutes and began playing celebratory songs for all to hear.

Koden and Nivra approached the gathering and sat at a nearby table, observing the festivities. A slender Nabi woman approached them holding a tray with cups of alcohol and cooked meat on it. “Would you men like to have any wine or meat?” she asked with a smile.

“We will take the meat, but instead of wine do you have tea?” Nivra said.

“Of course, I will fetch some for you,” she kindly replied.

By this time the rest of the village began to drink heavily and dance to the music. As Nivra and Koden’s observation of the event continued they noticed two men with what seems to be their daughters approaching them. The men had a plethora of decorative beads strung around their necks, hanging down to the middle of their torso. The graying of their hair was an indicator to Koden and Nivra that they were middle-aged. The girls seemed to be around the same age as the brothers, their dark hair was long and decorated with colorful flowers. Their faces seemed flawless and well kept as they were complimented by their hazel eyes. Their tops were made from fine threaded tan fabric exposing their midriff. Below the waist was a matching tan skirt that cut off just above the knee. “Hello young heroes, my name is Cambin, and this is my cousin Tuok. We deeply admire you and would love to welcome you as an addition to our family,” Cambin said.

He turned to one of the girls and continued speaking. “This is my daughter Sotne,” he said before turning to the other girl, “And this is Tuok’s daughter Nosre, would you two be interested in seeing them?”

“Absolutely not,” Koden said abruptly as soon as Cambin finished speaking.

“Eh, sorry but I'll have to decline as well,” Nivra added.

“Thank you for your time,” Cambin said in a depressed tone.

They all bowed their heads and left the table. By that time the server returned with the tea that they requested. “Ah, thank you,” Nivra said as the waitress placed the large mugs before them.

A thick wisp of steam rose from the mug spreading the sweet aroma. They in unison grabbed their respective mugs and raised it to their mouths beginning to sip it cautiously. Upon several drinks of the tea, their faces grew surprised as they looked at each other. “This is shockingly good coming from such primitive people,” Nivra said, praising the tea.

“This is pretty good,” Koden admitted taking another sip.

They finished their drinks, standing up they walked away leaving the cups on the table. They approached Rato sitting at a table full of Nabi people. “We are going to retire for the evening, we need to get some rest because we are leaving tomorrow,” Koden said.

“Oh, are you sure? The celebration has barely begun,” Rato replied.

“Yeah, well I think we're a little more exhausted than all of you,” Koden remarked.

“Will the pelts be ready by the morning?” Nivra asked.

“Oh yes, they will be ready by sunrise. If you men need anything, please let me know, have a good rest,” Rato said rosy cheeked with a smile on his face.

Nivra nodded and walked away from Rato with his brother following behind. They climbed the ladder attached to the tree that Rato’s home sits and entered the abode, resting for the night in their cots.

Beams of sunlight poured into the window casting its presence upon the floor of Rato’s home the next morning. Koden quickly opened his eyes and looked around the narrow room. He was joyed that he and his brother were leaving today, making him awaken earlier than normal. He sat up from the cot and tied his dusty boots to his feet. He stood up and walked over to the other side of the room, approaching his brother still asleep. He carelessly jabbed at Nivra’s ribs with the back of his hand attempting to wake him up. Nivra quickly jolted awake and swatted his hand at Koden. “Get up idiot, it's time to get out of here. I'm done,” Koden said, returning to gather his belongings near his cot.

Nivra groggily gathered his property after strapping his boots on. They exited Rato’s house and climbed down to the forest floor. They surveyed the area and saw dozens of Nabi people passed out on tables and the ground. The fires that were once towering are now mere embers slowly dying. Rato approached them holding two large bundles of the white boar’s pelt. “Good morning warriors, I want to say again thank you from the bottom of my heart, your donation of time was priceless. Here are the pelts that you asked for,” Rato said.

Koden and Nivra accepted the gifts and connected them to their bags. “Farewell Rato, may we meet again,” Nivra said bowing his head.

Rato returned the bow as the brothers turned and walked out of the Nabi Village entering the Cold Crown Forest resuming their trial. “Until we meet again huh?” Koden mocked.