"Fight for my rite" (Taoven)

“Fight for my rite”


One step.
Two steps.
Dodge a branch.
Jump a boulder.

He’d been developing a system since leaving the Elder and the rest of his comrades, this was his rite and he was determined to do it right. It had been an invigorating experience to begin with, the sense of freedom that came with dashing through Elwynn forest with nothing but a loincloth. An incredibly itchy loincloth at that, he often had to stop and scratch, things like that made him glad that he was able to resist while he was still surrounded by his allies. One in particular, however, he’d been very glad to avoid scratching his crotch in front of.

He stopped and rested against the bark of a large oak tree and did the usual scratch stop. He peered around the steadily darkening woodland of Elwynn. As far as he could tell, he was nearing the border between the woodland and the mountains of Redridge. He crouched down a little and ripped a handful of grass from the dry ground. He’d been out in the woodland for hours already, and he had seen no animal that had caught his gaze or even interested him. He looked up at the sound of a few twigs snapping, only to see the ignorant hopping of a forest hare. He smirked and tossed the grass away, it was probably best that he didn’t walk back with a hare, he thought.

He spent the next couple of hours making his way slowly through the woodland and entering the mountains of Redridge. The sun had completely set by this point, and he was finding it difficult to see a hand in front of his face, much less an animal for his rite. Luckily for him, he came across a very small indent in the mountain he had been moving around. He shuffled inside and rested his back against the ice cold wall of the “cave” with a gasp.

He closed his eyes and thought back to all the time he spent travelling, under the orders of Omanos Galenos. He had sent him away to gather knowledge and learn all he could, if he returned in two years with a wider perspective and a heightened desire to help people, then the chaplain would take him on as a student. He’d accomplished that, he had travelled as far as the plains of Nagrand, which in itself was a feat for him.

The issue here was a simple one. On those adventures if he was met with a disagreeable member of the wildlife, he could simply use the light to fool it, blind it or distract it long enough for him to flee. He had never developed much of a desire to harm any wildlife he came across, this was due to the amount of time he had spent surrounded by it as a young man.

From the moment Taoven had learned to ride a horse, he would frequently mount up and flee from the homestead of his adoptive parents and hide out in the forests below. He’d stay there for days if he could, just living the most basic of lives with his horse and the forest animals. Despite this, he’d never developed a connection with any of them, but perhaps it was a case of not thinking of them in the same way he was meant to think of them now.

He lifted a hand and rubbed his eyes with dirty fingers, the dust of the ground beneath him flying off with the breeze. Sleeping in this indent would be next to impossible and he knew it, it was freezing cold and all he had was the loincloth he’d been handed. He instantly sat up as an idea popped into his head, and he was incredibly lucky it didn’t fly straight out of his head again as the top of his skull connected heavily with the roof of the cave.

He dropped to the ground and rolled around a little, covering himself in further dust from the ground. He looked up and reached out of the indent with one hand, while furiously rubbing the top of his head with the other. He grabbed a rock and dragged it inside the cave, where he eventually sat up and crossed his legs, placing the rock in front of him.

He closed his eyes as the light began to swirl around his open palms, the energy flicking across his fingers with a gentle glow. He thought back to his master, and the single time he had shown him this particular technique. He had to get this right if he had any hope of managing sleep tonight.

‘I came up with this trick after watching a close friend store energy inside a glass sphere. Pay attention, Taoven, because this is a very intricate and delicate process. If you don’t control the amount of energy and the direction of its flow, you will shatter any object you seek to store light in’.

The voice of his master flowed through his mind as his fingers began to twitch. He narrowed his brow and continued to focus on the memories, smirking a little at the feeling of his fingers loosening again, the light began to creep closer to the rock. Dust and mud began to slowly fly from the surface of the rock, the draft created by the energy pushing it away.

‘Just imagine pouring water into a mug. Let the light flow from you gently, as though you were healing a small animal. Instead of focusing the energy on mending the wounds, allow the energy to flow into a single point and expand slowly. If you can manage this, you’ll have developed the skill to truly focus your abilities’.

Taoven’s fingers twitched slightly as the energy began to flow around the rock, swirling around it gently as though the rock was the eye of a storm. He slowly stretched his fingers outward as the light almost trickled from his palms and into the rock. The swirling light reduced in size steadily until it too entered the rock. He opened his eyes and carefully moved his hands away, the last of the energy flowing from his hands and into the rock. He grinned widely as the rock shined brightly with the light for a moment.

He chuckled as he picked up the rock as it began to glow with the light, the warmth of the energy washing over him. He stared at it for a moment, taking in the fact that he had learned this technique from memory, on his own, in the wilderness of Redridge. He would at least have some warmth tonight, he thought as he grinned again. He laid down on the dusty ground of the cave floor and set the stone down beside him.

--
He awoke at dawn with a yawn and a stretch of his arms, only remembering where he was as the back of his hands felt the cold wall of the cave. He sat up slowly and looked down at his side; he could only grin at the sight of the rock still glowing with the light. He picked it up carefully and slid out of the indent in the mountain, blinking into the warm sunlight of the morning. He clutched the rock carefully, remembering that his master had told him that using this technique on an object would make its shell weaker than before.

He made his way into the mountainous region of Redridge, stopping every now and then to catch his breath. His senses felt far keener in the wild now, it was if the first day of his rite had begun to change him in ways he had never expected. His eyes darted across the land before him, taking in every glimpse of nature, paying particular focus to the wildlife.

As he spent hours quietly creeping through the boulder-covered wilderness, he began to lose faith that he would come across the animal fated to him. He hadn’t been the quickest learner in history, and he knew it, but he couldn’t stop himself doubting the idea that maybe he would return empty handed.

It was at that moment that he looked up sharply at the sound of a dull growl. He slipped off the boulder he had been resting against and stared, wide-eyed at the bear before him. His eyes scanned across the large animal, the frayed brown fur that covered it and then more importantly to the saliva that fell from its large jaws. He cleared his throat as quietly as possible as it bared its teeth at Taoven and roared.

‘G-…good beastie’ he muttered as he held his empty hand in front of him and moved forward. ‘Could you be the one I seek?’ he whispered as he took a careful step forward, his bare feet making no noise against the muddy ground beneath them. He let out a gasp as the bear charged forward, slamming its head into his stomach. Taoven gasped for air and was sent flying backward, his head slamming against the boulder he had been resting against.

He cursed as he rolled from it and bumped into the muddy ground he had been standing on. He lifted his free hand to his head and cursed under his breath at the sight of blood covering the hand completely. He turned and forced himself to his feet quickly as the bear roared again at the sight of the blood. Taoven wobbled a little as he spread himself wide in an effort to challenge the bear into leaving, but his vision was beginning to blur. He dropped his arms in defeat as he wobbled and almost fell over, which gave the bear a blatant opening. It charged once again, pushing itself onto its hind legs as it reached Taoven, and swiped its claws down his chest.

Taoven let out a yell as he fell backwards and tried to scramble away on his back. He looked down to his bloodied chest in horror and did his best to think rationally. He had never been in this situation before, he had never had to deal with the sight of his own blood, much less fight a bear. His ears twitched at the sound of an eagle’s cry ringing through the air. He followed the sound and looked up to see a proud looking eagle sitting on a high branch in a nearby tree. It was only a few seconds, but it felt like a lifetime to Taoven as the eagle met his stare. His free hand resting on his bloodied chest, he seemed to forget all about the pain, the bear and the blood pumping out of his skin. It was if the eagle could see straight into his soul, and that he was beginning to stare into the soul of the proud bird.

Another roar from the bear snapped him out of it as he turned to see it on its hind legs again. It was about to bring down another painful strike against the young paladin. He had to do what he did best in these situations… resort to cheap tricks. He scrambled backwards and pulled himself to his feet with strength he didn’t know he had. He let the bear charge toward him and then shielded his eyes as he smashed the rock against the boulder stained with his blood.

The rock shattered, allowing the light held within to shine brightly. Taoven clenched his fingers into a fist and very quickly opened the hand again. The ball of light energy flew toward the bear and expanded in a split second, the bright flash of the energy exploding causing the bear to roar and dart backwards. He turned and charged toward the tree, one arm still wrapped across his chest. The movement sent dirt and grass flying into the air behind his feet.

He let out a cry as he slammed into the tree and desperately climbed the trunk, the bark of the tree scratching the skin of his arms and legs, as well as meshing into the wounds on his chest. He scrambled his way to the branch the eagle had perched on and he was surprised to discover that the eagle had followed his movements. He sat carefully and held onto the branch tightly as the bear began to slam against the tree and scratch against the trunk as it tried to climb. He breathed heavily as he wrapped the arm across his chest again, he was completely petrified.

He turned his head sharply as the eagle cried again. It was still perched and looking away from the bear, it was calm and collected. The roaring and smashing of the bear had not phased the eagle at all. Taoven closed his eyes and slowed his breathing and very steadily calmed himself. The bear continued to smash against the tree for a while, until finally giving up and disappearing into the woodland of the area. Taoven cleared his throat and opened his eyes, letting out a laugh of relief as he could see no sign of the bear.

He turned his head and looked at the eagle for a moment, the staring contest taking place again. He widened his eyes as the eagle suddenly launched itself from the branch and flew off into the woodland. He was certain of it now; he had found the animal in which he had shared a spiritual moment with.

He rested his back against the tree and lifted his shaking hands to channel the light into the wounds on his chest. He grimaced and groaned as the energy did its best to mend the skin. He allowed a couple of tears to escape him as the process created a burning sensation across his torso. His hands snapped away as he jerked and tumbled from the tree. He flailed and grabbed onto a strong branch not far from the ground, letting out a groan as his elbows and shoulders let out an uncomfortable crunch.

He steadied his breathing yet again and let himself drop to the ground. His legs were far weaker than he expected, which meant he hit the ground with a thump. He decided to lie on the ground and lift one hand to the wound on his head, which had bled copiously, covering his face in blood. He began to gently heal the wound, at least as far as to stop the bleeding. He gritted his teeth and yelled in pain, sending a flurry of disturbed birds from the trees surrounding him.

Eventually he sat up and let out a deep sigh and dropped the hand from his head. He looked around himself and noticed a branch that had snapped from the tree as he’d climbed it. He picked it up and forced himself to his feet, making his way carefully to a nearby river. He fell to his knees at the riverside and coughed harshly as his hands moved along the rocky ground. He winced as a pointy rock stabbed his palm. He pulled it from the earth and looked down to the stick and smirked. He removed his loincloth and began pulling it apart.

Half an hour later, he stood and turned from the river with the makeshift spear he had created in his hand. His outward appearance was vastly different to anything Taoven had ever presented himself as. He was still covered in the dust from the cave he had slept in, that had mingled with the mud from the ground during the bear attack. To make matters worse, the right side of his face and his chest was simply covered in blood that had begun to dry. He walked away from the river, his face the picture of focus, and walked back into the woodland of Redridge.

It took a short while for Taoven to come across the eagle again; it was perched on a boulder, still looking as proud as it had in the tree. Taoven knelt and aimed, before throwing the spear through the air. He cursed as it clinked against the boulder, sending the eagle away again. He got up and shook his head in determination and began the search again. This process would happen three more times before Taoven found himself back at the cave he had slept in the night before. He stared with wide-eyes as the eagle had perched on an outcropping of rock above the cave. He lifted his spear, the setting sunlight shining against the stone he had smoothed and tied to the branch and threw it with complete focus.

The eagle let out a cry as the spear pierced its chest and it fell to the ground. He walked towards the struggling bird and knelt beside it as he placed his hand against its chest and pulled the spear out. He brought the spear down again, piercing the throat of the animal and closed his eyes, holding it against the ground until it stopped struggling. He opened his eyes in time to watch the life creep out of the eyes of his saviour.

‘Fear not my friend, you’ll see the world through my eyes soon’ he said with a sad smile.

All that was left was to remove the wings of the animal and return. Taoven Andural had completed his rite and it had taken more than he ever expected… more than he had ever known he had within him.

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