“I’m leaving now, remember to head to the smokehouse at midday to get the rest of the meat.” Grey slightly nudged the sleeping Tear, who merely grunted in response. He lightly chuckled, before placing the animal skin he was using on top of hers, now layering her in a thick layer of pelts. He grabbed his bow and quiver and jogged through the village. In the dim light before dawn, the primitive village, built from roughly processed lumber and draped in animal pelts, stood silent and still, the cold morning air thick with the scent of smoke from the dying fires.
Now arriving at the center of the village, Grey could see the billowing smoke of the various smokehouses around. Keen’s was not too far from where he was now, and after some time passed, he could see a stone smoke hut exhaling thin tendrils of gray into the crisp winter air, its rugged walls decorated with delicate icy patterns made from the morning frost.
“Keen, you ready?” Grey shouted out.
“Yeah, give me a moment,” sounded a hushed voice from inside the building.
Grey could hear some rustling sounds from inside, no doubt, he had come a bit early seeing as no one else had arrived at Keen’s place yet. Soon Keen’s fit figure revealed itself, his hair was still messy, like untamed brown foliage draping down to his shoulders.
“You’re eager today aren’t you,” grumbled Keen.
Grey smiled, “We should leave soon, I came early so I could prepare. I don’t want anyone else to see.”
Keen sighed, “Alright, go inside, just be quiet, my family is sleeping. I’ll run over and get my brother.”
“What about Root and Fleet? Aren’t they coming?” Grey asked with trepidation. They would certainly need as much manpower as they could get, even if they could only find one Hooded horn.
“Brawl wouldn’t have it, ‘so many going out would scare the animal away’,” mimicked Keen sarcastically. “As if him lumbering around with that frame of his could move as stealthily as Fleet. Anyway, it’ll just be us three. I’ll only be gone a moment so hurry up and do your thing.”
With a nod, Grey tiptoed into the hut attached to the smokehouse. It was warm and the air was filled with the scents of animal fats and wood ash each breath tickling Grey’s nose. A couple of figures were covered in fur blankets on a lifted wooden bed in the corner, Keen’s wife and daughter. Without disturbing them, Grey moved through the next curtain separating the home from the smoke hut and sat down in the warmth.
With an aptitude that came after years of dedicated practice, Grey sat in serene stillness, effortlessly letting go of every thought, his mind becoming empty as clear as an unbroken sky. In the expanse of his mind, innumerable lights bloomed like living constellations, shimmering in every imaginable shade, color, and intensity, a radiant dance of infinite prisms of light. Suddenly a figure appeared, made from a blinding light, resembling Grey’s form only without the details normally accompanying the human form. He was only a pale red form here surrounded by radiances he could hardly have imagined before he first ventured into the realm in his mind.
In his immediate vicinity, there were thousands of red specs surrounding him like wheat flour floating in the air. Ignoring these he walked forward until he felt some pressure. He could not tell, but his body in the breathing world had beads of sweat pouring down his forehead and his body was heavily trembling. But at last, here just in front of him existed two deep orange illuminations. He reached out his hand, the light making up its form oscillating between bright and dim as if it would be extinguished at any moment. With a roar, he finally reached one with the tip of his middle finger and his eyes snapped open. The world was now filled with the red hue, but it was much less focused; not as distracting compared to his first experiences focusing his ability like this. He had connected with the orange, allowing them to become more vibrant in the real world. He could still see the other shades, but now, they would not stand out so much.
“Grey, is that you?” A gentle voice sounded. “Are you okay?”
A young girl walked into the smokehouse quietly, her short black hair framing a face both fierce and innocent, while her dress of stitched animal pelts draped her slender frame, each furred seam a testament to her wild, untamed world. Resembling an age matching Tear’s, she moved through the world with a gentle stillness fitting of her name, and she would be a capable tracker in the future.
“Don’t worry about it Stilra, I’m fine. Did I wake you, sorry about that.” Grey apologetically responded.
Stilra shook her head gently, “It’s okay. Dad actually woke me up, I was only pretending when you came in. Here, have some breakfast.” Smiling brightly, seeming almost holy with the deep-red glow emanating from her, she held out her delicate hand with a thin strip of dried meat.
“Thanks.” Grey thankfully accepted the meal as she sat down next to him basking in the warmth of the working smoker. “Have you started your training already? Tear said she’s been lonely recently.”
Stilra looked down at her feet, “I wanted to go out, but mom forced me to stay in. Both her and Dad are teaching me so I don’t have any time in the evening or day. Morning and evening Dad teaches me how to use a bow and to track the small mice around the village, then during the day I have to work in the preserving house.” She sighed exhaustedly.
Grey chuckled, “Not everyone gets such a good education you know, you’re really lucky. Most kids will only be able to ever do one thing, you can choose.”
“I don’t feel so lucky,” she grumbled. “I just want to see my friends sometime.”
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“Well you will soon, I am going to ask your dad to have Tear train under your mother. Since you’re already so experienced, keep an eye out for her yeah?”
She immediately brightened, and even her aura became a shade brighter, “Really! I’m so glad you finally asked Dad for something, he won’t stop talking about you, you know? Especially when Elder comes over.”
Grey smiled, he knew of Keen’s kindness, but he did not want to live off of someone else’s kindness his entire life, otherwise, he would have just stayed with Elder his whole life. Asking for a favor and giving nothing in return was strictly forbidden to him. Why should he, when no one else in the village does, receive special treatment for nothing? “I haven’t asked just yet, but tonight it is certain, she will be an apprentice with you.”
Before they could talk more, Keen rushed into the building passing through the curtains. “You ready Gre-,” Seeing his daughter up he paused before patting her head. Come on, enough fooling around, if you’re up, go out to the village center and try to catch a mouse, by now you should be able to.” He was obviously trying to sound commanding, but it wasn’t very convincing as he was rustling her hair under his hands and speaking so happily.
“Alright alright, I’m going, quit it already. Bye Grey!” and with that she bolted off before grabbing a small bow with some arrows.
“Always a farewell to you, but not me,” grumbled Keen.
Grey stood up and bumped his shoulder, “it’s ‘cause you’re too clingy. If Bark is out there, let go before it gets too late, we’ll need to haul back two Hooded horns.”
He had already heard Grey say it before but still, it sounded ridiculous to him, “Are you sure we can get another two? I have never seen them other than once during the Grand Hunt when I was a kid.”
“I am certain I can find them, and even more, they are still in the inner woods. We won’t even have to go near the boundary.”
“Alright let’s go then.” Keen resolutely remarked.
They both walked out together meeting up with Bark outside. Then proceeded to the gate. Although guarded, the gates would never be opened before daylight and after nightfall, so they had to climb up the tower, nodding at one of the guards before dropping down on the snow. Outside the group grabbed two large sleds big enough to carry their prospective prey.
“When will you know where to go?” asked Bark. He knew nothing about Grey’s ability other than his ability to remarkably locate anything they were hunting any particular season.
“We need to go further, I can get any scent or tracks from here obviously,” Grey responded. Even Keen, who was more familiar with Grey, knew little in truth about his mysterious power. He figured Grey had some remarkably powerful senses which he strengthened through focused meditation. This even tracked as when the day became longer, Grey would lose his isolated focus, and his abilities would wane in effectiveness.
The group of men moved silently through the snowy elm forest, their fur-clad figures blending with the winter-draped landscape. Frost clung to the bare branches above, and the faint crunch of snow and leaves beneath their boots was muffled by the whisper of the biting wind. Their breath rose in soft clouds, vanishing into the cold air as their sharp eyes scanned the shadows between the towering trunks. Grey carried his bow made from wood, made stronger by bone and tendon, while Bark and Keen carried their bone polearms, their grips steady despite the biting chill, their movements purposeful, like ghosts in the white stillness, ever-watchful for any sign of danger as they moved deeper and deeper in the forest.
Keen’s large spear was made of new powerful ivory taken from the beast the night before, and Bark was using Keen’s previous.
“Wait, I see them,” Grey paused, as he saw a trace of two deep orange trails skittering across the blanket of snow in the distance. “I think they are moving together,” he stated with both delight and nervousness. This would mean they could catch the two animals together, but one mistake could spell fatal results.
“Alright!” Bark excitedly whispered. “You lead the way Grey, when we get close enough to see tracks, let Keen and I lead. Just correct us if we go the wrong way. Our strength is higher than yours, so we have a higher chance of taking them down in one shot. If one doesn’t go down, you finish it off with the bow.”
Grey nodded, and proceeded forward, although he took down one alone last time, he could not consider himself to be an expert, and in truth, it was an enormous risk with thankfully great profit. Now with the two more powerful and experienced hunters with him, he was far more confident than before. Soon they arrived at the tracks, Bark and Keen moved ahead of Grey, and their experience clearly depicted, needing no correction from Grey. They left their sleds here as well, and soon they arrived at their target.
The hunters crouched low behind a thicket of snow-laden brush, their breaths shallow as they watched the two Hooded Horns in the clearing ahead. The massive beasts, their shaggy fur crusted with frost, pawed at the frozen ground, revealing patches of buried grass and leaves. Their singular curved, deadly horn gleamed faintly in the pale winter morning light, a testament to their power. The hunters remained utterly still, their figures cloaked in furs that blended seamlessly with the snowy forest. Tension crackled in the air like the faint creak of distant ice.
The brothers knocked their polearms in atlatl, spear launchers that would increase their power and speed significantly while Grey knocked a massive bone-tipped arrow in his bow. All silently aiming before Keen took a sharp breath in and signaled to release.
With a sharp whistle, one beast collapsed to the snowy ground, one polearm jutting from its shaggy flank piercing far enough to have struck the heart, while the other creature, its side impaled and bleeding, charged wildly in a frenzy of pain, toward the direction of the group, but before it could get even three steps in its last death throes, an arrow pierced just below the spear thrown by Bark, felling the Hooded Horn pair in totality.
They all let out a relieved breath before, “Ha… Ha-ha-ha!” It was unknown who started it, but soon the men were all laughing uproariously. It rang out, deep and unrestrained, catching on a breath before spilling over into a chuckle. "Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me!" they managed between gasps, their eyes glinting with relief, fear, and amusement.
“We did it! Ah-ha-ha. I’m sorry I ever doubted you.” Bark joyously yelled at Grey while slapping his back… hard. “Keen and I will get the sleds. Stay here, we’ll be back real soon.” As they left you could still hear their cries of happiness from quite a distance. Time passed without incident and after several minutes the men arrived with the sleds. Without bothering to carve the animals, they hauled their massive bodies up and efficiently tied them down with rope.
“Alright let’s head back, it won’t be ‘till nightfall when we arrive so no breaks. Bark you and I will switch between helping Grey and dragging one alone. Falling behind is not an option, or else we will have to leave one behind.” Keen seriously instructed.
This process passed for several hours, the group celebrated, chatting the whole way, and just as they were reaching the midpoint, the world went silent. The air itself vibrated, a deep, resonant hum that shook the ground. Trees trembled, their branches trembling as if caught in a heavy wind, and the earth beneath shifted uneasily. A shockwave rippled outward, distorting the very fabric of reality, and with it accompanied a mighty wolf's howl piercing the night, a haunting cry that echoed through the frozen wilderness, commanding both fear and reverence.