Seth pushed his way through the brush of the Zudano forest. The ground was a damp, reddish dirt that left tracks behind him as he walked. He had studied the map a long time before determining that the forest was in fact the home of the Zoawara Tribe. I wish Elijah would have given us a little more information before sending us to a totally different world Seth thought to himself as he ducked beneath a low hanging branch that was just one of the many canopies that the trees provided in the dense forest.

As he made his way past the branch, he immediately halted as he felt a sharp point against his throat. Seth inhaled sharply, slowly scanning in front of him until his eyes rested upon a long spear which stuck out from a nearby bush. Suddenly he felt little pricks all over his neck, front and back, as more spears appeared before his eyes.

Seth slowly raised his hands and said softly, “I come in peace.”

One of the wielders of the spears revealed himself from the brush. He was dressed in a green tartan patterned cloth that wrapped around the waist and then draped over the shoulder, which reminded Seth of the Scottish kilt. His skin was dark, like the color of charcoal and his hair was short and neat. “You are trespassing.”

“I know, and I apologize,” Seth said cautiously. “I’ve just come from the Nagaboro Village. I’m a disciple of the Exalted Guardian Society and have been sent by Saint Elijah for someone hear named Ryujeth.”

The young man squinted at Seth in confusion and relaxed his spear slightly. “I am who you seek. What does Saint Elijah want with me?”

Well, that was easy Seth thought to himself and then cleared his throat. “Elijah is rebuilding the Exalted Guardian Society. I am one of a few new disciples that he has recruited in order to do so. According to my instructions, you are someone who shows great potential and I’ve come to extend an offer to you to join us,” he explained.

Murmuring broke out from the different members of the Zoawara Tribe as they all, one-by-one relaxed their spears and came out from their cover. One of the older tribesmen, a tall and muscular man, with skin just as dark as Ryujeth’s, yet with long grey dreadlocks and a beard approached Seth and looked him up and down. “Ryujeth is one of the strongest and brightest young men in our tribe. How can we just allow you to take him from us- even if you are sent by Saint Elijah?” the elder questioned.

Seth thought carefully on how to answer this before a different elder spoke up.

“He must go through the trial of Zoa-Gar,” the elder said to everyone’s unanimous approval.

“Zoa-Gar?” Seth asked.

“All of the young men of our tribe have gone through this trial- or died. If you are who you say you are, then you must prove to us that you possess power like Saint Elijah. There is no other way,” the first elder who spoke to him replied.

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“Listen, with all due respect, I don’t know that I necessarily have time for this. I have to get back on the road soon to meet up with-,” Seth began to say but was interrupted once again.

“There is no other way. You prove that you have what it takes to be like the Zoawara and we will give Ryujeth over to become a Guardian,” the elder stated.

Seth exhaled and nodded slowly, “if that’s what I must do.”

“Yes,” the elder said and then motioned to a couple of the men who stood near him. They quickly approached Seth and began to remove his effects, beginning with expanse bag, and then began removing all of his clothes.

“Hey- wait! What are you doing?” Seth cried out, as he covered up his nakedness.

“You must become like the Zoawara,” the elder glared at Seth, who was then handed similar tartan patterned cloth like the rest of them were wearing.

Seth groaned inwardly and quickly dressed himself the best he could in the cloth, receiving a little assistance from some of the nearby tribesmen. I should have gone with Leon and Onko he bemoaned inside.

Seth was led back to the Zoawara Tribe’s village, which was significantly more primitive looking than that of the Nagaboro Clan. Their huts were made from sticks and straw with some sort of tar substance that held together thatch roofing. In the center of the village was a large fire pit, which at the moment was only billowing smoke, with no visible fire burning.

“I am Tygor, Chieftain of the Zoawara Tribe. You will accompany Ryujeth, who will teach you the Zoawara way. If he suspects that you are a spy or an assassin from the Raijin Clan, your body will be buried and we will feed your head to the chichoonga bugs,” he threatened, giving Seth a firm pat on the back.

“You won’t have to worry about that,” Seth answered nervously.

“Come,” Ryujeth said as he beckoned Seth to follow him and a group of four other young men, all armed with spears with a curious looking crystal as the tip. “We must prepare you to fight the Ganros.”

“The Ganros?” Seth questioned.

“Yes. You will see them soon enough,” Ryujeth brushed the question off as he led Seth and the other young men away from the village and to a part of the forest where there were a bunch of dark brown colored shoots coming up from the ground that looked similar to bamboo, but was solid rather than hollow.

Seth was given a machete and instructed to cut down one of the shoots along with the other young men. He did so and then watched as the other young men held the stick next to themselves before making a notch with their machetes right where the stick met their heads. Seth followed suit and made the notch and then copied the others as they hacked the end off, each stick being as tall as the wielder.

“Not bad for an outsider,” Ryujeth smiled. “That is Jongo wood. It can be cut, but it cannot be broken. It is the best wood for making spears.”

“I see,” Seth looked at his own staff in admiration and then asked, “where do we get the spear heads from?”

“We must go to the cave of Al-Shathan. That is where the Spirit Crystals grow. That is where the Ganros are. They guard the crystals,” Ryujeth explained to Seth’s dismay.

“So, we have to fight the Ganros in order to get the crystals to make our spears? I thought the spears were what we would use to fight them,” Seth tried to reason.

“No. The spear is the reward for defeating the Ganros. No more questions now. We must go before the second sun sets,” Ryujeth tapped Seth’s arm with the side of his spear and led him and the other young men towards a large mountain off in the distance.