Flashback A Winding Trial [Solo]

[Eryndar]

Late Fall, 498 AV It wasn't long now before Eryndar would turn fifteen. His 'coming of age' was officially a couple of weeks away, though it seems his father wished to rush his imminent demise by bundling him up with a small group of other prospects. They left Riverfall two days ago; him and the other four. They were kids heading out into the wilds to hunt without the supervision of their elders and families. For many of them, it was the first time. And for a few, it might even be the last. Eryndar was a strong kid. Fierce training and discipline had honed his body, mind and senses to the point where he could find some confidence--he was moderately sure that he would come out of this alive and victorious. As for the rest of them, he wasn't so sure. Looking them over, they hid behind a perfectly placid surface to emit a sort of indifference and faux confidence. He knew better than that, however. He was shaking in his boots, despite the confidence in his survival. He was afraid for the other kids, and the possibility of not coming out of this without serious injuries. Knowing his own fear, he knew that the others were just as frightened, if not more. You could see it in their eyes--their innermost fears coming to light in the one place they couldn't stop them from surfacing. Together, the five young ones had camped out in the Sea of Grass, working together to follow the trails of the Glassbeaks. The closer they got, the greater the tension in the group. Some of them started to realize just what they were getting themselves into, sticking to their principles by the force of their sheer determination to bring honour to their families and themselves. It was already too late to turn back now, and the fact started to dawn upon some of them. Eryndar had no intention to back out at this point, a mindset shared by half the rest of the group. All around them spread the seemingly endless sea, the winds playing across the fields setting the straws in sway. The imagery was inspiring, great waves rolling across a massive green ocean and the various different creatures swimming about in its deep waters. It was such a shame that it housed such horrors as the Rite of Trial. No doubt, as soon as the group had located one of the Glassbeaks, there would be bloodshed. If Eryndar's assumptions were correct, it wouldn't just be the blood of the beast spotting the grass. Throughout their travels, Eryndar had kept close watch over his fellows, keeping tabs on them. A few often found themselves looking back in the direction of Riverfall which would distract them from the tracking efforts, they would fidget and sip desperately after their breath at even the slightest sign of bestial movement in their close vicinity... It had even gone so far that their second selves had emerged numerous times in some sort of self-defense against the stress and despair. While he had understanding for their fear, Eryndar couldn't bring himself to pity them. After all, pity would do them no good in a situation such as this. He knew they would most likely perish as a result of the Rite. This wasn't something he necessarily needed to share with them. In order for everyone to come out alive from the encounter with the Glassbeak, they needed to be at their best. Calm, collected and determined. He wouldn't enable the weak to surrender to their fates just yet, as that would severely endanger the rest. Determined to save as many as possible, Eryndar decided to remain silent. No creatures found themselves in the camp's direct vicinity, the fire they'd set up no doubt keeping them at bay. Night had already fallen at this point, a thick blanket of darkness draping over the area. The fire stood out in sharp contrast to the dark ocean of grass, bright flames stretching towards the heavens and occasionally reaching for the boys maintaining it. While some took the time to prepare a light meal, the rest took turns in guarding the fire and patrolling around the camp, making sure the beasts were kept at bay and staking out the trails of the Glassbeaks, should they be able to see them in the dark of night. As always, they were silent. Everyone went about their own business and minded themselves, not looking or speaking to eachother. The only communication that occurred between the five boys would be eye contact and fleeting hand gestures. Not even when they gathered up to eat would they speak or communicate much. It seemed they were all caught up in their own deep ponderings. Eryndar had no appetite, but he forced himself to eat. Judging by the tracks they had followed earlier the same day, it wouldn't be long until they found the Glassbeak they had been tracking. If everything went well, they would find it during the coming day. The sooner the better, he thought. If they allowed the doubters of their pack to wallow in their despair for much longer, they would weaken. They would surrender, damaging the mentality of the rest of the pack and endangering all of their chances for survival. Eryndar wasn't keen on allowing such a thing to happen, nor was the mostly dormant Castien. His second self had been remarkably silent for the duration of this journey, which was a rare occurrence. It was a relief, in truth, as Castien could easily complicate matters in such a delicate situation. 'ey. Indeed. Castien was crude and tactless. He would certainly endanger their collective survival and nothing he could potentially say or do would help keep the morale up. ... 'ey! In fact, Castien could likely serve as a detriment to the operation as a whole. No, the absence of Castien was definitely a boon to all of them. While the silence didn't serve to increase morale either, at the very least... The decrease of morale was slow. While Castien's shenanigans could potentially assist in keeping their spirits up high if he found it in himself to be inspirational for once, the risk was still too great that he'd punch a hole in what little stability they had left as a group. The balance was extremely fragile, and Castien had never been particularly delicate. I can hear you, you know. "Yes, I know", Eryndar muttered quietly to himself with the faintest hint of a smirk crossing his features. He cast a quick glance up to the heavens, studying the bare formation of the clouds for a split second or two. It'd rain tomorrow.

[Eryndar]

The next day. His prediction had been rather accurate. The morning came around soon enough along with the rain, the fire struggling against the water to keep itself alive. Once dawn had chased off the last of the night's darkness, the fire was swiftly dealt with and the camp was packed up to protect it from the moist. It was time to move out and continue the chase after the Glassbeaks. The dim and wet morning didn't serve to increase group morale much. The lack of sunlight brought the overall temperature down significantly, making the journey so many times more difficult for the pack of Akalak boys. Wet and cold, they trudged on along the fields all the while attempting to keep themselves on track. The situation was urgent--the tracks they had been following for the past couple of days could well be wiped out by the rain. It wasn't ideal to stay out in the wilds for much longer, what with the morale being at the low level it was and the lack of supplies to keep them sustained for much longer. Not many of the boys were capable hunters, and hunting in the Sea of Grass was ill advised at this point in time. With the urgency to keep them going, the five boys continued to make way through the fields, following the trails of their targets with Eryndar in the lead. He wasn't necessarily the best tracker of the five, though he seemed to be the most focused and determined. It was only natural that someone like him fell into a leadership role for the time being, letting the others have someone to walk behind. They seemed perfectly happy about it, too, letting Eryndar keep the front for the duration of that day's travels. The rain didn't seem to lighten up. Heavy clouds lingered over the field. Up far ahead you could spot the end of the blanket and the blue skies beyond, though there was no way they'd be able to reach that before nightfall. The winds were quiet and brushed past the field in light breezes at most, leaving them with a steady and cold downpour. Behind him, he could hear the near constant whining of the other boys; shuddering breaths and the clattering of their teeth. At this rate, they would fade away to the weather sooner than the steady decrease in morale. It was no good. No good at all. “… Up ahead. Look sharp.” Eryndar broke the two-day silence and held a hand out in front of the rest of the group, halting suddenly in his tracks and forcing the others to do the same. They bumped clumsily into eachother before coming fully to a halt, leaning out to Eryndar’s sides to peer past him and at whatever he had spotted. Up ahead, gathered in the midst of the wide plains, trutted a pack of Glassbeaks. Luckily for them, they had yet to spot the small group of Akalaks in the distance. The rain had done them a great favour in this case, cloaking their scents and the sounds of their footsteps. Eryndar suddenly found himself praising their good fortune and thanking whichever God had allowed this to happen. He had no time to think it through any further, instead gesturing for the others to move eastward and off to the side of the Glassbeak pack. Charging into the pack would be suicide, so the best they could do was to get out of sight and perceptive range of the beasts. A few minutes later, the five boys were crouching down behind the tall grass, watching the pack closely as they seemed to be circling around the latest prey. The biggest and strongest of the pack had strong-armed their way into the center, leaving the weaker specimen to simply patrol the outlines of the gathering while waiting for an opportunity to close in on the food. As long as the group stayed out of sight and hearing range, they should be able to avoid detection and becoming another meal for the vicious, land-borne birds. Eryndar finally turned to the rest of the group. “We can’t take them on like this”, he muttered quietly and at a level that could only be heard by those in his close vicinity; the other four boys. “Our only chance of completing the Rite with our lives is to draw one of them away from the pack.” The other boys gave him puzzled stares. “… How do you suggest we do that?” “… I’m not sure.” Drawing a predator away from their pack was difficult. Catching the attention of just one of the Glassbeaks was the largest challenge, as most of what they could do to draw their attention would no doubt draw the attention of the rest of the pack as well. If they didn’t want one of the weaker stragglers of the pack, they’d need to be crafty. … They were all out of ideas for the time being, however. Eryndar didn’t like this one bit and for once, he couldn’t well avoid letting it show on his face as his attention turned back to the pack once more. He let his eyes follow them attentively, murmuring quietly under his breath as he observed their overall behavior and how they moved around eachother. “Let’s wait until nightfall.” Akalaks had the advantage of infravision, making them deadly hunters even in dim lightings and after the fall of night. Eryndar couldn’t be positive it would prove advantageous against the pack of Glassbeaks, but he would have to assume that they held no such advantages. The best they could do at this point was to wait and see if an opportunity would dawn upon them when the Glassbeaks rested.