Capítulo 2: The Rite of Passage
Crowds cheering. The wide and sparse savannah instantly turned merry, with a ton of saber tooth tiger sitting on a simple seat that goes up like a staircase. Akin like a bleacher from the stadium of the human world.
Brightly colored banners, handcrafted from leaves and vines, fluttered in the breeze, adding to the celebratory atmosphere. Cubs ran through the aisles, their playful roars mixing with the cheers of the adults. It was a sight that felt both ancient and strangely modern.
'I wonder where the saber tooth gets this idea from?' Zyrral thinks rhetorically.
Not only that, he kinda thought to himself how they built all of this event and props without human-like physics?
The sheer scale of the preparations astounded him. Neat carvings made the wooden beams of the stalls, each depicting scenes and rites of past kings. The bleachers themselves were constructed with surprising precision, each step reinforced to bear the weight of the massive tigers who step on them.
Also, There are some stalls neatly carved from sturdy wood and also neatly placed at that. Young tigers act as the peddler that serves another passerby. Not only saber tooth tigers, but lions, hyenas, and even cranes fly freely.
Zyrral's gaze sharply at the other species, his tiger eyes catching an uncommon interaction between species that would normally clash in the wild. A lion and a hyena shared a casual exchange near one of the stalls, their rivalry set aside for the rite of passage festivals.
But not humans in sight.
This made Zyrral kind of lonely.
Sometimes he will look beyond the boundary of the tribe and thinks. 'What will happen if every tiger at the same time abandons this place for a better future on the outside of the boundary?'
He always knows there are human settlements from the interaction among the tigers. But it is always with a hostile tone. Monsters. Cub Nappers. Will kill you even for a meal or two. But most of the usual folks' words he ignores.
Zyrral asks his counselor that walks beside him. Counselor Haggis. The smartest tigers a tribe has to offer. Telling him that the saber tooth tigers will not see eye to eye with a human. They always raise their weapon first and ask questions later.
If only they understood us in the first place for them to ask questions.
Haggis, an imposing figure with streaks of white in his golden fur, spoke with a stern tone. "Humans have never shown us kindness," he said, his tone matter-of-fact. "They fear us, Zyrral. They always have. And fear drives them to act rashly."
Zyrral looks at Counselor Haggis with a sly look.
For a while, Haggis' expression changes.
"No. You shall not go outside the boundary of the savannah. Don't ever think about it." The counselor responds. Understand where Zyralls' gaze are leading into this conversation.
"You old oaf! Humanity is not all that bad. All we need is to go for their king. Threatens them by the head."
Haggis somewhat did not expect the response from their soon-to-be king. The more the counselor looks at Zyrral eyes, the more he looked like his father's eyes. Gaze of a ruthless character. Maybe he is even more ruthless.
A fearsome leader whose cunning had kept their tribe strong but whose brutality had left scars on friend and foe alike.
Haggis thought. 'Zyrral might surpass even his father in ambition.'
He smiled. "Their kings are heavily guarded by soldiers at all times. It is really risky, if you fail. There will be no mercy when they raze this savannah."
"But it's not all black." Haggis continues, his tone was really low. "Rumor says if you somehow made a pact with a human. You will gain immense power."
Zyrral stops and looks at his counselor. Goes deep silent and think. Thinking about the strange sentence that looks inappropriate or even taboo for the cause of the saber tooth tiger.
"I can work with that." Zyrral snout sheepish grin.
Haggis' face turns red. "Wh-what do you mean? Wait, why are we talking about this just now? Let's go to the Rite Central and prepare for your trial."
He never heard of that rumor. No one talks about it or even one documented in a parchment.
'What are you hiding from me?' Zyrral murmurs.
Zyrral attention shifts towards the Rite Center
He already knows that he will win. The judges are already in his hands. One of them is already bribed with a position in the tribe. One that does not need to work hard for the rest of their life.
The knowledge of his rigged advantage filled him with confidence, though a small, nagging voice at the back of his mind questioned whether such a victory would truly be satisfying. But Zyrral dismissed the thought—winning was all that mattered.
The soon-to-be king prepares himself with a smug face. Looking down at the rest of the participants. Even though some of them look way bigger and meaner than Zyrral.
'Just you wait when I employ you to be my personal bodyguard. And you will die for me!'
Zyrral waits for the announcement for the Rite of Passage to begin.
Each of them goes to a chamber specially made for the participants. Many of them growl at each other to assert dominance. But not at Zyrral, everywhere Zyrral goes, they will be obedient and licks Zyrral dignity. No one dares to mock the soon-to-be king.
Even so, there was an unspoken tension in the air. The other participants, although on the outside looked obedient, exchanged side eyes betrayed their appearance. Zyrral knew they envied his position, but none had the courage to challenge him outright.
Sometimes he likes to think that all of this makes him kind of lonely. Without an equal peer.
They get close to Zyrral with them having a string attached. Other tigers will act like they are all Zyrral's personal servants or personal ego licker.
…
A slender yet sturdy tiger comes to the front door of the room. Giving an aura of dominance.
"Everyone in line and follow me!"
All the attention shifts towards the tiger. The chit chattering went to an abrupt end. They obediently followed the old tiger, Zyrral included.
They all followed him until he stopped at a pond full of big alligators. In front of him, there are some patches of lotus that are neatly lined. One row equals 2 patches of lotus.
The first challenge. The slender lion explains that for the first challenge, everyone in turn walks on the lotus. One of the lotus is an ordinary lotus and the other contains magic that makes them a float even weighted with 5 saber tooth tigers.
Zyrral still has not mastered any type of magic. In fact, the formal magic education that he received before passing the rite of passage is limited. He can only do a limited amount of Tigers' magic such as [Flight] and [Reinforce], but the output is so much less than desirable.
Everyone heard the explanation attentively.
The waiting contestant will wear a blindfold. They cannot see what the contestant before them had stepped into. It will give the backrow a tremendous disadvantage compared to the front row.
The conclusion is that this obstacle trains instinct and attentiveness. If you can not find the difference with 2 lotus, then you are most likely to fail.
The slender tiger's voice carried a strong sense of command as he continued, "This test separates those who rely on brute strength from those with the sharp instincts required of a leader. Choose wisely, for the cost of failure is not just embarrassment but the risk of being bitten by the gators below."
Zyrral does not believe one bit.
'There is no way our elders give their only future generation to the gators. They might already use magic to calm the gator down.'
The slender lion explains the queue. Which one goes first, second, third, etc. Zyrral looks at his queue. He is the eighth contestant that will cross. The tribe sets him up to a lucky number from the tribe's beliefs.
"Eight," Zyrral thought with a smirk. "The number of prosperity. Even the gods favor me."
Sounds of water can be heard as the countdown queue goes up.
There are 3 chances. Contestants will waste their chances if they pick the wrong lotus and drown.
Also there is a way to not use the 3 chances and make out to the end of the pool without making your fur wet or alligator stinks. That technique is to use your hearings and estimate the loudness of the body that drowns in the water.
Roughly estimate the weight of the contestant in front of you when they failed to step on the correct lotus. A hard technique that can be done with the acute keenness of the ears. Even for saber tooth standards.
He smirks. But Zyrral will not use any of that troublesome technique.
Status de energia semanal
-- Ranking de
Poder 
-- Pedra de
Poder