Prologue
Survival
of the fittest… that is the rule of the land. In the view of the predator, the
prey’s only purpose is to be hunted. That’s how it’s worked… But my young
nephew… that cycle has challenged. Your father and the others will try and tell
you differently and tell you this letter is lies. But M’Katesh, I know you are
different from the rest of them. You see the beauty in life. There is a way to
preserve it. There is a way to save all the preyed creatures. The mage is real.
No matter what they tell you, my boy, the mage is real. The stories that your
clan has told as fables are true. Ten years ago, one of the most fearsome of
these predators had an encounter with an old mage who revealed to him the
beauty and sacredness of life. The young predator was changed and became the
old mages apprentice. But after a few years the old mages health started to
wear thin, so the young apprentice took on the mantle of being the mage. He
immediately set about building a refuge for the scared and preyed on creatures
of the land. When he was finished he went about the land seeking any predator
that was worthy of joining him and made them his apprentices. Together their
mission is to bring as many creatures possible to the city of Horashnu. I can
only hope that by the time you read this… you realize the error in the ways of
your father and his brothers and flee. Flee fast M’Katesh, for if you choose to
seek the city of Horashnu… YOU will be the hunted, just as I was.
With love, your
uncle C’hana
Chapter
1
M’Katesh
closed the letter from his uncle and put it into his knapsack. He really loved
his uncle a lot. C’hana was like his best friend, who had done everything
together before he disappeared. However his family didn’t like C’hana. They
disliked all of his radical stories about the stories he had heard on his
travels. They disliked his gentle nature, which they all knew M’Katesh also
possessed. They even disliked the fact that he pursued learning instead of
hunting, and that he wanted to pass those skills he had learned to M’Katesh.
But when he ran off in pursuit of the stories that he himself had heard, his
family furiously sent out several hunting parties to bring him back. M’Katesh
secretly hoped that they wouldn’t find him. That way when M’Katesh had the
blessing from his pack’s leaders to leave, he could go meet up with him. But he
could not let his parents see the letter.
He
walked along the path back to his village. He whistled for his feral white fox,
Mya, to follow as he ran home. As he reached the end of the path and approached
the village, he slowed and picked Mya up from the ground. He wanted to be safe
because though they said they were kidding, most of his uncles said they wanted
to eat Mya… and as much as he wanted to believe that they were joking, he
wanted to keep Mya close so that they wouldn’t have the opportunity to even
try.
He
walked through the village to the hut his dad lived in. “Dad! I am home!”
He
heard his father grunt. “Ah… back from prancing through the daisies like you
usually do…” His father looked up from his stool with eyes filled with
accusation.
His
mother gave his father a look as she placed a wood box in front of her son.
“Don’t you have something you wanted to tell your son?” She said sternly.
M’Katesh
put down Mya down on his lap and gently stroked her fur with has paw as he
listened and waited for what his father had to say.
His
father glared at Mya for a little while, then lifted his eyes to look at his
son. “You are of age today.”
M’Katesh
nodded, “Yes. I am eighteen years today. What of it?”
His
father gave him a small smile. “You are of age to go hunting with the pack. We
are going tonight to get more meat for the pack.”
M’Katesh
cocked his head. “But I usually watch the sunset at night with Mya.”
His
father growled and turned to his wife. “You see! He is no wolf! He takes
enjoyment in everything around him except what we want him to! I didn’t even
want him keeping that thing!” He gestured to Mya, which only made M’katesh hold
her closer to him. His father turned back to him. “You will go on this hunt
with us, and you will put this silly pursuit of life behind you, or you will be
cast out of the pack like your uncle.”
M’Katesh
stood up and ran back outside. “At least he cares about me.”
His
father put a hand on his shoulder before he got outside. “Wait… son… I am
sorry… I just don’t think the road you are going down is the one a grown wolf
like you should be walking… I don’t want to lose you to senseless fairy tales
like I lost C’hana. Will you come on the hunt with us tonight?”
M’Katesh
nodded and turned. “I will come on the hunt with you tonight.” He went to sit
back down. Mya jumped back onto his lap, and he stroked her fur.
His
father put a paw on the box in front of his son. “This has been in our family
for years, it has been passed down from generation to generation of great
hunters. In giving this to you, I hope that you join your proper place in our
family as the great hunter I know you can be.”
M’Katesh
opened up the box and picked up a silver hunting knife. He shuddered. The tip
looked razor sharp and the hilt was wrapped in some kind of fabric. He tried to
focus on the beauty of the knife, as his uncle taught him. The silver did look
nice and clean and there was also a belt with a hilt on it so he wouldn’t cut
himself on the blade.
His
dad smiled. “Put the belt on.”
M’Katesh
faked a smiled and stood up slowly so Mya could jump off. He fastened the belt
around his waist. The belt fit nicely and it wasn’t loose which meant it
wouldn’t fall off. He put the knife in its sheathe, and looked down. “Wow.” He
honestly meant it. He probably wouldn’t use it though… only if he needed to
protect himself. But he respected his father, and actually did like the knife.
He hugged his father. “Thank you Dad! I love it!”
His
dad admired his son’s new belt. “You look like a true wolf now son.”
M’Katesh
smiled at his dad. As long as he made his dad happy, he was alright with
anything… Or so he thought…
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