Hanna stared at the bone sticking out of her. It wasn’t a view she was comfortable with. Perhaps no one was, but she really wasn’t. Then again, she couldn’t just lay here with her ribcage in tatters. What to do? She didn’t know shit about medicine, but the fact that she had no trouble breathing aside from the discomfort it caused, told her that her lung probably wasn’t punctured. That was a thing, right? At least it had been in movies she had seen. She probably ought to push the bone back in, but maybe that would worsen the wound. And was it really safe to push it in without disinfecting it? It was probably covered with whatever germs and muck had been on her and the boar.

As she laid there and contemplated her options, she heard Anders rummage around next to her. Right, I’m not alone in this, she thought with relief. Her teacher was by her side and he probably knew what to do. Given the countless generations that had done this before her, he ought to know exactly how to treat wounds like hers. She bit down against the pain and changed her position so that she could see what he was doing.

Anders was scrambling about in a panic, checking and rechecking the equipment that they had available.

“You okay there, buddy?” Hanna asked with a strained voice. She so didn’t need this right now.

Anders snapped out of his haze and looked at her.

“I don’t know what to do!”, he shouted with a stressed voice.

“I thought I was the last in a long line of people who have done this trial?” Talking was laborious but manageable.

He looked confused. “You are.”

“I’m guessing this sort of thing happen from time to time?”.

Anders nodded. “It happens”.

“Then why are you acting like a baby about it?”

He took her hand in his and looked her in the eye. “It happens, but people don’t usually survive it”. His concern seemed genuine.

Huh, Hanna thought. That kind of makes sense. If this happened to the average villager, there probably wasn’t much left to patch up afterwards. Okay, whatever, there is a first for everything. What to do?

Hanna forced her hand to touch the wound. The feeling of her own bone against her fingertips made her stomach churn. She was bleeding continuously. Perhaps she was just being melodramatic, but she thought she was growing weaker. They had to make a decision now.

“Do you have any alcohol?” She asked.

Anders frowned at her. “Alcohol corrupts the spirit, and this is hardly the time for it!”

“But do you have some?” She asked again with annoyance in her voice.

Anders looked at her quietly, shame in his eyes. Fucking hypocrite.

“Yes”, he said weakly and went to get it. He handed it to her without meeting her eyes. She failed to remove the lid with just one hand.

“I need you to pour this on the wound”, she said.

Anders appeared to be catching on to. “You want to push it back in?” He asked incuriously.

“Do you have a better idea?”

Anders didn’t answer. They both realized that carrying her back to the village would take too long. This really was the only option.

When the liquid hit her wound it burned badly, but Hanna endured. “Pour some on your hands as well", she added as an afterthought when the pain had died down somewhat. It was probably wise.

“Right", Anders complied.

“Are you ready?”, he asked with wet hands hovering over her wound.

Hanna didn't think she was, but she nodded resolutely.

At the sight of her nod, Anders grabbed the bone and pushed it in with a hard, determined motion. It hurt like hell, much worse than the alcohol. Hanna’s scream echoed through the forest. As his hands left the wound in her chest, Hanna felt something move around inside of her. It was probably her body wrangling the bone into place. She laid there panting, trying her best not to think about how weird it felt. Whatever her body was doing, it at least didn’t hurt. When it seemed like everything had stopped moving, she took a deep breath and prodded the wound with her hand. Nothing hurt. Everything seemed completely normal, it wasn’t even sore. Sweet.

As she groggily got up from the ground she felt the world sway, as if she stood up after a long period of sickness or hunger. Her body's reserves were probably spent. It seemed fair, she had healed from wounds that by all rights should have taken weeks or months to recover from. She accepted Anders outstretched hand for support and made her way over to a nearby rock to sit on.

“Food”, she commanded.

Anders hurriedly produced some boar jerky and Hanna set about chewing on it dispassionately. It had been their main source of nutrition since they got here, and it had quickly lost its novelty. She pressed down a mouthful through her dry throat and looked at Anders.

“Water”

He gave her his bottle and looked at her sceptically.

“How are you even alive?”

Hanna answered with a shrug and continued shewing. Anders didn't resume the conversation, so they just sat there while Hanna worked her way through all the meat they had with them. By the time she was done, Hanna felt a little less shaky and they trekked back to camp. Anders was dragging the uniboar, so Hanna had to rely on his spear for support. Anders seemed to be complementing something and very little was said during their walk.

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Back at camp Hanna went back to carving on her spear. She didn’t feel especially energetic, but she was still eager to get it done. Shortly into her work she saw Anders walking up to her. He looked uncomfortable, as if he was far outside his comfort zone.

“You don’t need to narrow the point any further”, he said.

Hanna stopped working and waited for the man to continue. Him giving her actual instructions was completely out of character.

Anders looked down and scraped the ground with his toes. “I’m uh...” He trailed of before he gathered himself. “I’m sorry for what happened. I’m your teacher, you are my responsibility and my arrogance nearly cost you your life"

Hanna didn't disagree with him and let her silence speak for her.

“I was so angry that an outsider would be given this honour. My anger clouded my judgement, but it's a poor excuse. I’ve failed you”

Anders huge frame was hunkered down in shame. He seemed genuinely regretful and Hanna felt sorry for the man.

“I survived though. There is still time to right your wrong"

Anders seemed a little encouraged by her offered hand. He smiled weakly.

“You are right", he said. “Would you give this fool a second chance?” he asked with a kind voice.

Hanna got up from her seated position and patted him on the arm. “Sure”, she said. “Where do we start?”

What followed was entirely different from what they had done earlier. They spent a good amount of time working together on her budding spear, trying to reach an ideal shape for her unique circumstances. Hanna's disproportional strength allowed her to use a much heavier spear than her frame suggested. That created a much-needed opportunity to put some weight behind her strikes. The downside was that she would be much more affected by the spear’s movement compared to a normal human. It was something that would need to be carefully balanced, but if done right it could prove a deadly tool, especially if her opponent wasn't prepared for it. Pretty much all of Anders' moves would need to be slightly tweaked, but he seemed to be looking forward to the challenge.

When they weren’t working on the spear, they constantly practiced fighting with it. Hanna could use a lot of what Birgitta taught her, so she didn’t really start from scratch. She was still a novice though, especially by Anders' standards, so he stoically refused to teach her anything but the basics. He didn't bring her on any more hunts, and given what happened the last time, she wasn't eager to press the subject.

On the beginning of the third day of this regime, they suddenly realised that they were done. The spear had reached its perfect form, where nothing could be improved further. It was something that she knew with certainty. It could be felt with her hands as she went through the forms that Anders had taught her. Then and there she realised the value of the arduous process she had gone through. The slow and focus shaping had given her a weapon that perfectly suited her and which she was intimately familiar with.

The rest of the day was spent practicing the forms, with Anders constantly nit-picking on the slightest mistake she made. When the day was done and Hanna huddled up by the fire to eat dinner, she was feeling absolutely exhausted. Anders’ changed approach to teaching was a major improvement, but with the spear done she was growing increasingly bored. Changed teaching style or not, he was still a dull stickler, and his lessons was a far cry from the action packed and horrifying ones taught by Birgitta.

The sight of Anders approaching her brought her out of her whining. He had been away for an hour or so, and he refused to say what he would be doing. He wore a strange smile, looking both sneaky and full of anticipation. The man was up to something. He was carrying a long object wrapped up in cloth, and from the size and shape of it, Hanna recognises it at once as her spear. She held her questions and waited for him to settle down in the warmth of the fire.

He was quiet for a moment. The silence and the snapping of the burning logs brought a ritualistic mood to their campsite.

“This is a tradition that has been carried out since ancient times", he began.

“Generation after generation, a promising student would follow in the steps of a teacher, going through the same process that you have. It’s normally done after years of training, but as we both know, you will never fit inside the boundaries of normality”

Hanna slowly nodded in agreement.

“As I have told you before, the water in this swamp is not normal. It has a unique property that is harmful to the body, but that can transform wood in wondrous ways if treated properly. It wasn't out of spite that I had you constantly soaking the spear!”

Hanna didn't really believe the last part but kept quiet and watched as he ceremoniously placed the wrapped spear in front of her. It was soon followed by a flask of glass that was carefully placed on the ground. It was probably the first time she had seen anything made of glass since before the gap in her memories.

“Thoroughly coat the spear with the oil in there”, he said and pointed at the flask. “You mustn't miss a single spot!” he added and stared at her challengingly.

“Yeah, I get it", Hanna said when she realised that he wasn’t going to continue without a confirmation.

“When you are done you must wrap it up again, otherwise you disrupt the process. When morning arrives, it will be done"

The ceremony of coating the spear was apparently meant to be performed in solitude, since Anders left soon after. She followed his instructions and tried to honour the ceremony of it by only cursing a little over how hard it was to do wearing his stupid gloves.

When morning came she was gently nudged awake by Anders. Feeling like a kid at Christmas, she hurriedly unwrapped the spear. It was no longer wet, and after checking with Anders she gingerly touched it with her bare skin for the first time. It felt nothing like wood. It had adopted the same metal-like hardness that Anders' spear had, which she honestly had just assumed was made of metal.

“It turned metallic?”

“Far better, child. Metal will dull and bend over time, but this spear will never fail you”

Hanna would have to take his word for it, but it did certainly feel very sturdy. She felt pride as she trailed her hands over her beautiful creation. It wasn’t as long as Anders', probably just short of two and a half meters. It had the same narrow triangular tip as his but the shaft was thinner, just wide enough that she could hold it comfortably. The main difference was in the shape. Unlike Anders' spear, hers gradually widened towards the base, to lessen the effect its weight had on her centre of balance.

“It’s a fine weapon”, Anders commented. “Now that it is done, it is time for us to commence hunting again"

Hanna didn’t know how she felt about that. She didn't want to see herself as a coward, but her last attempt had unnerved her. Anders put a heavy hand on her shoulder, seeing her hesitation.

“Don’t worry, dear pupil. This time we will do it right”, he said. Hanna didn't feel reassured.

They waited with the hunt until nightfall, making sure that she got some time to practice the forms with her new spear. Eventually darkness came, and Hanna felt tense as they made their way into the woods. They found a boar just as easily as the last time, and far sooner than she would have wanted, she was once again staring into the beady eyes of this hateful creature. This time would be different, she just knew it. This time she was prepared, and she had her own spear now. On top of that, this time she actually had some clear advice from her teacher. She wasn't sure if she liked what he had suggested, but it was a solid step up from her usual tactic of plainly winging it.

Anders’ plan was an all or nothing kind of deal, and she still hadn't decided if she would follow it. Hanna eyed her opponent. It might have been a tad smaller than the last one, but it made little difference. It would still suck if she would be run over again. While her healing continued to impress, she guessed that a horn through the brain was probably more than it could handle.

In front of her the boar did its customary ceremony of a snort and a shuffle. Probably boarish for fuck off mate or I gut you. Hanna giggled and felt some of the tension leave her. She tried to come up with a witty comeback but failed. Mostly because the creature had stopped stalling. With her hands tightly gripping her weapon, she was as always moved by the violent power of its approach. But her resolve didn't waver, she had made her decision. As the locomotion of death grew ever closer, she pointed her spear towards the creature and focused. The grounds shook and Hanna smiled. She held her ground.