Heavenfall: Ascension of a Primal Hunter - #2 - Unexpected Boon [RR]

The clouds raged through the night, swirling in misty vortexes brimming with the unknown. With every flapping beat of wings or thundering stomp, the night watch tensed and held their breaths with spears drawn and readied.

But each moment passed as if it were the first.

At the strike of dawn, horns blared, and the village rose to the call.

Thorn left his tent yawning, the rays of skylight illuminating his weary face with every step he took.

"Hurry up, Thorn," a kid chirped joyfully as he ran ahead.

"Stop it," a woman muttered as she grabbed the child's hand and tugged him away. The boy sulked but trudged along behind his mother.

Thorn smiled and waved. It wasn't the first time, nor would it be the last—he was no stranger to the adult's hearts and their beliefs. Until the day he was a great warrior, he had to firm his resolve and smile through the pain. 'I'll be seen by all of you—just you wait,' he thought, a flicker of crimson flashing through his eyes.

He reached the village square and watched as everyone gathered around the central fire pit. The night watch stood firm atop the palisades' watchtowers, their backs straight and proud.

Everyone watched and waited.

A second horn blared.

And finally, a third.

Footsteps thudded against the hard, barren soil of the village as a man cloaked in a pristine white-furred cowl limped toward a small altar at the forefront of the fire pit. The snow-kissed fox was a hunt so peculiar that only one type of hunter could make their pelts into a cloak—Sages.

The Sage stepped atop the altar, his obscured face a reflection of staring into the depths of the abyss. He cleared his throat and spread his arms toward the sky before speaking, "We live as we breathe, each day more strained than the last. There is hardly a creature in the primal landscape who does not consider us prey—YET—humanity lives on."

His voice rose like a roaring tide, ready to sweep away all obstacles as he continued, "We live as we breathe, for survival belongs to us! We are the children blessed by the Sky! We are the past, present, and future! We are the masters of the Primal World, even if she turns her back on us—the sacred tomes are undeniable proof of this, and for this, we must hunt until the glory is back in our hands!"

As he spoke, Thorn's eyes shone with desire. Every morning, the Sage would preach to the village, and the night watch would swap out and rest, for the Primal World was most dangerous at night when the vilest creatures stirred.

"Thank the night watchmen who shield you from the darkness beyond the village gates.

Thank the stars that watch over us and guide us through the most troubling of times.

Thank the Sky.

For its blessing remains, eternally," the Sage chanted before striking his hands together, a flash of white light erupting and blanketing the village in warmth.

Thorn raised his hand, shielding his eyes from the surge of power, but his body pulsed with vitality as the light melted into his body.

Another horn blared.

Followed by the murmuring of countless people.

Thorn opened his eyes to an empty altar and the night watch warriors stepping down from their posts as their replacements took over. He looked around to the heavy gazes and clicking tongues of those around him, palpable disappointment and silent disappointment and even more visceral disappointment.

Thorn smiled. The same as he always did.

And he turned and left toward his tent.

"Kid."

Briar's voice cut through the stifling silence that clawed at Thorn's heart.

The boy turned and saw Briar, with a spear in hand, walking toward him, his face a contorted mix of gentleness and shame. "What is it, Bri?"

Seeing the bright smile on Thorn's face, Briar sighed helplessly and threw a satchel at the boy. "Open it once you're home," he said. "Keep your head up, kid."

Briar turned away, and Thorn saw another guard walk up to him with a scowl. "...gave him?"

Thorn barely made out a few words of what the guard said before Briar's voice barked loudly, "Bugger off, Perilla, there's nothing for me to explain."

Everyone turned away from the dispute, making distance lest the guards begin fighting in the village. But once several elders turned their cold eyes toward them, the two men scoffed and separated without escalating.

Briar returned to his guard duty. The uncouth Perilla moved toward his hunting team. And Thorn, he returned to his tent quietly before the villagers had time to turn their eyes toward him.

Once he was inside, he sat atop his rug and fondled the small satchel in his palm. He opened it and spilled the contents out, gasping in the process to his shock and amazement.

Two violet pills and three misshapen spikes.

"Impossible," Thorn muttered. "Briar, are you mad?"

His voice was soft—choked up. Tears dripped onto the rug as he placed both hands to the side of the items, lowering his torso into a curl.

The spikes of a tri-horned lizard were not the most challenging trophy to acquire due to the difficulty of the hunt but due to the nature of the lizard's migration habits.

Thorn had hunted the lizard before. He staked his life. And came out on top. But as he was about to land the final blow, Perilla's expedition team lobbed an arrow through it and stole the trophy beneath his nose.

Nobody knew of this. Not even Briar should be aware. 'How?' Thorn thought as the tears continued.

For Thorn, receiving the spikes was a relief like no other. He was already slower than the others his age, but at least now—now he could prepare for the final hunt and join the Primal Hunters.

But beyond the spikes. The pills next to them were an unexpected boon that Thorn couldn't even comprehend seeing—Violet Strength Pills, a rare resource often given to only those warriors who had accomplished impressive hunts.

They could only be made by bleeding out violet rose-bats at the peak of their mating season.

Thorn couldn't believe seeing them. He couldn't even believe Briar had them despite his accomplishments within the tribe. And he definitely couldn't begin to believe that Briar gave them to him.

The tears couldn't stop, but despite them, Thorn laughed the most sincerely he'd laughed in years. 'Thank you, Bri. I'll grow stronger—I'll hunt down the scorched elk and become a brave hunter like the rest of you," his thoughts blazed as he returned the spikes and one of the pills to the satchel and popped the other into his mouth.

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