(¯`¤'¯)Part One(¯`¤'¯)
It was spring, the time of year when the air loses its biting chill of winter, and the wind comes from the south, softer and more enticing, bringing with it a hint of warmer places. In the spring, the frost loosens its frozen grip on the earth, and even in the tundra of the north, things begin to grow, those hardy plants and herbs on which my people rely for sustenance. The snow never completely melts this far north, especially in the mountainous regions where I grew up; however, the warming sun and the gentle southerly wind do bring a partial thaw, and for a few blissful months of the year, we can shed the thick, cumbersome furs of our outer clothing.
During the spring before I came of age, though, the thaw brought something new with the warming winds: a caravan of travelers from the south. Of course, where else would they have been from, as everything is south in relation to that mountain town?
That winter was a lonely one for me, but the transitional years always are for the youth. Most of the boys I had grown up with had become men in the previous two years, having been successful at the Hunt. War, of course, was the best way to prove one's manhood and be accepted into the Hall of Men, but as wars had been scarce for decades, we all had to make do with the Hunt.
As custom dictated, I had been joining the men on the Hunt for two years, since my fourteenth summer. Although I had caught animals many times before, practicing with friends, I had yet to be successful when it counted. I was determined that my third Hunt would be different. Already I was the oldest of the boys, and although I still had a few friends among the younger ones, I longed for companions my own age. Once admitted into the Hall of Men, young men no longer associate with boys, no matter how close they had been in childhood.
05-Apr-2007 12:17:55
- Last edited on
06-Apr-2007 23:25:58
by
Roshinda
