Chapter 17: Sun Cherishers

Hunger. For death. For life. For love. For forgiveness. Always that hunger.

Fleeing anywhere, somewhere, nowhere.

Futile.

-The Sin-Bearer

The messenger came clad in an elegant sleeveless tunic, black entirely with green around the cut edges. On the sides of his waist hung two brown sheaths, about as long as an arm’s length, around his belt. There were also multiple small pouches filled with necessities, no doubt, around the belt. His figure made him out to be a Demona Hunter. Tall with long black violet-tinged hair. His skin was of light copper.

We crowded around the messenger as a watch-guard escorted him to where Hunter was. Many of the younger children and adults followed, watching the spectacle about to unfold. Not many travelers or other tribe members came to visit our village. So a rare sight was a rare sight. Curiosity naturally followed.

In the center of the village, the messenger and Hunter stood facing each other. The former spoke first.

His hands moved quickly. A gesture of apology and a greeting. “I apologize for interrupting the All Festival.” His voice was curt, but tinged with just the right amount of civility. Coldly neutral, I would say.

“No matter, I was wondering when you would arrive,” Hunter said, his voice similar in tone. “As expected, the passage of time is quick as always.”

The messenger nodded shortly. “Indeed, and you still look as young as ever, Hunter.”

I was surprised. Not by the fact that he had implied that Hunter was old, but by the fact that the two knew each other. Yet why the coldly neutral tone with each other?

“Still, it has come later than I expected,” Hunter said, ignoring the statement as if it had been never spoken. There was no change in his expression.

The messenger continued, unfazed by it. “The Watchers have reported movements, and we have sent a messenger to the Night Sky tribe also. We expect them all to arrive by three weeks’ time.”

“Thank you for bringing the message. Expect us to arrive in a week’s time,” said Hunter.

“Very well,” the messenger replied, his voice cheerful now. An unexpected change. “It has been nice meeting you again, Hunter. I look forward to your arrival.” He left then, escorted by a watch-guard, but not before turning around. “Make sure to bring no more than four!”

Hunter sighed to himself, watching the messenger walk away slowly, humming a tune. “He has always been an annoying one. Likes them cold staring contests. I always oblige him too, though I do not know why.” Hunter walked away, not even waiting for a reply. It was as if the explanation had been for his own benefit, and not ours.

I gave a questioning look toward Leaping Fox, who had come along to satisfy his curiosity also. He returned it with a slight shrug of his shoulders. “Don’t look at me. I haven’t got a clue either.”

Just like that, the All Festival continued, as if the interruption had never occurred.

The festival was a wasteful event, in my opinion. Each of the adult was given a small tiny cup that could be held between two fingers easily. Half of the blood inside would be drunk and the other half poured onto the ground.

For the whole of the afternoon and night, there was the pervading smell of fresh blood throughout the village. Not a bad smell, to be honest. Appetizing. It only made me all the more starved.

When the year ended, and the first light of the new year began, we were called upon to stand in the middle of the Hunters section. There were only four of us though. Brother Ronat, Leaping Fox, Hidden Shade, and me.

Hunter stood in front of us. “Every fourth of a century, around twenty-five years time,” he began. “We send the four youngest Hunters to the Sun Cherishers tribe, one of our brethren Demona tribe. The Night Sky, another brethren tribe, also sends their four youngest Hunters.” He paused, letting the words sink in. And another pause to give us time to ask questions.

“What is it for?” Leaping Fox asked.

“A competition and a hunt,” he answered.

“Why only send four then?” I asked.

Hunter pondered for a moment, then spoke. “Looks like the Ritual Master didn’t tell you this. That old Demona, always giving me more trouble.” He glanced at each of us. “You see, the youngest four Hunters born within every fourth of a century are always the strongest. It is a strange occurrence, I know, but it is related to the potency of the blood our Demona tribes.”

Hunter sniffed at the air, a strange reaction. But I blamed it on the pervading smell of the blood from the previous afternoon. It was still lingering around like the smell of a damp forest after a day of raining.

“I will give a comparison. Your older four Brothers, for example, they can only endure the Blodvraz state for around five seconds before the backlash gains in strength.”

The implication of that statement dawned on me. Did it mean that the potency of the blood was directly related to how long one could last in the Blodvraz state? That would make me a strange exception then. I was half Wraithborne.

As if seeing through my thoughts, Hunter confirmed it. “The youngest Hunters born in the span of every twenty five years usually last up to five to eight seconds in starblood state,” he said.

My mind whirled at that. I thought back upon the Ritual Master’s remark on the eight of us Brothers being born so closely to one another in such a short period of time. No more than two years. A rare occurrence, he had said.

Another implication.

That would also make Hunter at the very least twenty-five years old. But that wouldn’t have made sense. He couldn’t have become the lead Hunter of our tribe that young. He would have to be at least fifty years old then? Perhaps forty.

Hunter smiled. “Thinking about how old I am, Hunter Wolf Under Stars?” he asked with a hint of amusement.

“Yes?” I said hesitantly. It was rude to ask an elder’s age.

“I am at least fifty years old,” he hinted at me.

Leaping Fox nudged at me with an arm. “Good going,” he whispered. “I have always wondered how old Hunter was too.”

He raised his voice to ask, “Are you around the seventy mark?”

Hunter waved a hand in dismissal. “Enough. The four of you will set out for the Sun Cherishers tribe, and I will personally be guiding you. Make sure to gather all your belongings and meet me at the northern gates.”

========

After about an hour, we gathered once more outside of the northern gates. With me, I brought my blade-spear, throwing knives, Essence bombs, rejuvenation vials, and many other small necessities.

We moved out then, Hunter leading us all the way. For the whole of the week, we spent all the daylight traveling, taking only brief rests. With plenty of Light Essences and Nature Essences all around us, we frequently used our Runic Speed Enhancements in short bursts.

By the second day, it had become a contest as we tried to overtake Hunter. But all of our attempts failed even with the Runic Speed Enhancements. Hunter always kept ahead of us, always in the lead, never faltering. He wasn’t even out of breath after running for the whole of the morning and afternoon.

After the fourth day, we gave up trying to overtake Hunter. And as usual, he had those glows of dull amusement in his dark eyes. A slight curve of his lips, as if telling us that we still had more growing to do.

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The next morning, we exited the northern forests, and when the sun had set high on the fifth day, we were traveling at a breakneck speed across the Bleary Grasslands, heading west. The Sun Cherishers tribe was located at the western tip of the Bleary Grasslands but still in range of the Desolate Forests.

The scenery as we traveled across the grassland was unceasingly dull, almost never changing. Grey on grey. Grey on the trees. Grey on the plants. The skies themselves seemed to have almost turned grey. There were even grey-skinned creatures known as the Greynats, four-limbed creatures that fed on the grey grass.

The seventh day was a blessing. We were finally out of the grey, grey place and at the western edges of the Bleary Grasslands.

“Finally,” Leaping Fox muttered. “I thought I was going to become ill with a new sickness. I would even call it Grey Fever.”

An agreeable statement, I silently thought to myself.

“The Valley of Suns,” Hunter said, “home to the Sun Cherishers tribe. And further beyond the Valley of Suns is the Azera Mountains, encircling the valleys.”

It was an easy distinction. If you cross the Bleary Grasslands and into the Valley of Suns, the grey grass changes into colorful flowers and plants with a golden yellow being the most distinct hue. It was almost painful to the eyes, having the scenery change so quickly from dull to bright. It felt like coming out from ten years in the darkness of an underground place, finally seeing sunlight for the first time.

After another day of traveling, and we finally arrived at the Sun Cherishers tribe which was a village larger than ours. We climbed up a slightly elevated hill, crossing the borders between the Bleary Grasslands, and climbed down the hill to arrive at the Valley of Suns.

A foreign place. A different feeling, a different mood. Everything felt different.

The village was a sprawling mass of confusion, interconnected by multiple different sections arranged randomly. Like the overgrown roots of a tree that had spread everywhere without any distinction. There were also tall buildings that stood out from the rest, incomparable to the short buildings in our village.

Up above and around these buildings, like tall towers, there were golden creatures of the air gliding through, circling their tops. They resembled a larger version of eagles, excepting for the three tails that followed blurrily behind.

And surrounding this sprawling mass of confusion were watchtowers with dividing walls in between. Then to the sides of these dividing walls, just a small distance away, two great rivers snaked through. They ran parallel to each other and to the sides of the village. Further beyond that were an encirclement of valleys colored yellow by its various plants.

To top all of that, the sun loomed largely up above as if it had moved closer, and the two snaking rivers glistened from the light, creating their own smaller lights, like small suns. All in all, the Valley of Suns was certainly a suitable name. It was blinding to the eyes.

We moved closer toward the nearby watchtowers and their dividing walls which snaked around like the rivers.

“Impressive,” Hidden Shade said, looking at the skies full of the creatures of the air. “There are so many Vulcans here.”

As if his words were a cue, four of those Vulcans landed in front of us, diving down from the sky. The closer look at the creatures revealed them to be mostly yellow but with crowns of black feathers surrounding their heads. As their four wings unfolded, an impressive sight met our eyes. The creatures looked magnificent, especially their wingspans which could have enfolded our entire group. The largest of the wingspan looked to be close to thirty feet.

What was most interesting, however, were the figures riding the four Vulcans. They were all female Demona Hunters, each of them carrying a large bow behind their backs. But only one of them carried a blade-spear.

“Greetings,” she called out from above, the bangs of her short violet-tinged black hair shifting slightly from the wind. “You are the Hunters from the Piercing Moon tribe?” Her violet eyes narrowed. “You look weak.”

“Ohoho, Brother Wolf, I think she is directing that toward you,” Leaping Fox said with no small amount of amusement.

“My apologies, Sister Elera sometimes becomes…say, ahead of herself,” another spoke up, the one to her right.

“You mean hotheaded right. She can’t calm her tits most days,” a female Demona with long red hair spoke up.

“Oh boy,” Leaping Fox whispered. “I am already liking that fiery one. She seems foxy…heh, get it?” He frowned, then put an arm around Brother Ronat’s shoulders. “That little one, however, looks good for my Brother Ronat here.”

My hands almost itched to stab at Leaping Fox. No doubt, Brother Ronat was also thinking the same. I almost thought I saw his haunted dark eyes twitch at the words.

Their eyes narrowed upon seeing Brother Leaping Fox whispering. I will give my Brother this at least. He kept his whispers lowered enough so that only we could hear it. And perhaps it was just my imagination, a wink of an invisible second, but I saw Hunter twitch a small smile, gone before even half a second had passed.

The four female Demona Hunters of the Sun Cherishers tribe jumped down from their Vulcans, landing lithely like cats. I inspected their figures quickly. Fearsome cats. I would not be messing with them anytime soon.

They wore black leather wraps with white undercloth over their chests. As for their lower bodies, they covered them with similarly colored leather underpants that were hard pressed to even cover an inch of their upper thighs. Around each of their upper thighs, they wore belt wraps and in each wrap there were three small sheaths. Throwing knives most likely. They wouldn’t need six daggers.

On their forearms, there wore black vambraces made out of Xeonite metal, judging from the sheen of it. And like every Hunter, each of them had full Runic markings over their whole bodies. Their Eraiteis, however, differed from ours. Their Runic Enhancements included some even which I did not recognize. The most basic of them were there, however. Speed. Fortitude. And Strengthening.

“Welcome to the Sun Cherishers tribe, Brother Hunters,” said the one called Elera. She flashed her four small fangs at us in a provoking manner.

Brother Leaping Fox put an arm around my shoulders, leaving Brother Ronat to his relief, and to my not-relief. “You can take that angry one. The one who spoke first.” He winked at me. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell Dance of First.”

I rolled my eyes at him as I ignored the glares of the four female Hunters.

Leave it to Brother Leaping Fox to destroy peaceful moods.

And to think there were four more Hunters from the Night Sky tribe on their way here. It was going to be a mess. I prayed to the All Mother.

I looked toward Hunter. He made no move to introduce us, only watching from the sides. Most likely he didn't want to get involve with young Hunters like us.

I stepped forward. A gesture of greeting. A gesture of respect. "I am Hunter Wolf Under Stars from the Piercing Moon Tribe. Pleased to meet you."

"I am Hunter Leaping Fox." He made a wide grin.

"Hunter Ronat." Silent as ever.

"Hunter Hidden Shade." Also silent, but his eyes more focused upon the Vulcans. They ignored the females.