3. A Huntress in the Forest
Year 3045, northwest of Insubri.
In a state of full concentration, she closed her eyes and circulating her Qi used the Hunter's Ears Art (lvl 5) she was working on.
Her perceptual field transformed and tiny sounds coming from rodents and insects became clear and identifiable. A cacophony of sounds emanated from the environment and among these, a thunderous breathing to her left accompanied by the rustling of leaves and branches indicated where the prey was.
A hundred and fifty meters away, walking towards her through some bushes, was the deer. She stopped channeling Qi, interrupted her art and opened her eyes. The creature in the distance was not yet in sight.
Caliane placed an arrow, tightened the string and waited in complete silence on the tree. Her delicate hands held firmly a flat bow, made of walnut wood. The arrows she used with a broad-head were suitable for cutting. Their main purpose was to slice and cut tissues and muscles; in flight they gained great penetrating power, being able to pierce through chain mail and armor.
One of the most important qualities for a hunter was patience. The minutes passed slowly. She felt a breeze caress her face and the leaves of the ash tree danced. Her mane, beautiful and blond, waved in the wind.
Now about a hundred yards away, the animal entered her field of vision and what she saw made her frown.
It was a male deer, but it had something peculiar on its antennae. Without feeling the weight, it was carrying the head of another smaller deer, with which apparently had a confrontation and ended up tearing its head off.
Sketching a faint smile she relaxed her brow. The sight was disgusting yes, but if anything, a testament to the prey's strength.
The only thing she hoped was that it hadn't awakened his Qi, beasts worthy of accompanying a Natura were a problem. According to her mother's teachings, even an experienced Elite would be in danger.
She fortified her arms with Qi and using as much force as possible on the string she released the arrow. With a whirring sound it traveled the hundred meters quickly and hit the target. The arrow embedded itself between the neck and trunk of the beast. She quickly pulled out a second arrow and shot at the same spot.
The deer did not have its Qi awakened, disoriented by the loss of blood, it tried to run away staggering to end up dead a few meters from the attacks. Heading to the scene, Caliane put it in a small cart she had left nearby for transport.
The sun was already setting through the trees when she arrived home with the animal. She left the deer a few meters from the campfire, with the other head still attached. She wanted to see her uncle's reaction when he saw it. Isaac was in charge of cooking it, a job he had taken on since she started hunting.
They reached an agreement that he would take care of what she hunted. The only condition was that she would satisfactorily comply with her mother's daily training. A task that was not always pleasant or easy. In any case, the cook underestimated her passion for hunting and constantly complained about how much she made him work.
The bonfire where she left the prey was located in front of a small and rustic wooden hut full of vines and plants. The immensity of the forest covered the surroundings and the construction was completely mistaken as part of it.
She opened the wooden door and found in one of the rooms her mother lying down reading. An activity she performed more frequently as her condition worsened and she did not get out of bed.
In her hands she held a book about Herbology, which dealt with the study of the properties and medicinal applications of plants and their extracts.
The interior of the hut was simple and cozy, it had three rooms and large windows that let in lots of light. Decorated with plants of all kinds and animal skins, it was as if one had never left the forest.
"Hi Mum, I'm back" she announced happily resting the bow and quiver with arrows on the wooden floor.
"Just in time Cali for a conversation before dinner" said Rama putting the book down on the little table with effort. The brown-haired woman, smiled at her and the wrinkles were noticeable in her face.
She had elegant features and almond-shaped amber eyes that gave away she had been a beauty as a young woman. Her daughter was no slouch but had a fiercer appearance, with more yellowish, piercing eyes, like a predator.
"Don't tell me it's going to be Herbology?" she protested and sat defeated on a bench beside the bed.
Rama looked at her tenderly and swung her feet off the bed. To Caliane's surprise she began to dress slowly putting on a pair of dark threadbare pants.
"Let's sit outside, today I want to clarify to you our circumstances and their origin in the past" she stood up and motioned for Caliane to help her walk.
The night was starry and a crescent moon peeked timidly over the trees. Pines, Oaks and Ash trees abounded in the forests of their ancestors, Clan Dendron. There was no place that made them feel more protected.
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They lit a small fire and brought some old logs closer to sit by, accompanied by the crackling of the fire, occasional howls of wolves and the hooting of an owl.
"I have taught you many things about our ancestors and their vital arts but I never told you about your father" she commented in a gentle voice.
"He was a good man and a very powerful hunter...he only wanted the best for his people. Unfortunately we had to separate because his presence put us in danger, here in these woods we are safe" she added looking at the swaying fire that illuminated their faces.
Caliane's heart skipped a beat. The last time she had seen her father was when she was a child and she didn't remember him very well. She was happy with her mother and Isaac but his absence was always a mystery.
For years she asked about it but her mother refused to talk about him telling her that when the time was right she would explain.
"Why now?" she asked sadly.
"I have little time left, you know that.... I am grateful that I was able to see you grow up, this wound should have taken my life years ago" she replied and pointed to the side of her torso which was covered with roots and plants pulsing with Qi under her shirt.
Apparently her mother's wound was linked to her father but she still didn't understand how.
Caliane gave her a hug and for a while they stood like that, saying nothing to each other, until footsteps were heard in the distance. When they looked, a short man wearing a brown lumberjack shirt was walking from the road to town. It was Isaac.
"How are you doing? I see you brought me another deer Caliane... and this time with a double head" he said tiredly. Every time he came back from visiting the village or fishing in the river, some animal was waiting for him near the bonfire. He wanted to help Rama with Caliane's training but at times he regretted it, almost every day something new appeared.
When there was no response from either of them, he noticed how solemn the atmosphere was. Even Rama was out of bed for the first time in months.
"I'm going to tell her about her father, you can stay if you want Isaac and add whatever you like" his friend communicated.
Nervously he nodded and sat in front of the fire staying quiet. Since the day he decided to stay in the woods to protect them, the girl became like his family, he wanted to be present.
"I'm sure in your visits to the village, you have heard how Cyderall is spreading through much of Insubri and is the main force in the region" Rama assumed waiting for confirmation.
Caliane nodded her head in agreement. The townspeople lived in constant fear that a Cyderall regiment would show up in the area recruiting all the young men and collecting taxes.
"What I haven't told you about the past is that as a young woman I was a Cyderall`s Captain, but it was a very different Cyderall than it is now. We supported the Bielsa's right to rule in our region and wanted peace in Insubri above all else," she recalled wistfully.
This did leave her puzzled, she never imagined that her mother had any relationship with the empire that was conquering Insubri.
"With your father we met when the Resistance was formed, warriors from the Free People`s Alliance and clans of Insubri and Drakari banded together to oppose the invaders who controlled Cyderall," she sighed before continuing.
"It was in vain, the power of those monsters... even the new Captains of Cyderall matched the power of a Master with their Arts (lvl.10). In a few years they formed regiments with thousands of Elites and Naturas. Many of us died in clashes, others left the cause but Klawnus never gave up" Rama cleared her throat and paused.
Caliane processed what she had heard. Enemies superior to Master and her father still fighting them after twenty years.
"So your wound... it was them?" she whispered and shifted restlessly on the log as Isaac looked at her with concern.
"This wound is from when you were four years old, it was the last time we saw your father, before we came to these woods" replied Rama.
"Why didn't he come and hide with us and stop fighting?" she asked and a lump formed in her throat. In a few months she was going to be in his eighteenth year, more than thirteen years had passed.
At that moment Isaac moved, got up without a word and went to fetch the deer to cook a stew, determined to prepare them a delicious dinner. They were left alone by a fire that was already dying down.
"In his quest for power Klawnus made sacrifices, one of which put him at odds with one of the Cyderall leaders. He has to be changing his location constantly because otherwise the General will find him..." she explained with difficulty
«There is no way to escape from that witch» thought Rama defeated. If the hunter approached these woods it would be a risk they could not afford.
Caliane could not understand how one of the leaders of this powerful empire could give so much importance to a hunter after so many years.
With impotence and pain in her chest, she became determined to oppose Cyderall. For that, she had to become more powerful, it was the only way she had to reunite with her father in the future.
"Your father is Klawnus, Dragonblood. Cyderall's most wanted person" Rama muttered, as if reading her daughter´s mind.