The hunt

Ma always said the future was written in the stars. That is why we looked at the stars often, but today was special. The tribe's shaman was gazing at the stars for the elders who were singing praises to the divine. It was the night of the hunt: the coming of age ceremony in the tribe and I was coming of age, a little over 14 summers.

We were nervous, the lot of us coming of age. It was the culmination of our learning and a proof of our potential. It was a simple fact that the better one performed in the hunt, the better the person's place in the tribe. Pa always said it was how nature works, the big prey on the small, the winner takes all. In any case, my ceremony was imminent and I didn't want to be a loser.

When the moon shone brightly, I left the house, with nothing but my loincloth. It was very cold but that was one thing a warrior has to live with, so that was part of our trial. Not that I cared much for the cold. 

I'd learnt perseverance from ma, when I had to run errands for her. Ma was the village's apothecary. She worked a lot with plants. She had to be meticulous because it's very easy to poison someone you had to heal. So ma made me collect plants for her sometimes. Some plants had to be collected in the dew of the morning, some in the heat of midday. So I had to carefully look at them and collect them whenever their effect was best. I also had to patiently wait for a specific time before I could touch some plants. Ma always knew when I'm trying to cheat. So I stopped trying to fool her.

I met up with others gathering for the hunt near the middle of the village, where a massive tree grew, the totem of the tribe. Pa said the totem gave birth to the tribe. The elders were already there, each one of them with frightening builds. In fact, it seemed like the bulkier the better. Pa was also there. They had finished a part of the ceremony & now it was the part that required our presence. The elders corralled us in, twelve of us. I took a moment to look at them. They were the soul of the tribe, brave hunters whose actions decided the fate of the tribe. They were dressed in dark robes save the chief, whose white robes hugged his frame perfectly, further highlighting the difference between him and the others. Other elders brimmed with muscles, even Pa, making us feel like ants. The chief, Ragnor, on the other hand was lanky. But make no mistake, his physical prowess put even the best of the elders to shame. There was something else about him, something that made the other elders shudder in fright. Pa said he could use internal energy when I asked him about it. Said I would understand everything after becoming an adult. Another reason I was looking forward to tonight.

The chief made his address, but it was the whole old thing, how our tribe has not provided talents for a long time, how other tribes were looking our way to assimilate our tribe & how we were to prove ourselves - staying alive in the fallen mountain for three days. Humans were not the only threats on the plain. In fact, the greatest threats were beasts, arising from the fallen mountain - a cursed land with forests. There were even terrifying creatures that could use internal energy living there. Killing the beasts there served to provide food, money & forestall a beast invasion. Of course, those entering the mountains must have sufficient strength. However, we were only to hunt in the outskirts, where the weaker beasts lived. 

The elder concluded his speech & looked at each of us. His gaze paused when it stopped by me, but only for the fraction of a second, but to me, it seemed like a long minute. I felt like I stood in a battlefield, with frightening creatures roaring. Too frightening. I only noticed that my back was slick with sweat after it passed. It seemed no one noticed the terrifying gaze like I did. It showed how terrible my frame was, not even able to bear a gaze. I was the weakest this time. 

When we were told to choose a weapon each, I chose a dagger. I reasoned that since we were the weakest beings in the mountain, there's no need to burden myself with heavier objects. Running fast would be my strength. We were given a bag to store our trophies - the heart of the beast we could hunt.

As were led to the edge of the fallen mountain, I looked around my fellow tribesmen, gauging them. Tribal law also allowed stealing other's trophy, as long as no one died. Of course, coming back without a trophy is worse than dying on the hunt. Such ones would be the lowest rung of the tribe, unworthy of care or resources. Without resources, one will just fade into obscurity. They were often canon fodder in tribal wars. 

At the edge, we all ran into the fallen mountains I picked a route different from the rest and ran, the first burst of speed taking about 3 kilometers, far away for others not to be a threat. However, at this point, the forest & the beasts it hid were my greatest threat. I crouched low, listening to the forest. I found myself beneath a tree. The forest was dark with no hint of the Moon's light. I ambled forward, scouting for a place to rest. The night was more deadly than the day because more beasts became active at night. This made hunting at night foolish. My first duty was making it through the night. I had to search for a place to hole up somewhere beasts will not be a threat. I finally found myself in the comfort of a tree branch, after being chased from another tree by a snake. It was lying motionless, eyes greedy for prey, coiled around a lesser branch. The vigilance Pa taught me saved me. But I had to flee immediately I saw the beast. I was not strong enough to battle it with the low visibility of the forest. 

The cold of the night and the fear in the air made my first night restless. The roar of hunting beasts sent a chill up my spine each time it happened and that was often. I knew that I'd be dead if was faced with those beasts. I knew it was going to be tough. I also knew I had to be lucky. Pa always said that luck was part of strength. I don't know how to feel about that yet, but on this occasion, I needed luck. The uneventful night passed. I had to hunt during the day, where the less vicious animals looked for food. 

We were not allowed to take food or water, so the first thing I did was to find water & then food. Food would have to be leaves & flowers, meat would be too deadly. My search for waster was successful, because I was chased to a stream soon and had to swim to safety.

Two days passed quickly. I had not yet found a trophy. I loitered at the stream though, animals need water to survive, but no suitable target was forthcoming. In fact I did escape twice from the jaws of death, once because I could run and climb faster and the other because I could swim. I still don't know where I stand on luck. 

On the third day, I was understandably tired. But I did come across another person, a youth called Tigor. Tigor was also doing the coming of age ceremony but he was different from me, stronger. He had clearly defined muscles & his bag looked like he was carrying something. 

"Oi, Richard, how are you still alive" he asked, voice dripping with contempt. He seemed very upset that I was not yet dead. I understood the hate, years of political strife left no love between his family & mine.

"If you're not dead, how do you expect me to die" I responded, already calculating my escape route. Tigor was easily the strongest of us & I was easily the weakest. He grinned, face scanning my empty bag, eyes flashing in contempt, "you know there's no point going back with us after today, you better look for a home here", a smile gracing his face, he patted his bag & left. His bag already had a trophy and from its size, it was more than one. He knew I could easily outrun him. Although killing was not allowed, the tribe said nothing about injuries, a few broken bones will effectively mean I'll be buried in the forest, especially if said bones were on my legs. 

As the day wore on, my face became terrible to look at, my luck was terrible. Years of training on trapping, following tracks failed in handing me a kill. When the night came, I threw caution to the wind and decided to hunt at night. In fact, I decided to head deeper into the forest because Tigor was right, it would be better to die in the forest than return empty handed. Of course, the hunt did not specifically say I was the one to kill the animal whose part I presented, right?

That it was a bold decision did not mean it was any easier carrying it out. For once, I had to be more vigilant than even I thought possible.

I moved slowly, cautious of every step, softly stepping on the leaves that adorned the ground, careful of making noise. Deep into the night, I heard a loud noise in the distance and grew excited immediately, the noise was that of fighting. In this forest, fights that last long are fights between equals and I thought of getting an easy kill. My excitement did not make my reckless. I was still carefully making mg way over. I had to be alive to claim the reward.

As I drew closer to the sounds, I could differentiate them now. I noted when it seemed one was injured. I settled a distance from the battlefield, careful to hide myself in the bushes. I saw two beasts, one was very fast and the other was looking very strong with scales covering all vulnerable regions. It was bleeding all over, having sustained uncountable injuries but couldn't escape, it just was not fast enough. The battle held no suspense at this point and in a few minutes, it was dead. The fight was beyond my ability to participate. So, I left, careful not to alert the victor. That thing was too fast.

My mood was generally glum as I turned back, headed towards home. The hunt was drawing to a close and I did not even participate. I felt terrible, the future bleak. I imagined my Dad looking disappointed and my mom consoling me. I imagined Tigor's sneer as I returned. Truly dark days lay ahead. 

I was still vigilant, the night was dark and hunters were abroad. Although I did not feel I counted as prey, I was still careful. Suddenly, I noticed animal tracks and blood. My future suddenly looked bright, my heart racing because it could only mean one thing, that there was a fight and at least one combatant was injured. The forest was rife with killing & I was looking to net an easy trophy. I prayed to the divine for luck and carefully moved toward the source of the blood. The leaves were getting redder and redder, evidence of blood loss. I was getting more interested. 

The forest trees gave way to a small clearing. There lay a beast and it looked like it died after a fierce battle. I almost roared in joy but my instinct was that it would not end well if I did. I was already fortunate to see a dead animal and was not about to become unfortunate. I wondered who killed the beast and just left it there. It seemed fishy but I shrugged. Isn't that not how luck often works?

I went closer to observe. Its wounds were smooth, not that of a claw, that of a weapon and only humans used weapons. I immediately was on guard. I was basically stealing someone's trophy. That was another reason to finish it quickly.

I set to harvest the heart of the beast but something gave me pause. A dark mass lay few metres ahead. I carefully approached it, the meagre light from the moon being my only light. When I saw what it was, I shuddered, grieve welled up in me. It was human. It was Tigor. Reality struck me hard at that moment. Tigor fought the beast. No, Tigor died fighting a beast. I moved closer, wishing I was wrong, but the lack of beat in his heart told me otherwise. I spared a moment to mumble a prayer to the divine before quickly harvesting the trophy. I had to, blood would surely attract other beaststars, they would come. As I left the clearing, trophy in hand, I stared back at my enemy, the strongest candidate in the hunt. His soulless eyes were gazing at the stars and my trophy bag was bulging.