บท 13: The Way of the Spear (1)
The next morning came quickly, with sunlight filtering into the cave entrances and waking the tribe.
Nexus yawned as he rose from his bed, tired from the previous night's celebration. His throat was dry, so he grabbed the waterskin beside his bed and took a few gulps.
Recalling how his father had handily defeated everyone in the drinking contest, Nexus laughed to himself.
"Those herbs really worked their magic," he muttered jokingly.
After stretching, Nexus headed out of the cave towards the hunters' tent where his father usually spent his days.
As he passed by the campfire, a familiar childish yet gruff voice called out to him.
"Nexus! Hey, Nexus!"
He turned to see Soliel waving at him.
You need something?" Nexus eyed him curiously.
Soleil opened his mouth, then closed it, worrying his bottom lip. "I...well..."
"Hmm?"
Soleil paused for a moment before forcing a smile. "U-uh it's nothing, just thought we could eat together."
"Oh?" Nexus shook his head. "Thanks, but Father already prepared food for me in the tent."
"Ah..okay" Soleil's gaze dropped, the moment gone as quickly as it came, With Nexus continued on towards the hunters' tent,
"Well that was something." He Mused putting the strange encounter out of his mind.
Soleil sighed as he watch nexus head to the tent, "i should've tell him..."
-----
Nexus pulled back the tent flap and ducked inside.
The familiar aroma of roasting meat and herbs greeted him.
His father, Lorh, was seated by the low burning fire pit, tending to a pit of fresh kills.
"Good morning, Father," Nexus said, unable to contain his excitement.
Today marked the start of his formal warrior training under his fathers tutelage.
Lorh looked up and smiled at his son. "Ah, there's my future champion! I was beginning to think the celebration tired you out too much."
He gestured to the pile of furs and woven mats that served as his seating area. "Come, come. Let's get some food in you before we begin."
Nexus quickly settled cross-legged across from his father, mouth watering at the food before him.
Lorh sliced off a chunk of a surprisingly crisped meat from the pit and handed it over on a flat rock plate, along with some fruits.
"Eat up," Lorh encouraged. "You'll need your strength for the training ahead."
Nexus needed no further prompting as he tore into the simple but hearty meal, Between wolfing down bites, he asked, "What will we be doing first, Father? Spear forms? Sparring?"
Chuckling at his son's eagerness, Lorh replied, "Patience, Gahr. Before any weapons are brought out, we must first prepare you for the warrior's path."
Nexus paused, "oh yeah the Warriors ritual"
It was one of his tribes traditions to become a warrior or hunter of the tribe, one must go on a spiritual journey first Before they hunt.
Which is just getting high off a special Herb, though he never really expected to be doing it since he's a blessed one, and from the Messiahs mind you.
"Guess I'll be getting high today" he thought with a smirk.
"So when well we start?" He ask.
Lorh gave a thoughtful grin, "After you finish eating of course"
Soon the two finished eating their meal and started heading out into an open space within the forest, he sat in the middle waiting for his father instructions.
Reaching behind him, Lorh produced a tightly bound bundle of dried herbs, mushroom caps, and what looked like hard caked ash. He unwrapped it to reveal a fine pale powder within.
"This is the Ruthors Ash" he explained, retrieving a small carved wooden bowl and sprinkling some of the powder inside.
"Once prepared and ingested, you must remain awake through the full effects, The visions may become...intense, Frightening, even. But you must remain calm and open to receive their wisdom."
Lorh mixed the powder with a bit of fresh water from his skin, creating a thin greyish paste, He handed the bowl to Nexus with a serious expression.
"Whenever you are ready, my son. You may drink from the bowl"
Nexus stared down at the unassuming mixture, Hefting the bowl, he met his father's gaze firmly.
"I'm ready."
With that, he tipped his head back and downed the foul-tasting paste in several big gulps, grimacing at the bitter, earthy flavor. When the last mouthful was gone, he set the bowl aside and waited with bated breath.
For several moments, nothing happened...,
"Man these herb ai-" before he could finish a strange lightheadedness began spreading through his body, at that moment he felt like he was floating.
His vision blurred and wavered, while distant sounds and scents became distorted.
His father's voice seemed to come from very far away as the forest wavered and dissolved around him like a mirage.
"Well done, Gahr. Now simply open yourself to the spirit world, Let it take you where it will..."
The world inverted into different colors of light, Nexus gasped as he seemed to be hurtling through a viscous, twisting vortex of energy and force mix with confusing visuals.
As Shapes and faces flickered at the edges of his perception, different silhouettes of beasts stared at him, their forms both familiar and terrifying.
Just when he thought he couldn't handle any more, a blinding whiteness engulfed him, And then...
...Calm. Stillness.
Nexus found himself standing in a misty, featureless void, as if the entire universe had been erased, for an eternal moment, it was just him and the warm, pervasive nothing.
"Holy shit, where am I, I didn't expect it to be so.."
As if in answer his question, a deep, resonant thrumming abruptly echoed through the void. It quickly grew in intensity, like a colossal drumbeat pounding directly into Nexus's mind.
He clapped his hands over his ears, gasping at the sheer force of it.
*Thrum.....THRUM...THRUM...THRUM!*
The sound reverberated through every molecule of his being in time with his thundering pulse.
Just when he thought his eardrums might burst, shadowy shapes began coalescing in the mist around him.
*THRUM-THRUM-THRUM-THRUM!*
Titanic, indistinct forms, dozens of meters tall, slowly materialized one by one in a vast circle encircling the small, insignificant figure of Nexus.
He shrunk back in stunned awe and primal fear as their half-seen visages took on vaguely bestial appearances some bird-like, some reptilian, some resembling great shaggy mammals.
*THRUMMMM!!!!*
The drumming ceased abruptly, swallowed by the void of silence.
In its wake, a new presence made itself known, a deep, Earthy rasp, the unmistakable sign of something colossal and profoundly rugged, moving across an unyielding surface.
"T-This!? This is Th-the..Ruthor!" Nexus exclaimed.
No Doubt The huge beast that stood before him is the Guardian of their tribe his mother spoke about, It had the body of a mammoth, covered in thick, coarse fur that bristled with every step.
Its head was a mix of boar and Goat, with long, twisting horns and sharp tusks.
Its eyes gleamed with intelligence, and it emitted a low, warning growl as it moved, breathing out thick clouds of air.
This creature was no ordinary beast, it was a living embodiment of the earth.
Before he could even say anything it suddenly spoke in an incomprehensible language.
ꐞꂦꐇ ꍩꁲꀰꈼ ꂵꈼꈼꌅ ꂵꐞ ꂑꋊꋖꈼꌅꈼꌚꋖ ꁲꋊꂠ ꌚꐇꀯ꒻ ꍩꈼꌅꈼ ꋖꍩꐞ ꋰ꒒ꈼꌚꌚꂑꋊꁅ ꐇꉣꂦꋊ ꈼꁲꌅꋖꍩ ꋊꁲꐞ ꐞꂦꐇ ꉣꌅꂦꌚꉣꈼꌅ
Hah!?.....
A thunderous impact suddenly occured, and then...nothing.
When Nexus dared to open his eyes once more, he was back Infront of his father's as if nothing had happened.
His heart was jackhammering in his chest and his body was drenched in chilled sweat, but he appeared unharmed.
"Congrats Gahr, now you are ready..."
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