The Sieche is, for lack of a better term, the way of the gods to teach us the value of mortality. Feeling your own flesh slowly peel off your bones while your mind regresses to that of an infant is terrifying, even for someone as seasoned in handling disease as me. My mentor had always considered death as a means of treatment, and after studying this disease for about a century now, I must shamefully agree.

* Ohma Sing, Grand Medic of the Queen of the High Seas

The air sang from the metal swinging through it. Melena gave her best. She swung her Kardaut high and low, dove under her opponent's attacks, or leaped over them. Her body impressed her with how well it managed to keep up with the seasoned hunter. Of course, weeks of practice had hammered the movement patterns and behaviors that kept the blunt metal away from her body into her brain, and yet she was amazed at how well her muscles and joints already made use of them.

Her opponent's name was Richard Egall. He was a member of the Hunter’s Guild. While sweat oozed out of her every pore, his shirt was dry as the desert’s sand. The metal staff in his hand whipped incessantly through the air in an attempt to touch the girl in front of him. Normally, she wouldn’t have been able to keep up this dance for more than four or five strokes, but today she seemed to elude the metal that had brought her so much pain over the last few weeks. Even when Egall feigned an overhead strike just to let the stuff slide through his fingers and ram it down like a shovel, she just jumped out of the way. Despite already heavily panting, she felt like she could do this for hours.

“You doin’ good, kid.” The hunter said. Upon hearing his words, pride filled her chest like a sip of warm coffee in the morning. She opened her mouth to make a smug remark, but the metal staff already slammed against the back of her head. How exactly he got there eluded Melena as she fell forward and her face slammed into the mud. Egall offered his hand, but the girl already jumped back to her feet. She brushed the dirt off her patched pants.

“What was your mistake?” Egall asked. His eyebrows rose disapprovingly. Melena didn’t have to search to long for a sassy response; by now, it practically came to her effortlessly. The middle-aged hunter was very strict during practice. Normally, he would keep pounding on her until he was sure Melena had understood the lesson. Fortunately, the girl already figured out his biggest weakness. Humor.

“I forgot for a moment that you like to beat up kids?"

“If that were the case, you would be so covered in bruises that you wouldn’t be able to breathe.” His voice was still stern, but under his short, grey beard, the smile was already forming. Seeing this, Melena sighed relieved. If she made the man laugh, he often straight up told her what he wanted instead of forcing her to figure it out by herself. She rubbed the back of her head.

“I am going to have to sleep on my sides again.” That made Eagll smile. He slammed the training-staff into the sandy ground and leaned against it. That was Melena’s clue that the practical part of her lession was finished. She let the slender dagger vanish inside her clothes and brushed her hair back. It had been weeks since Egall had gifted her the weapon that had belonged to a former student of his, but part of her feared that one day he might change his mind and demand it back. When she was finished, she sat down on the ground and stared at the hunter, ready to listen.

“You have unbelievable control over your body. Even trainee-hunters would struggle with the way you moved just now. I already noticed it when you tried to steal from me.” Melena accepted his words with a grateful nod. He rarely praised her twice in one lession.

“Before you let that get to your head, let me finish. Your movements are good, but that only makes it more tragic that you still let yourself get hit with such simple tricks. You rely on instincts you don’t possess, and you fight without methodology. When I attack, instead of thinking, you just hope your reflexes and flexible body are enough to doge.” While he spoke, Egall made a quick stop forward, causing Melena to jump up and cross her hands in front of her face. The hunter pointed at her.

Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

“See, that’s what I mean. Your reflexes are excellent, but you depend too much on them. You dodge but forget the positioning afterwards. The task I gave you today was to avoid getting hit for as long as possible, so why didn’t I have to chase after you once?” Melena’s eyes widened. The main objective of the lesion had totally slipped her mind. She had been so absorbed in her own movements and prowess at dogeing attacks that the option to run away never crossed her mind. From one moment to the next, the triump she had felt till now was gone, replaced with shame. Egall was kind enough to teach her some basics, despite how their first meeting had gone down, and yet she wasted his time bathing in self-congration. Tears formed in her eyes, but she quickly wiped them away. The second lesson he had ever taught her was not to cry over nothing. The first was never to attempt to steal from a hunter.

To her surprise, she felt his hand ruffling her hair. She looked up just to meet his gaze. His eyes were filled with so much warmth and kindness that she knew so well, but something else lingered inside. It would take her another six years until she finally realised what it was. Sadness.

“I tell you that because I want you to improve and not beat yourself up about it. With your reflexes, you should be fine in the streets as long as you are careful who you engage with. Now that we talk about it, this will be our last session this week.” Melena looked up. Getting beaten daily wasn’t the most fun thing to do, but considering how much she had progressed, at least physically, in a short time and after having her shortcomings laid out in front of her like that, she didn’t want to skip any lessons if possible.

“Why?” She asked, her voice sounding much more bratty than intended.

The hunter scratched his beard. “The Inaugual Hunt starts tomorrow, and I have been forc… blessed with the duty to watch over this year's recruits during the ceremony.” Melena’s heart leaped in her chest. Every person who grew up in the walls of Ishael had at least heard of this event, where one could earn the right to become a member of the Hunter’s Guild. She pointed a finger at herself.

“Can I participate as well?” Until now, she had never thought about the idea of joining the hunters proper, but if everyone at the Guild was as nice as Egall, she wouldn’t mind wearing their leathery gear. Even if they weren’t, having a group to belong to sounded nice.

“No.” Egall’s answer was quick but stern, earning him a frown from Melena. “Why not?” She insisted. “You said I am already better than some trainee-hunters.” The seasoned hunter lets out a drawn out sigh, like a father who had to explain something simple for the twentieth time.

“A hunter's life is hard and dangerous, not to mention you have to make a sacrifice in order to earn your hunter's weapon. Trust me, it is better if you join another guild. The Childen of the World maybe?”

Melena opened her mouth to protest, but Egall’s raised hand stopped her. “Besides, the Inaugual Hunt is an annual event, so if you still feel like throwing your future away, you could still do it next year.”

As he realized that his words weren't deterring Melena from her idea, the hunter retrieved the brown fur pouch from his pocket—the same one the girl had attempted to steal last week. Skillfully loosening the drawstring, he took out a golden coin and flicked it in her direction. Melena's hands closed around it before the coin could complete its second spin. Money shouldn’t be flicked so carelessly. Observing her reaction, the old hunter couldn’t help but smile. Despite training with him for weeks now, she hadn’t changed much. Her life might’ve started in the dumps, but the girl's talent and sharp mind would bring her far in the future.

"You know what? Use that to have yourself a nice week. You've earned it, kid. Because starting next Monday, we'll be training twice as hard," he declared. With these words, he yanked the staff from the ground, slung it over his back in a wide arc, and then turned to leave.

Melena stared after the middle aged man as he strode down the long street towards the Hunter’s Guildhouse. Her fingers were still tightly wrapped around the golden coin. Egall’s attempt to distract her from the Inaugual Hunt might have worked with a lesser being, but she had seen right through him. A dangerous life? What could be more fun! Hard? Couldn’t be worse than living on the street and eating rats. She would have to make a sacrifice? There was nothing she owned but the clothes on her body, and she would gladly trade them for a warm bed and certain meals. Besides, hunters were provided with their gear, so it wasn’t like she had to go naked.

The only problem was she had no idea how to enter the Hunt. A smile spread across her face as she held the golden coin in front of her face. Good thing information was cheap, especially if you knew who to ask.