"The Ego sistem worked well. Life and Death were informed of what was happening in each world and plane. When needed, they had the time to think about the problem and the Sisters could salvage the situation. The problem was... There were too many Worlds and Planes, and they added even more of them from time to time. They became so busy saving the already existing ones that they couldn't create new Worlds and Planes. In the end the solution appeared by itself, in a Wolrd the Elves made an united front to save their forest and the Humans united to fight them off, they needed the land. That gave Life and Death the idea, they needed an unifying cause, they needed Gods."
-Bee May, the faery of knowledge
"When Ego isn't enought you ask the Gods."
In the village not everyone could be an hunter. The kids that wanted to be hunters needed to complete the scout training then, if they were physically able they would do the hunters one. To even start with the hunter training they had to have survived at least thirteen snows.
Their village is in the middle of the Hardwood Forest. The village was created there by the Arthus kingdom to give travelers a stopping point. The Hardwood Forest is to the east of the capital and farther east there are the Coldstone Mountains and their mines. The forest border is not that different from any normal forest but as you get closer to the middle you can find different and strange things. Things that you can't find anywere else, mostly useful but definetly lethal or protected by danger.
The village was made and grown by the Arthus kingdom, the past kings made sure that the village could be autonomous and as low profile as it could. The crown couldn't afford to equip an entire militia, not there, nor to make the nobles focus on the village. The village used the surroundings wood to make shields, spears, bows and arrows.
The Hardwood Forest was called that way because an unique type of tree was found in the middle of the forest. Its wood so hard that no intrument could even scratch its bark. The leggend says that the First King, Arthus himself had to use his own hands and incredible strenght to fell the tree. Even when dry the wood was so hard that no one could damage it, no one but the First King. Arthus used his nails and hands to carve the tree and make his leggendary armor and two handed sword. The wooden equipment was so heavy that it needed a reinforced steel carriage and six horses to move it, the king usually fought with clothes because no one could be as strong or as fast as he was so armor was wasted on him. He did use the wooden armor in war, in war anything could happen and the protection was appreciated. Funny thing, Arthus could not stay still or the earth would slowly crack and try to swallow him. The now forgotten enemy kingdoms called him Earthquaker because he would jump on the enemy formations and just moving around made the earth tremble, breaking the formations and making the clean up much easier for the powerful king shock troops.
While the progenitor tree is dead around the centre of the forest there are some younger trees similar to the leggendary one. Obviously not as strong but still called Hardwood because it's really hard wood, so hard that even iron instruments can't damage it and the steel ones can barely and slowly whittle it down. The Arthus kingdom would send, from time to time, new steel instruments with the caravans. So that the village could make its own weapons. The fully hardwood instruments are seen as really good, even utilized by some elite members of the king's army. Their durability is excellent but their second biggest strenght is their weakness too, weight. The weight is so prohibitive that no normal man or woman can move them, even less use them effectively as weapons. Only the superhuman strenght of the royal family can swing those weapons as if they were made of steel. The strongest members of the royal guard, some nobles and some mercenaries, usually noble bastard sons, might have and use Hardwood weapons as simbol of status.
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The boar spear, the First Hunter's weapon, is the only weapon in the village that isn't entirely made of Hardwood. The shaft is made of Hardwood and the spearhead is made with a moss boar tusk, to give it even more weight and penetrating power. The moss boar is an animal unique of the Hardwood Forest. A special moss grows on the animal fur, making it look for areas where the sun doesn't shine and there is high umidity. The moss makes it sleepy but keeps the animal, in this case a boar, alive. The parasitic moss does not just keep his host alive, it makes the animal grow, so that it has more superfice to spread over.
The hunters training is expecially harsh because they need to be strong and skilled enought to use the hardwood weapons. Not only use them but wield them to battle, they need to fight both humans and animals for hours if needed. With Little Wolf's physical abilities, reflexes and memory he smashed trought the scout's training. With his guardians blessing and some strong arming, during the heat of his tenth snow he started the hunters training so he could be the First Hunter after his father.
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It was almost time for the snow, the caravan would come to the village in a couple of days. Fianna was watching her husband and son with a smile, they were having the same discussion every day.
Every single day after Little Wolf started training, he came home sad and whined, "I don't understand training father Sidon! We do the same thing over and over, I'm only getting tired! I'm strong enought to wield a spear, strong enought to shoot with a bow! Why do I need to train more?"
Sidon, her unbending husband sighed, "why do I need to repeat my self? I showed you... You train to get stronger, move better and make your actions effortless."
Little Wolf became even more flustered,"b-but the more I move the tired I get! I'm different, you said it yourself! It's better if I hit hard and fast, so I get tired less and can still finish my opponent!"
Sidon huffed, "I already told you, if you don't wanna do the hunter training just beat the instructor... when you can beat him you will be ready to be a hunter."
Little Wolf pouted, "I challenge him every day! But he just tires me out! He doesen't fight fair!"
A smile escaped Sidon's lips, "we humans might be weaker but we can beat everyone and everything with this." The First Hunter pointed at his head, "we train and when our body its not enought, then we use our minds to beat the enemies. Remember this, life is not fair. If you do something and win is always fair, winning makes it fair!" The smile that erupted from his face and that strange glint on his eyes. had something wild, primal. It resonated with Little Wolf, made his heart beat strongly. Sidon did not seem to notice it as he was immersed in his own memories of past fights. "When we get hit, we hurt, we bleed, we break and it takes time to heal. Some times we can't heal and we die. That's us," said the now sorrowful man. "Not you, you just get tired, this is what unfair! You whine about fairness while you can't beat a single hunter! How could you hope to become me?" Sidon growled, "I can beat all the hunters! I AM THE FIRST HUNTER!" He thundered, took a big breath and continued with a more relaxed tone, "I know you followed me, you saw me teach the hunters, saw me beat ten of them every morning. I don't do it for fun, I do it because that's what the First Hunter is, strenght. I need to be the strongest, so that the others will follow me, that will trust me, they will die with me because they know I can do what they can't."
"Now now boys, calm down,"the still smiling Fianna interrupted them. "My Little boy, while it's true that you are better than most hunters, it's true that you are not ready yet. You are just copying what they are doing, they trained their entire lives, they know those moves, you cannot beat them like that! You need to be smarter, don't let them dictate how the fight will go, once you feel their movements, feel their flow... You can use it! You need to use what you learnt againist them, in your movements, in your attacks. Follow your adversary for a little bit, make him think he's leading you, then you break the flow!" She hit her fist on her other hand, Fianna's smile was large and the maniac glint on her eyes scared both Sidon and Little Wolf, "make him flustered, make him break out of his comfort, his training, make him desperate, make him use new moves. Make him try to do the best he can in the worst situation you put him in, destroy his mind to destroy his body, that's how you put an end to an enemy!"