Lothian woke up in the night with sweat dripping from his brow. He threw away the red blanket with his feet, taking a deep breath. Normally, he would sleep without anything to cover him during this half of the year, since it was too warm, so why did he use the blanket yesterday? Oblivious to why he did what he did, the young boy climbed out of the bed and grabbed the leather garment beside the bed, equipping it and pulling the sinew strings to fasten it. He walked to the fireplace, taking the metal cauldron that lay not too far away as he walked out of the hut, still sleepy as his feet moved in an old habit.
It was slightly dark outside, signifying that it was not yet day. The way to the nearest river was out from the southern village gate and over a steep hill where tall oaks grew, almost piercing into the sky. The view of the forest from the southern gate was very impressive, and the trees looked like mighty guardians. Following the crude path, Lothian heard as birds were waking up to the morning light and as small creatures whimpered in sleep, perhaps having nightmares of predators hunting them.
After filling the wide metal cauldron with water from the river, the young boy walked back the same way, into the village and into his hut. He grabbed two logs from under his bed and put them inside the moat of protruding stones. Spinning a stick across the wooden surface, a spark soon lit the fire. He placed the cauldron on top of the fire – in the metal frame – just slightly above the flames that were growing stronger and stronger. Soon, the water inside the cauldron began to boil.
"Lucky I didn't have time to eat it yesterday." He muttered with a smile to his face "Or else I'd have to start the day on an empty stomach."
Taking the dead rabbit from under his bed, which acted as a large storage room for him, he skinned it with a knife and put it inside the cauldron along with some vegetables and spices. Soon, a delicious fragrance spread inside the hut, and the food was ready to be eaten. Lothian had always been a fast eater, and so he finished the rabbit and the vegetables within minutes. Food really tastes better when one is hungry, the young boy snickered and began preparing for the new day.
"Hey, Lothian, you know what day it is today?" the golden bear's voice was heard from outside the hut a while later.
Lothian stared blankly for a moment and then drew a cold breath. "Shit, I forgot! It's the start of the trials today. For the forest dispatch!"
"That's right." Rulah's usual laughter rang out. "Now get going. Zerki and I won't leave without you."
"Zerki's there too?"
"Yes, but still wasted from last night. Which is why she doesn't respond."
"Alright, give me a sec and I'll be out."
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"So, how are you feeling, Zerki?" Lothian asked the small rainbow coloured bird currently lying in his hand, snuggling together with her wings over her head, as if trying to hide from the world. Well, it would be better to say the sun, which – today – was hotter than yesterday, a day it was perceived as extremely hot. Even the young boy felt the sun scorch his neck, causing him to feel a slight discomfort. What dangers would await them today, the fateful day when the forest dispatch trials were held.
The forest dispatch trials were like the dream for 'Warriors' – magical beasts who had awakened the seventh sense, the ability to feel the elemental sprites in the air – and were for the younger generation the goal of a lifetime. Every young beast dreamt of becoming a member of the famous protectors, a position worthy of respect and gratitude. Not only would one possess a higher status than his peers, but one would also be able to serve the queen and ruler of the forest, the great white deer.
Zerki mumbled something too low for him to hear and whimpered softly as she pressed her wings over her head and nestled in his palm. Lothian shrugged his shoulders. He really was right yesterday. The torae had been too much to handle for her. She shouldn't have drunk so much, it was the first day of the trials today, a day every younger generation's warrior was looking forward to with jewels in their eyes, and would never ever dare to miss because of a party the night before.
On the other hand, Zerki had always been a bit special. She had taken the whole trial thing quite casually, speaking of it as any other event. Perhaps it was because of her status in her clan. She was, after all, Grandpa Maki's doted granddaughter, and Grandpa Maki wasn't to be trifled with if one wanted to keep his life. He was one of the two grand elders of the clan who would be in control when Serena was away. The other grand elder was the ironbark ancestor, Teresa. She was clouded in mystery and seldom appeared. Lothian had probably only seen her once or twice in his life.
"Just let her sleep, if it's a group event, us three will go together," Rulah said. "Who knows, maybe she will even provide a bit of help if we let her sleep. You know how she is. I'm a bear, but she craves sleep even more than me."
"Perhaps a downside of being a genius." Lothian rolled his eyes. "Ah, the campsite is up ahead."
As they had walked an hour or two, from the western gate, they had passed through the middle region of the forest and were now nearing the outer region where the trials would take place.
The forest was divided into two areas. The south and the West, the west's middle region being ten times as large as the south's – Yesterday, they had been in the South area, and therefore, the time it took to walk from the depths to the outer region to the south side was barely countable. It took about ten to twenty minutes. This was to say, the middle region of the West area was much bigger, several times bigger than its sibling on the other side. Obviously, this was one of the many reasons the trial was held in the west and not the east.
In front of them, a campsite was set up with triangular huts placed a bit here and a bit there. Smoke rose to the sky from the holes of the tents but quickly faded away. Tall trees and thick, green vegetation filled their view. They could see mountains enshrouded in mist close to the horizon, a dividing line between the forest and the great beyond that existed on the other side of the wall of mountains. The sun was rising and made the clouds in the sky look like a golden painting.
"Come, let's hurry," Lothian told Rulah. "We don't want to miss the opening ceremony."
The golden bear nodded. "Keep Zerki safe in your hand. And try to control your anger if Jermiya and his followers being to tease you. I know how much you'd love to punch a hole in his face, but try to contain yourself today."
"Mm, I'll do my best." the young boy nodded back, fuming with his nose. "But if he goes too far, I can't promise you anything."
"If he goes too far, I will help you make him shut up," Rulah responded with a grin. "We brothers must stick together, right?"
The two smiled and then began walking to the camp. As they neared, they were met with many glances. Some they were familiar with, and some they had not seen very much. The village was very large after all, containing ten thousands of magical beasts. There were everything from Treasure Hunting Mice to Rhino Elephants to Poison Cloud Warps.
The trio, counted as two since Zerki was fast asleep, got seated in the centre of the camp, where many other already sat on the ground, waiting for the opening ceremony to start. Lothian glanced around and could see hundreds of sitting figures, big and small, fat and thin. He spotted a long and thin figure to the right. Jermiya. The strongest out of the younger generation's Treants and also the only disciple of the mysterious grand elder Teresa.
Jerimiya noticed Lothian's gaze and snorted, showing off his usual arrogant and domineering demeanour. The young boy felt anger – an impulse to go over and pound that long faced idiot to the ground – yet understood the circumstances. At the same time, they were about as powerful as the other and had faced each other in friendly competitions during the years, so it was not wise to provoke the treant. Lothian had his powerful light magic and great battle sense while Jermiya had his earth and water magic along with longer reach.
At the last competition, during the autumn festival, Jermyia had beaten him by a hair's width and advanced to the semifinals, where he fought Zerki and got beaten horrendously, which wasn't surprising. Fire and thunder perfectly countered him, and Zerki's strongest attack, the fire and thunder tornado – enhanced by a little bit of the wind element – was too powerful.
He turned his head elsewhere and discerned a few more familiar faces. He could see the Brutal Rhino Relko and FireFox Fjue and Star Beaver Luna. These were all examples. All the famous young generation's powerhouse were here with no exception, which clearly showed the importance of this event. Most of them were at a lower level than Lothian and Rulah, and the ones who were on the same level could be counted on one hand, three of those being the ones he counted up before, with the addition of Jermyia, of course. And one the same level as Zerki? Well, that was something entirely different. In truth, no one dared to fight her unless it was in a competition, and even at that time, most chose to admit defeat before the match started. Only Jermyia had been stupid enough, partly because of his arrogant and domineering attitude.
"Please," a voice interrupted as everyone was talking. The young group of beasts looked forward by instinct and were astonished and shocked by what they saw. In front of them, on top, the higher elevated platform, stood a gigantic shadow panther with a scar running across his left eye diagonally down his face. It was the forest dispatch's vice leader, Shadow Panther Mogaro. Morgaro was in the top ten beasts in terms of status, one of them being the leader of the forest dispatch, the mighty Kuerja, Rulah's father. He was also known as having a higher offensive strength then Kuerja.
"Thank you all for coming here today. I assume most of you know what who I am and what your are doing here, or you wouldn't have come here– but I will still tell you." Mogaro said as he gazed out over the youngling. He showed the hint of a smile. "My name is Mogaro, the vice-leader of the forest dispatch. These trials will go on for a six months period, with a pause each fourth day– for you to rest on. The purpose of these trials is for us to find worthy new recruits to join us and bear the proud titles of Protectors. So please, during this time, for your own sake, do you best and give everything you have, for not only will you be glorified, but you will also bring home glory to your family and clan."
The young beasts knew of this fact and, still, couldn't help but gasp. They understood how proud their parents and family would be if they were able to join the forest dispatch. Most of them were secretly dreaming about how great it would feel to walk along the streets of the village, chin up, chest high, and proudly be able to show the emblem of the forest dispatch.
"Now, onto the more crucial matters. "He took a pause and cleared his throat and then continued, albeit slower. "You will form groups of five and compete with other groups, completing missions that will test both your individual strength as well as how good you work in teams. But that isn't all you need to become a protector, which I expect you will soon come to learn. This group of yours will later be the group in which you will move about as protectors – if you win of course. It will be your squad, and you will be like brother and sisters, with bonds greater than those of blood. That said, choose wisely. You have until nightfall to form groups and report to me. If you fail to do this, you will be disqualified. That's all. you are dismissed."
After Mogaro had spoken, he took his leave swiftly, disappearing into one of the bigger huts in the central area of the camp. The hundreds of young beasts stood still, thinking through what they had been told. Lothian turned to Rulah. "So, we got you and me and little birdie." He said, still holding Zerki in his hand. It was incredible how she succeeded in not waking up during the speech from the shadow panther. "Who else?"
Rulah shrugged. "No idea. But I'd suggest we start fast. If we don't find two before night, we will be disqualified."