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Kolith slumped before the aged, lichen-strangled pedestal, unlit and half-melted candles surrounding it. Blue vapour dissolved from his body as he took in deep, steady breaths. Timeless trees surrounded him in all directions, save for the small clearing comprising himself, the pedestal, and a few dilapidated huts.
It had been a solid six hours of training, stopping only for food and water. The Elder Spirits hadn’t pushed him this hard before. Something was on the horizon. He could feel it.
He wiped the sweat from his face as a ten foot tall wedge-tailed eagle shimmered into focus behind the pedestal. Its blue features shone, helping to hide the translucency of its form. Every candle burst with a new flame. The spirit turned its head and eyed Kolith.
“You need to rest?” Rokku, the Elder Avian Spirit, asked. Her beak did not move when she spoke, yet Kolith heard her speech like any other sound.
Kolith gazed up at Rokku with tired eyes. “Forgive me, Rokku, but I am fatigued. This intensity of training is... new.”
Rokku bobbed and turned her head like a regular hawk, belying her sapience. “Indeed it is. Though you have done masterfully, it must be said.”
“I appreciate the kind words,” Kolith said.
Another blue flash of light radiated beside Rokku. As it dimmed, a translucent blue tiger took a seated position, a foot or so taller than the Elder Avian Spirit. Her stripes shone white.
“It is important to bear the burden of exhaustion with squared shoulders and a straight back,” Narri, Elder Tiger Spirit, added. “There will be times where you must persevere, no matter what your body tells you.”
Kolith focused on Narri. Why was she here too? It was rare that the Elder Spirits spoke to him simultaneously. He had bonded with Narri earlier while training with her gifts, but that portion of the day was over, wasn’t it?
As Kolith opened his mouth to question the Tiger’s presence, a third flash of light heralded the arrival of an enormous bear, easily fifteen feet tall.
“It is one of humanity’s greatest strengths,” Gallo, the Elder Bear Spirit, continued. “Other than perhaps your intelligence, your endurance is what grants your kind such advantages over the natural world.”
The third and final Elder Spirit of the Forbidden Grove, here with his siblings.
“What is this?” Kolith asked. Having caught his breath, he stood. “Why am I visited by all of you at once?”
“There is no subtlety in what we are about to ask of you, Kolith,” Rokku said, her beak scratching at her outstretched wing. “It is time that you left the Grove and tested your gifts in a real world setting.”
Kolith knew the day would come. Since finding his way to the Elder Spirits, he had trained with them day after day for... actually, he hadn’t considered how long it had been. Six months, perhaps? More? Regardless, bonding with the Spirits and utilising their gifts had been all in the pursuit of a goal – the eradication of the Unmade from Erde Nona.
The evil corruption that sent Gallo insane, and forced Kolith to end the Elder Bear’s mortal life.
“Are you certain I am ready?” Kolith asked.
“Indeed we are,” Narri said, the intense eyes of a predator resting on the human. “You seem to have a natural affinity for the bonding process, and the knowledge it takes to wield our gifts. There is no better time.”
Kolith clasped a fist in the other hand, drew them to his chest, and bowed. “I am honoured to receive such high praise. Where shall my first assignment take me?”
“Have you heard of Dante’s Abyss, Kolith?” Gallo asked.
Kolith frowned. “Yes.”
Gallo huffed. “You will be participating in it.”
“What do you mean, Old Bear?”
“While you excel at spiritual manifestation, we have noticed a change in your attitude over the months,” Rokku said. “You have a tendency to back off before the killing blow.”
“I am only being true to my nature,” Kolith said, spreading his arms wide. “I dislike killing.”
“Yes, and purposeless killing is indeed against the order of balance,” Narri said, lifting a paw to examine it. “However, there are times where it must be done.” Her claws scythed from her toes.
“And I understand that,” Kolith said. “I simply-“
“You have taken too much reverence for the animal kingdom since your training began, I believe,” Gallo said. “Even as we three lived, we had to kill to survive. It is the way of nature. While it is admirable you detest killing in the way you do, we are concerned it will affect your chances of combating the Unmade threat, should you hesitate to end a corrupted creature. Like I was.”
“I did what I had to do to you, Old Bear,” Kolith said, balling his fists at the memory.
“And yet that decision, hard as it may have been, was carried out once you realised the reality of the situation,” Rokku said. “From your training since that day, we have seen less and less desire to fully engage in a battle, no matter where it may lead. While it has been training, it is for the real fight that we train. And it is the same attitude used in a life or death situation that must be utilised for the training of such a situation.”
“So my first assignment is to... grow accustomed to killing?” Kolith said, knowing full well the objective of Dante’s Abyss.
“It is the ultimate gauntlet for such a lesson,” Gallo said. “It is kill or be killed in the strictest sense.”
“Do you object?” Narri asked, lifting her head while casting her glance down at him.
“...no,” Kolith answered finally. “I am merely surprised by your assessment.”
Was it true? Was he losing the gumption to land a killing blow if the moment called for it? Hunting Unmade would inevitably result in conflict. Ending those creatures was imperative to the calling he had answered. But had he truly lost the nerve?
He remembered back to the day he entered the Forbidden Grove, chasing the corrupted Gallo after it had slaughtered his livestock. He hadn’t hunted the bear for revenge – only to protect anyone else he may have stumbled upon. And also for the bear. It was obvious from his actions that he was deeply sick in a way Kolith couldn’t treat.
And so when Kolith encountered Old Bear in the forest, he pinned the beast beneath a toppled tree and slit its throat. But before he performed the coup d’etat, he considered if there was any other way to save the bear he and his mother had grown up tracking and watching from a distance. In the moment he knew there wasn’t, despite the distaste he had for such an act.
Yet since that day, he questioned that decision. If Old Bear stayed beneath the tree, could the corruption have left his body? Could some forced downtime have helped the Elder Beast regain his wits and fight off the darkness within? Could the Forbidden Grove have kept Old Bear from leaving, keeping the world safe from him, sending him into endless paths with no way out, like so many others who vanished and never returned from there?
As he revisited those doubts, the words of the Elder Spirits stung deeply. Their truth lay bare to him.
“Your kind and gentle nature is not a weakness,” Gallo said, noticing the human’s sunken stance. “It is your perfectionism, and the over-analysis of that moment, searching for the best resolution after the situation has been resolved, that is. You must accept the course you took was done so under the best intentions and with the information available to you at the time.”
“Your words make sense, Old Bear,” Kolith said. “But they do not alleviate the guilt I feel.”
“Indeed,” Narri said. “You have dwelt on the what-ifs for months. It is natural that you would not immediately feel at peace. Give it time.”
“Wait.” Kolith turned to the Elder Tiger Spirit. “You said that purposeless killing is against balance. Yet you three wish me to enter a blood sport where combatants kill each other for entertainment. That sounds like the definition of purposeless.”
“In a fashion, it is,” Rokku said. “But the entrants do so of their own will. They accept the risk, and they do not kill out of anger or revenge or hatred. They are not slaughtering innocents for no reason, as none who enter can be considered so – all agree to the rules. It is no different than two males battling for the mating rights of the female in our kingdom. There is no need for bloodshed strictly speaking, but sometimes it is the only way to settle things.”
“Besides, there is a purpose,” Narri said. “It is to hone you into the vessel you must be if we are to stave off the Unmade. Perhaps it was not the tournament’s original purpose, but it exists nonetheless.”
Kolith looked to the side. “And if I perish? If I cannot become the weapon you need to wield?”
“The threat of death is omnipresent, whether we acknowledge it or not,” Gallo said. “If it is the end of your journey, then it must be. You must be prepared for what this world will throw at you.”
Kolith closed his eyes. “I will need to reflect on your words.”
“As you wish,” Gallo said. “We shall respond should you need to talk.”
The three Elder Spirits vanished in a blink of blue light.
Kolith’s mind ached under the weight of the discussion. He strode over to one of the decayed huts, its roof almost entirely missing, and sat cross-legged on its grassy floor. Closing his eyes, he breathed deeply, and meditated on the Elder Spirits’ words.
It had been a solid six hours of training, stopping only for food and water. The Elder Spirits hadn’t pushed him this hard before. Something was on the horizon. He could feel it.
He wiped the sweat from his face as a ten foot tall wedge-tailed eagle shimmered into focus behind the pedestal. Its blue features shone, helping to hide the translucency of its form. Every candle burst with a new flame. The spirit turned its head and eyed Kolith.
“You need to rest?” Rokku, the Elder Avian Spirit, asked. Her beak did not move when she spoke, yet Kolith heard her speech like any other sound.
Kolith gazed up at Rokku with tired eyes. “Forgive me, Rokku, but I am fatigued. This intensity of training is... new.”
Rokku bobbed and turned her head like a regular hawk, belying her sapience. “Indeed it is. Though you have done masterfully, it must be said.”
“I appreciate the kind words,” Kolith said.
Another blue flash of light radiated beside Rokku. As it dimmed, a translucent blue tiger took a seated position, a foot or so taller than the Elder Avian Spirit. Her stripes shone white.
“It is important to bear the burden of exhaustion with squared shoulders and a straight back,” Narri, Elder Tiger Spirit, added. “There will be times where you must persevere, no matter what your body tells you.”
Kolith focused on Narri. Why was she here too? It was rare that the Elder Spirits spoke to him simultaneously. He had bonded with Narri earlier while training with her gifts, but that portion of the day was over, wasn’t it?
As Kolith opened his mouth to question the Tiger’s presence, a third flash of light heralded the arrival of an enormous bear, easily fifteen feet tall.
“It is one of humanity’s greatest strengths,” Gallo, the Elder Bear Spirit, continued. “Other than perhaps your intelligence, your endurance is what grants your kind such advantages over the natural world.”
The third and final Elder Spirit of the Forbidden Grove, here with his siblings.
“What is this?” Kolith asked. Having caught his breath, he stood. “Why am I visited by all of you at once?”
“There is no subtlety in what we are about to ask of you, Kolith,” Rokku said, her beak scratching at her outstretched wing. “It is time that you left the Grove and tested your gifts in a real world setting.”
Kolith knew the day would come. Since finding his way to the Elder Spirits, he had trained with them day after day for... actually, he hadn’t considered how long it had been. Six months, perhaps? More? Regardless, bonding with the Spirits and utilising their gifts had been all in the pursuit of a goal – the eradication of the Unmade from Erde Nona.
The evil corruption that sent Gallo insane, and forced Kolith to end the Elder Bear’s mortal life.
“Are you certain I am ready?” Kolith asked.
“Indeed we are,” Narri said, the intense eyes of a predator resting on the human. “You seem to have a natural affinity for the bonding process, and the knowledge it takes to wield our gifts. There is no better time.”
Kolith clasped a fist in the other hand, drew them to his chest, and bowed. “I am honoured to receive such high praise. Where shall my first assignment take me?”
“Have you heard of Dante’s Abyss, Kolith?” Gallo asked.
Kolith frowned. “Yes.”
Gallo huffed. “You will be participating in it.”
“What do you mean, Old Bear?”
“While you excel at spiritual manifestation, we have noticed a change in your attitude over the months,” Rokku said. “You have a tendency to back off before the killing blow.”
“I am only being true to my nature,” Kolith said, spreading his arms wide. “I dislike killing.”
“Yes, and purposeless killing is indeed against the order of balance,” Narri said, lifting a paw to examine it. “However, there are times where it must be done.” Her claws scythed from her toes.
“And I understand that,” Kolith said. “I simply-“
“You have taken too much reverence for the animal kingdom since your training began, I believe,” Gallo said. “Even as we three lived, we had to kill to survive. It is the way of nature. While it is admirable you detest killing in the way you do, we are concerned it will affect your chances of combating the Unmade threat, should you hesitate to end a corrupted creature. Like I was.”
“I did what I had to do to you, Old Bear,” Kolith said, balling his fists at the memory.
“And yet that decision, hard as it may have been, was carried out once you realised the reality of the situation,” Rokku said. “From your training since that day, we have seen less and less desire to fully engage in a battle, no matter where it may lead. While it has been training, it is for the real fight that we train. And it is the same attitude used in a life or death situation that must be utilised for the training of such a situation.”
“So my first assignment is to... grow accustomed to killing?” Kolith said, knowing full well the objective of Dante’s Abyss.
“It is the ultimate gauntlet for such a lesson,” Gallo said. “It is kill or be killed in the strictest sense.”
“Do you object?” Narri asked, lifting her head while casting her glance down at him.
“...no,” Kolith answered finally. “I am merely surprised by your assessment.”
Was it true? Was he losing the gumption to land a killing blow if the moment called for it? Hunting Unmade would inevitably result in conflict. Ending those creatures was imperative to the calling he had answered. But had he truly lost the nerve?
He remembered back to the day he entered the Forbidden Grove, chasing the corrupted Gallo after it had slaughtered his livestock. He hadn’t hunted the bear for revenge – only to protect anyone else he may have stumbled upon. And also for the bear. It was obvious from his actions that he was deeply sick in a way Kolith couldn’t treat.
And so when Kolith encountered Old Bear in the forest, he pinned the beast beneath a toppled tree and slit its throat. But before he performed the coup d’etat, he considered if there was any other way to save the bear he and his mother had grown up tracking and watching from a distance. In the moment he knew there wasn’t, despite the distaste he had for such an act.
Yet since that day, he questioned that decision. If Old Bear stayed beneath the tree, could the corruption have left his body? Could some forced downtime have helped the Elder Beast regain his wits and fight off the darkness within? Could the Forbidden Grove have kept Old Bear from leaving, keeping the world safe from him, sending him into endless paths with no way out, like so many others who vanished and never returned from there?
As he revisited those doubts, the words of the Elder Spirits stung deeply. Their truth lay bare to him.
“Your kind and gentle nature is not a weakness,” Gallo said, noticing the human’s sunken stance. “It is your perfectionism, and the over-analysis of that moment, searching for the best resolution after the situation has been resolved, that is. You must accept the course you took was done so under the best intentions and with the information available to you at the time.”
“Your words make sense, Old Bear,” Kolith said. “But they do not alleviate the guilt I feel.”
“Indeed,” Narri said. “You have dwelt on the what-ifs for months. It is natural that you would not immediately feel at peace. Give it time.”
“Wait.” Kolith turned to the Elder Tiger Spirit. “You said that purposeless killing is against balance. Yet you three wish me to enter a blood sport where combatants kill each other for entertainment. That sounds like the definition of purposeless.”
“In a fashion, it is,” Rokku said. “But the entrants do so of their own will. They accept the risk, and they do not kill out of anger or revenge or hatred. They are not slaughtering innocents for no reason, as none who enter can be considered so – all agree to the rules. It is no different than two males battling for the mating rights of the female in our kingdom. There is no need for bloodshed strictly speaking, but sometimes it is the only way to settle things.”
“Besides, there is a purpose,” Narri said. “It is to hone you into the vessel you must be if we are to stave off the Unmade. Perhaps it was not the tournament’s original purpose, but it exists nonetheless.”
Kolith looked to the side. “And if I perish? If I cannot become the weapon you need to wield?”
“The threat of death is omnipresent, whether we acknowledge it or not,” Gallo said. “If it is the end of your journey, then it must be. You must be prepared for what this world will throw at you.”
Kolith closed his eyes. “I will need to reflect on your words.”
“As you wish,” Gallo said. “We shall respond should you need to talk.”
The three Elder Spirits vanished in a blink of blue light.
Kolith’s mind ached under the weight of the discussion. He strode over to one of the decayed huts, its roof almost entirely missing, and sat cross-legged on its grassy floor. Closing his eyes, he breathed deeply, and meditated on the Elder Spirits’ words.