The gray clouds in the sky gradually cleared, making way for the light to slowly seep through, washing the forest of its darkness and azure shadows, heralding a new day. The light spread throughout the forest, finally reaching the two survivors who had endured the night in the open.
Gray was trembling with fear, his eyes wide open. He was gripping Soli's hands, which were holding him tightly from behind. The two were surrounded by green bushes on all sides and above, except for the side of the tree they were leaning against.
Soli pushed the bushes aside before pushing Gray forward, making him move away. Soli caught his breath; he had been holding Gray tightly from behind to prevent him from moving involuntarily out of fear.
"Damn those creatures, they're a real problem... If I still had my old strength, they wouldn't have lasted five minutes."
Grrroowl! Grrroowl!
As the two were resting, loud sounds from Gray's stomach interrupted them. They looked at each other in surprise.
"I told you, I'll never understand it... But you're right, we need to go eat something... We haven't eaten anything since yesterday, right?"
Gray looked at Soli, not understanding what he said. The language barrier was one of the hardest things. It made many things difficult for Soli, and he had to go through great effort just to convey his meaning. He remembered once that another character had learned sign language because he loved a deaf girl. Soli had tried sign language with them, but to no avail—it was also a language that required study.
"We need to go back... I left the bag in the tent, I have nothing to eat.."
The two returned to the tribe. Gray's steps were heavy and unsteady; he hadn't slept last night, hadn't eaten anything, and his nerves were on edge because he had been so terrified. He had been surrounded by Night Folk all night.
As for Soli... well, he was as usual. Lack of sleep affected him, but not as much as it was affecting Gray now.
The two returned to the tribe. The hunters were preparing to go hunting, while the rest went about their usual tasks. They didn't realize that Soli and Gray had spent an entire night outside among the Night Folk.
Soli and Gray entered the tent and found everything as they had left it; nothing had changed.
Soli thought:
"Those creatures didn't take the meat... even though it wasn't covered, they didn't even touch it... It seems they don't eat cold meat... Well, that's good."
Soli took some dried meat from the piles he had prepared earlier.
"It was a wise decision to dry a good amount of meat and store it."
Soli had learned how to make dried meat and preserved it for emergencies or when he was too tired to prepare food.
After Soli and Gray finished breakfast, they were sitting in the tent when they heard a familiar voice from outside—one Soli heard every day. Soli's expression shifted to annoyance before he headed to the tent entrance.
There stood the cold hunter responsible for his hunting training. He came every morning at this time before the hunters went into the forest.
"I was so relieved after the Chief stopped his annoying visits, and now I have you," Soli said in a low, irritated voice.
He turned to Gray, who was standing behind him. Soli rubbed his head and sighed before saying:
"Alright, I'm going."
Soli signaled for the hunter to go, then took off his clothes and put on his warm, wide-legged pants, his sleeveless shirt, then his fur-lined wool vest. He put on his foot guards over the pants to tighten them at the bottom and his forearm guards. He put on his belt, fastened his two daggers and his quiver at the back, attached his bag as well, and tied his white-and-black hair back.
Soli went out, with Gray accompanying him as usual, following him to the forest boundary. There, Gray would leave him to continue with the hunter while Gray returned to the tribe.
And after all the hunters finished, they returned to the tribe carrying the prey they had caught, along with, of course, the young trainees preparing for the Hunter's Trial.
After Soli returned, he headed to the artisans responsible for making weapons and clothes. After a long time of attempts to communicate and explain, the artisan finally understood what Soli wanted.
As Soli was returning to his tent, he passed by the animal keepers, where three people were. Soli paused for a moment before going to take a look at them.
"They're the three from yesterday, so they returned safely..."
One of the three was preparing a basket full of sleeping fruit and heading toward a large creature with dark gray fur and two large horns pointing downward, resembling two braids of hair falling on each side of its head.
"I still think that These horns wouldn't be useful for defense against predators at all."
The woman emptied the basket's contents in front of one of the cattle, then headed with a medium-sized bucket to the adjacent animal. She placed it directly beneath it, then sat beside it, put her hand under its belly, and gently rubbed underneath. Four light-gray teats emerged.
The woman took hold of them and began milking, producing a dark white, thick liquid resembling jelly. It didn't take her long to fill the bucket completely.
Soli thought:
"Their cows produce milk faster and more abundantly than the cows back on Earth..."
The woman placed the full bucket beside her before the man gave her an empty bucket, took the full one, and went with it to the neighboring tent.
After the man entered the tent, Soli left them and went on his way.
"In that tent, they cut meat into very small pieces, then grind some plant to get a fine yellow powder. They mix them together, then add the dark milk, water, and spices. Everything is measured precisely, kneaded until well mixed, then formed into balls. These balls are placed in the fire, then come out as hot yellow balls, stored for the trial and funerals."
Soli finally returned to his tent.
***
Days passed, and the weather grew colder. The sky was never free of clouds, and the frequency of the sky being completely overcast became very high. This was an indicator that the day of the Hunter's Trial had arrived. And indeed...
The tribe's elders and youth, women and men, came out early in the morning. They were preparing to bid farewell to the young men before they embarked on their journey lasting seven days and nights, then returned victorious over the harsh environment, proclaiming themselves worthy of the title of true hunters.
Soli finally arrived at the farewell square with Gray, carrying the bow in his hands. Soli was wearing his wide pants and foot wraps, his forearm guards, an open-fingered glove, and his belt with a small bag, two daggers on each side, and his quiver. His white-and-black hair was tied back as usual, but one thing was different: the long cloak.
The long cloak had sleeves and a hood, was well-lined with fur on the inside, and was finely decorated. So were the rest of Soli's clothes and the clothes of the other youths. The trial was important in all aspects, so they all had to dress well.
After the young men finished bidding farewell to their families, they headed to the tribe elders standing before the forest boundary. Gray handed the bow to Soli, and Soli noticed that Gray's hands were heavy when he took the bow. He allowed a small smile before saying quietly:
"Alright... I'm not good at situations like these, but... until I return, stay safe..."
After finishing his sentence, he raised his hand, placed it on Gray's head, and gently, quietly ruffled his hair.
A sad look was on Gray's face. He didn't understand anything Soli said, but even if he had, it wouldn't have changed anything.
Soli reached the gathering of young men waiting their turn. As he stood with them, he looked at his screen with his tired eyes, accentuated by the dark circles against his snowy skin.
[Core: 263/500]
"I gathered as many shards as I could in the past days. Not many, but they'll provide me with the strength needed to survive for seven days."
After staring at the screen for a few seconds, he closed it and thought:
"I still don't understand why I lost the immense power I once had, nor the shards that grant me limited strength with each one."
Soli's deep thoughts were interrupted by one of the elders shouting at him, as he was almost frozen in place. Soli snapped to attention and went to them, where they painted his face with the cold, sticky white substance. After they finished, the Chief took a yellow ball and brought it close to Soli's mouth. His nose caught the fragrant, warm scent.
Soli chewed it, and the delicious, warm juice burst inside his mouth, drowning his taste buds in a bliss of delightful flavor.
Soli thought:
"It's... warm, delicious, and full of juice. It's good in this cold weather."
The young men gathered before the forest boundary, Soli among them. The Chief shouted, and then the young men shouted words Soli didn't understand. The youths were shouting the same repeated words, while the Chief shouted different words each time.
Soli looked at them, not knowing what they were saying, then thought:
"Now I know how Adam felt during the morning school anthem."
When the Chief finished shouting,The intensity of the gazes on the young men's faces increased.
"And now... here we begin."